Bern’s-Eye View: Mountain West basketball picks Week 4

By Taylor Bern

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015 | 12:13 p.m.

Three Mountain West teams are hitting the road tonight and they could continue what has been a pretty solid start for the league away from home, at least when you consider the point spread.

The league is 21-13 ATS away from home, according to Vegasinsider.com, and UNLV, Fresno State and Utah State each have a chance to build on that with good performances tonight at Wichita State, Arizona and BYU, respectively. Wins will be harder to come by, but in the eyes of bettors, this is an opportunity for the league to make a solid statement.

Overall, the Mountain West is 38-27 ATS, according to Covers.com, and straight up only San Jose State is under .500 on the season. Sure, several of those victories have been piled up against non-Division I opponents, and San Diego State’s loss to San Diego is a bad look for the league. But for the most part, the conference doesn’t have many bad losses, and there are still a few chances to make some statements.

Tonight’s slate is full of those opportunities. I'm not as down on the Mountain West as I think most people are, so we’ll see who goes out and takes advantage tonight.

Lines are the best available at the time of publication on the chosen side in Las Vegas.

WEDNESDAY

UNLV (plus-7.5) at Wichita State

6 p.m., ESPN2

• Lots of variables are going into this one for the home team, including their overall health (is senior point guard Fred Van Fleet really at full strength?) and whether sophomore guard Conner Frankamp’s grades will be posted early enough to allow him to make his hometown debut. Either way, this game means far more for Wichita State (3-4) than it does for UNLV (7-1), but I still like the road team to finish within the number in a loss.

Pick: UNLV

Fresno State (plus-12.5) at No. 13 Arizona

6 p.m., Pac-12 Network

• The Wildcats (7-1) are still figuring some things out, but helping them along are the nation’s best defensive rebounding and offensive turnover numbers. Arizona does the little things well, and at home this season, they’ve been winning by an average of nearly 20 points.

Pick: Arizona

Loyola Marymount (plus-14.5) at Boise State

6 p.m., Mountain West Network

• It’s tough to figure out the Lions (5-3), who have gone on the road and been stomped by UC Irvine and then performed well at Colorado State and Oregon State. Boise State (5-4) has a big home game Saturday against No. 25 Oregon, so I’ll go with a somewhat close game in a look-ahead spot.

Pick: Loyola Marymount

Utah State (plus-8) at BYU

6 p.m., BYUTV

• Both teams were better last season when the Cougars (5-2) went to the Aggies (5-1) and won by 10. At home, I’ll go with the Cougars to cover a fourth straight game, as long as they don’t go around punching everybody.

Pick: BYU

Games with no lines

• Arkansas-Fort Smith at Colorado State, 6 p.m.

• Fresno Pacific at UNR, 7 p.m.

Last week: 5-6

Season: 30-34-3

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.