Cougars anything but flashy

The early play of Washington State (14-0) -- which will face UCLA (15-1) in a key Pacific 10 Conference matchup today at Pauley Pavilion -- proves that the combination of sound fundamentals and teamwork remains a recipe for success in college basketball.

But that doesn’t mean the Cougars are always a good bet against the spread.

Washington State is 9-4 against the spread because Coach Tony Bennett has put together a team that’s more concerned about winning with defense than piling up individual offensive stats.

The Citadel, Portland State, Air Force and Montana are the four teams that covered double-digit lines against the Cougars this season.

In many ways UCLA, which opened as a seven-point favorite over Washington State, and the Cougars are similar teams.

The Bruins win, but they don’t win big. That’s why they are a pedestrian 8-5-2 against the spread, which includes four games that UCLA won by 10 or more points but failed to cover.

Last adds: UCLA is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games at Pauley Pavilion and Washington State is 6-0 against the spread in its last six road games. Also, the road team is 7-0 against the spread the last seven times UCLA and Washington State have played.

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Pro football

New England is a strong home favorite over Jacksonville today but with a spread listed at 13 1/2 points, betting money has remained in support of the Jaguars throughout the week.

According to Wagerline.com, Jacksonville has picked up 63.06% of the bets against the spread as of Friday night.

Many bettors believe that the Jaguars are the right team to face the Patriots, who have dominated the NFL this season and are trying to become the league’s first team to finish 19-0.

Jacksonville is 5-1 against the spread in its last six games against teams with a winning record, and 7-2 against the spread in its last nine games overall.

Then there’s the Patriots’ 1-5 record against the spread in their last six games.

Final note: Jacksonville has a weak record against the spread in the playoffs, failing to cover the line in five of its last six postseason games. New England is 8-2-1 against the spread in its last 11 home playoff games.

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Boxing

Roy Jones Jr. and Felix Trinidad may not demand betting money as they did when they were champions, but they will meet next week in a light heavyweight fight at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Jones (51-4) is listed as the favorite at -325 with Trinidad (42-2) at +250.

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