COLLEGE BASKETBALL — March 6

SAINT LOUIS at DAYTON
(Dayton -11.5) — Saint Louis’ hopes for a top-four finish in the A-10 dimmed with the home loss to Temple on Wednesday night, but we simply can’t support laying this many with a Dayton club that has short-circuited itself enough lately with bad shooting (26% vs. Temple, 34% vs. Richmond) and will face some capable defensive scheming from Ric Majerus’ team, which limits opponents to less than 40% from the field. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the Billikens have covered seven of their last eight contests, and they were good enough to score a double-overtime win over Dayton just three weeks ago. Willie Reed may prove to be a difficult defensive matchup for Chris Wright, and Saint Louis will slow this pace to the point where Dayton has a hard time creating any distance, even as they are in payback mode.

THE PLAY: SAINT LOUIS +11.5 ***

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)