San Diego at Pacific

You stay alive in tourney play with good defense and San Diego has it. They're third in the West Coast Conference in points allowed and second at defending the three-pointer. You also need good guard play and the Toreros have that with junior Christopher Anderson (6.7 assists per game), who had 19 points, 10 assists the last contest. San Diego has been playing well, crushing Portland State (87-65) and then winning at Sam Houston State (77-72), shooting 58.7%. The Toreros are 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games, 9-3 ATS away against a team with a winning home record. They face a Pacific squad that is .500 on the season and are weak defensively at #7 in the WCC in field goal defense and #9 in points allowed. They have lost five of the last eight contests. The Tigers are on a 1-4 ATS run, plus 1-4 ATS in their last five home games. These teams met last month and San Diego rolled 70-55 on this court. Johnny Dee scored 19 points and Anderson finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. San Diego led 44-23 at the half. The Tigers were out-rebounded 36-33 and shot just 38%, including 3-of-15 from 3-point range, so grab the undervalued dog that has no fear of playing (and winning) on this court. Take San Diego.