Sports Picks & Predictions

This is a play on the SYRACUSE ORANGE as part of our CBB Saturday Underdog Package. While there is a lot of basketball yet to be played, the season for Syracuse will be affected by what happens here today. Right now, the Orange are a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament and on the outside looking in, so a quality victory is needed as they do not possess a top 25 victory this season but do have six wins against teams No. 26-100 which is tied for the most in the ACC. Syracuse is No. 42 in the RPI following a loss at Georgia Tech earlier this week to fall to 4-5 in the conference and it will be out for some retribution after losing in Virginia last month in a game the Orange with in throughout but a 10-point differential from the free throw line was the difference and Syracuse can hope that gets reversed at home. Virginia is No. in the RPI for good reason as it has won 13 straight games and its only loss of the season came at West Virginia back in early December. The Cavaliers are 7-1-1 ATS over their last nine games with the lone non-cover coming against Syracuse and another low scoring, ugly game favors the underdog. Syracuse got beat handily against Kansas early in the season but in its six subsequent losses, every one came down to the final minute including a pair of overtime defeats. 10* (588) Syracuse Orange

This is a play on the TCU HORNED FROGS for our CBB Saturday Afternoon Dominator. If you look at just rankings, Texas Tech appears to be the superior team here as the Red Raiders enter at No. 10 in the AP Poll while TCU received just 11 votes. Meaningless. The Red Raiders are No. 16 in the latest RPI while TCU comes in at No. 21, so the public rankings are skewed based on records which are meaningless as well. The Horned Frogs are 4-5 in the Big XII following a much-needed comfortable win over Oklahoma St. They have won three of their last four conference games, all relatively easy and the losses this season have been excruciating with two coming in overtime, another by a single point and overall, the five losses have been by an average of 3.2 ppg. TCU ranks among the national leaders in assist turnover ratio (10th, 1.55), field goal percentage (11th, 50.5), rebounding margin (17th, +7.3), scoring (6th, 86.5) and three-point percentage (15th, 41.0). Texas Tech is no pushover as it has won three straight games including an overtime win over Texas last time out. However, the Red Raiders have lost three consecutive conference road games as opposed to going 5-0 at home in the Big XII and 14-0 overall. 10* (544) TCU Horned Frogs

The Horizon League is wide open as four teams are within two games of each other for first place and two of those square off tonight. Oakland is two games behind Wright St. and Northern Kentucky but suffered a big blow last Friday when it lost to the Ramblers which was the second loss to them this season to it must make up extra ground. That was the fourth straight road game for the Golden Grizzlies as they return home for the first time in three weeks to look to improve upon their 8-2 record at the Blacktop. The Golden Grizzlies lead the conference in scoring offense (80.4 ppg) assists per game (17.8), free throw percentage (76.7) and three-point field goal percentage (37 percent) and they have the most dangerous weapons as no other team in the nation has had more players score 30 points or more this season as it has happened 14 times. The Flames are off to a 7-3 start in the Horizon, but it is a mirage. Illinois-Chicago has won four straight games, but they were all unimpressive based on opposition as the victories came against teams with RPI rankings of No. 252, No. 309, No. 323 and No. 334. Of the seven overall conference wins, all have been against teams ranked No. 252 or worse with five of those coming against teams No. 300 or below. The Flames are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (834) Oakland Golden Grizzlies

Colorado is back home after getting swept at the Arizona schools and will be out to snap a three-game losing streak where it has gone from 4-3 in the Pac 12 to 4-6. The Buffaloes have a significant home court edge as they have won 39 of their last 46 games at Coors Events Center including an 8-2 record this season with significant wins over Arizona and Arizona St. Currently in ninth place in the Pac 12, Colorado is part of an eight-team logjam in the third through 10th spots that is separated by just two games. With five of their remaining eight games at home, Utah, California, Stanford, USC and UCLA, and road games at Washington, Washington St. and Utah, the Buffaloes have a great shot at moving into the top four in the conference. The Buffaloes are 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. Utah has won two of its last three games while covering all three of those. This is the third straight road game for the Utes which are 3-5 away from home on the season including a 1-3 record in their last four games on the highway. This has not been a good role for Utah is it is 3-7 as an underdog and it will see a motivated Colorado team that will be out to snap its current skid as well as its seven-game losing streak in this series. 10* (836) Colorado Buffaloes

Washington is coming off a pair of victories, one at Colorado and most recently at home against rival Washington St. The Huskies are now 5-3 in the Pac 12 and those five wins are more than half of their entire win total from all last season, a record that included a 2-16 mark in the conference. At 15-6. The Huskies are a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament as they are part of the fir four out grouping so quality wins are of the most important and tonight would qualify as one. Washington is currently No. 49 in the RPI so its body of work has been good but there is still plenty of work to be done. It was a great start to the season for Arizona St. and after a 12-0 start to the season, the Sun Devils have hit a rough patch once conference play started despite the Pac 12 being a watered-down conference. Arizona St. is ranked only eight spots higher in the RPI than Washington yet comes in as a road favorite with a 4-5 conference record that does not include consecutive victories. It has played a weaker schedule than the Huskies and while two of those early wins came against Kansas and Xavier, the Sun Devils caught them at the right time. They are 0-3-2 ATS in their last five road games. 10* (566) Washington Huskies

We have played against SMU on a couple of occasions this season, most recently in an 11-point loss at Connecticut as a six-point favorite. As mentioned then, it has been a relatively down season for SMU but that was not unexpected. The Mustangs were coming off a 30-win season but lost all but three scholarship players and for a program that is still on probation and limited to 11 scholarships, that is tough to overcome. The Mustangs put together a decent non-conference season but played only one true road game and the road has been an issue heading into AAC season as they are now 1-4 on the road. Tulsa has been up and down with a 4-5 conference record where it has struggled on the road but has been a lot better at home. The Golden Hurricane lost to the two best teams in the conference by 33 and 19 points on the road and they are 3-1 at home within the conference with the one loss coming against Wichita St., which is 35 spots higher in the RPI than SMU, by just three points. The Mustangs are 1-6 ATS in their last seven road games against teams with a winning home record while the Golden Hurricane are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a straight up loss. 10* (542) Tulsa Golden Hurricane

William & Mary is back on its home floor following a three-game roadtrip where it went 2-1 with the lone loss coming in overtime. That winning trek kept the Tribe in a tie for first place with Charleston and Northeastern in the CAA and this will be a very motivated team tonight. The recent roadtrip followed a pair of home losses, the only two of the season, that were blowouts by 26 and 20 points and they have been waiting to make up for those on the Kaplan Arena floor. William & Mary has won 20 of its last 22 games here while going back further, the Tribe are 44-9 at home. Elon opened the CAA season 2-0 but it has gone 3-5 since then, although it is coming off a huge win at Towson as an 8.5-point underdog. This is the third straight road game for the Phoenix which are 4-8 on the season compared to a 7-2 record at home. They have gone 0-3 in their last three games following a victory and head into a tough spot as the Phoenix are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 road games against teams with a winning home record. Meanwhile, the Tribe are 12-5-1 ATS in their last 18 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (516) William & Mary Tribe

Butler is the only team to beat Villanova this season, but a lot of its other wins have been poor as it is coming off a pair of wins over 0-10 St. Johns and 2-7 DePaul and the other two wins in the conference came against 3-7 Georgetown and 4-5 Marquette. It is that win against Marquette that is in play here based on revenge from last month. The Bulldogs are 2-4 on the road and that win over Georgetown took overtime to get it done. As with typical Butler teams, it does a lot of things fundamentally right, but the perimeter offense and defense have let them down this season and that has especially been the case on the road where they are getting outshot by over 10 percent from long range. Conversely, Marquette is outshooting opponents close to nine percent from behind the arc at home and this was a major aspect in the first meeting at Butler that went the Bulldogs way. The Golden Eagles are 4-5 in the Big East and besides the loss to Butler, the other four losses have come against Villanova and Xavier twice each and those two teams are ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the latest RPI. This has led to the toughest conference schedule in the country, so a 4-5 record is not all that bad. Marquette is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games following a loss. 10* (766) Marquette Golden Eagles

South Carolina made an improbable run into the Final Four last season and this year was expected to be a down season with a slew of talent loss, but it has not been as bad as expected. The Gamecocks are 13-8 overall including a 4-4 record in the deep SEC and it is hard to ignore the fact that two of those wins came against Florida and Kentucky. That has been a problem in conference play as they have played up to competition at times, but they have also played down although home losses against Missouri and Tennessee cannot be considered bad. South Carolina is 7-3 at home and has covered five of its last seven games following a loss. Mississippi St. is coming off a home win over Missouri on Saturday to move to 3-5 in the SEC, but the venues have played a big role as the Bulldogs are 3-1 at home but 0-4 on the road in the conference and 0-5 overall. They have failed to cover any game away from home as their offense is atrocious, averaging 57.8 ppg on 36.2 percent shooting including 25 percent from long range. Mississippi St. has played the easiest schedule of any team in the SEC as 75 percent of its games have come at home yet are catching a smaller than anticipated number here. Going back, the Bulldogs are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games following a win. 10* (752) South Carolina Gamecocks

St. Joseph's returns home following a pair of road losses last week, first by three points at St. Bonaventure and then at Penn by 11 points in a Big 5 matchup. The road has not treated the Hawks well as they are now 1-7 in true road games, but they are the complete opposite at home where they are 7-1. The loss to the Bonnies dropped them to 4-4 in the Atlantic Ten and that record is deceiving in itself. The four losses came by a combined 14 points with three of those coming by three points or less and all of those were on the road. In the four home conference games, two wins were blowouts and the other two wins came against A-10 powers St. Bonaventure and VCU. The Hawks are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. St. Louis meanwhile is coming off a win over Dayton to improve to 4-5 in the conference but like its counterpart, the Billikens have struggled on the road to a 1-*4 record. They are shooting just 59.6 percent from the free throw line in those five games and in a close spread like this, that is a big detriment. This is an underrated Hawks team with the tough part of the schedule done and now is the time they can make their expected move up the standings. 10* (726) St. Joseph's Hawks

Missouri St. was a letdown for us on Saturday as it played the game it needed to play, shooting 47.2 percent from the floor, 40.7 percent from long range and 88.9 percent from the free throw line. The problem was that the Salukis shot 63.8 percent with a six-player rotation and that is impossible to beat even it ended up being just a two-point game. The Bears are now 5-5 in the MVC, tied with two other teams and just a game out of second place, so this has turned into a big home game. Despite the lights out shooting from Southern Illinois, Missouri St. remains one of the top 20 defensive programs in the nation, entering the week ranked 6th in three-point field goal defense (.300), 17th in scoring defense (63.5 ppg) and 18th in field goal defense (.395). Missouri St. has failed to cover their last seven games which puts the Bears in another contrarian angle as the public is going the other way with the Redbirds. Illinois St. is coming off a win over Valparaiso on Saturday to also move to 5-5 in the conference, but that game was at home where it is 4-1 in the conference compared to 1-4 on the road. This includes four straight losses by an average of 17.5 ppg. Going back, the Redbirds are 0-8 ATS in their last eight games following an ATS win. 10* (544) Missouri St. Bears

Indiana took care of business on Sunday with a wire-to-wire cover, but it was the outright loss that stings. The Hoosiers were locked in a back and forth battle before Purdue pulled away late and that is a difficult loss to overcome when trying to pull off a major upset. Now, they face a quick turnaround from Sunday which only adds to the difficulty of trying to regroup. Indiana is 5-5 in the Big Ten which is good considering not much was expected heading into the season as it was picked to finish No. 12 in the 14-team conference. The Hoosiers have held their own at home, but the road has been a different story as they are 1-6 with the only win coming at depleted Minnesota and they are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games against teams with a winning home record. Making the challenge more difficult is that they face an Ohio St. team that has had four days off to stew over its first conference loss of the season against Penn St. on a late second shot. The Buckeyes are now 9-1 in the Big Ten and this is the third game of an all-important four-game homestand before a trip to Purdue after that. They are 12-2 at home with the other loss coming against Clemson, which is up to No. 7 in the latest RPI. Ohio St. is 8-3 ATS as a favorite of 12 points or less on the season. 10* (538) Ohio St. Buckeyes

It has been a down year for Wisconsin but that was expected as it entered the season as one of the most inexperienced teams in the country. The Badgers are 3-6 in the Big Ten as the schedule has been brutal with five of their last six games taking place on the road and all five of those resulted in losses. They are 2-1 at home in the conference, both double-digit wins, and 6-3 overall. Wisconsin and Nebraska were the only two major conference teams to have played eight road games by this past Friday. Nebraska has won its last two games and four of its last five contests while covering 12 of its last 13 games. This includes all six road games however, in five of those games the Huskers were getting at least 7.5 points and the only low spread was against Rutgers, the lowest ranked team in the conference RPI. They are just 2-6 straight up on the highway and the Huskers are 0-5 ATS in their last five games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game. They will have to deal with one of the top players in the conference in Ethan Happ who had a solid game in the first meeting before fouling out. Happ is the only player to rank in the Big Ten top 10 in points, rebounds and assists. He is also the only major conference player averaging at least 16.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 3.0 apg. The Badgers have covered four of their last five home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (722) Wisconsin Badgers

Temple had won two straight games before a loss at Cincinnati earlier this week, shooting a season-low 28.6 percent and committing a season-high 20 turnovers in a 75-42 loss to the Bearcats. The offense has been inconsistent, and this situation is similar to one a couple weeks ago when the Owls went to Central Florida and got blown out 60-39 only to recover and win their next game against SMU. Despite a 10-120 overall record including a 2-6 mark in the AAC, Temple is ranked No. 3 in the conference RPI thanks to a schedule that is ranked No. 1 in the entire country. Overall, the Owls are No. 46 in the RPI which is a very strong ranking for a team that is sitting right at .500. The Owls are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games after scoring less than 50 points in their previous game. We won with Connecticut on Thursday as it upset SMU at home as a six-point underdog and that spells letdown coming into today. The Huskies are just 1-4 on the road with three of those losses coming by double-digits and they are catching Temple at the wrong place at the wrong time. This will be the first road game for Connecticut without second leading scorer Terry Larrier who is averaging 14.8 ppg and is their best three-point shooter. The Huskies are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS win. 10* (846) Temple Owls

After a seven-game losing streak, Northern Iowa has won three of its last four games to improve to 3-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference and there is a lot of work to be done still but this is nothing they are not used to. The Panthers started 0-5 in the MVC last season only to go on a 9-1 run over its next 10 games. Northern Iowa has struggled on the road this season as it is 0-5 including a 0-4 record within the conference. The lone non-conference loss was at North Carolina and while the Panthers have failed to cover any of the MVC road games, the lines have been short and now they are catching their biggest number of the season. Four of the six conference losses came down to the final minute, so the record can be considered deceiving as well. Loyola-Chicago sits atop the standings in the conference as it is 7-2 thanks to a six-game winning streak after a 1-2 start. The Ramblers have covered all six of those games as well and that is putting the public on their side this afternoon which has increased the line value. Loyola-Chicago has a strong offense but will be facing a tough defense as Northern Iowa ranks No. 10 in the nation in scoring defense, giving up just 62.2 ppg. The Panthers will be out for payback as the Ramblers closed on an 11-2 run to score a 56-50 win over Northern Indiana on Jan. 7 in the McLeod Center. 10* (837) Northern Iowa Panthers

With the Ohio St. loss on Thursday, Purdue sits alone at the top of the Big Ten with a 9-0 record and it has won 16 straight games following consecutive losses against Tennessee and Western Kentucky. The markets have not done a good job of catching up however until the last game as the Boilermakers were on a 7-2 ATS run before a narrow win at home against Michigan on Thursday. They are the class of the conference but laying doubles on the road against a quality opponent is a bit overaggressive. In their last road game, they were laying a similar amount at Iowa, but the Hawkeyes have the third lowest RPI in the conference. Indiana is coming off a loss in its last game, a two-point setback at Illinois to fall to 5-4 in the conference as it is holding its own in what was supposed to be a big rebuild. The home team is 8-1 in Indiana games this season within the Big Ten with the lone road victory coming from the Hoosiers at Minnesota. Indiana is 10-3 at home this season and while it failed to win or cover its only game as a home underdog, that was against Duke and it was getting fewer points. The Hoosiers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while going 5-0 ATS in their last five games after a loss and 5-0 ATS in their last five home games. 10* (834) Indiana Hoosiers

This is a play on the UNLV RUNNIN' REBELS as part of our CBB TV Ultimate Trifecta. A late line move last Saturday due to a Colorado St. injury caused the Rebels to push the closing number and they have now gone nearly seven weeks without covering a closing number. They are 0-9-1 ATS in their last 10 games following a loss at Fresno St. on Tuesday and that defeat dropped UNLV to 3-4 in the Mountain West Conference, three and a half games behind first place Nevada. Three of those losses have come at home after opening 9-1 at the Thomas & Mack Center. It has been a down year for San Diego St. which has had a hard time adjusting to a new head coach after Steve Fisher retired after 18 seasons. The Aztecs are 4-4 in the conference including a 1-3 record on the road and are vulnerable for the first time in a long time against the Rebels. UNLV has dropped 11 straight meetings in this series, so motivation will be aplenty on Saturday. The San Diego St. defense is not as strong as it usually is which is not good here as the Rebels are ninth in the country in shooting at 50.6 percent and 11th in scoring at 86.2 ppg. 10* (660) UNLV Runnin' Rebels

This is a play on the WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS as part of our CBB TV Ultimate Trifecta. After opening the season with a loss against Texas A&M, West Virginia ripped off 15 straight wins before its recent rough stretch where it has gone 1-3 in its last four games. The schedule has not helped as two losses came at TCU and Texas Tech which are a combined 24-2 at home and a home loss to Kansas where it blew a 13-point halftime lead. The Mountaineers rolled over Texas here last Saturday and while it goes out of the conference here, facing Kentucky will have them ready to go. The Wildcats pulled away from Mississippi St. in the second half on Tuesday for a 13-point victory as they were playing with a chip on their shoulder after falling out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in nearly four years. Now comes their first real road test of the season. They are 2-2 on the highway with wins over Vanderbilt and LSU, the two worst teams in the SEC according to the RPI. The Wildcats are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following an ATS win while the Mountaineers are 5-0 ATS in their last five games following an ATS loss. 10* (586) West Virginia Mountaineers

This is a play on the MISSOURI STATE BEARS for our Missouri Valley Conference Game of the Year. Missouri St. was the overwhelming favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference, but it now has its work cut out to make that happen. The Bears have fallen to 5-4 following a pair of losses against Drake and Bradley, both of which have come on the road. The highway has been a problem of late as after a 3-1 start, they have lost four straight within the conference but look to remain perfect at home in the MVC. Missouri St. has dropped six straight against the number, a streak that we love to go against. Southern Illinois meanwhile has won two straight games and like the Bears, the venue has played a big role in their results. The home team has won seven straight Salukis games and they are just 2-6 in true road games this year. Southern Illinois is just 1-6-1 ATS as an underdog this season and there is no reason to believe that record improves after Saturday. For the Bears, winning here and Tuesday at home against Illinois St. is imperative before a showdown at first place Loyola-Chicago next Saturday. 10* (598) Missouri St. Bears

This is a play on the RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS as part of our CBB TV Ultimate Trifecta. It has been a disappointing season for Rutgers that was poised to make a move in the Big Ten. While Rutgers won just 15 games last season, it was more than twice as many victories from the previous season. It lost seven Big Ten games by single-digits after losing 15 conference games by double-digits the previous season. The Scarlet Knights are just 2-7 in the conference and while they are 0-4 on the road, they have played four very strong teams and even went to overtime at Michigan St. Penn St. is coming off a last season win over Ohio St. on Thursday, handing the Buckeyes their first conference loss of the season. That makes this a big letdown spot for the Nittany Lions and making it worse, they head to Michigan St. for their next game on Wednesday. The Nittany Lions are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a straight up win while the Scarlet Knights are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following an ATS loss. While Penn St. should win, it will not be as easy as this number portrays. 10* (573) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

This is a play on the FLORIDA GATORS for our CBB Saturday Afternoon Dominator. Florida is coming off a home loss against South Carolina on Wednesday as it was a classic letdown spot. The Gators were coming off a road upset win at Kentucky last Saturday, so it was no surprise they came out flat and put a halt to a solid 8-1 run. Florida stays home as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge and while these games can cut into momentum from conference season, the Gators do not want to drop another game they should win before heading to rival Georgia on Tuesday. We lost with Baylor on Monday as it lost to Kansas St. at home to fall to 2-6 in the conference. This is a team heading in the wrong direction and the Bears have fallen to last place in the conference RPI as they are now 3-8 against the RPI top 100. Baylor is getting outscored by over 10 ppg on the road where it is 0-5 and going back to a non-conference game is not ideal with the state it is in right now. The Bears have failed to pick up a victory this season when getting points and we will not need a huge effort from the Gators to cover this number. 10* (522) Florida Gators

Two of the top three teams in the Horizon League square off Friday night with the result going a long way in determining the regular season champion. Oakland was picked to finish first in the conference, but it went 1-3 in its first four games, with losses to Green Bay, Northern Kentucky and Wright St. Since then, the Grizzlies have not lost and are two games out of first place. They have gone just 1-6 ATS over their last seven games which is a consequence of being overpriced as they were favored in all seven of those games including five games at -7 or higher. They are catching a great number tonight as they are getting points for the first time since December 16 against Michigan St. Northern Kentucky has won three straight games following a home loss against first place Wright St. which is its only home loss of the season. The Norse can make it a two-team race with a win here, but the market has them overvalued here in what is a much more important game for the visitors. Oakland had a chance to win the first meeting but blew a double-digit lead and lost by four points which makes this a must win for the Grizzlies if they have any chance of staying in contention for the regular season championship. 10* (831) Oakland Golden Grizzlies

Arizona St. stormed out of the gates with a 12-0 record that included victories over San Diego St., Xavier and Kansas, not bad for a team picked to finish seventh in the Pac 12. Part of the reason for the low prediction was due to uncertainty in the frontcourt, which was a big problem last season, but it is far from a liability this year. The Sun Devils have taken a step back since that blistering start as they are just 3-4 in the conference, but the schedule has not exactly been on their side. Five of the seven games have been on the road where three of those losses took place, all against teams .500 or better in the conference. Despite the rough start, the Sun Devils are still ranked No. 2 in the PAC 12 RPI. Utah is now 4-4 in the conference following a pair of wins last week against Washington and Washington St. but both of those came at home where the Utes are 9-2. They are 2-4 on the road and the problem has been the defense which is a big problem in this matchup. Arizona St. is 11th in the nation in scoring (86.7 ppg.), its best mark since 1974-75 and it has scored at least 72 points in every game while posting at least 80 in 12 games. Going back, the Utes are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 road games. 10* (556) Arizona St. Sun Devils

UNC-Wilmington was the class of the CAA last season as it won the regular season and conference tournament championships but after losing four starters and its head coach, a rebuild was expected. It was a rough start to the season that included an eight-game losing streak between November and December, but the Seahawks have been playing better once conference season started. They are just 3-5, but three of those losses were by four points or less so they have been close to having the opposite record and being in contention. Two home losses were by a combined six points. James Madison started CAA action 0-6 but it has won two straight games although both of those came at home. The Dukes were picked to finish last in the CAA and they are currently last in the conference RPI. They come in with a 1-7 road record and are 1-10 away from home including neutral court games and going back, they are 5-24 on the road since the start of last season. James Madison could again be without third-leading scorer Joey McLean who is nursing an ankle injury. The Dukes are 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight games following a straight up win while the Seahawks are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (516) UNC-Wilmington Seahawks

It has been a relatively down season for SMU but that was not unexpected. The Mustangs were coming off a 30-win season but lost all but three scholarship players and for a program that is still on probation and limited to 11 scholarships, that is tough to overcome. The Mustangs put together a decent non-conference season but played only one true road game and the road has been an issue heading into AAC season as they are now 1-3 on the road. The one road victory was a good one at Wichita St., but it was a fluky win as SMU shot an unheard of 63.8 percent from the floor while the Shockers made only seven free throws. The Mustangs suffered a big blow Tuesday when junior guard Jarrey Foster (13.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.7 apg) was announced out for the season with a torn ACL. It has been an up and down season for Connecticut which is now 10-9 following a blowout loss against Villanova. The schedule has played a big role in the near .500 record as the Huskies have also sustained losses to Michigan St., Arkansas, Syracuse, Arizona and Auburn and all of those were away from home. Connecticut is 8-2 at home but both of those losses came at XL Center in Hartford and this game is being played on campus at Gampel Pavilion where the Huskies are 4-0 this season. 10* (520) Connecticut Huskies

One of the best college basketball situational angles is in play here as over the years, it has been very successful to play on a non-ranked home favorite over a ranked road underdog. The theory is simple as the home team is just as good despite not being ranked and it also goes back to how the AP rankings are meaningless as they are nothing but a public visual. And as expected, the public is on the road underdog Tigers here which come in with a 17-2 record following a bounce back home win over Georgia which came after their first conference loss of the season at Alabama. Auburn has been a pleasant surprise in the SEC and barring a complete implosion, Auburn will make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003. We played against Missouri on Saturday as it lost at Texas A&M as it has now alternated wins and losses for the month. The Tigers have not lost consecutive games this season as they are a perfect 5-0 following up a defeat and look to extend their 9-1 home record, the lone defeat coming by a bucket against Florida. This will be the biggest test for the Auburn offense as Missouri has held nine-straight opponents under their season scoring averages entering their respective matchups against the Tigers while in SEC games, it has held its six opponents an average of 14.8 ppg below their season scoring averages. Going back, the Tigers are 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 home games against teams with a winning road record. 10* (758) Missouri Tigers

Both Illinois and Indiana made it to the NIT last season but getting into any postseason tournament this season was expected to be a challenge for both. The Hoosiers have been overachieving as they are 5-3 in the conference and 12-8 overall but the schedule has helped out. We played on them Sunday as they won at home against Maryland to improve to 4-0 at home in the conference but they are just 1-3 on the highway with the lone victory coming against a shorthanded Minnesota team. The other three losses were by double-digits and while the class of competition is not nearly as high tonight, it is not as easy as it may look. Illinois has yet to win a conference game and despite the 0-8 record, the Illini are favored tonight which may seem odd to some, but it is legit. Five of the eight conference games have been on the road including four of the last six and two of those four losses were close. Of the three home losses, one came against 18-3 Michigan St. while the other two came in overtime. Three overtime losses and one defeat by a point has skewed this 0-8 record which could be a lot better if some things had gone their way. To show how close it has been, Illinois has led during the second half in eight of its 11 losses, including five times in eight Big Ten games so it is time to close out a game and this is the perfect opportunity. 10* (750) Illinois Fighting Illini

Looking at the preseason Atlantic Ten predictions, St. Bonaventure was picked to finish third in the conference and looking at the current RPI shows the Bonnies sitting at No. 2 behind Rhode Island. But if you look at the current standings, they are in 11th place with a 2-4 A-10 record and this is what the public is concerned about. This is why the Bonnies are being shaded here and we are fine with that as the difference between No. 2 and No. 11 is significant with the former being much more important. Four of their last five games have been on the road with three of those coming against three of the top four teams in the RPI and the other coming against St. Joes which sets up an early season revenge angle. That game was just over two weeks ago, and the Bonnies were -3 on the road and are now favored by only a few points more at home with is excellent line value. The Hawks have won two straight as the venue has dictated the outcomes in conference games with the home team going a perfect 7-0 straight up and against the number. The same can be said for the Bonnies, with the host going 6-0 straight up and ATS. St. Joes is just 1-5 on the road and comes into this game with big disadvantages on the boards and at the free throw line as it is getting outshot by nearly 15 percent from the charity stripe. 10* (726) St. Bonaventure Bonnies

One of the headlines making the rounds yesterday was that Kentucky is not ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since March 2014, which snapped a 68-week stretch in the poll. It is meaningless of course as that is nothing but a public poll and now that the Wildcats are out, the public is soured. In reality, Kentucky is still a strong team as it is ranked No. 18 in the RPI and coming off its first home loss of the season will mean an all-out effort tonight. This is the first time since 2012 that Kentucky is not laying double-digits to the Bulldogs. Mississippi St. made a late second half surge against Alabama but still fell short and it caught a break as the Tide were without leading scorer Collin Sexton who is averaging 19.2 ppg. The Bulldogs fell to 2-4 in the conference and they remain winless on the road as they are now 0-4 in true road games and they have dropped 11 straight road games going back to last season. While Mississippi St. has an identical 14-5 record as Kentucky, it is far from the same as the Bulldogs played the No. 288 ranked non-conference schedule that included only one true road game while the Wildcats played the No. 16 ranked slate. The Wildcats are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 home games against teams with a losing road record while the Bulldogs are 0-5 ATS in their last five road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (546) Kentucky Wildcats

Davidson is coming off a home win over St. Bonaventure to make it five straight victories for the Wildcats to take over second place in the Atlantic Ten with a 5-1 record. It has been an easy run however with the win over the Bonnies being the best of the bunch as the Wildcats have played the third easiest conference schedule of the 14 Atlantic Ten teams. Looking at the lines verifies that as Davidson has been favored by at least 4.5 points in all six conference games so this is the biggest test thus far based on what the number is telling us. The Wildcats improved to 6-0 at home but they are just 3-5 on the road with the three wins coming against Fordham, George Mason and Charlotte. The Flyers lost at home against first place Rhode Island on Saturday despite shooting 63.4 percent from the floor as they were done in by 21 turnovers as the Rams were able to take 23 more shots from the floor. It was the second straight double-digit loss for Dayton after a 3-1 stretch where the one loss came by just a bucket. Dayton has played the toughest conference schedule thus far and overall, it has played the No. 6 toughest schedule in the country which explains its 9-10 overall record. The Flyers are 7-2 ATS this season following a loss and we will see a big performance after that embarrassment in front of the home crowd last time out. 10* (518) Dayton Flyers

Kansas defeated Baylor on Saturday as it overcame a late deficit and closed the game on a 9-0 run to win by three points. The Jayhawks have won five straight games, but they have not been dominating in their typical way as those five wins have come by an average of 3.6 ppg with none of those victories being by more than five points. The Jayhawks do own two impressive road wins at West Virginia and TCU, but they are in a tough spot tonight as the head to Norman at a bad time. Kansas is 5-0 on the road overall as two of its three losses have come at Allen Field House, but the Jayhawks will not finish the season undefeated on the road and this is the spot the streak ends. Oklahoma has dropped its last two games, both of which have come on the road including a Bedlam loss in overtime against Oklahoma St. on Saturday but there is no time for a letdown. The Sooners can pull to within a game of first place in the Big XII with a victory here and it would be important since they still have to travel to Kansas late next month. Oklahoma is 9-0 at home this season, averaging 98.8 ppg and going back it has won 12 straight home games. Additionally, the Sooners are 12-1 during the Lon Kruger era in home games in which both teams are ranked with the only loss coming against No. 6 Kansas in 2016. 10* (522) Oklahoma Sooners

Kansas St. is coming off a pair of impressive wins over Oklahoma and TCU last week but both of those games were at home where the Wildcats are 10-1 on the season. They have won three of their last four games with the lone defeat coming at Kansas by just one point so they are playing well right now. Making this recent run even more impressive is the fact that all four of those games were played without Kamau Stokes, the third leading scorer with 13.4 ppg, who has been out with a foot injury. Baylor is coming off a loss at Kansas on Saturday as it nearly pulled off the upset but fell just short by three points. That was the fifth loss in five true road games for the Bears and they look to bounce back tonight at home where they are 10-2, the losses coming against TCU in overtime and Wichita St. this has been a great situation as Baylor is 23-1 in home games against unranked opponents over the last two seasons. Overall, Baylor has seven losses with six of those coming against ranked teams. The Bears home games vs. No. 7 Wichita State and No. 24 TCU, and road games at No. 11 Xavier, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 6 West Virginia, Iowa State and No. 10 Kansas. The Bears have covered four straight games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (728) Baylor Bears

The Hoosiers were riding a three-game winning streak but were humbled on Friday night as they were clobbered at Michigan St. by 28 points. It was a horrible spot for Indiana as it was catching the Spartans coming off a home upset loss against Michigan and they were involved in a three-game stretch where they were not playing well, so a fully focused effort was expected and it was executed. Now the Hoosiers return back home where they are 9-3 on the season including four straight wins while going 3-0 in Big Ten action. The Hoosiers are second in Big Ten games in steals (6.9) and turnover margin (+3.7). Maryland is coming off an 11-point win over Minnesota which as its eighth straight home win to improve to 12-1 on the season. The road has been a different story however as the Terrapins are 1-4 with the only victory coming against 0-7 Illinois in overtime. This is the second time they are a road favorite this season and it is unwarranted based on the body of work and the power rankings heading into the new week. The home team has won all four meetings in this series since Maryland joined the Big Ten and going back, the Hoosiers are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (720) Indiana Hoosiers

Wake Forest suffered a 72-63 loss at NC State on Thursday and it was one they could have had as the Demon Deacons led 63-61 with four minutes left before the Wolfpack ended the game on an 11-0 run. It was the fourth straight loss, and fourth straight non-cover, for Wake Forest to fall to 1-5 in the ACC and while we have said before that making excuses for losses can hurt in the long run, the Demon Deacons have had a challenging schedule. Four of their six games have come on the road including games at Duke and North Carolina and they have played the third toughest conference schedule among ACC teams. This is a strong number and going back, the Demon Deacons are 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 home games. Virginia was picked to finish seventh in the ACC, but it has overachieved thus far with a 17-1 record and the Cavaliers are the only remaining undefeated team in the ACC at 6-0. Tonight does present a challenge however as this is the first time this season they have had to play back-to-back road games and with games against Clemson, Duke and Louisville on deck, a combined 14-5 in the ACC, there is the lookahead potential. The Cavaliers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against team with a losing straight up record. 10* (820) Wake Forest Demon Deacons

We won with Northern Iowa last Saturday as it defeated Valparaiso to snap a five-game losing streak in the Valley and a seven-game losing streak overall. The Panthers followed that up with a 14-point win over Drake on Tuesday, handing the Bulldogs just their second conference loss of the season, but now is the time to fade once again. Both of those games were at home where Northern Iowa is a respectable 8-3 but it hits the road again where it is winless on the season with a 0-4 record in true road games. The Salukis have lost three of their last four games, but all three of the losses were on the road where they are 2-6 on the season. They return home to add to their 8-2 record in Carbondale and their defense will be the difference as they look to sweep the Panthers for the first time since 2003. At home, Southern Illinois is allowing just 63.4 ppg on 40.9 percent shooting and this is big considering the Salukis are 10-1 when they hold an opponent under 70 points and 1-8 when an opponent scores 70 or more. Northern Iowa has scored 70 or more points only six time this season and one of those took overtime to do so. The Panthers are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (816) Southern Illinois Salukis

This is a play on the MILWAUKEE PANTHERS for our Horizon League Game of the Year. Wright St. has been the big surprise of the Horizon League as it is 7-0 to start the conference season after coming in picked to finish No. 6 in the preseason poll. The Raiders were a 20-win team last season but lost three key starters and are currently without one of those returnees. They will likely be without third leading scorer Justin Mitchell for a fourth straight game dealing with a personal matter. They have not been dominant in the majority of their wins and while a victory at Northern Kentucky was impressive, that is the only good win on the season. Milwaukee is certainly no juggernaut but will provide a tough test here as it is a desperate team that has lost four straight games after a 2-2 start in conference play. It has been a brutal for the Panthers as they were forced to play five straight road games and then had to face arguably the best team in the conference in Northern Kentucky in their first game home and they were clearly fatigued from that run. They remain home which is big edge considering this is the fifth road game in the last six for the Raiders. This has been a solid spot in the past as the Panthers are 21-6 ATS in their last 27 games following a double-digit loss at home. 10* (658) Milwaukee Panthers

This is a play on the TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE four our CBB Saturday Supreme Annihilator. We won with Tulsa last Saturday as it stayed within the inflated number at home against Wichita St. and following a one-point loss at Temple on Wednesday, it has now lost four straight games after a 3-0 start in the AAC. Three of those took place on the highway and the Golden Hurricane bring in a 7-2 home record. They arguably have one of the worst conference schedules as they play back-to-back home AAC games only once all season. The bad news after this game is a rematch at Wichita St. but the good news is that it is not for another eight days so there will be full focus to end this current losing streak. It has been the opposite start in the conference season for Memphis as it lost its first two AAC games and has since reeled off four straight wins. Three of those were at home however while the lone road win needed overtime to get the job done. The Tigers are 1-5 away from home including a 1-3 record in true road games. The recent runs for both teams are keeping this line in check as we projected it to be -5 so the value is on the home side. The Tigers are 0-5 ATS in their last five games following a straight up win of more than 20 points while the Golden Hurricane are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a straight up loss. 10* (660) Tulsa Golden Hurricane

This is a play on the UNLV RUNNIN' REBELS for our CBB Saturday Enforcer. UNLV had a miserable season last year as it finished 4-14 in the Mountain West Conference and it is off to a 2-3 start this season. The road team is 5-0 in its five conference games and while the Rebels are 5-3 over their last eight games, they are 0-8 ATS in those contests which will bring concern to some but all that does is put the public on the other side and add line value to their side. This is a very balanced team and while still rather young, the Rebels brought in a top 20 recruiting class and this is the time of year those players can start gelling. Colorado St. is 3-4 in the MWC and like UNLV, the road team has dominated, going 6-1 in its seven conference games. Typically, the Rams have a very strong home court edge, but they are just 6-3 against Division I opponents and outscoring opponents by just over three ppg. They are 3-9-1 ATS in their last 13 home games against teams with a winning road record. Colorado St. lost its last game at home against Air Force, but it suffered a much bigger loss as guard Prentiss Nixon, who leads the team with 17.9 ppg, hurt his ankle late in the game and while he is listed as doubtful, he will most likely be out. 10* (611) UNLV Runnin' Rebels

This is a play on the TEXAS A&M AGGIES as part of our CBB TV Ultimate Trifecta. Texas A&M has let us down in its last two games, but we can expect one of its best efforts in a while today as it needs to ride the momentum from its first conference win of the season. The Aggies opened the season 0-5 in the SEC as it dealt with injuries and suspensions, but they are back to full strength for the third straight game and despite the 1-5 conference record, they are ranked No. 35 in the RPI and while that is a big drop from non-conference time, it shows this is still a very strong team. They blew an eight-point halftime lead in the last game against Mississippi to win by just two points as they went just 8-16 from the free throw line after coming into the game shooting 70 percent from the charity stripe. Missouri is having a fine season despite the loss of freshman phenom Michael Porter Jr. who was lost for the season after the first game as the Tigers are 13-5 overall. They are coming off a win over Tennessee and have covered three straight games and one of their strengths will be negated in this matchup. They are a strong rebounding team but Texas A&M in ranked No. 4 in the nation in rebounding. The Tigers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win. 10* (602) Texas A&M Aggies

This is a play on the PROVIDENCE FRIARS as part of our CBB TV Ultimate Trifecta. Providence has bounced back from a pair of losses by winning its last three games including a pair of victories over to p30 teams to improve to 4-2 in the Big East Conference. They remain home where they are 9-2 on the season, the losses coming against Minnesota, which was at full strength at the time, and Marquette in overtime. This is an under the radar team that is not getting the credit it deserves as all five starters from the 20-win season from a year ago are back and they are the most experienced team in the conference. Creighton is coming off a blowout win over Seton Hall to improve to 5-2 in the conference. Of those seven games, the home team has won six of those as the only host blemish was a Bluejays win at Georgetown. They are 12-0 at home but just 2-3 on the road. Creighton did get some bad news as top big man Martin Krampelj has been lost for the season as he tore his ACL last game. He is the No. 3 scorer on the team with 11.9 ppg and the leading rebounder at 8.1 rpg. Providence will be out to avenge a 19-point loss suffered in Omaha on New Year's Eve as it improves upon its 15-5 ATS run in Big East games. 10* (574) Providence Friars

This is a play on the WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS as part of our CBB TV Ultimate Trifecta. It has been an inspirational run for Texas which won its first game after guard Andrew Jones was diagnosed with leukemia in an overtime win over TCU, lost at Oklahoma St. by just a point and then beat Texas Tech at home on Wednesday by nine points. The two wins in this stretch were quality victories but both came at home and the Longhorns are 2-2 on the road, the last two resulting in losses. The Longhorns are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games following a straight up win. West Virginia was rolling along until last weekend as it was riding a 15-game winning streak before losing by a point at Texas Tech and then losing at home against Kansas, blowing double-digit leads in both of those games. The Mountaineers dropped to No. 19 in the RPI, but this setup is eerily similar to the same exactly one year ago when the Mountaineers dropped games to Oklahoma and Kansas St. before ending the skid against No. 2 Kansas, 85-69, at the Coliseum three days later. West Virginia also has the schedule advantage as it has not played since Monday and getting to remain home while Texas has two fewer days off and has to take travel into consideration. The Mountaineers are 4-0 ATS in their last four games following an ATS loss. 10* (564) West Virginia Mountaineers

This is a play on the VCU RAMS for our CBB Saturday Afternoon Dominator. VCU got off to a 3-1 start in the A-10 but hit the road and got annihilated at Dayton by 27 points and it could recover coming back home, losing to Richmond by 15 points as an 8.5-point favorite. That puts the Rams in a great spot Saturday to rebound in a big way before they hit the road for two more games. The normally strong defense has not been very good this season but facing a very poor George Washington offense can cure those problems. Despite the recent loss, they have covered five of their last seven home games. We played on George Washington this week as it snapped a four-game slide with a blowout win over George Mason but that was at home where it has been solid at 9-3 but the road has been an issue as it is 0-7 including a 0-5 in five true road games while getting outscored by nearly 20 ppg. The Colonials are averaging just 57.2 ppg on 38 percent shooting on the road and have been held to 52 and 45 points in two of their three road conference games. Going back, they have covered just three of their last 17 road games while going 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (532) VCU Rams

Western Michigan is coming off a heartbreaking 73-71 loss at Kent St. on a last-second shot Tuesday. The Broncos sit at 11-7 overall and 3-2 in the MAC and they came into the season as the preseason favorites to win the MAC West following a 24-8 2016-17 season and four starters from that team returning. Despite the loss, Western Michigan has won five of its last seven games and have won three straight at home while dating back to last season, the Broncos have won 11 of their last 13 MAC regular season games. University Arena has been one of the best environments to play and head coach Steve Hawkins has proven to have his teams ready as going back, the Broncos are 15-3 ATS in their last 18 games as home underdogs. Buffalo is the best team in the MAC as it is 5-0 but despite being the lone undefeated conference team, being the road favorite here seems a bit aggressive against a team of this caliber. The Bulls possess a great offense but with that comes a very poor defense as they are allowing 77.5 ppg which is No. 275 in the country. The Bulls are 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win of more than 20 points while the Broncos are 15-6 ATS in their last 21 home games against teams with a winning road record. 10* (820) Western Michigan Broncos

For the first time in a long time, Gonzaga enters a game against St. Mary's with a lower RPI although the line may want you to think differently. The Bulldogs made a magical run to the NCAA Championship last season and while they would be just fine again this year, a big dropoff was expected based on the loss of four double-digit scorers and they would not be a national powerhouse. Of course, do not tell that to the AP Poll voters which have Gonzaga No. 13 in the nation despite an RPI of No. 57. This is one of the biggest disparities in the country and because of the way it goes, we are getting incredible line value on St. Mary's. Defensively, the Bulldogs were hurt as well as they are allowing 9.4 points more per game than last season and are allowing opponents to shoot nearly seven percentage points higher from beyond the three-point line. That defense will be put to the test tonight as the Gaels lead the nation in field goal percentage at 52.4 percent, are second in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.85, are fourth in turnovers per game with 9.6 tpg, are eighth in assists with 337 and are 12th in three-point shooting at 41.3 percent. St. Mary's is ranked 11 spots higher in the RPI and has played a tough schedule, both non-conference and in the WCC. 10* (559) St. Mary's Gales

Louisiana Tech finished 14-4 in C-USA last season and was expected to contend again this season, but things have not started very good for the Bulldogs. They are 1-5 in the conference, which is good for last place, and while making excuses about losing typically do not fly, the schedule has not been in their favor. They have played four of the top six teams based on RPI and all four of those games took place on the road. Despite the record, Louisiana Tech is ranked fifth in the conference in RPI which shows how the strength of schedule can play a big role in how teams are ranked. This is the start of a three-game homestand and the start of a six-game stretch where the Bulldogs can easily go 6-0 and push their way to the upper half of the conference. North Texas has been just the opposite as it is 3-2 in C-USA after winning just two conference games last season, but it has played the third easiest conference schedule thus far. The Mean Green opened the season 1-5 on the road, but they have won three in a row however those games were at Rice, UTSA and UTEP, three of the five worst teams in the conference. This line has come down from opening with a lot of that due to the fact the public going against the Bulldogs and their 0-5 ATS run. 10* (528) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

William & Mary is coming off a couple firsts in its last game and they were not good ones as the Tribe lost their first conference game of the season after a 5-0 start and they lost their first home game of the season after a 7-0 start. William & Mary has won 20 of its last 22 games inside Kaplan Arena while going back further, the Tribe are 44-8 at home. Over the last two years, they are averaging 92.8 ppg at home, while shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and 45.8 percent from three-point range. This season, the Tribe lead the country in free throw shooting at 81.9 percent, while ranking second in three-point shooting at 44.5 percent and eighth in overall shooting at 51.0 percent. They are 5-1 this season after a game where they scored fewer than 80 points. Northeastern is coming off an overtime win at UNC-Wilmington last Saturday to improve to 4-2 in the CAA and 4-4 on the road. A win over Elon is the only quality conference win and that came at home as going back, the Huskies are 0-5 ATS in their last five road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. Meanwhile, the Tribe are 19-6-2 ATS in their last 27 games following a double-digit loss at home. 10* (510) William & Mary Tribe

It has been a rough stretch for George Washington as it has lost four straight games after a 1-0 start in the Atlantic Ten, but it has been a challenging schedule. Three of the four losses came against the top three teams in the conference with Rhode Island, Davidson and Duquesne a combined 13-2. Those three games all came in succession so facing Richmond on the road after that was a spot where the Colonials had very little energy and it showed in the 10-point loss on Saturday. They head back home where they are 8-3 with two of those losses against teams ranked in the top 25 of the RPI. George Mason is coming off a pair of narrow wins at home to move to 3-2 in the conference and those games ended a three-game homestand. This marks the first road game in two weeks for the Patriots which are getting outscored by nearly seven ppg. The Patriots are 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven road games against teams with a winning home record. This has been a lopsided series as George Washington has won all eight meetings since the Patriots joined the Atlantic Ten and holds an 18-2 advantage in the series history. 10* (740) George Washington Colonials

Rutgers got off to a solid start this season by going 10-3 in its 13 non-conference games, but it has been a struggle in the conference. It has played the toughest conference schedule of all Big Ten teams and it is the No. 11 ranked conference schedule in the country, so its 1-5 record is not much of a surprise. The Scarlet Knights have played Michigan St. twice, Purdue. Ohio St. and Minnesota. The Scarlet Knights were coming off a brutal overtime loss against Michigan St. on the road and it was tough for them to recover from as they were blown out at home against Ohio St. on Sunday by 20 points. That loss to the Spartans shows what they are capable of and tonight presents a must win spot with a game at Michigan on deck. The Hawkeyes are coming off their first conference win as they defeated Illinois although it took overtime to do so. The Illini are the only remaining winless team in the conference so that win by Iowa was far from impressive and now this is the third straight game for the Hawkeyes where they are just 1-4 on the season. Those four losses have come by an average of 15.3 ppg and the Scarlet Knights are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (742) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

It has been a hell of a turnaround season for Auburn which is just two wins shy from its total from all last season as it is 16-1 and riding a 14-game winning streak. The Tigers are coming off a win at Mississippi St. as they overcame an 11-point halftime lead, and this has been the story this season. Auburn is 4-1 this season in games in which the Tigers have trailed by at least 10 points and this will not last. It will be strength vs. strength and we will back the tough home defense. Alabama ranks as one of the top defenses in the SEC in conference games as coming into the Auburn game, the Crimson Tide leads the conference in blocks (6.8) and steals (8.2), while ranking second in scoring defense (65.2) and field goal percentage defense (.364). Auburn is one of the top offensive teams in the country as it enters the contest leading the SEC in scoring offense (86.5 ppg), scoring margin (+13.9) and free throw percentage (.779). The Tide have won their last two games to improve to 3-2 in the conference and despite a very young roster, they were picked to finish No. 3 in the SEC. Alabama is 7-1 at home this season and the two home conference wins have come by 22 and 14 points. 10* (746) Alabama Crimson Tide

We played on Texas A&M on Saturday and while it outshot Tennessee 44.4 percent to 41 percent, it failed to win the battle of the small things as it was outscored 20-6 from the free throw line, lost the battle of the offensive boards 13-5 and committed seven more turnovers than the Volunteers. It was the first game in a month where all players were available, and the early season cohesion was not back in place, but we should see that come together tonight heading back to College Station. The Aggies are 0-5 in the SEC after an 11-1 record in non-conference play, so things turned south quickly as injuries and suspensions took their toll, but we will back Texas A&M in its first home game at full strength since December 9. Mississippi improved to 3-2 in the SEC with a home upset over Florida on Saturday which was its first outright win this season as an underdog. The Rebels moved to 9-3 at home but they now hit the road where they are 0-3 and the losses have come by 15, 11 and 19 points. Mississippi has failed to cover in all five games away from home and despite the winning conference record, the Rebels are the second lowest ranked team in the SEC RPI. 10* (546) Texas A&M Aggies

Notre Dame is coming off a crushing defeat on Saturday against North Carolina as a last second shot to win the game did not fall and the Irish lost by a point. That was the second straight loss but there is good news on the horizon. They will welcome the return of senior guard Matt Farrell, as the captain missed the last three and a half games while recovering from a sprained left ankle suffered late in the first half Jan. 3 against NC State. Notre Dame went 1-2 in the three full games it played without its second-leading scorer (15.9) and leader in assists (5.0). The Irish have covered five of their last seven games following a straight up loss and have covered all three home games against winning teams. Louisville has won two straight games following a home win over Virginia Tech on Saturday and the Cardinals have also covered their last four games. That is significant enough to keep this line down and Louisville comes in with a 1-3 record on the road. The lone victory came against a rebuilding Florida St. team and much better Cardinals teams have had trouble winning in this building. The Cardinals are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (526) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

As is the case most years, Boston College was picked to finish near the bottom of the ACC, but it has held its own thus far. The Eagles are 2-3 in the conference which matches their ACC wins from all of last season and this includes that standout win over Duke in their conference opener. While they are just 1-3 since then, two losses against Virginia and Clemson, ranked No. 2 and No. 7 in the RPI, came by a combined five points. Boston College is 10-1 at home and it has covered four of its last five games against teams with a winning record. Florida St. is coming off a double-overtime win over Syracuse on Saturday which puts it in a tough situational spot based on the added minutes and travel two days later. The Seminoles are also 2-3 in the conference and are overpriced here. They will be without a big contributor in P.J. Savoy who was hurt in the Syracuse game and while Terance Mann will be back after missing one game, how healthy he is remains in question. 10* (732) Boston College Eagles

This line may seem high given two teams with identical 3-2 conference records, but this line could be higher as Missouri St. and Indiana St. are not in the same class. Missouri St. was the overwhelming favorite to win the MVC this season and after opening 3-0, things were on pace. However, the Bears have dropped their last two games although those were both on the road and they head back home where they are 7-1. The roster does not look very intimidating with just one double-digit scorer, but Alize Johnson is the leading candidate for MVC Player of the Year as he is averaging 15.2 ppg and 11.4 rpg and he is second on the team with 41 assists. After that, it is all about depth as the Bears have seven players averaging between 6.2 and 9.3 ppg and that can be scary for any opposition. Indiana St. won its last time out with a two-point victory over Northern Iowa to improve to 3-2 in the Valley. The Sycamores are just 8-9 overall and while a win over Indiana to open the season was nice, that is a distant memory because of bad losses to Ball St., North Texas and Elon. One look at the RPI shows Missouri St. sitting at the top and Indiana St. sitting at the bottom, over 100 spots separating the two. 10* (816) Missouri St. Bears

This is a play on the NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS as part of our CBB ESPN Ultimate Trifecta. After a 0-3 start in its first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, Valparaiso has won two straight games by double-digits, albeit both games being played at home. The Crusaders hit the road again with some positive momentum, but they have really struggled on the highway of late as they have lost six of their last seven games on the road. This move is a big step up from the Horizon where Valparaiso posted the best overall record in its time there but after losing four starters, it was picked to finish sixth in the 10-team conference. It is still without second leading scorer Joe Burton who is serving a suspension. One of the contenders coming into the season was Northern Iowa but it is off to a 0-5 start although that is a bit deceiving. Four of the Panthers losses have come in the final minute including both games played at home. If this sounds familiar, it is as the Panthers started 0-5 in the MVC last season only to go on a 9-1 run over its next 10 games. They are one of the best defensive teams in the country as they are No. 8 in scoring defense at 61.2 ppg. 10* (638) Northern Iowa Panthers

This is a play on the TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE as part of our CBB ESPN Ultimate Trifecta. Wichita St. has won six straight games including its first four AAC games in its first year in the conference. They have not been overly impressive however as the last two have come against the worst two teams in the conference while the only other road game resulted in a 10-point win at Connective which is ranked lower on the RPI, yet the Shockers are favored by a higher amount. This is no doubt a very good team, but they have not been dominating as much as people think as they are just 3-4 ATS when laying between 10 and 20 points. Tulsa returns home following a pair of road losses to drop its record to 3-2 in the conference and will get a chance to redeem itself against its biggest rival. This is the first time these two teams have met as members of the AAC, but Tulsa has faced the Shockers more than any other opponent. The Golden Hurricane are 7-1 at home this season while going 12-0 at home during the month of January since joining the AAC. Keeping that alive would be a pressure free cover but the inflated line is on our side. 10* (636) Tulsa Golden Hurricane

This is a play on the TEXAS A&M AGGIES for our CBB Game of the Week. The Aggies opened the season 11-1 after the non-conference part of the schedule but things went sour. There were a couple minor injuries and two suspensions that really hurt the chemistry of this team and Texas A&M dropped its first four SEC games, the last two coming by a single point against LSU and Kentucky. Second leading scorer DJ Hogg missed the missed two SEC games while third leading scorer Admon Gilder missed the first three SEC games, both because of suspensions but both returned against Kentucky and the Aggies nearly pulled off the upset on Tuesday. They are hoping to get Duane Wilson back today who has been out with a minor knee injury. Tennessee has won two straight after dropping its first two SEC games and it heads back home where it is an overwhelmingly public consensus favorite. This is due to the Aggies 0-4 conference record which needs to have an asterisk next to it. The Volunteers are 6-2 at home with one impressive win over Kentucky and the other five against nobody and they have covered just once in their last five games at home. 10* (605) Texas A&M Aggies

This is a play on the OKLAHOMA ST. COWBOYS as part of our CBB ESPN Ultimate Trifecta. Texas is coming off an inspirational win as it defeated TCU in overtime in dedication to guard Andrew Jones who was diagnosed with leukemia earlier in the day and it was an all-out effort for the Longhorns as they handed the Horned Frogs just their third loss of the season. As special as that was, it leads to a massive letdown as going from the euphoria of that victory to a road game three days later is tough to get up for. Oklahoma St. is coming off a loss at Kansas St. the same night to fall to 1-3 in the Big XII. The other two defeats came against Oklahoma and West Virginia, the two top teams in the conference RPI. The 19-game win streak over unranked opponents was snapped in the loss against the Wildcats, but the homecourt win streak over unranked opponents remains intact at 14 games. The Cowboys are 9-2 at home with losses coming against West Virginia and Wichita St. which are a combined 29-3 so those can be forgiven. The Cowboys are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games following an ATS loss. 10* (604) Oklahoma St. Cowboys

This is a play on the MISSISSIPPI ST. BULLDOGS for our CBB Saturday CBB Enforcer. Some expected for Auburn to have a solid season coming off an 18-14 record last year and returning a bulk of its roster but not many saw this coming. The Tigers are off to a 15-1 start including 13 straight victories while starting SEC play at 3-0. The 13-game winning streak is the longest since Dec. 1, 1999 to Jan. 19, 2000 so this is definitely something special. They are 3-0 on the road and because they are ranked and laying a short price, they are one of the biggest public consensus plays of the day as they are the eighth highest road play. While this is a feel-good story, it will not last forever and it heads to one of the toughest environments in college hoops this season and to make it worse, Auburn has a game at rival Alabama on deck. The Bulldogs are 13-3 overall including 1-2 in the conference with both of those losses coming on the road in their last two games. Mississippi St. is 12-0 at home and a win today would make it 14 straight home wins dating back to last season which would tie a program record. The Bulldogs are 15-6 ATS in their last 21 games following a straight up loss. 10* (568) Mississippi St. Bulldogs

This is a play on the XAVIER MUSKETEERS for our Saturday CBB Star Attraction. The Big East has three teams ranked in the top ten in the current RPI and one of those iz Xavier, coming in at No. 8. The Musketeers are 15-3 and are coming off a pair of road losses at Providence and Villanova and neither were very pretty, so there will be plenty of motivation this afternoon to get things back to where they were. The Musketeers possess one of the best home court advantages in the nation as they are 239-35 (.872) all-time at Cintas Center, including 11-0 this season. The .872 all-time winning percentage is ranked sixth in the nation. While we think the AP Poll is useless, Xavier has an 8-2 record in games that have involved two AP Top 25 teams at Cintas Center, including wins over Baylor and Cincinnati this season. This is important considering Creighton is ranked in the top 25 yet is sitting at No. 30 in the RPI so this is one of those situations where we get value because of an overrated AP ranked team. The Bluejays are 14-3 including a 4-1 conference record but three of those wins were at home and the only real road test resulted in a loss at Seton Hall. Bad time for them to visit Xavier. 10* (544) Xavier Musketeers

This is a play on the PITTSBURGH PANTHERS for our CBB Saturday Ultimate Underdog. We won with Georgia Tech on Wednesday as it defeated an undermanned Notre Dame team to win its third straight game and knock down its fourth straight cover. The Yellow Jackets are now 2-1 in the ACC and 9-7 overall and despite the victory over Notre Dame, they fell in the RPI and are now the lowest ranked ACC team heading into Saturday. Part of the problem has been an easy schedule to go along with a 0-3 record on the road as well as some poor losses including Wofford, Grambling St. and Wright St. And now they come in favored on the road and at a pretty big number. Seeing that Pittsburgh is 0-4 on the road may make the line more sensible but it actually does not. The Panthers have played the second toughest ACC schedule thus far with games against Duke, Virginia Tech, Louisville and Miami and were double-digit underdogs in all four games including two at home. Now they finally catch a break with their first winnable game in three weeks and the Panthers have not lost five consecutive games to open league play since joining the ACC. 10* (554) Pittsburgh Panthers

A four-game winning streak capped off by an eight-point upset win over Villanova is a thing of the past as Butler has dropped its last three games. Two of those were on the road as significant road underdogs and the lone home loss came against Seton Hall which is currently No. 9 in the RPI so none of the defeats have been ones they should not have been. Now comes a game where the Bulldogs can not and should not lose while trying to get back to .500 in the Big East. All six of Butler's losses have come against teams ranked in the KenPom Top 35 (with three of those coming on the road and two others on a neutral court). Marquette is outside that ranking which is a good sign based on the Butler downfalls. The Golden Eagles are coming off a huge win over Seton Hall, something Butler could not do, but that provides us with a good spot for a more lethargic Marquette team coming to town. After covering three straight games, and Butler failing to cover three straight, the line value is on the home side with a very motivated bunch. 10* (822) Butler Bulldogs

Stanford hits the road following a pair of home upset victories over UCLA and USC which puts the Cardinal in a tough situation here. This is just the second true road game for Stanford with its first resulting in a loss at Long Beach St. by eight points as a 6.5-point favorite and that was a while back. The Cardinal have played six straight home games with this being the first road game since December 3 and on the season, they are 0-4 in all games away from Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal are 0-5 ATS in their last five road games following three or more consecutive home games. Washington St. is off to a 0-3 start in the Pac 12 with two of those losses coming on the road and the latest coming against rival by just five points. The Cougars still have a winning record on the season thanks to a 6-0 start that included impressive wins over San Diego St. and St. Marys, part of their Wooden Legacy Championship. This is the best three-point shooting team in the conference, not good for Stanford which is one of the worst perimeter defenses in the Pac 12. The Cougars are 7-0 ATS in their last seven home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (546) Washington St. Cougars

College of Charleston, which returned all five starters from the 25-win team from last year, was picked to capture the CAA by a significant amount. The Cougars are just 2-2 in the conference as they opened with a pair of wins at home but suffered two road losses last week, one in overtime at Drexel and the other at Towson in a revenge game for the Tigers. They are back home where they are 7-0 on the season and have won nine straight here with the last loss coming against Northeastern by a point which they have not forgotten. College of Charleston has three of the Top 10 active CAA career scoring leaders in Joe Chealey (1,502), Cameron Johnson (979) and Jarrell Brantley (961). Northeastern comes in with a 3-1 record in the CAA following a 2-1 homestand but two of the three wins came against James Madison which is the worst team in the conference. The Huskies are 3-3 on the road but none are quality wins and going back, they are 0-4 ATS in their last four road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (512) College of Charleston Cougars

Marshall had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 112-87 loss at Western Kentucky last Saturday and that defense has struggled most of the season. The Thundering Herd fell to 1-4 on the road and they are allowing 91.8 ppg on 48.8 percent shooting and this is the game that the Charlotte offense can really get it going. Marshall will be without one of its best players as Ajdin Penava, who is averaging 16.7 ppg and 9.0 rpg, left the last game with an ankle injury. The 49ers have gotten off to a rough start this season, but the schedule has not been in their favor as the early part of the season had games against Oklahoma St., Charleston, Davidson and Wake Forest. Since then, Charlotte has played its last six games on the road so this will be its first home game in over a month. The 49ers are 3-3 on their home floor and while they are 0-3 ATS, those three losses came against much stiffer competition. The Thundering Herd are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a double-digit loss at home while the 49ers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games following three or more consecutive road games. 10* (516) Charlotte 49ers

Minnesota was a preseason top 20 team and was picked to finish third in the Big Ten Conference, but things have taken a turn for the worst. Two of the top four scorers are out as the Gophers are without starters Reggie Lynch, who is facing expulsion from sexual assault charges, and Amir Coffey, who is out for a while after suffering a shoulder injury. Jordan Murphy, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer combined for 58 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and six steals Saturday, but the Gophers still fell 75-71 at home against a shorthanded and rebuilding Indiana team. Minnesota has its five-game winning streak snapped with all those games coming at home and this marks their first road game in four weeks. Northwestern is also off to a disappointing start as it is 10-7 including a 1-3 start in the conference following consecutive 15-point losses. There have been issues on the court but despite the chemistry issues, however, the Wildcats can take solace in the fact that their roster is still complete and physically intact. A pair of player only meetings and intense practices will bring out the real Northwestern team everyone expected. 10* (772) Northwestern Wildcats

St. Joseph's is coming off a pair of upsets last week as it defeated VCU and St. Bonaventure as an underdog. And both of those games were at home so now in the rare role going from home underdogs to road favorites next time out. While George Mason is not on the same level as VCU and St. Bonaventure, it is on the same level as St. Joseph's as the difference in the RPI numbers is just 19 spots which is minimal when the total amount of teams in the mix is 351. The Hawks are 7-7 overall including a 1-3 record on the road with the lone victory coming at Illinois-Chicago in overtime. George Mason is coming off its worst loss of the season as it was defeated by 27 points against Davidson on Saturday. The game was over before it started which may not be a bad thing moving forward as losses like that are a lot easier to take than a last second loss and going back, the Patriots are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a double-digit loss at home. 10* (724) George Mason Patriots

We played against Notre Dame on Saturday as it traveled to Syracuse and pulled out the victory as it held the Orange to 39.1 percent shooting and 49 points including 21 in the second half. The Irish were able win the battle of the boards including a 17-8 edge on the offensive end while making seven more free throws which was the ultimate difference. Those advantages helped to mask an awful offensive effort as they shot just 30.4 percent themselves which came as no surprise. Notre Dame was without its top two scorers and will be without Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell again tonight and the challenge on defense will be a lot tougher. Georgia Tech is coming off a non-conference win over Yale on Saturday as it avoided a letdown following a big win over Miami. The Yellow Jackets are 1-1 in the conference and that one loss came against Notre Dame last month so there is instant revenge. Farrell and Colson combined for 32 points and 22 boards so that production will be missed this time around. 10* (736) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Both Boise St. and Fresno St. are coming off overtime games on the road with the Bulldogs winning theirs at Colorado St. while the Broncos lost by a point at Wyoming. Fresno St. has the advantage of returning home carrying some positive momentum as it looks to improve upon its 8-2 record at Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs are 3-3 over their last six games and they are 0-5 ATS over that stretch which adds value to the number for tonight as a contrarian angle. Fresno St. ranks second in the MWC in field goal shooting percentage (49.9 percent), three-point field goal percentage (40.7 percent), offensive rebounding percentage (33.1 percent) and steals (128, 7.5 spg). Boise St. had its three-game winning streak snapped with the loss against the Cowboys as it fell to 2-2 on the road. The Broncos will be going up against one of the best backcourts in the conference as four guards for the Bulldogs are averaging double-digits in scoring. Going back, the Bulldogs are 23-9 ATS in their last 32 games following a straight up win while the Broncos are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games. 10* (562) Fresno St. Bulldogs

Tennessee is coming off a win over Kentucky on Saturday as it outscored the Wildcats by 19 points in the second half to make it three straight home wins over Kentucky. The Volunteers now hit the road where they lost last time out in overtime against Arkansas and they come in as the favorite with a lot of that based on the win from Saturday. This is an ideal letdown spot and it is very similar to two years ago when Tennessee defeated Kentucky as home and then went on the road and got blown out against Arkansas. It has been an up and down start for Vanderbilt as it is 6-9 overall including a 1-2 record in the SEC. The Commodores are coming off a loss at South Carolina on Saturday and while they are 6-3 at home, all three losses were decided in the final minute, so they have had some unfortunate luck. They have yet to cover a game at home as the Commodores are 0-6 ATS which is another reason the line is what it is. The Vanderbilt defense has picked it up of late, allowing opponents to shoot just 37.9 percent from the floor over its last five games. 10* (558) Vanderbilt Commodores

Texas Tech has been the big surprise in the Big XII as it is off to a 14-1 start including a perfect 3-0 in the conference. The signature win came at Kansas a week ago and the Red Raiders avoided a letdown by heading home and taking care of business against Kansas St. on Saturday. They came into the season not receiving a single vote in the AP Top 25 and are now up to No. 8 in the nation. As pointed out in the past, the AP Poll is meaningless as that is a public poll and the RPI is the better guide. Texas Tech is No. 20 in the RPI which is still solid but shows how it national ranking is overinflated. Oklahoma is coming off a loss at West Virginia as it committed 17 turnovers, but this is a good bounce back spot. Despite that loss, Oklahoma remains the top team in the Big XII RPI at No. 7 as this offense is one of the best around. The Sooners are averaging 94.4 ppg which is tops in the country and this includes a 101.9 ppg average at home where they are a perfect 7-0. 10* (530) Oklahoma Sooners

After starting the season 13-0, Villanova allowed a season-high 101 points in a loss at Butler and it has had a week to stew over that defeat which is not a good sign for Marquette. Had covered eight of their previous nine games and were dominating in their climb up to going after a second National Championship in three years. Losses have been few and far between for the Wildcats for the last few seasons, but head coach Jay Wrights seems to always push the right buttons as the 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games following a loss while going 7-1 ATS in their last eight games following a non-cover. After a 19-1 start last season, Villanova went to Marquette and lost by a bucket, so it will be out for payback tonight. The Golden Eagles are 2-1 in the Big East following a 95-90 win at Providence in overtime behind 52 points from Markus Howard. It is safe to say the Villanova defense is going to be all over him tonight and he could be in for a very long night. Marquette is 2-0 on the road but this is the biggest test to date and once Villanova gets off to a quick start here, the Wildcats can cruise to an easy victory. 10* (636) Villanova Wildcats

We played on Memphis three games back and it suffered its first home loss of the season and that defeat did not go away as the Tigers have opened AAC action with a pair of losses. They lost to Cincinnati and Central Florida as the offense was completely shut down, but both of those games were on the road and Memphis looks to regain its footing as it heads back home in what is the start of a four-game stretch with all four games winnable ones. The Tigers have failed to cover their last five games and that is being taken into consideration with this line that is too short. Tulsa is off to a 3-0 start in the conference, but this is not sustainable. The Golden Hurricane are coming off a big win against Connecticut in overtime on Wednesday and getting back up off that high will be difficult especially with the travel being taken into consideration. Despite the 3-0 record, Tulsa is No. 7 in the conference RPI and it catches a Memphis team at the wrong time. The Tigers are 1-5 ATS as underdogs so they have not stepped up to the opposition, but they are 3-0 ATS when favored by fewer than seven points. 10* (584) Memphis Tigers

Valparaiso probably wishes it was still in the Horizon Conference as it has not been a good start in the Missouri Valley Conference, which is a slight bump up in strength. The Crusaders are 0-3 in their first three games in their new conference and they have lost four straight overall while going 1-7 in their last eight games. To their credit, seven of those eight games were on the road and the lone home game came against Missouri St. which is the preseason favorite to win the MVC. While it may be early to throw around the must win tag, but this is a game that Valparaiso needs leading up to another tough three-game stretch after this. After missing time with mono, Tevonn Walker found his groove last game and can take over on offense. Southern Illinois is 2-1 in the conference, but it has been playing over its head as depth issues are going to catch up to the Salukis. Both wins came by a bucket as free throw shooting has become an issue as Southern Illinois was just 16-30 in those two victories. The Salukis have now lost three players for the season and are playing with seven players that get significant minutes. 10* (590) Valparaiso Crusaders

We won with Syracuse last Sunday as it stifled the potent Virginia Tech offense with its patented zone defense, but the Orange came out slow in its next game against Wake Forest and eventually lost by six points. They are back home where they have only lost once and in a great spot to bounce back and shake off that defeat to improve to 6-0 ATS in their last six games following a loss. There is a bit of revenge in play here as well as Syracuse lost in South Bend last season by 18 points. Notre Dame suffered a big loss when forward and leading scorer Bonzie Colson sustained a broken foot against Georgia Tech and he will be out for at least a month. His teammates rallied around him and drilled NC State by 30 points in his first game out but took another bad break as second leading scorer Matt Farrell hurt his ankle and will not be available today. Those two absences account for 37.3 ppg so there are big issues of where the offense will find production today. The Irish are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a straight up win. 10* (538) Syracuse Orange

This is a play on the TEXAS A&M AGGIES for our CBB Game of the Week. Texas A&M was rolling along at 10-1 but then came some issues, most notably three-game suspension to leading scorer DJ Hogg and the Aggies dropped two of those three games. Hogg will be reinstated today, and Texas A&M will be out for blood following a 0-2 start in the SEC after losses against Alabama and Florida by 22 and 17 points respectively. When fully available, this is one of the top teams in the country and we will see that on display today. LSU put up a big fight against Kentucky on Wednesday but lost at home by three points and that will be tough to recover from, especially after blowing a five-point halftime lead. While that may look like an impressive game for the Tigers, numerous Kentucky players were playing with the flu, so the Wildcats were far from full strength. LSU has played just one true road game and it heads to College Station at the wrong time. The Aggies are 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games against teams with a road winning percentage of greater than .600 while the Tigers are 8-17 ATS in their last 25 road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (562) Texas A&M Aggies

The loss of Michael Porter Jr. a game into the season crushed any sort of NCAA Championship hopes that it had coming into the season, but this is still a very good team that has four starters back from last season. The other Porter brother, Jontay, missed some time but came back last game and put up 19 points in the Tigers win over South Carolina to open the SEC at 1-0. Missouri returns home where it is 7-0 on the season and we often talk about AP Poll rankings against RPI rankings and how the former means little, but it is what the public considers. The Tigers are not ranked, ant not even receiving votes for that matter, it in the AP Poll but they are No. 14 in the latest RPI. Then there is the matter of a 39-point loss in Gainesville last season that the returning players have surely not forgotten about. Florida came into the season as a top ten team according to numerous publications, but a 1-4 stretch sent it tumbling out of the rankings and the Gators now sit No. 56 in the RPI. They are coming off a blowout win at Texas A&M, but the Aggies were shorthanded, and that victory has given Florida too much credit with the linesmakers. The Gators are just 2-6 in their last eight games overall while the Tigers are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (540) Missouri Tigers

Rutgers is off to a 0-3 start in the Big Ten but tonight is the first opportunity where it can actually win. Those first three games were against Minnesota, Michigan St. and Purdue and those lines were 12.5, 14.5 and 19 respectively so the chances of winning any of those were next to none. While Rutgers won just 15 games last season, it was more than twice as many victories from the previous season. It lost seven Big Ten games by single-digits after losing 15 conference games by double-digits the previous season and it brings back four starters. The Scarlet Knights are 10-6 overall including a 10-4 record at home with one of those losses coming against Michigan St. and the other three came by a combined nine points including a five-point loss to Florida St. Wisconsin has won five straight games including a win over Indiana last time out to improve to 2-1 in the conference. It made another trip to the Sweet 16 last season, but this edition may miss out on all postseason tournaments. The Badgers lost four starters and their current RPI of No. 119 is nothing special. This is their first road game in a month and this is not the easiest of venues for opponents. The Scarlet Knights are 4-0 ATS in their last four home games against teams with a losing road record while the Badgers are 3-9-2 ATS in their last 14 road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (828) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

It has been an up and down start for USC which came into the season as the preseason No. 11 team according to Blue Ribbon but after opening the season 4-0, the Trojans lost three straight games, albeit to three top programs. They rebounded to go 5-1 in their next six games, but the one loss came at home against Princeton and two of the victories were closer than they should have been. Pac 12 play opened with an inexplicable home loss against Washington and while USC bounced back to roll over Washington St. two days later, this team is sill underachieving. The Trojans hit the road for just the second time and they will do so without the services of leading scorer Chimezie Metu for the first half as he is suspended after an altercation against the Cougars and that could prove to be large. Not much was expected from California this season after losing four starters, but it has held its own at 7-7, three losses coming in Maui, and it opened the conference season with a win at Stanford. The Golden Bears have four players averaging double-digits in scoring and possess a strong backcourt that can matchup with the Trojans. 10* (566) California Golden Bears

The Miners got off to a 1-5 start and then had to deal with the sudden retirement of head coach Tim Floyd which came out of nowhere. UTEP is 5-3 under interim head coach Phil Johnson including a win over Rice in its last game on Saturday but now UTEP hits the road dealing with another issue. Leading scorer Keith Frazier took a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons and while the Miners won their first game without him, beating Rice is no big deal. Additionally, their last nine games were at home and this marks their first road game since November 25 and just the second one on the season. Southern Mississippi is still dealing with scholarship losses as it has only 10 scholarship players, but it is holding its own with a 7-8 record despite losses in four straight games. The Golden Eagles were hammered in their first two conference games but those were against frontrunners Marshall and Western Kentucky and both were on the road. They are 5-0 at home and going back are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (534) Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

The Bulldogs went 23-10 last season including a 14-4 record in C-USA which was good for a second-place finish and after getting ousted in the conference tournament semifinals, they were completely snubbed by all postseason tournaments. They have three starters back this season and are off to a 9-6 start while possessing a strong and deep backcourt led by DaQuan Bracey and NBA prospect Jacobi Boykins. Four of the six losses have come by a total of 10 points and starting off 0-2 in C-USA will have them ready to go tonight. UTSA has split its first two conference games, both coming at home, and it hits the road where it is 1-4 and has been dominated on the glass by 14.8 rpg. Overall, the Roadrunners have played the fourth easiest schedule in the conference at No. 292 and they are catching the Bulldogs at the absolute worst time. This is the first home game for Louisiana Tech since December 12 and the Bulldogs are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. 10* (526) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Both Drake and Illinois St. have jumped out to 2-0 conference records in the first week of MVC action to sit on top of the league standings. This is the first 2-0 start for the Bulldogs since 2007-08 and while many will call it a fluke, this team will continue to make noise as Drake is the eighth most experienced team in the nation with an average experience of 2.46 years on the court at any given time. Reed Timmer, one of five Drake senior guards, leads the MVC with 18.9 ppg and while the Bulldogs lead the conference in scoring., defense has been the team's catalyst in the last three wins as the Bulldogs have held each of those opponents under 40 percent shooting. Illinois St. comes in extremely shorthanded as the injury list keeps growing. Most recent, leading scorer Keyshawn Evans is out with a knee injury and while the Redbirds won their only game without him so far, it took overtime at home to defeat Indiana St., the lowest ranked team in the RPI in the MVC. The Bulldogs are 14-4 ATS in their last 18 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (760) Drake Bulldogs

Fordham dropped its conference opener at VCU on Saturday which came after a loss at West Virginia and heads back home to get into the win column. The Rams are not the same pushover team from the past as over the past two years, Fordham has won 15 A-10 games (eight in 2015-2016 and seven in 2016-2017) and those 15 wins is one more than Rams managed over the previous seven years. The Rams are fifth in the conference in scoring defense at 67.6 ppg and are third in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (.315). Fordham also leads the league in steals with 143 (11.0 spg). Richmond defeated Davidson at home on Saturday as an underdog to pick up just its third win of the season. The Spiders are winless on the road at 0-3 as the defense has struggled, allowing opponent to shoot 50.3 percent from the floor and giving up 79.7 ppg. The Rams have lost three home games by a combined eight points and while the Spiders have won 14 straight meetings in this series, this presents the best opportunity for Fordham to break that streak. 10* (732) Fordham Rams

Boston College had a five-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, but it was another strong game for the Eagles as they lost in Virginia by just a single point to fall to 1-1 in the ACC. The win was against Duke at home which shows what they are capable of and this is going to be a dangerous team all season. Boston College has already won more games this season than all last season thanks to one of the stronger backcourts in the conference with Jerome Robinson, Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman all averaging at least 14.6 ppg. Bowman is the only player in the country to average at least 15.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, and 5.1 apg. Clemson enters the contest ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll thanks to a 12-1 start and that is the reason the Tigers come in as road favorites. They have also covered six straight games so despite Boston College being undefeated at home, Clemson will be the popular play tonight. The Eagles counter the Clemson current ATS run as they are 7-2 ATS in their last nine home games against teams with a winning road record. 10* (742) Boston College Eagles

Arkansas is coming off an overtime win over Tennessee on Saturday to open SEC play with a victory and now it hits the road for just the second time this season. This is a non-issue however, especially laying a short price against an overrated and overvalued team. The Razorbacks entered the AP Poll for the first time this season and for the first time since the end of 2014-15 but this is a poll we do not go by but only compare to a truer set of rankings. Arkansas is No. 4 in the RPI which is tops in the conference and it has played the third toughest schedule in the SEC and despite the rugged slate, the Razorbacks lead the conference in scoring offense (90.4), scoring margin (+15.8), three-point field goal percentage (.409), turnover margin (+5.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). Mississippi St. is 11-1 which is the second-best record in the SEC but that is due to playing the easiest schedule and one that is ranked No. 310 in the nation. The signature win was a two-point victory over Dayton at home so clearly there has been little resistance. The Razorbacks have two AP Top 20 wins in the last five games and multiple top 20 wins in the same season for the third time under head coach Mike Anderson. 10* (549) Arkansas Razorbacks

Auburn hits the road for the third time this season and facing its toughest test so far. The Tigers capped one of their most successful regular season non-conference slates in program history, winning 12 games before the calendar year for just the third time ever. It did come against a soft schedule however as Auburn has played the third easiest slate in the SEC and now things are going to get tough. The Tigers initially had all five starters back from last season, but center Austin Wiley and forward Danjel Purifoy have not stepped on the floor as both were suspended from the team. Tennessee opened conference play on Saturday and suffered a tough loss at Arkansas in overtime to fall to 9-3 overall. The Volunteers three losses have come against teams with RPIs of No. 4 (North Carolina), No. 6 (Arkansas) and No. 7 (Villanova) so they have held their own despite playing the No. 7 schedule in the nation. While Tennessee is ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll after that loss, it is still ranked No. 12 in the RPI so it remains undervalued. Tennessee owns a +16.7 ppg scoring margin at home while holding visiting opponents to 62.7 ppg which is not good for Auburn which relies so heavily on its offense. 10* (532) Tennessee Volunteers

We won with Xavier last week as it won in Marquette and the Musketeers came back with a lethargic effort against DePaul on Saturday which sets up a great opportunity tonight. they are now No. 2 in the overall RPI, one of three teams from the Big East Conference that are ranked within the top ten and seven ranked within the top 50 showing how strong of a conference this is. Xavier has won nine straight games and its only loss this season came against Arizona St. which is No. 6 in the RPI. The other reason this is a great spot is the fact Butler is coming off an upset win over No. 1 Villanova on Saturday as a 5.5-point home underdog. The Bulldogs are now 9-0 at home but they have struggled outside of Indianapolis as they have blowout losses against Maryland, Texas and Purdue while their only two wins away from home came against Georgetown and Ohio St., both in overtime by a combined three points. The Musketeers are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Bulldogs are 1-5 ATS in their last six road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (514) Xavier Musketeers

Expectations were low heading into the season for Syracuse, but it put together a strong nonconference season at 11-2 with one of those losses coming in overtime against an underrated St. Bonaventure team and the other coming against Kansas. The Orange were picked to finish 11th in the 15-team ACC and while that still may happen, all indications are that this is a team that plans to overachieve all season. They are the only team in the ACC with three players averaging at least 15 ppg but it is the defense that leads the way. Syracuse ranks 22nd in the country in scoring defense, holding teams to just 62.6 ppg. The Orange also ranks 22nd in field-goal percentage defense as opponents have shot just 38.4 percent from the floor. Virginia Tech is one of the highest scoring teams in the country, averaging 91.3 ppg but that has come against a soft schedule that is ranked No. 286 in the nation. The Hokies will have trouble against this zone defense that is long and athletic. The Orange come into this game ranked No. 17 in the RPI so they remain under the radar and the line is dictating that today. 10* (854) Syracuse Orange

Tulane went through a tough 2016-17 season as head coach Mike Dunleavy, yes that Mike Dunleavy, was brought in to rebuild a program in shambles and year one went as planned., The Green Wave won just six games, but progress was made as the roster was overhauled for the future. It is already paying off as they already have four more wins than last season and are coming off a win in their conference opener at Temple. While it may seem strange to hear, Tulane has one of the best backcourts in the conference with Melvin Frazier and Cameron Reynolds who are averaging a combined 34 ppg and they are one and two respectively in rebounding. Tulane is one of seven teams in the AAC with an RPI of 80 or better. Tulsa is not part of that group as the Golden Hurricane hit the road following a 26-point win over East Carolina in their AAC opener. That win does not say much as the Pirates own the sixth worst RPI in the entire country. Tulsa is 0-2 on the road and still without one of its better players as DaQuan Jeffries remains sidelined with a hand injury. 10* (826) Tulane Green Wave

Texas A&M begins SEC play ranked No. 5 in the latest AP Poll and No. 8 in the RPI so this is a dangerous team. However, it is a dangerous team when fully loaded and that is not the case today. Leading scorer and top three-point shooter D.J. Hogg will miss his second straight game, part of a three-game suspension for a violation of team rules. Another starter, Admon Gilder, who is third on the team in scoring and their best free throw shooter, suffered a knee injury in the last game and is out indefinitely. These are two big losses and in the Aggies only other road game this season, they combined for 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists against USC. Alabama opened the year in the top 25 according to Blue Ribbon but it has been a shaky start for the Tide as they are 8-4 including a blowout loss against Texas in their last game. They are No. 33 in the latest RPI as they have played the No. 11 schedule in the country and it should be noted that their other three losses came by a combined 14 points and one of those came at Minnesota when they had to play the last 10 minutes with just three players. Going back, Alabama has covered 10 of its last 11 games following a non-road double-digit loss. 10* (554) Alabama Crimson Tide

We are going contrarian with Temple as it is catching a bigger than anticipated number. We played on Temple back on November 30 when it defeated South Carolina and since then, the Owls are 0-6-1 ATS which is the worst ATS run in the nation right now. That is playing a big part in this number as is the fact that Temple is 0-3 on the road. The highest ranked team from the AAC is not Wichita St. but Temple which is ranked No. 23 thanks to a 3-1 record against the top 50 while playing the second hardest schedule in the nation. Most will look at the 7-5 record and think the Owls are garbage when in fact they are a very good team. Houston is 11-2 on the season while outscoring opponents by 24 ppg but teams can accomplish that when having played the No. 212 schedule in the country. The Cougars are 6-0 at home and this is not an easy place for opponents to win in but we are not concerned about an outright victory although it would be far from a surprise. The Owls are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games following a double-digit loss at home while the Cougars are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (521) Temple Owls

We have caught another undervalued team as TCU is a short favorite at home. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 10 in the latest AP Poll which sounds strong on its own but in fact, they are ranked No. 3 in the RPI, the highest among all Big XII teams. TCU actually played a tough nonconference schedule which is very un-TCU like as it is ranked No. 66 compared to being in the late 200s in recent years. While they are off to a 12-0 start this season, the Horned Frogs have won 17 straight games after closing out last season with the NIT Championship. This will be a raucous environment as this is one of the biggest games in recent memory as it is the first time a ranked TCU team has faced a ranked opponent at home since Feb. 21, 1998. Oklahoma comes in at No. 12 in the country which is comparable to its RPI and it is getting a lot of pub thanks to its dynamic freshman Trae Young who is averaging 28.7 ppg and 10.4 apg and this type of publicity only helps in spots like this when backing the opponent. The Sooners will be a tough out, but TCU prevails at home and extends the longest winning streak in the nation. 10* (552) TCU Horned Frogs

We made a point yesterday about how comparing the AP Poll and the RPI can pull out false information where can take advantage. Seton Hall won and covered against overrated Creighton and while it was not the blowout as expected, we got the advantage of a good line based on the AP rankings. In this case Baylor is ranked No. 18 in the country yet its RPI is a very poor 146 and this is one of the biggest discrepancies in the country. The Bears may be 9-2 but they have played the No. 328 ranked schedule in the country while going just 1-2 against the top 50. Texas Tech is ranked higher than its RPI, but it is not close to the valiance of Baylor as the Red Raiders are No. 46 in the RPI. They own impressive wins over Boston College, Northwestern and Nevada with all three of those teams ranked within the top 100. Texas Tech picked up nine of its 11 nonconference wins by 20 or more points and lead the nation with a 23.0 ppg scoring margin. The Red Raiders are 9-0 at home and going back, they are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games against team with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (832) Texas Tech Red Raiders

We have a possible false favorite here as LSU and Memphis are real close to each other in the latest RPI which should make the Tigers the favorite based on home court advantage. They are coming off a pair of wins following a loss against Louisville and the latest victories improved them to 9-0 at home. There is plenty of size on this Tigers team, but the strength is in the backcourt where four of their top five scorers occupy. They are led by Jeremiah Martin who has averaged a team-high 18.6 ppg and 4.3 apg while shooting 80.2 percent from the free throw line. There is good news on the injury front as senior Jimario Rivers, who has missed the past two games going through concussion protocol, will return. LSU comes in at 8-3 after winning just 10 games all of last season but the schedule has played a big part of the success this year. A win over Michigan was solid but a 39-point loss to Notre Dame shows there us a lot to be done still. The schedule has also helped in that this is the first true road game of the season for the Tigers which were 1-10 on the road last season. Memphis has covered four straight games against teams above .600. 10* (544) Memphis Tigers

Valparaiso is playing its first game in the Missouri Valley Conference and it is getting its best player back at just the right time. The Crusaders are coming off a brutal five-game roadtrip prior to Christmas where they went 1-4 but four of those games were played without leading scorer Tevonn Walker as he was battling mono. They have had over a week off since that trek and Walker is on track to return tonight to grab that inaugural MVC victory. Valparaiso has finished above .500 in true road games in four of the last five seasons, including a 7-6 mark in such games last year. Indiana St. comes in at 5-7 but to its credit, it has played a relatively tough schedule which included an upset win at Indiana to open the season. However, the Sycamores have been blown out in all other games against above average teams and of the other four victories, two came against non-Division I teams. Indiana St. is the lowest ranked team in the conference RPI and the stats back that up with the biggest disadvantage in this matchup being rebounding margin. Going back, the Sycamores are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (525) Valparaiso Crusaders

6:30 ET Start. Comparing the AP Poll and the RPI is a great tool in handicapping college hoops because the former is a farce and means nothing while the latter gives a truer indication of where a team stands. Creighton comes in ranked No. 25 in the country in the latest AP Poll and this could be the most flawed ranking in the polls. The Bluejays are ranked No. 50 in the RPI which is 7th in the 10-team Big East and this has a lot to do with a weak schedule played heading into conference action. They come in riding a five-game winning streak, but all those games were at home and the best win of the bunch was against Nebraska which is not saying much. Conversely, Seton Hall is No. 22 in the AP Poll but No. 13 in the RPI so the Pirates are just the opposite when it comes to perception and reality. Seton Hall is 11-2 which includes impressive wins over Louisville, Texas Tech and VCU and this team is loaded with four starters back from its 21-12 season a year ago. The Pirates are outscoring opponents by 19.5 ppg at home and this is the first time since January 21, 2001 that a ranked Seton Hall team is taking on another ranked team (although the other team technically should not be ranked). 10* (516) Seton Hall Pirates

Big East action tips off tonight with three games and we see a good opportunity in one of those. Xavier hits the road ranked No. 2 in the nation in the latest RPI as it is 12-1 with the lone defeat coming against No. 3 Arizona St. in Las Vegas. The Musketeers are 2-0 in true road games with wins over Wisconsin and Northern Iowa. Xavier is second in the Big East and 16th nationally in rebounding margin at +8.9 rpg while Marquette is just +0.4 in that category giving the Musketeers a huge edge on the glass. The Golden Eagles have won four straight games and come in ranked No. 63 in the RPI while going 0-2 against the top 25. While Marquette still possesses some powerful offensive weapons, it lost three 1,000-point scorers from last season and we have seen struggles on offense a few times. The Golden Eagles led the nation in three-point shooting last season, topped by Markus Howard who shot 54.7 percent from long range, but he is down to just 39.1 percent this season. Marquette swept this season series last year and the Musketeers have not forgotten. 10* (727) Xavier Musketeers

Evansville had a five-game winning streak snapped at Duke as it lost by 64 points so if that does not provide motivation for today, nothing will. A return home held as the Purple Aces are 34-7 at home over the last three seasons including a perfect 8-0 record this season. Evansville leads the nation in three-point shooting percentage, hitting 48.3 percent of its attempts. Additionally, the Purple Aces have connected on 201 out of 261 free throw attempts, 77.0 percent, which ranks 19th in the country. Ryan Taylor could return today which would give the offense an even bigger boost. Illinois St. went 17-1 in the MVC last season enroute to a trip to the NIT where it lost in the second round. At 6-6, the Redbirds are one loss shy of their total defeats from last season as losing four starters from their 28-win team is taking its toll. They have won two games in a row, but they are 1-3 in true road games on the season. The Redbirds are 0-5 ATS in their last five games following a straight up win while the Purple Aces are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (536) Evansville Purple Aces

As a perennial postseason team, it was odd to not see Northern Iowa in any tournament last season but that will change this year. The Panthers have already surpassed half of their win total from last season and they are going to be a contender in the MVC, so this is a team back on the rise. They are coming off a loss against Iowa St. in the Hy-Vee Classic which snapped a three-game winning streak that included a very impressive home win over UNLV as a one-point favorite. Northern Iowa is off to a 6-0 start at home and is now catching a big number because of the opponent name. Xavier is ranked No. 9 in the country following an 11-1 start which has included impressive wins over Cincinnati and Baylor, but this is just the second true road game for the Musketeers. The first one came against a rebuilding Wisconsin team, so this is the first true road test. There is payback in store tonight as well as the Panthers lost twice to Xavier last season including putting up a season low 42 points in a 22-point loss in Cincinnati last November. Too many points tonight. 10* (854) Northern Iowa Panthers

Bradley has produced double-digit victories in just three of the previous six years, but it has already hit that this season as it is 10-2 following wins in three straight games. It has been a while since the Braves have been conference contenders, but they are expected to make a move this year in the third season under head coach Brian Wardle. All five starters are back from the team that improved by eight wins from the previous season and momentum is rolling right now with their last two wins coming on the road. Mississippi is coming off a win over Texas A&M-CC which stopped the bleeding from a 1-4 run. The Rebels are 6-5 this season against a mediocre schedule and they are expected to finish in the bottom half of the SEC following a trip to the NIT last season. Only one starter is back while one player, Karlis Silins, was supposed to play a big role but has yet to hit the court this season. While three of the losses for the Rebels have been in overtime showing that their record could possibly be better, it also shows that it plays close games and those losses were against South Dakota St., Virginia Tech and Illinois St. 10* (829) Bradley Braves

San Diego St. missed the postseason last year and is breaking in a new coach, but it has been a seamless transition for head coach Brian Dutcher as he served as an assistant under Steve Fisher for numerous years. The Aztecs are 7-3 following a tough one-point loss to California and hope to get Trey Kell back in at least a limited role but this team is still loaded with 10 other players averaging double-digit minutes as it continues to play a suffocating defense. Offense was the issue for the Aztecs last season, but they are averaging 77.6 ppg which is close to 10 more ppg than last season. Gonzaga has shown that it is vulnerable this season as it got taken to overtime at home against North Dakota before pulling out a six-point victory. This is a much different team than the one from last season that lost two games and nearly won the National Championship. The Bulldogs lost three double-digit scorers as well as some tough defenders and it is showing in their numbers. After not allowing an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better in 64 straight games, they let it happen twice in 11 days this month (and let two other teams shoot 47.3 and 48.3 percent). Additionally, they are allowing 13.4 points more per game than last season and are allowing opponents to shoot nearly 10 percentage points higher from beyond the three-point line. 10* (536) San Diego St. Aztecs