It's been tough sledding in The Basketball Classic, because of some cancellations, and nobody has to remind anyone that this is not the Big Dance. Now we are down to the semifinals, as the Fresno State Bulldogs will play host to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds starting at 10 PM ET at the Save Mart Center in Fresno.

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Southern Utah (23-11) has done a pretty good job of rolling through the first three rounds of this tournament, beating Kent State, UTEP and Portland. And they have done this without their leading scorer, Tavian Jones, who is out with a broken wrist. They lose some useful size without him as well.

Fresno State (21-13) has faced better opposition throughout the season, and done better against that opposition. Competing in the Mountain West Conference, they have lost by one point to San Diego State in overtime, lost in overtime to Boise State, and dropped two decisions to Wyoming by a total of six points. They also beat Utah State and went out of conference to beat Santa Clara. In the MWC tournament, they lost a 53-46 verdict to San Diego State.

That was a true slog. In the Classic, it hasn't quite been as much of a grind, as they topped 80 points in victories over Eastern Washington and Youngstown State.

In the college basketball betting odds that have been posted on this game by the people at BetOnline, the Bulldogs are laying points at home:

Fresno State Bulldogs -7 (-105)
Southern Utah Thunderbirds +7 (-115)

Over 140 Points -110
Under 140 Points -110

Statistically, there are a number of similarities between these two squads. You could probably say that SUU is a slightly better shooting team, while Fresno plays better defense. They're relatively equal in terms of getting to the free throw line and being able to convert those chances. Southern Utah is the more experienced team.

So now let's talk about the differences. First of all, it is not a stretch to say that Fresno State has the most effective player on the floor, while SUU is arguably missing its most effective offensive player. FSU's seven-foot center, Orlando Robinson, is seventh in KenPom's Player of the Year standings. He averages 19.4 points per game, is one of the best in the country at drawing fouls, shoots 71.4% at the line and takes 33.4% of his team's shots when he is on the floor, which is the 13th highest figure in the nation.

Against Youngstown State, Robinson had 16 points and 13 rebounds. He has tallied at least 20 points on sixteen different occasions.

And you have to wonder when the loss of the aforementioned Jones, scoring more than 15 points per game, is going to catch up to the T-Birds.

Neither of these teams is going to give up a lot of second-chance opportunities, because they have proven to be strong on the defensive boards. Without Jones, SUU will turn to other people like 6-11 Jason Spurgin, who is sixth in the nation with 71.5% from two-point range. But we suspect he won't have a clear path going against Robinson.

Will outside shooting be at all reliable for SUU? Well, they have shot just 26% from three-point range over the last four games.

Fresno gives up 59.3 points a game (fifth lowest in the country). That's not necessarily because they play such lockdown "D," but because thet dedicate themselves to limiting possessions. The Bulldogs are 356th out of 358 Division I teams in Adjusted Tempo. Yes, FSU has gone "over" in six of its last seven games. But we think conditions lent themselves to going UNDER with the total.

BetOnline presents all the excirtement of March Madness, as the NCAA's, NIT, CBI and Basketball Classic bring themselves to a conclusion...... Remember that you have the opportunity to get explosive payouts with Odds Boosters, and can make your deposits using more forms of cryptocurrency than you can even imagine!