Brady Murrietta's silence rounding the bases and his intense stare at St. John Bosco's pitcher after his home run sent a clear message: Don't poke the bear.
The Giants went 49-43 in games they were favored on the moneyline last season, winning 53.3% of those games. San Francisco ranked 19th in the majors with 173 home runs last season, averaging 1.1 per game.
Colorado State's +168 scoring differential (outscoring opponents by 5.4 points per game) is a result of scoring 76.8 points per game (155th in college basketball) while giving up 71.4 per outing (110th in college basketball). The Rams put up just 3.8 more points than the Bulldogs allow (73.0).
The late Joe Kapp could make that claim. He played two sports at Cal, best known for leading the Bears to their most recent Rose Bowl following the 1958 season. But the man who later quarterbacked the BC Lions to a Canadian Grey Cup championship and the Minnesota Vikings into Super Bowl IV also played hoops for the Bears. He was an All-American in football, a backup guard on the basketball team. Kapp played the 1956-57 and '57-58 seasons, averaging just 1.8 points each season.
UC Irvine has a +236 scoring differential, topping opponents by 9.8 points per game. It is putting up 77.5 points per game to rank 148th in college basketball and is giving up 67.7 per outing to rank 38th in college basketball. The Anteaters are averaging 77.5 points, 8.5 fewer than the Mustangs concede. UC Irvine hits 5.4 three-pointers per game (350th in college basketball), 2.1 fewer than its opponents (7.5).