NCAAB
4 Picks (14 Units).
6:30PM EST: UCONN -8.5 (3 Units).
Prime rebound spot for the Huskies coming off that historically embarrassing loss to Seton Hall. They also lost to Villanova by 2 back in January so you'll be hard-pressed to find a more motivated basketball team tonight. Nova is just 2-6 on the road with wins over Butler and Depaul. 3 of their last 4 road losses have come by double digits with the outlier being a 6-point loss at Xavier. This is all about backing a championship coach with an extremely talented roster looking to get right.
7PM EST: Mississippi State -2.5 (5 Units).
At some point A&M's anemic offense is going to cost them and this is a good spot for it. Mississippi State is 293rd in opponent 3-PT % but A&M's 306th in 3-PT %. Mississippi State has defended the rim well at Home against elite offensive teams but have been done in form beyond the arc. At Home Florida made 14 of 36 (38.9%) 3's, Missouri 15 of 32 (46.9%), Bama 15 of 31 (48.4), and Kentucky 16 of 32 (50%). Kentucky and Bama were 4 and 5 point losses. There's also a lot more room to operate on the offensive end of the floor when you're knocking down 3's. The Aggies just aren't built to exploit the Bulldogs weakness. Mississippi State's 25th ranked offense is good enough to score on the elite A&M defense. Mississippi State also rebounds well and takes much better care of the basketball, ranking 33rd in assist/turnover ratio compared to A&M who ranks 242nd. The Aggies are 274th in FG % on the season and shoot just a tick over 40% on the road. That just isn't sustainable, especially on the road in conference play.
9PM EST: Marquette -18.5 (3 Units).
Seton Hall's coming off their Super Bowl win, but they've oddly had UConn's number over the years. They're still a terrible basketball team that's 0-8 on the road. They're 311th in turnovers per possession at 19% and Marquette's 6th in opponent turnovers per possession at 22.6%. 5 of the 8 Seton Hall road losses have come by double digits. Going back Seton Hall’s last 3 road games they've lost by 14 at Georgetown, by 17 at Depaul, and by 25 at Creighton. Marquette also beat Seton Hall by 17 in their own house a couple months back. The Golden Eagles handled Depaul despite making just 4 of 25 3's at Home their last time out. Prior to that they lost 3 straight to UConn, St. John's and Creighton. Like them to put a complete 40 minutes together tonight and Seton Hall’s turnovers woes will really play into that.
9PM EST: BYU -2.5 (3 Units).
Kansas has dropped 3 straight road games to Utah, Kansas State, and Baylor with poor rebounding and defense. Hard to see that getting corrected here as BYU is 16th in rebound rate and 15th in offensive rating. These two meet for the first and only time this year, same as last. BYU went into Kansas last season and won 76-68. BYU is a team that lives and dies by the 3-Ball. They're 55th in 3-PT % and 17th in 3-PT Rate. They're also 248th in opponent 3-PT % and 328th in opponent 3-PT Rate. With arguably the best Center in College Basketball that just isn't Kansas's play style. They aren't the worst, shooting 34.3% from 3 (146th) but that dips down to 32.4% on the road. They're just 319th in 3-PT Rate at 33.4 % though. That also dips down to 31.9% when playing on the road. They aren't looking for 3's and rarely settle for them. Hard to see Kansas correcting their road woes here.
