2* Santa Clara (+3 1/2) v SMU. SMU has played well recently, with an impressive road win @N Iowa in their last outing. However, they did finish 8th in a relatively weak conference. Their only "signature" win was in January against Memphis. Santa Clara finished 4th in a conference with some pretty good teams and their big win this year was against Gonzaga. The only thing that keeps me from ranking this play higher is that they really have no good road wins, posting a 5-8 road record. SMUs home record is marginal also, though, so I am going to take my chances with SC and the points, along with the rebounding edge. 68-65 Santa Clara.
