George Mason at St. Joseph's

The George Mason Patriots have quietly won three of their past five contests, covering all five. Defense is the main reason, holding opponents to 38.5 percent from the floor, 28.3 percent from beyond the arc and just 68.6 points per game the last five contests. They won at Richmond as a +7.5 dog and crushed Dayton (85-67) as a +4.5 dog. They are a big dog to a St. Joseph's team that doesn't shoot well, ranked #316 in field goal shooting at 41.3%, as well as 67.2% from the free throw line. St. Joseph's is on a 5-7 SU/6-6 ATS run, losing twice as a favorite. One of those games was at George Mason, losing 81-79 as 4-point chalk. George Mason shot 50.8% from the field and 45.8% from long range in that game, while St. Joe's was unreliable as usual from the charity strips (64.7%). This shapes up as another close one, so back the dog again. Take the points and play George Mason.