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<p>The Suns (9-3) travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder (10-2) in a Western Conference matchup. The Thunder are currently favored by 7.5 points and have won two straight games. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 ET and the game will be played at Paycom Center.</p>

<p>Phoenix is 3rd in the Western Conference and 2nd in the Pacific Division. Oklahoma City is 1st in the West and 1st in the Northwest Division. The over/under line for this game is 227.5 points. The Thunder are -320 on the moneyline, while the Suns are +256.</p><h3>PHOENIX SUNS VS OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER BETTING PICK</h3><p>The Pick: Phoenix Suns +7.5</p><p>This game will be played at Paycom Center at 8:00 ET on Friday, November 15th.</p><h3>WHY BET THE PHOENIX SUNS:</h3><ul><li>We have this one finishing with a projected score of 100-99 in favor of the Thunder.</li><li>Our projections have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finishing with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.</li><li>From the field, we have the Thunder finishing with a field goal percentage of 48.1% and knocking down 12 threes.</li></ul><h3>Are Phoenix Ready for a Road Win?</h3><p>The Suns dropped to 9-3 on the season after a 127-104 road loss to the Kings on Wednesday. Phoenix entered the game as +8 point underdogs and failed to cover the spread, losing by 23 points. The total score of 231 points went over the pre-game line of 225.5.</p> <p>After the Kings went on an 11-0 run early, Phoenix managed to win the 2nd quarter 27-26, but Sacramento pulled away in the 3rd, outscoring the Suns 32-24. The Kings then extended their lead in the 4th, winning the final quarter 34-24.</p><p>Josh Okogie led the Suns with 25 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 66.7% from the field and hitting 3 threes at a 75% clip in their loss to the Kings. Devin Booker added 18 points and 5 assists, though he shot just 37.5% from the floor.</p> <p>As a team, the Suns struggled offensively, shooting 37.1% overall and 30.2% from beyond the arc, making 13 threes. Okogie scored 9 points in the 1st quarter and added 7 more in the 2nd, while Booker put up 9 points in the 2nd quarter as well.</p><p>The Suns struggled defensively on Wednesday, allowing the Kings to score 127 points on 64% shooting. Sacramento put up 35 points in the 1st quarter and added 34 more in the 4th to seal the win. Phoenix did manage to hold the Kings to 26 points in the 2nd quarter.</p> <p>From beyond the arc, the Kings hit 15 threes at a 53% clip. The Suns sent Sacramento to the line 17 times, where they made 12 free throws. Phoenix gave up 6 offensive rebounds while recording 12 steals and 2 blocks.</p><h3>Will the Thunder Defense Show Up at Home?</h3><p>The Thunder improved to 10-2 on the season with a 106-88 win over the Pelicans on Wednesday. Playing at home, Oklahoma City entered the game as -14.5 point favorites and covered the spread. The total points for the game were 194, well below the 224.5 O/U line.</p> <p>A key stretch for the Thunder was a 16-0 run that extended their lead from 61-59 to 77-59. They held the Pelicans to just 18 points in the 3rd quarter and 20 in the 4th, while scoring 28 and 24 points in those quarters, respectively.</p><p>Jalen Williams led the Thunder to a win over the Pelicans, scoring 31 points and hitting 4 threes at 57.1% from deep. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 29 points, with 13 coming in the 3rd quarter.</p> <p>Oklahoma City hit 15 threes, shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc, while finishing with a 44.3% field goal percentage overall. Luguentz Dort contributed 3 threes, shooting 60% from long range.</p><p>The Thunder put on a defensive clinic against the Pelicans, holding them to just 88 points on Wednesday. Oklahoma City tightened up after allowing 28 points in the 1st quarter, giving up just 22 in the 2nd, 18 in the 3rd, and 20 in the 4th.</p> <p>Overall, the Thunder held the Pelicans to 39% shooting, including just 9 made threes on 24% shooting from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City also recorded 16 steals and 7 blocks in the game.</p>

Phoenix Suns vs Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Pick & Prediction 11/15/24

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Sometimes a step up in class is a dose of reality. That seemed to be the case last night for Boise State. They were rolled by Colorado State and we picked up another winner with the spotlight game preview here at BangTheBook. That makes it three in a row for this week and a nice little run over the last couple of weeks.

With a big Thursday board, we’ve got a lot of big lines on the card. We’ll look to something of a “chase game” on the bottom of the schedule as New Mexico and Fresno State square off at 11 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. Fresno State is -6.5 with a total of 131.5 in this one at <a href="http://bangthebook.com/sportsbooks/bovada"><strong>Bovada Sportsbook</strong></a>.

We’ll break this one down from both sides and find a play on the Mountain West Conference nightcap.
<h3><strong><u>New Mexico</u></strong><strong><u> Lobos</u></strong></h3>
Things are not good for Paul Weir’s team. Forced to play every game away from home to this point because of COVID protocols in New Mexico, the Lobos are 5-9 straight up, but just 1-9 in conference play. The Lobos have two wins over a Division I team this season and one came against San Jose State a week ago. They followed that up with a 12-point loss to arguably the worst team in the conference.

In New Mexico’s defense, their other MWC opponents have been Boise State, Nevada, Utah State, and UNLV. Those are four of the five best teams in the conference along with San Diego State. The Aztecs are on deck after this back-to-back set with Fresno State.

A complete offensive outage has plagued the Lobos to this point. They are 301st in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency per Bart Torvik and Ken Pomeroy. That is more generous than the 330th ranking from Haslametrics. UNM is 342nd in the nation in eFG% on offense. They’re 346th in 3P% and 331st in 2P%. They’re even 329th in FT%. This is a terrible shooting team.

The lone redeeming quality for the Lobos is that they are a top-100 team on the offensive glass, but that may simply be a byproduct of missing a lot more shots than most teams in the nation.

It isn’t just the offense that falls short for the Lobos. They are also 283rd in eFG% defense and 305th in ORB% against. The schedule has been tough in conference, there is no question about that. It still doesn’t excuse just how ugly the stats have actually been.
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<h3><strong><u>Fresno</u></strong><strong><u> State</u></strong><strong><u> Bulldogs</u></strong></h3>
Is this a good buy spot on Fresno State? I would say yes. The Bulldogs have had their issues in conference play. The Mountain West is very spread out at the top and teams like Colorado State, Nevada, and Boise State have taken turns beating up on the lesser teams in the conference. Fresno State has three conference wins over Wyoming and San Jose State twice. When they’ve stepped up in class, they’ve lost.

This is a major step down in class for Justin Hutson’s team, though. And they’ve really taken care of their affairs in those roles for the most part, as rare as they have been. One night after losing to Wyoming 78-74, the Bulldogs rolled them by 20. Then they had two 15-point wins over San Jose State.

Nobody will mistake Fresno State for being a great team. After all, they struggle to shoot as well, posting a 29.1% mark from 3 and a 61.8% mark at the free throw line. Opponents are shooting 80.4% from the free throw line just to rub some salt in the wound. Fresno State has a lot of flaws, some of which have been exposed by the quality of competition and others have been self-inflicted.

One area where Fresno State does excel is on the glass. They are a top-70 offensive rebounding team and rank just outside the top 30 in defensive rebounding. In the games against Wyoming and San Jose State, they scored 1.029, 1.274, 1.160, and 1.141 points per possession. The offensive upside is in there, but it hasn’t come out against better teams.
<h3><strong><u>Pick &amp; Analysis</u></strong></h3>
New Mexico has taken the early money here with a lower-scoring expectation on the game. The Lobos are one of the slowest teams in the country and Fresno State doesn’t move all that quickly either. That being said, the total has been bet up a little bit rather than down. To me, that helps the better offensive team, which is Fresno State.

Both of these teams do have some skewed metrics because of how badly they’ve been dominated by better teams and this is a closer game on paper. Still, I don’t see anything to like about New Mexico, as their one bright spot will be counterfeited by how well Fresno State does on the glass.

For that reason, Fresno State is the pick.
<h4><strong>Pick: Fresno State -6.5</strong></h4>
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New Mexico vs. Fresno State College Basketball Free Pick & Prediction 1/28/21

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