Colorado State Rams Are Favorites At Home Against The UNLV Runnin' Rebels

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team is heading to Fort Collins tonight to take on the Colorado State Rams in what should be a fun game. UNLV is currently sitting at 2 - 1 in the Mountain West Conference, and the Rams are 1 - 3 in Mountain West play. However, the Rebels are 7 - 7 overall, and Colorado State is 10 - 5. Colorado State is the favorite to win this game.

The latest prediction that we are covering comes from Bryan Bash of Predict Em! This one might not sit well with fans of the Rebels. This is what they had to say.

Predict Em!'s Prediction For UNLV Runnin' Rebels @ Colorado State Rams

"The Pick: Colorado State -7.5 (-110) for 2 units

I’ve considered all of that, and Colorado State’s offensive efficiency advantage is still too massive to ignore. This isn’t about the Rams being a complete team – their defense is mediocre at best. But when you’re the nation’s most efficient offense facing the 285th-ranked defense, you don’t need to be complete. You just need to do what you do best.

The main risk here is if UNLV’s pace completely disrupts Colorado State’s rhythm and turns this into a track meet where variance matters more than efficiency. Emmanuel Stephen could also dominate inside if Carey Booth gets in foul trouble. And those recent Colorado State losses show they’re not invincible.

But at home in Moby Arena, with their shooting touch back after that 104-point explosion last game, I’m backing the Rams to cover. The shooting gap is too wide, the defensive matchup too favorable, and the home court too significant. I’m projecting something around Colorado State 82, UNLV 72 – a comfortable double-digit win that covers the number with room to spare. Colorado State’s offense is simply too good for UNLV’s defense to handle."

They expect the Rams to win this game by about 10 points, and we think the game will be closer than that. Nevertheless, we do have to give Colorado State the edge in this game over the Rebels. After losing their most recent game to the Wyoming Cowboys, we are still skeptical that the UNLV is capable of going on the road and winning a big game in a hostile environment. We think they can get there, but we aren't sure they are there yet.

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