Time to see what kind of value sportsbooks are offering up on today's college basketball action.
It was a tough day yesterday as Villanova fell a half-point
short of the cover and West Virginia decided not to show up until the second
half. A solid effort from Siena saved face though.
Now we move on to another small batch of games to see if we
can find the best NCAA basketball betting value out there.
Louisville (18-5 SU, 11-8-1 ATS) vs. Connecticut (15-7
SU, 7-11 ATS)
Tipoff at 7:00 PM EST
No doubt tonight's Big East clash at the KFC Yum! Center
will be a spirited affair.
NCAA basketball odds makers are agreeing as we see the
Cardinals favored by four points at home for their clash with the Huskies. Rick
Pitino's crew has cashed three straight times as favorites.
On the whole, Louisville has been a moneymaking machine ATS
here lately, covering in four consecutive matchups. Kyle Kuric continues to
lead well and Chane Behanan, who's averaging 14.8 PPG and 9.4 RPG over his last
five games, has been a major force as a freshman.
The Cardinals however are set to be without one of their
other bigs, Gorgui Dieng. Averaging nearly a double-double on the season,
Dieng's absence will definitely hurt Louisville, especially with superstar
freshman Andre Drummond on the opposing end. Drummond has put up 13.3 PPG, 8.0
RPG and 4.0 BPG in his previous three appearances and I look for him to be an
important factor tonight.
I also think UConn has the guard play to keep up with the Cardinals
as Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier have performed well and Ryan Boatright is
coming off one of his finest games too.
Chance Harper has shared his pick in favor of the Cardinals, I am looking at the game differently. So while the Huskies have lost four of
their last five, this seems like a good time for them to snap out of it and
really take it to Louisville.
PICK: Connecticut Huskies +4.5
Oklahoma (13-9 SU, 7-11 ATS) vs. Missouri (21-2 SU,
10-6-2 ATS)
Tipoff at 7:00 PM EST
I have no doubt this is going to be one of the biggest
public NCAA basketbll picks of the day. However, it's a line simply too good to pass over and
you have to take advantage of value when you see it.
A lot of people are saying this has all the makings of a
trap game for the Tigers and it'd be hard to argue as they take on Baylor next.
Coach Frank Haith knew the extravaganza that would follow from beating rival
KU, forcing his players to stay at a local hotel instead of going out on the
town.
Haith has this team incredibly focused. Missouri has already
beaten Baylor, Texas and Iowa State on the road this season and also tore up
Oklahoma 87-49 in the earlier meeting over a month ago.
The Sooners have a few nice pieces in Steven Pledger, Andrew
Fitzgerald and Romero Osby, but they had no answer for Mizzou that game. Kim
English and Marcus Denmon put up 43 points and 16 boards between them, while
Ricardo Ratliffe (13 points and eight boards) and Michael Dixon Jr. (13 points
off the bench) also did their thing.
I know, I know. I've been backing the Tigers a lot as of
late but can you blame me here? When sportsbooks offer up a spread as juicy as
this, I just can't help but take the bait sometimes.
PICK: Missouri Tigers -4.5