*Free Play Under* The Fordham Rams have been excellent at turning games into lower scoring battles. I'm trusting them to grind this game down against VCU. VCU is clearly a very good team, but Fordham has been elite at defending without fouling and turning games into a halfcourt battle.

Fordham almost never gets second chances, and they also don't get to the free throw line themselves. Fordham is a below average offensive team.

The total has gone up here, and I'll side with under the total.

(Huge 20-1 run in my last 21 CBB plays. Discounted NCAA BB Season Pass has been posted. Get on board!)

*3 Unit Play Under* The Illinois State RedBirds are first in the Missouri Valley Conference in defensive efficiency. Illinois State has been particularly strong defensively on their home floor. They are giving up only 58.8 points per game when playing at home this year. That is fourth best in the nation.

Southern Illinois is on a seven game run of scoring 68 points or fewer in regulation. The Salukis are 232nd in offensive efficiency. They aren't likely to get many second chance opportunities either. The Illinois State RedBirds are fifth best in defensive rebounding percentage nationally.

Illinois State is 273rd in average possession length, so they'll try to slow the pace here.

Southern Illinois is third in defensive efficiency in the MVC. They have fouled a bit too much, but Illinois State is only 9th in FTA/FGA in MVC play.

Take the under.

*3 Star Play Under* The Navy Midshipmen are the best team in this league. Navy is also the slowest paced team in the league. They are easily first in the Patriot League in defensive efficiency, giving up only 0.967 points per possession.

Navy has put up some big point totals at home from time to time, but on the road their offense has been far less efficient. Their last four road games have finished regulation with the following point totals: 123, 116, 134, and 108 points.

Lafayette is last in the league in offensive efficiency. It's hard to find a path to success for the Lafayette offense here. They'll have to be making jump shots they normally miss, and they'll be doing it against the best defense in the league. They could only get to 50 points in the first meeting between these two teams.

Take the under here.

*4 Star Play Under* The Appalachian State Mountaineers defense is the best in the Sun Belt. They are only allowing 0.97 points per possession this year. App State's defense is in top form of late. They have allowed 58, 43,63, and 44 points in their last four games.

App State is 360th in the nation in tempo. They will work very hard to slow this game down. South Alabama is 323rd in tempo, so they prefer a slow game as well.

South Alabama packs in a zone defense and forces teams to shoot the ball from the outside. The Jaguars are second in the Sun Belt in defensive efficiency behind only App State. The Jaguars will try to force App State to make 3 pointers here. App State is shooting only 31.9% from 3 point range on the season.

This projects as a slow paced game where it would take above average shooting for it to go over the total. Neither team fouls very much and that is a nice bonus.

Take the under.