BY: SOME GUY NAMED STEVE
With the Super Bowl now past us and the NCAA tournament less than two months away, it’s time to put all the focus on college basketball season. Although the slate doesn’t look too great tonight, there is still free money all over the board, and I am giving out my three favorite picks for tonight’s action!
Gardner Webb (-4) at USC Upstate
Our first game tonight will be Gardner Webb (8-11, 9-10 ATS), taking on USC Upstate (3-13, 7-8 ATS) in a Big South match-up. This is your classic trust the numbers game. Gardner Webb is the significantly better team, ranked 194th compared to USC Upstate, ranked 324th. Gardner Webb shoots 3.1 percent better from the floor, 1.8 percent better from three-point range, averages 3.1 more rebounds a game, and turns the ball over two fewer times per game than USC Upstate. Gardner Webb’s offensive efficiency is one of the best in the Big South (ranked 127th in the country) and USC Upstate’s defensive efficiency is one of the worst in the country at 339th. It’s also worth noting that all three of USC Upstate’s wins this year came against teams ranked 263rd or lower. I am comfortable laying four points on the road with the much better team.
Ohio State (-3.5) at Maryland
Normally, picking a Big Ten road team means you are asking for disaster, but Ohio State (15-4, 11-7-1 ATS) has been one of the best ones. Tonight they travel to Maryland (10-9, 7-11 ATS), who ironically has been better on the road than at home in conference play. Maryland is 1-4, 0-5 ATS during home Big 10 games this season, and hosting Ohio State will be no easy task. Ohio State comes into this game having won their last four Big Ten road games, all vs. opponents ranked inside the top 15! They won at Rutgers by 11, Illinois by 6, Wisconsin by 12, and most recently defeated Iowa by four. I’m going to continue to trust Ohio State on the road and look for them to get their fifth straight win.
BYU (+10.5) vs Gonzaga
Listen, I know it probably isn’t the greatest idea to bet against the best team in the country. Many people may call it reckless and stupid, but this is college basketball we are talking about. It’s the most chaotic sport on the planet for a reason, and that’s exactly why I love it. Gonzaga (18-0, 8-9-1 ATS) travels to the hostile environment of BYU (15-4, 10-6-1 ATS) in hopes to get revenge from the massive upset BYU handed them last year. However, this game will be a little different than last year. For starters, there won’t be 16 thousand plus fans in attendance as the crowd will be limited to strictly friends and family (thanks, COVID). This game is also being played earlier than anticipated, with BYU having to reshuffle some scheduling (thanks again, COVID). Both of these factors should favor Gonzaga, so why am I taking BYU? It’s simple, BYU needs this game. Coming into tonight, BYU finds themselves sitting squarely on the bubble. With most experts projecting BYU as a 9 to 10 seed, BYU is skating on thin ice and can’t afford any slip ups the rest of the way. Now a loss to Gonzaga won’t hurt them, but a win would be monumental and quite possibly secure their bid to the tournament. Even if they don’t win, I expect BYU to lay it all out on the court tonight and not allow the game to get out of hand. I’ll gladly take the double-digit points.
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