Sports Picks & Predictions

This is a play on the SMU MUSTANGS for our Sat. CBB Supreme Annihilator. SMU had a six-game winning streak snapped with a pair of road losses at Florida Atlantic and South Florida which are two of the top three teams ahead of the Mustangs in the American Athletic Conference but they are still in good standing. They are tied with UAB at 10-5 for fourth place and head home where they are 13-2 this season with a loss again Texas A&M early in the season ad the other loss coming against Dayton by a bucket. This is the smash spot to get right. UTSA is still tied for last in the conference at 4-12 despite two straight wins which includes a win at North Texas as a 14-point underdog. That was just the third road win for the Roadrunners which are 3-11 including six straight losses in the conference. They are on a 5-0 ATS run and that is giving us value here with UTSA hitting the road for the last time before their final home game of the season. 10* (662) SMU Mustangs

This is a play on the GEORGE MASON PATRIOTS Sat. CBB Signature Enforcer. George Mason was riding a three-game winning streak to get to 7-6 in the Atlantic Ten Conference but it has lost two straight games, both coming on the road at Fordham and Loyola-Chicago. The Patriots are in a tie for seventh place in the conference with a good chance to move up to at least No. 5 with a favorable schedule to close the season out. They return home where they are 13-2 with the two losses coming against VCU and the Ramblers which are second and third in the conference. Duquesne is tied with the Patriots at 7-8 following a win over LaSalle on Wednesday and it has been a disappointing season for the Dukes as well as they came in as a sleeper contender. They hit the road where they are just 3-6 and while it does include a solid win at St. Bonaventure, the only other conference win was at 5-10 Rhode Island as well as a nonconference win at Marshall. 10* (638) George Mason Patriots

This is a play on the UNC WILMINGTON SEAHAWKS for our CAA Game of the Year. UNC Wilmington is coming off a second straight loss which dropped the Seahawks into a two-way tie for fourth place in the Coastal Athletic Association at 11-6. The loss against Hofstra was just their second one at home and while that one was a big one, this one is just as important and it is a great rebound spot on Senior Day. A victory here locks up the fourth seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament and the coveted double bye and this is where the home floor takes over and in a solid revenge spot after a three-point loss last month. Towson has been on an up and down run, going 4-4 over its last eight games to remain tied with the Seahawks. The Tigers defeated North Carolina AT&T on Thursday and while that moved them to 2-2 in their last four road games, the other win was at William & Mary with those two teams a combined 8-26 in the conference. 10* (654) UNC Wilmington Seahawks

This is a play on the WISCONSIN BADGERS for our Sat. CBB Early Dominator. Wisconsin opened the season 16-4 and moved up to No. 6 in the AP Poll at the end of January but it has been a rough stretch since then with the Badgers completely leaving the Top 25. They have gone 2-6 over their last eight games to fall into fourth place in the Big Ten Conference and they have failed to cover any of those eight games to go to 10-16-2 against the number. All that does is give up value heading into this game which is a big one to keep hold of that fourth slot as they close the season at Purdue. Illinois has won two straight games following a bad loss at Penn St. and the Fighting Illini remain a game ahead of Northwestern for second place in the conference. They have dominated at home but are just 4-5 on the road and while all four of those are conference wins, they have come against four of the five worst teams in the conference. 10* (620) Wisconsin Badgers

This is a play on the LOUISIANA RAGIN' CAJUNS for our Fri. CBB Supreme Annihilator. It has been a disappointing season for both Southern Mississippi and Louisiana as both were predicted to contend in the Sun Belt Conference and both are currently sitting in a tie for fifth place at 9-8. It has been especially bad for the Cajuns which has lost four straight games as it was looking good for the double bye in the upcoming tournament but now will be either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. Neither are worse than the other be we give them a big edge here on their home floor where they are 10-3 with the one loss over this four-game skid coming against 13-4 Troy. Two games back, they lost at Southern Mississippi by 11 points so there is some immediate payback in store. The reigning champion Golden Eagles were never able to get anything big going as they put together two different three-game winning streaks but that was it and since then, they have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games. Southern Mississippi has not been awful on the road but most of the success came early as it has lost four straight on the road and this is just its third road game in February as it had a lengthy six-game homestand. 10* (886) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

This is a play on the NIAGARA PURPLE EAGLES for our Fri. CBB Signature Enforcer. Niagara is coming off a 2-1 roadtrip but lost a tough one on the final game as it fell by 10 points at rival Canisius which was 5-10 going in. That dropped the Purple Eagles to 10-6 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and they are now one game out of second place so there is plenty of room to move up. A win here for Niagara assures that it will finish in the top five in the conference and avoid a first round game in the upcoming tournament. They are back home for their final two games where they are just 5-7 but four conference home losses have been by five points or less. Rider has picked up some steam with four straight wins, two of those coming at home but by only seven points combined and one of the road wins coming at 2-14 Manhattan. The Broncs are now 9-8 in the conference with the opposition playing a big role in the record as they are 2-6 against the top five teams while going 7-2 against the rest of the MAAC. They have been more solid at home with a 9-5 record but they are just 4-11 on the road yet are not lined that way as the Broncs are overpriced because of the recent run. 10* (866) Niagara Purple Eagles

This is a play on the PEPPERDINE WAVES for our Thu. CBB Late Powerhouse. St. Mary's remains the only undefeated team in the West Coast Conference as it is 14-0 and can clinch the regular season championship with a win on Thursday. The Gaels are laying a big price and have gone 9-4 against the number when laying double digits and St. Mary's has a chance to finish the season a perfect 9-0 on the road so there will be motivation to win but certainly not by margin. The big reason being is that they have Gonzaga on deck in their final home game of the season and even though nothing may be on the line, it is a definite lookahead to their rival. Pepperdine had a two-game winning streak snapped with a loss at San Francisco to finish 3-8 on the road and it was not very competitive, covering only four of those games. This is the final regular season game for the Waves as it is Senior Night with a chance to play spoiler and finish with double-digit victories at home. They are 9-7 at home which includes a 2-5 record in the conference but four of those five losses have been by seven points or less and motivation rules out here. 10* (846) Pepperdine Waves

This is a play on the UC DAVIS AGGIES for our Thu. CBB Signature Enforcer. UC Davis was competing for first place in the Big West Conference for much of the season but it has lost four of its last five games to fall into third place at 11-6 which is the best where it can finish at this point. The Aggies are back home where they have lost two straight and three of four and with two road games to finish the regular season so they will look to go out strong on Senior Night. The Aggies are 11-4 in quad 4 games and UC Davis also looks to avenge a 17-point loss in Hawaii less than three weeks ago. Hawaii is coming off a win at home against Long Beach St. in its only game last week as it caught another good spot of a team traveling to the Island following a game two nights earlier. The Warriors improved to 8-8 in the conference and are playing their final two road games before closing the season with two games at home. They are 3-5 in true road games with the three wins coming against the three worst teams in the conference which are a combined 11-38. This is a Quad 3 game and on the season, Hawaii is 2-10 in games inside Quad 4. 10* (814) UC Davis Aggies

This is a play on the DENVER PIONEERS for our Summit Game of the Year. Denver is coming off a humbling 27-point loss at South Dakota St. last Thursday which was its fifth straight road loss to fall to 6-8 in the Summit League. The Pioneers were coming off a 2-1 homestand prior to the loss to the Jackrabbits and are back home for their final home game of the season where they have been very solid with a 10-3 record and are in a great spot to close strong here with great value following a 2-8 ATS stretch. This is a revenge game for Denver as well with the Pioneers losing in Kansas City by 14 points to open February. Kansas City has been one of the bigger surprises in the conference as it was pegged to finish deal last but has won four straight games to get to 8-6 which is tied with North Dakota St. for third place. The Roos have nearly the same resume as Denver as they have been great at home with a 10-3 record but have struggled to a 4-9 mark on the road despite winning two straight but the last came against last place South Dakota. They have been the opposite with a 8-1-1 ATS run keeping this number short. 10* (820) Denver Pioneers

This is a play on the SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS for our Thu. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Abilene Christian has had a huge turnaround as it has won four straight games following a four-game losing streak but it has had a fortunate stretch. The Wildcats rolled over last place UT Rio Grande Valley and beat Stephen F. Austin which has been in a tailspin with a 4-8 record in its last 12 games. They then snuck by California Baptist before upsetting Grand Canyon which was coming off a loss against co-first place team Tarleton St. Abilene Christian is back on the road where it is 3-9, coming off a 1-9 run prior to the last two games. Southern Utah has lost five straight games to fall to 4-12 in the Western Athletic Conference and has been very unfortunate with five of its last seven losses coming in the final minute and their last five losses at home have also been of that variety as well. The Thunderbirds are 6-6 at home which is nothing spectacular but this line is telling considering they have been favored only five times over their last 12 games. However, Southern Utah is 4-1 in five games this season as a home favorite and is out for revenge from a 15-point loss. 10* (794) Southern Utah Thunderbirds

This is a play on the NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS for our Thu. CBB Contrarian Closer. North Dakota is coming off a loss at rival North Dakota St. to close a 2-1 roadtrip and the Fighting Hawks are now 9-5 in the Summit League with first place on the line Thursday. While this is not the deciding game it will go a long way in which team or teams wins the regular season championship. North Dakota is back home where it is 8-4 and will be out to bounce back from its last home game where it got rolled by Kansas City by 18 points which snapped its four-game home winning streak. The Fighting Hawks close with a home game against last place South Dakota so this one is big. South Dakota St. remains in first place in the conference at 10-4 following three straight wins and while it controls its own destiny, the final two games are on the road where the Jackrabbits are 4-5. This includes a 3-3 record within the conference with one of those wins coming against 4-10 South Dakota, another against Omaha in overtime and the third against St. Thomas by only one point. Two of the conference losses were against teams with losing records. 10* (786) North Dakota Fighting Hawks

This is a play on the UNC WILMINGTON SEAHAWKS for our Thu. CBB Rivalry Rout. UNC Wilmington is coming off a bad loss at Campbell in double overtime which put the Seahawks into a three-way tie for second place in the Coastal Athletic Association at 11-5. They return home for a pair of games to close the season which puts them in good shape to get a top four seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament and the coveted double bye. A win here gives them the series sweep over Hofstra which would lock it up so this is the one they need. Of their 28 games played, only 10 have been at home where they are 9-1, the lone loss being a one-point loss against Elon. Hofstra has played it way into a possible top four seed as it has won three straight and seven of its last eight game to get to 11-5 in the CAA. Five of those seven wins have been at home however with the two road wins coming at Hampton and North Carolina A&T which are a combined 7-25. The Pride are 4-8 on the road with the other wins coming against Stony Brook and Iona so they have not defeated any top tier opponent on the road. Hofstra is 0-5 in Quad 1 and 2 games. 10* (774) UNC Wilmington Seahawks

This is a play on the BUTLER BULLDOGS for our Wed. CBB Star Attraction. St. John's has won two straight games since getting called out by head coach Rick Pitino including an impressive win over Creighton on Sunday by 14 points. The Red Storm were catching the Bluejays off their huge home win over Connecticut so the setup was ideal following a lethargic effort against Georgetown in a five-point win. St. John's is back on the road where it is just 3-6 and in addition to the win over the Hoyas, the wins came against Villanova and West Virginia. The Red Storm are still just 2-9 in Quad 1 games following the win over Creighton. Butler is playing its way out of the NCAA Tournament as it has lost four straight games to fall to 7-10 in the Big East Conference while it has failed to cover its last five games. The Bulldogs lost both games last week on the road and they are back home where they are 11-4 and while they have dropped two straight here, those were against Creighton and Marquette, No. 11 and No. 12 in NET rankings respectively. They too have struggled in quad 1 games but this is not one and they are 13-1 outside that quadrant. 10* (744) Butler Bulldogs

This is a play on the TEXAS A&M AGGIES for our Wed. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Texas A&M is coming off its fourth straight loss following a defeat at Tennessee on Saturday by 35 points to fall to 6-8 in the Southeastern Conference. While the Aggies could be defended in that three of the four games have been on the road but one of those losses was against 2-12 Vanderbilt while the home loss was against 5-9 Arkansas by seven points as a 12-point favorite. Texas A&M has gone from a likely lock for the NCAA Tournament to being just outside the bubble as the latest loss along with the Wake Forest win over Duke now has them on the outside. South Carolina shook off a pair of losses against Auburn and LSU with a win over Mississippi on Saturday by 13 points on the road. The Gamecocks are now 10-4 in the conference which is good a tie for third place with Auburn and they stay on the road in a tough spot against a desperate team. While they are third in the standings, the Gamecocks are seventh in the NET rankings, coming in at No. 48 as the schedule has not been great with their seven Quad 1 games being the lowest in the SEC. 10* (746) Texas A&M Aggies

This is a play on the WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS for our Wed. CBB Signature Enforcer. Western Kentucky had its five-game winning streak snapped with a two-point loss at Middle Tennessee St. on Saturday and the Hilltoppers have fallen to 8-5 in Conference USA. They are two games out of first place with three games left and still have a shot as a win here would give them a sweep of Louisiana Tech but they would still need some help having lost both games to Sam Houston. Simply put, they need to take care of business here where they are 12-1, the only loss coming to San Houston St., and this is the final home game of the season so this will be an amped environment in this rivalry game. Louisiana Tech has won four straight games to remain tied with the Bearkats for first place and this is now the third straight road game before closing the season with two home games including the next game against Sam Houston St. that could decide the C-USA title. The Bulldogs are 7-7 on the road with the five conference wins all against teams with losing records and this is the toughest test since losing at Sam Houston St. to open January. 10* (720) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

This is a play on the COASTAL CAROLINA CHANTICLEERS for our SBC Game of the Month. Arkansas St. has been on a roll as it has won five straight and seven of its last eight games while covering all eight of those to improve to 10-6 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Red Wolves own a pair of very impressive wins over Troy during this stretch while coming off a 17-point win over South Alabama on Saturday which was its final home game of the season on Senior Day. There will be the letdown from that in addition to a lookahead as Arkansas St. travels to face first place Appalachian St. to close the season while laying a huge number with its 4-10 road record. It has been a season to forget for Coastal Carolina as it is now 5-11 in the conference following a pair of road losses last week at Old Dominion and Georgia St. The Chanticleers closed the road portion of their schedule 1-9 with the only win coming against Texas St. and they return home for their final two games where they are a much more respectable 7-9. Coastal Carolina has won their last three home games and despite the overall struggles, it has been a profitable team and is in an ideal spot. 10* (712) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

This is a play on the WOFFORD TERRIERS for our Wed. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Samford locked up the Southern Conference regular season championship with a win over East Tennessee St. by 16 points on Saturday to improve to 14-2. With the No. 1 seed locked up and Senior Night on deck with the chance to complete an 18-0 home schedule, this is a tough spot to get up for to not only win but win by margin. The Bulldogs are 8-4 on the road including a 6-2 record in the conference with half of those victories coming by less than what they are laying here with two of the big margin wins coming against The Citadel and VMI which are a combined 4-28. Wofford has lost three straight games to fall to 8-8 in the conference with last two coming on the road against two of the top four teams. The Terriers are now 5-9 on the road but they are back home for their final home game of the season for Senior Night and a chance to finish 11-2 here. The two losses came against UNC Greensboro and Chattanooga which are both 11-5 and while they face a better opponent here, the situation is much more in their favor and at a great number. 10* (698) Wofford Terriers

This is a play on the COLORADO ST. RAMS for our Tue. CBB Signature Enforcer. Colorado St. continues to move down the Mountain West Conference standings as it lost at UNLV on Saturday by six points to fall to 8-7. The Rams road struggles are the big reason as they are now 3-7 overall which includes a 1-7 road conference record but they have been nearly the complete opposite at home where they are 7-0 in the MWC and 14-1 overall. They are firmly in the NCAA Tournament as they rate out well and are No. 27 in the NET rankings which is third best in the conference while going 16-2 in games outside of Quad 1. Nevada is one game out of first place following a win at San Jose St. which was its third straight victory to move to 9-5 in the conference. The Wolf Pack have improved their play on the road as they have won three straight which includes a very solid victory at Utah St. and they are now 6-3 on the highway. Overall, they do not rate as well as the Rams as they are No. 42 in the NET rankings and are narrowly inside the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. This is certainly a quality team but hits Fort Collins at the wrong time. 10* (660) Colorado St. Rams

This is a play on the NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH for our Tue. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Notre Dame had a three-game winning streak snapped with a hard-fought loss at Syracuse on Saturday to fall to 5-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Fighting Irish return home where they have not been great but have been much better here than on the road and they have won two straight in South Bend. Now they are catching a big number based on the opponent and while they have yet to win a Quad 1 game in seven tries, they have covered four of those games and continue to play hard. This is more of a play against Wake Forest which is coming off its biggest win of the season as it beat Duke at home by four points and then became more talked about with the controversial court storm. This was an auto play against because of that anyway and now the Demon Deacons hit the road where they have been just as bad as Notre Dame has been as they are 2-7 compared to 15-0 at home. Wake Forest was in the last four out group for the NCAA Tournament and is now in but needs to be careful and are now overvalued with all of the attention. 10* (654) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

This is a play on the ST. BONAVENTURE BONNIES for our A10 Game of the Year. Loyola-Chicago has won seven straight games to improve to 12-2 in the Atlantic Ten Conference which is good for a tie for first place with Richmond. The Ramblers have covered all seven of those games as well which has put them in a play against spot with the value being adjusted. Despite being in first place, Loyola-Chicago is No. 7 in the conference in NET ranking where it is No. 92 overall with a big reason being it has played only two Quad 1 games, going 0-2, and this one falls into that quadrant. Additionally, the Ramblers have a game at home against Dayton on deck. St. Bonaventure is coming off a big win at Massachusetts on Saturday to make it three wins in their last four games and the Bonnies are back over .500 in the conference at 8-7 and now are back home where they are 10-3. They are tied for fifth place and catching fourth place is unlikely but if they win their final three games and VCU goes 1-3 over its last four games, they would clinch it. The Bonnies are No. 2 in the A-10 in NET rankings and while they are 0-4 in Quad 1 games, they are 17-6 in all other games. 10* (612) St. Bonaventure Bonnies

This is a play on the MISSISSIPPI ST. BULLDOGS for our Tue. CBB Star Attraction. Kentucky is coming off a huge win on Saturday as it blew away Alabama by 22 points while leading by as many as 37 points to improve to 9-5 in the Southeastern Conference as it remains tied with Florida for fifth place. The Wildcats 117 points were the most ever scored against a ranked opponent as they improved to 7-1 following a loss, bouncing back from a brutal one point loss at LSU. The big victory puts them in letdown mode and they are back on the road where they are 5-3 with three of those wins coming against Louisville, Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Mississippi St. is playing its best basketball since the end of nonconference action as it has won five straight games to move to 8-6 in the conference and is currently a projected No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The run has not exactly been against the best of competition but those are the game that good teams win nonetheless and they have moved to No. 28 in the NET rankings. They can pick up their fourth Quad 1 win with a victory here at home where they are 11-2 including big wins over Auburn and Tennessee, accounting for two of their combined seven losses. 10* (622) Mississippi St. Bulldogs

This is a play on the DELAWARE BLUE HENS for our Mon. CBB Signature Enforcer. Delaware has lost two of three games following a four-game winning streak including a 19-point loss at home against Charleston to fall to 9-6 in the Coastal Athletic Association. Five of those losses came against all five teams ahead of them in the conference and that includes a 19-point loss at Drexel so the Blue Hens will be out to avenge that. They are 7-4 at home including a 5-2 record in the CAA with two nonconference losses coming by a combined five points. Drexel is coming off a 12-point loss at Hofstra on Thursday which was its fourth loss in six games and the Dragons have dropped from 8-1 to 10-5 in the conference. That puts them into fourth place in the conference with three teams lurking and just three games left. Drexel is 5-10 on the road which is bad enough but the wins are very unimpressive. The first road win of the season was at Winthrop which is No. 173 in the NET rankings by only two points while the other four wins were against No. 309 Lafayette, No. 305 Elon, No. 332 William & Mary and No. 337 North Carolina A&T. 10* (882) Delaware Blue Hens

This is a play on the NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS for our Sun. CBB Star Attraction. Nebraska is coming off a 15-point win at Indiana to pick up just its second road win on the season. The Huskers improved to 9-7 in the Big Ten Conference and have played their way into the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska is back home where it is 16-1 that includes all three Quad 1 wins which came against Purdue, Michigan St. and Wisconsin and the issue now is that it can only play itself out with no more Quad 1 games remaining and it cannot lose these fringe Quad 2 and Quad 3 games. There is revenge in play as well with the Huskers having lost in Minnesota by 11 points. The Gophers defeated Ohio St. by nine points in its last game, catching the Buckeyes off their huge win over Purdue, moving them to 15-3 at home. It was another cover for Minnesota which is now an unheard of 23-3 against the number and now it is back on the road where it is 2-5, having beaten only Michigan and Penn St. Despite being only a half-game behind Nebraska, the Gophers are 30 spots behind the Huskers in the NET rankings. 10* (858) Nebraska Cornhuskers

This is a play on the VCU RAMS for our Sun. CBB Signature Enforcer. VCU was rolling along with four straight wins and it was on a 9-1 run but is coming off a bad loss at Massachusetts on Tuesday by 22 points. The loss was not bad because the Minutemen are a bad team but because of how bad it was and the fact it allowed Massachusetts to stay alive for the No. 4 seed and the all-important double bye. The Rams hold that spot, a game and a half in front of the Minutemen so this is a big bounce back game at home where they are 11-5 including the last two wins against 11-2 Richmond and 11-3 Dayton. St. Joseph's is coming off a narrow win over George Washington which snapped a two-game slide to move to 7-7 in the Atlantic Ten Conference. It has been a disappointing season for the Hawks which were supposed to be stronger contenders in the conference and a big issue has been their lack of success on the road where they are 3-7 which includes two conference wins, a one point win over Massachusetts and a win at 4-10 LaSalle. St. Joseph's is just 3-6 in Quad 1 and 2 games. 10* (850) VCU Rams

This is a play on the MILWAUKEE PANTHERS for our Horizon Game of the Month. Milwaukee is coming off a home loss against Youngstown St. on Friday by four points in overtime which snapped a two-game winning streak. The Panthers fell to 9-8 in the Horizon League which is good for a three-way tie for sixth place and they have been a solid bounce back team where they are 8-5. Milwaukee remains home where it is 9-4 which includes a 6-2 record in the conference with the two losses coming against the first and third place teams and both of those were overtime defeats. IPFW is coming off an upset at Green Bay on Friday as it won by 26 points but was fortunate to catch the Phoenix shorthanded with All-Horizon guard Noah Reynolds out with an ankle injury. The Mastodons have won two straight games, the other coming against 1-17 Detroit and this is the only time since late December that they have won consecutive games and in that last instance, both of those games were at home. This is a good spot to go against them having won their last four road games. 10* (844) Milwaukee Panthers

This is a play on the HAWAII WARRIORS for our Sat. CBB Late Powerhouse. Long Beach St. has won five straight games following a 13-point win at home against CSU Bakersfield on Thursday to move to 10-5 in the Big West Conference which has put it into fourth place. The Beach are in a tough travel spot now having to go to Hawaii to play just two nights later and teams just do not benefit from this. Long Beach St. has thrived against lesser opponents, going 10-3 in Quad 4 games but it is just 4-4 in Quad 3 games which is where this one falls into. Hawaii is coming off a loss at UC Santa Barbara which snapped a three-game winning streak but that game was a week ago so the Warriors have a huge travel and rest advantage. They are now 7-8 in the conference which includes a 4-3 record at home where it has won three straight. Hawaii 3-1 in conference games this season at home on Saturday catching a team having played on the mainland two nights earlier with the only loss coming by a bucket in overtime. 10* (810) Hawaii Warriors

This is a play on the GONZAGA BULLDOGS for our WCC Game of the Year. Gonzaga has won five straight games including an impressive nonconference win at Kentucky since suffering a two-point home loss against St. Mary's which was its second in the West Coast Conference. The Bulldogs have had this game circled as their first conference loss was at Santa Clara which snapped a 26-game winning streak against the Broncos and the court storm they had to witness just added fuel to the fire. Gonzaga is 12-2 at home with the only other loss coming against San Diego St. Santa Clara improved to 9-4 with a win over Loyola Marymount on Thursday as it woke up in the second half after trailing by four points at halftime. Surely, the Broncos were looking ahead to this game but they are in the wrong end of the situation and have never been in a spot like this. They are a respectable 5-4 on the road which includes four conference win but those victories were against four of the five bottom teams in the WCC. 10* (794) Gonzaga Bulldogs

This is a play on the UTEP MINERS for our Sat. CBB Contrarian Closer. UTEP is coming off a loss at home against Louisiana Tech on Thursday by six points which was its third straight loss, the previous two coming on the road at Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee St. The Miners now face the other first place team but in a much better situation with the Bearkats playing their second straight road game. UTEP is 12-4 at home which includes a 4-2 record within Conference USA with the other loss coming against Liberty by only two points. Sam Houston St. is coming off a blowout win at New Mexico St. on Thursday following a pair of home wins last week which came after a two-game losing streak. The Bearkats have kept their hold on first place as they remain tied with Louisiana Tech at 9-3 which is a half-game ahead of Western Kentucky so it is wide open. They have struggled on the road as they are 3-7 over their last nine road games with all seven losses coming by at least seven points. 10* (788) UTEP Miners

This is a play on the PITTSBURGH PANTHERS for our Sat. CBB Star Attraction. Pittsburgh had its five-game winning streak snapped with a 33-point loss at Wake Forest on Tuesday and the Panthers are now 8-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were on a 7-1 run that included quality wins against Wake Forest, Duke and Virginia but those are the only Quad 1 wins which is not enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament. Pittsburgh is No. 57 in the NET rankings and it is back home where it is 10-5 and in a great bounce back spot. While the Panthers got destroyed last time out, Virginia Tech was on the other end of that as it rolled over rival Virginia by 34 points which halted a 1-4 stretch and moved them to 7-8 in the conference. The Hokies lost to Duke and North Carolina over that stretch but also lost to Miami and Notre Dame, both of which have 10 losses in the conference. They are back on the road where they are 1-7 with the lone win coming at NC State and six of those losses coming by at least eight points. 10* (718) Pittsburgh Panthers

This is a play on the CALIFORNIA BAPTIST LANCERS for our Sat. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Tarleton St. is coming off a huge upset at home over Grand Canyon as it overcame a 13-point halftime deficit as the offense exploded for 55 second half points after putting up just 22 points in the first half. That was the seventh straight win for the Texans which are now 12-3 in the Western Athletic Conference and they have covered all of those games as well and the recent upset is forcing a line adjustment. The last four wins have all been as underdogs so it has been a stretch of some excellent play but this is the ultimate letdown spot. It has been a rough stretch for California Baptist as it has lost four straight games following a six-point loss to Abilene Christian on Thursday to fall to 7-8 in the conference. Three of those losses have been on the road but they al came down to the final minute of the game and the Lancers were 4-4 on the road prior to this stretch so they have been more than competitive. California Baptist is on a 1-5 stretch against the number and that only adds to the value. 10* (713) California Baptist Lancers

This is a play on the TENNESSEE ST. TIGERS for our Sat. CBB Signature Enforcer. Tennessee St. snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over Eastern Illinois by five points but failed to cover its fourth straight game. The Tigers remain in a tie for fifth place in the Ohio Valley Conference at 9-6 and this is their final home game of the season before closing the campaign on the road with two very difficult matchups against second place teams Little Rock and UT Martin. Tennessee St. is 10-3 at home with the other two losses against the Skyhawks and first place Morehead St. SIUE has won three straight games following a three-game losing streak and is the team that is tied with Tennessee St. at 9-6. While the winning streak has gotten the Cougars back into the top half of the conference, the wins were not overly impressive as they came against the three bottom teams in the conference that are a combined 9-36. The win on Thursday was at Tennessee Tech but it was by only one point and only the second road win on the season, the other coming at 2-13 Lindenwood. 10* (700) Tennessee St. Tigers

This is a play on the OKLAHOMA SOONERS for our Sat. CBB Rivalry Rout. Oklahoma is coming off a pair of double-digit losses to Baylor and Kansas which are No. 14 and No. 17 in the NET rankings so while a win in either of those would have been good, the losses are not that detrimental. The Sooners are No. 39 in the NET ranking and have been held in check in the Quad 1 games where they are 3-7 but are 15-1 outside of that. They hit the road where they are just 2-4 but in a good spot here in a rivalry game that is even more important with games against Iowa St. and Houston on deck. Oklahoma St. has had a decent turnaround after a 0-6 start in the Big 12 Conference as it has gone 4-3 over its last seven games and while that does include a big win against BYU, the other three wins have come against teams ranked lower than Oklahoma. The Cowboys are coming off their first road win of the season and are back home where their once dominant home court edge has lost a lot of its luster as they are 10-5 and the win over the Cougars being their only Quad 1 or 2 victory. 10* (687) Oklahoma Sooners

This is a play on the ARIZONA WILDCATS for our Sat. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Coming off a 45-point win over rival Arizona St., Arizona was unable to back that up as it lost at home on Thursday against Washington St., which is ranked for the first time since 2008 and swept the season series against the Wildcats. That was the first home loss for Arizona after a 13-0 start and it is now sitting in second place in the Pac 12 Conference, a half-game behind the Cougars. This is the perfect get right spot for Arizona and this is the second time it has played at home following a loss, the first time resulting in a 47-point win over Colorado. Washington came away with a win at Arizona St. to make it three wins in four games for the Huskies. It was not a pretty display however as they blew a 25-point second half lead and needed overtime to get it done and a loss would have been devastating. Washington is still just 7-9 in the conference and has not fared well against the top teams and it is 1-6 overall in Quad 1 games and while that one victory was a solid one against Gonzaga, that was on their home floor. 10* (644) Arizona Wildcats

This is a play on the QUINNIPIAC BOBCATS for our MAAC Game of the Year. Quinnipiac opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play with a 20-point loss at Canisius but then ran off 11 consecutive conference wins before losing its last two games. The Bobcats still have a two-game lead and this game can go a long way toward the regular season championship because three of the final five games after this are against teams with a winning record. The last defeat came at home against Niagara which is one of the two teams two games back and that was just their second home loss of the season. Fairfield is the other team two games back and will be out to avoid the season sweep as it lost the first meeting at home by two points. The Stags have won four of their last five games but only one of those was on the road, a two-point win at St. Peter's and they come in 8-5 on the road. This includes a 4-2 record in the MAAC with the other three victories coming against losing teams. While this is a huge game for Fairfield as well, it is catching Quinnipiac in the wrong place at the wrong time. 10* (888) Quinnipiac Bobcats

This is a play on the BOWLING GREEN FALCONS for our Fri. CBB Signature Enforcer. Toledo is coming off a massive win on Tuesday against Akron to get the series split and move into a tie for first place in the Mi-American Conference with the Zips. The Rockets improved to 11-2 at home and now hit the road where they are 6-4 with two of those wins coming by one point and another by four points against a bad Eastern Michigan team. This is a big letdown spot and while toledo will not want to give a game away, an outright win is not our concern when taking this big number. Bowling Green got to 7-4 in the conference but has lost its last two games and three straight overall including a defeat to Louisiana, all of which were on the road. The Falcons are another team that performs much better as home as they are 10-3 including 4-2 in the conference but both of those losses came in overtime. Only eight of the 12 MAC teams make the conference tournament and Bowling Green is far from a lock as it is just two games out of the No. 9 spot so every game at this point is huge. 10* (882) Bowling Green Falcons

This is a play on the LOYOLA-MARYMOUNT LIONS for our Thu. CBB Late Powerhouse. Loyola-Marymount has dropped six straight games but four of those were against Gonzaga twice, St. Mary's and San Francisco which are the top three teams in the West Coast Conference at a combined 33-5 with another coming against a very hot San Diego team. While the Lions face another hot team, they are getting value in a good situation as they have failed to cover each of their last five games. The road has not been kind as Loyola-Marymount is just 1-5 but three of those losses were against those three top teams and another against Nevada. This is very much a play against Santa Clara which has won two straight games following a three-game losing streak. However, the big factor for playing against the Broncos is the fact they travel to Gonzaga on Saturday, a team they defeated earlier this season which snapped a 26-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. Santa Clara is 9-4 at home which is nothing dominant and there is also value going against the Broncos on their recent run of 7-1 ATS their last eight games. 10* (831) Loyola-Marymount Lions

This is a play on the STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LUMBERJACKS for our Thu. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Stephen F. Austin opened Western Athletic Conference action 5-2 with the two losses by seven points combined but the Lumberjacks are 2-5 since then which has coincided with Sadaidriene Hall being lost for the season and while that has been a big deal, it has been enough time for adjustments. However, three losses came by five combined points and another in overtime. The bigger deal for our concerns are that they are on a 0-10 ATS run while covering only three times in their last 19 games and this is where we back them. Seattle has won two straight games and six of its last eight to improve to 9-6 in the conference which has put it into third place. The Redhawks are back home following those last two wins which came on the road and they are 12-3 at home with this being the start of a three-game homestand. They have been overvalued here as while they are 10-2 as home favorites, they are just 5-7 against the number in those games and they come in overvalued in this spot once again. 10* (827) Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

This is a play on the NEW MEXICO ST. AGGIES for our C-USA Game of the Month. New Mexico St. is coming off a 0-3 roadtrip where it also failed to cover any of those games and the highway has been a problem all season as the Aggies are 0-14 away from home with some close call along the way. They have been a different team in Las Cruces however as the Aggies are 11-1 which includes a 5-0 record in Conference USA with the only loss coming against New Mexico by only one point. The venue has been the difference in their 5-6 conference record which is actually good for a tie for fourth place with two other teams and New Mexico St. needs to avoid falling to No. 5 or 6. San Houston St. is coming off a pair of home wins last week to improve to 10-2 at home which includes a perfect 6-0 record in the conference. The Bearkats have kept their hold on first place as they are tied with Louisiana Tech at 8-3 which is a half-game ahead of Western Kentucky so it is wide open. They have struggled on the road as they are 2-7 over their last nine road games with all seven losses coming by at least seven points. 10* (806) New Mexico St. Aggies

This is a play on the MONTANA ST. BOBCATS for our Thu. CBB Contrarian Closer. The Montana St. season has taken a turn in the wrong direction as after opening Big Sky Conference action 6-3, it has lost four straight games. The Bobcats are coming off a 19-point loss at rival Montana on Saturday but the three previous losses all came down to the final minute. They are now 6-7 in the conference and return home with an 8-6 record which is nothing special but we get a good line because of that in a big bounce back game. Montana St. does own home wins over Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado which are first and second in the conference. Portland St. is coming off a pair of blowout wins last week to get back to .500 in the conference but both of those wins were at home. The Vikings are back on the road where they are 5-8 which is not horrible but most of the wins were early in the season as they have lost five straight road games and it has been a sparse road schedule. They have played only four road games since January 6 compared to eight games at home. 10* (810) Montana St. Bobcats

This is a play on the TENNESSEE ST. TIGERS for our Thu. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Tennessee St. lost to rival Tennessee Tech to open last week on the road and followed that up with a home loss to Western Illinois. The Tigers have fallen into a tie for fifth place in the Ohio Valley Conference at 8-6 and they remain home for a pair of key games before closing the season on the road with two very difficult matchups against second place teams Little Rock and UT Martin. Tennessee St. is 9-3 at home with the other two losses against the Skyhawks and first place Morehead St. Eastern Illinois is coming off two home wins last week to get back to .500 in the conference but the recent stretch has not been impressive. The Panthers picked up to strong victories early on as they won at UT Martin and Little Rock as nine-point underdogs in both but the last five wins have come against Lindenwood twice, SE Missouri St., Tennessee Tech and Southern Indiana and those four teams are at the bottom of the conference and are a combined 14-43. Eastern Illinois is 4-8 on the road but two wins came against two of those aforementioned teams. 10* (798) Tennessee St. Tigers

This is a play on the TOWSON TIGERS for our Thu. CBB Signature Enforcer. This is a get right spot for Towson which fell to 9-5 in the Coastal Athletic Association following a six-point loss at Hampton which was the first conference win for the Pirates after starting 0-13. That is a huge motivator and while normally having Charleston on deck which is the final home game of the season would present a lookahead situation, that will not be the case here. The Tigers are in a tie for fourth place with Delaware and Hofstra so this is a big game to keep pace and they have a big home court edge where they are 11-1 on the season. Monmouth is coming off a 23-point win over Stony Brook on Saturday to make it two straight wins for the Hawks which improved to 8-6 in the conference. This is obviously a big game for them as well for an opportunity to move up in the standings but it is the final test of the season with their final three games against three of the five worst teams in the CAA. Making it more difficult is the fact Monmouth is 1-11 on the road including 10 straight losses and a 0-6 conference record. 10* (744) Towson Tigers

This is a play on the NEW MEXICO LOBOS for our Wed. CBB Late Powerhouse. The Mountain West Conference is wide open with seven teams within two games of each other separating first and seventh place. New Mexico is back home following an 11-point loss at San Diego St. on Friday night and it has alternated wins and losses over its last six games. The Lobos are now 8-5 in the conference and have plenty of motivation as they are not only coming off the blowout loss but have lost two straight games at home after an 11-0 start and will be out to avenge an eight-point loss in Fort Collins which opened conference action. Colorado St. rolled at home against Utah St. by 20 points on Saturday and is also 8-5 in the MWC but it too has slowed down after a hot start to the season. The Rams opened 13-1 with the loss coming against St. Mary's, which also handed the Lobos their first loss in their 12-1 start, but Colorado St. has gone 7-5 since which includes a 1-5 record on the road. All five losses have been against teams at .500 or better with the lone road victory coming against 4-9 Fresno St. 10* (726) New Mexico Lobos

This is a play on the WICHITA ST. SHOCKERS for our Wed. CBB Signature Enforcer. Wichita St. has been a big disappointment as it has fallen to 2-11 in the American Athletic Conference following its third straight loss, the last two coming on the road at East Carolina and Charlotte to fall to 2-12 away from home. The Shockers have not been great at Koch Arena but are 8-4 and while that includes a 2-4 conference record, all four of the losses were against teams with winning conference records including a loss against Florida Atlantic in overtime. The 0-7 road record has killed them which includes a loss at Tulsa by 11 points setting up a revenge spot. The Golden Hurricane have not been much better as they are 4-9 in the conference but did snap a four-game losing streak with a win over Rice on Saturday. Similar to Wichita St., Tulsa has struggled on the road by going just 1-7 with the lone victory coming at Rice by two points. Tulsa is 3.5games better overall and that is due to the strength of schedule differential with Tulsa having played a slate ranked No. 290 compared to the Shockers schedule which is No. 93. 10* (718) Wichita St. Shockers

This is a play on the INDIANA HOOSIERS for our Wed. CBB Star Attraction. Nebraska has won two straight games and it continues to win the games it needs to. The Huskers are a perfect 12-0 in Quad 3 and 4 games while going 16-1 at home, the lone loss there against top ten Creighton. The issue is everywhere else and the reason they remain on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Nebraska is 6-8 in Quad 1 and 2 games which is respectable but underwhelming and it is just 1-7 on the road. The only road win was at Kansas St. back in December and so far the home team has gone 15-0 in Nebraska Big Ten Conference games. It has been a disappointing season for Indiana which came into the season picked to finish top four in the conference but it currently tied for ninth place with a 6-8 record. The Hoosiers have lost two straight games and six of their last eight with a loss against Penn St. being the only defeat to a team not in the top four in the standings. Indiana has dropped its last two home games but it still a solid 10-4 as it remains one of the tougher environments for opponents and the number here is on their side. 10* (714) Indiana Hoosiers

This is a play on the MEMPHIS TIGERS for our Wed. CBB Supreme Annihilator. After opening the season 15-2, Memphis has regressed. The Tigers went through a four-game losing streak to close January and looked to have gotten back on track with three straight wins but has dropped its last two games. Both of those were on the road and they return home where they are 10-2 with one horrible loss against Rice as 14.5-point favorites and the other coming against 12-1 and first place South Florida by one point. Even with Florida Atlantic on deck, there is no lookahead with each game now being a must have. Charlotte has been a big surprise along with South Florida in the American Athletic Conference as it is now in second place at 11-2 following its third straight win on Sunday. The three-game winning streak came against the three worst teams in the conference which are all 2-11, the last two coming at home where the 49ers are 12-1. They have not been nearly as good on the road at 4-5 and while that does include a 4-2 mark in the AAC, the four wins are against teams 4-9 or worse, three by four points or less. 10* (712) Memphis Tigers

This is a play on the UNC GREENSBORO SPARTANS for our SoCon Game of the Year. Western Carolina is coming off a win over East Tennessee St. on Saturday to move to 8-6 in the Southern Conference which is good for a tie for fifth place and with four games remaining, it is unlikely to face one of the bottom four teams in the upcoming conference tournament. The Catamounts have almost only had success against those bottom teams which is where seven of their eight wins have come from and they are 1-6 against teams with a winning record, the lone victory coming at home against Wofford by four points. UNC Greensboro has won two straight games to get to 10-4 and remain in a second place tie with Chattanooga and it is in a great space for the final two weeks. The next three games after this are against three of those four bottom teams so capturing the all-important No. 2 seed is well within reach. After starting the season 9-0 at home, the Spartans have lost three straight home games so there will be a lot of motivation on the floor Wednesday in addition to the upcoming scenarios. 10* (656) UNC Greensboro Spartans

This is a play on the UTAH ST. AGGIES for our Tue. CBB Signature Enforcer. San Diego St. is coming off a pair of home blowout wins against Colorado St. and New Mexico which were both revenge situations and the Aztecs improved to 13-0 at home in the process. They are 9-4 in the Mountain West Conference with first place on the line Tuesday with the winner taking sole possession. San Diego St. is back on the road where it is 4-6 and while one win was a solid one over Gonzaga, the first was against UC San Diego with the two conference wins coming against San Jose St. and Air Force which are a combined 3-22 in the MWC. Utah St. has been in solo first place in the conference for much of the season but it has slowed down with losses in three of its last five games after a 7-1 start. The three losses were all by at least 14 points which is concerning but two of those were in tough environments with the lone home blemish coming against Nevada. This is a big game to get right following a 20-point loss at Colorado St. and the Aggies have a week off after this with upcoming games against the bottom three teams. 10* (638) Utah St. Aggies

This is a play on the BYU COUGARS for our Big 12 Game of the Month. BYU is back home following a bad loss at Oklahoma St. by 10 points on Saturday which dropped it to 6-6 in the Big 12 Conference. Despite sitting at .500, the strength of the conference has kept the Cougars in the top ten in the NET rankings. Markets have seemed to have adjusted as after an 11-2 ATS start, BYU has covered just three of its last 12 games including four straight losses so blind betting the Cougars has not been effective so we need to find the right spots and this is one of those. The Cougars are 13-2 at home coming off that road loss and playing with revenge from a nine-point loss last month. Baylor has won two games in a row since its loss at Kansas and it remains on the road following a 13-point win at 3-9 West Virginia on Saturday. The Bears are 3-3 on the road with the other two wins coming against 3-9 Oklahoma St. and 4-8 UCF and the former went into overtime. Baylor is a game out of first place in the conference and has a two-game lead over BYU yet remains one spot behind the Cougars in the NET rankings. 10* (644) BYU Cougars

This is a play on the CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS for our Tue. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Connecticut has won 14 straight games following an impressive 28-point home win over Marquette on Saturday which increased its lead to 3.5 games in the Big East Conference. The Huskies improved to 14-0 at home and while they are 6-2 on the road, none of those six wins have come against teams with a winning conference record and while four of those have qualified as Quad 1 wins this is by far the biggest test. Connecticut has covered three straight games with the last two on the road coming as DePaul and Georgetown, a combined 1-27 in the conference. Creighton has won three straight games since suffering a pair of losses against Butler and Providence and it is now 10-5 in the conference. Four of the losses have been by five points or fewer including two in overtime while sitting 11-2 at home, the two losses by three points combined. It has been a season of streaks for Creighton at the betting window with adjustments having been made as it opened 7-2 ATS then went 3-11 against the number before its current 3-0 ATS run. 10* (634) Creighton Bluejays

This is a play on the FLORIDA ST. SEMINOLES for our Tue. CBB Star Attraction. Florida St. remains home following a loss against Duke on Saturday which was its third straight loss and fifth loss in its last six games. The Seminoles are right at .500 in the Atlantic Coast Conference which is a huge turnaround from their 7-13 season a year ago, already having matched those seven wins in the ACC. Florida St. is 7-7 at home which is nothing special but three of those losses where by two or fewer possessions and the last four home games, all resulting in losses, were against four teams that will be going to the NCAA Tournament. Boston College has won two straight games to move to 6-8 in the conference with both games taking place at home where they Eagles are now 10-4. They hit the road where they are 4-4 but two conference wins were against 4-11 Georgia Tech and 4-10 Notre Dame while the two nonconference road wins were against The Citadel and Vanderbilt, which are No. 261 and No. 201 in the NET rankings respectively. All six conference win have been against teams with a losing record. 10* (628) Florida St. Seminoles

This is a play on the IOWA ST. CYCLONES for our Mon. CBB Star Attraction. This is a great buy low/sell high opportunity with an undervalued team getting an inflated number facing an overvalued team. Houston is No. 1 in NET ranking and is a perfect 14-0 at home where it has been dominant but not at this number against this opponent. The Cougars are coming off a big win over Texas and they are now favored by nearly the same amount against a team ranked 25 spots higher in the NET rankings. Houston is known for its strong defense as it is No. 1 in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency but this matchup favors the underdog, especially one that is this big. Reason being, the Cyclones play their own form of tenacious defense as they are ranked No. 3 in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. Iowa St. forces the third-most turnovers per game in the country at 18.1 which also leads the Big 12 while it has held all but one Big 12 opponent under its season scoring average. This should turn it into a low scoring game which benefits the dog as was the case in the first meeting with Iowa St. winning outright where only 110 points were scored. 10* (881) Iowa St. Cyclones

This is a play on the UTAH UTES for our Sun. CBB Star Attraction. Utah was a sure lock for the NCAA Tournament a couple weeks ago as it was 14-5 including 5-3 in the Pac 12 Conference but it has dropped five of its last six games and is inching toward the bubble. The Utes lost a tough one at home against Arizona by six points and the letdown was on as they lost two night later to Arizona St. at home as 13-point favorites. They opened this California trip with a loss to then last place USC on Thursday and this has turned into a massive game with a trip to Colorado on deck. UCLA has turned the corner but it could be too little, too late. The Bruins have won six straight and eight of their last nine games to move into third place in the conference, a game and a half behind first place Arizona. UCLA does have a pair of quality wins over Oregon and Colorado but the Bruins remain one of only three Pac 12 teams yet to record a Quad 1 victory. They are No. 106 in the NET rankings which is ninth in the conference and catch Utah at a horrible time despite their road struggles. 10* (863) Utah Utes

This is a play on the FURMAN PALADINS for our Sun. CBB Signature Enforcer. Chattanooga remains in the chase of Samford in the Southern Conference as it is two games behind the Bulldogs heading into Saturday action. The Mocs have won three straight games following its loss at home against Samford which was its second loss to the Bulldogs so they are essentially three games back including the tiebreaker. They are back on the road where they have won six straight games which does include a solid one over UNC Greensboro but this is the slip up spot. Furman went through a stretch of losing nine of 13 games as it was crushed with injuries but the Paladins are fully healthy again and have gone 8-3 over their last 11 games. Two of those losses were on the road with the lone home defeat coming against UNC Greensboro by a bucket despite 51 points from Marcus Foster and J.P. Pegues. Furman is a game out of third place and two games out of second place so this game gets them right back up there and there is value with this revenge number after going 0-6 ATS in their last six games. 10* (850) Furman Paladins

This is a play on the OHIO ST. BUCKEYES for our Sun. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Ohio St. will be playing its first game since head coach Chris Holtmann was fired and the timing could not be better. The Buckeyes biggest win of the season happened to come in their fastest-paced game against Alabama and in the few practices since the coaching change, it sounds like Ohio St. is gearing up to play at such a tempo consistently under interim head coach Jake Diebler. The Buckeyes have lost nine of their last 11 games and change can charge up a team and we are expecting that here in the Buckeyes biggest home game of the season. Purdue has a two and a half game lead in the Big Ten Conference heading into Saturday and at 23-2, the Boilermakers are currently projected as the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers have won nine straight games since suffering a loss at Nebraska and while this does include four road wins, they are nearly as dominant as they are at home and are walking into a tough spot. While the Buckeyes are 0-7 on the road, they are 10-4 at home and a live dog on Sunday. 10* (828) Ohio St. Buckeyes

This is a play on the SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS for our Sat. CBB Signature Enforcer. Southern Utah dropped to 4-10 in the Western Athletic Conference following a loss on Thursday against Seattle which was its third straight defeat. All but two of those losses have been against teams sitting at .500 or better and the two that were against teams below .500 were on the road. The Thunderbirds are a modest 6-5 at home with all five losses against the aforementioned .500 or better conference teams and now it is revenge time after losing to Utah Valley by 18 points in the first meeting. Utah Valley snapped a four-game losing streak two games back with a 29-point win over Abilene Christian and followed that up with a minor upset of California Baptist on the road on Thursday as it led basically throughout in the 20-point victory. The Wolverines are just 3-7 over their last 10 games and they remain on the road where they are 2-10 with the only other win coming in their first road game of the season in overtime over Sam Houston St. and we do not see it making it two straight. 10* (790) Southern Utah Thunderbirds

This is a play on the MICHIGAN WOLVERINES for our Sat. CBB Ultimate Underdog. It is a lost season for Michigan which has dropped two straight games by 20 and 19 points at Nebraska and Illinois respectively to fall to 3-11 in the Big Ten Conference. The Wolverines are back home for a big night game with their rival and will be out for revenge from a 19-point loss in East Lansing which was the 700th career victory for head coach Tom Izzo. Michigan has struggled at home with a 5-7 record but point guard Dug McDaniel will be back in the lineup as he has missed the last five road games due to an academic issue. The Spartans were struggling with an NCAA Tournament bid becoming questionable but they have won seven of their last nine games including a big win over Illinois. They are now 8-6 in the conference and have moved up to a projected No. 7 seed which is still way below expectations coming into the season. Despite what looks like a sizable advantage here, things happen in rivalry games and Michigan St. comes in just 2-5 on the road with all five losses coming in the conference. 10* (776) Michigan Wolverines

This is a play on the COLORADO ST. RAMS for our Sat. CBB Star Attraction. Utah St. shook off a pair of blowout losses against San Diego St. and Nevada with a blowout win at home against Boise St. by 19 points last Saturday and followed that up with an eight-point win at Wyoming on Wednesday. The Aggies maintained their lead in the Mountain West Conference by a game at 9-3 over two other teams but are in a much tougher spot on Saturday. Utah St. is 6-3 on the road so it has played well outside of Logan but came up small in similar environments in New Mexico and San Diego St. Colorado St. got pummeled at San Diego St. on Tuesday by 16 points which snapped a four-game winning streak and it has dropped into sixth place in the conference at 7-5. But the Rams can pull within a game of first place with a win and they need to hold serve on their home court as they have a pair of challenging road games on deck. They are 13-1 with the lone loss coming against St. Mary's by three points and all but one conference win has been by at least eight points. 10* (726) Colorado St. Rams

This is a play on the UC DAVIS AGGIES for our Sat. CBB Supreme Annihilator. UC Davis is coming off a split last weekend where it won at home against CSU Fullerton and lost at Hawaii but returned home and lost to Long Beach St. on Thursday. They are now 10-4 in the Big West Conference with the other two losses coming against UC Irvine and UC San Diego which are a combined 21-5 in the Big West. UC Davis remains home where it is now 7-2 in its last nine home games and this is a great bounce back spot in a very favorable part of the schedule. UC Riverside was coming off a two-game homestand where it won both games including a huge upset over then 11-1 UC Irvine by 10 points as an eight-point underdog but had to head out on the road where it was 0-12. The Highlanders were able to snag their first road victory of the season as they defeated CSU Fullerton by eight points in a game where they actually went off as the favorite. That improved Highlanders to 6-8 in the conference and they certainly have a much tougher test in the second of a highway back-to-back. 10* (714) UC Davis Aggies

This is a play on the MONMOUTH HAWKS for our Sat. CBB Rivalry Rout. Stony Brook is coming off a 20-point win over Hampton to make it three wins in four games and five wins over its last seven games. The Seawolves are 7-6 in the Coastal Athletic Association and are back on the road where they are 4-9 which includes a 3-4 record but those three wins were against Northeastern, William & Mary and Elon which are a combined 12-27. Stony Brook does have some close road losses but that is being taken into account in this number with the metrics making this closer than it should be. Monmouth avoided the upset on Thursday as it defeated Campbell by one point to get back over .500 in the conference following a 1-2 stretch. The Hawks have failed to cover each of their last three games but the price is right here and the venue has played a key role. The home team is 13-0 in Monmouth games in the conference as it is 7-0, part of its 11-1 overall home record with the only loss coming against 17-3 Princeton. This is also a revenge game, following a seven-point loss at Strong Brook last month. 10* (684) Monmouth Hawks

This is a play on the UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS for our Big West Game of the Year. Hawaii picked up a pair of big wins at home last week against UC San Diego and UC Davis which are in second and third place in the Big West Conference respectively and followed that up with a road win on Thursday. However, that was against 0-14 Cal Poly so that is not saying much and the Warriors now have a bigger challenge as they remain on the road where they are 3-4 with the other two wins coming against CSU Fullerton and CSU Bakersfield, two teams ahead of only Cal Poly in the standings. UC Santa Barbara meanwhile has lost three straight games following a road loss at UC San Diego on Thursday. The other two losses came against UC Irvine and CSU Northridge, two of the five teams with winning conference records. The Gauchos have now lost four consecutive home games so this is a team that will be hungry especially coming off a bad road loss. The preseason favorites to win the conference can no longer attain that but a big late run is not out of the question. 10* (698) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

This is a play on the CLEVELAND ST. VIKINGS for our Sat. CBB Contrarian Closer. Youngstown St. shook off a one point loss against Green Bay with a win over Robert Morris on Wednesday to move back into a tie for first place with the Phoenix in the Horizon League. That completed a 2-1 homestand for the Penguins which are 13-2 on their home floor and they hit the road where they are 6-6 which includes a 3-3 record within the conference. A win at Wright St. was a very solid one but the other two road wins came against Detroit and IUPUI which are a combined 3-29 in the Horizon. Cleveland St. won three of four games to move into a fourth place tie in the conference but is coming off a loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee at home which dropped it to 8-7 which is now good for a tie for sixth place. The Vikings remain home where they have lost only one other game which came against Wright St. in overtime and are in a great bounce back spot. Cleveland St. will be out for revenge which lost at Youngstown St. by 25 points and this is a similar revenge situation as last year where they avenged a 14-point loss. 10* (670) Cleveland St. Vikings

This is a play on the MERCER BEARS as part of our Sat. CBB Afternoon Three-Pack. Samford has a two-game lead in the Southern Conference with five games remaining as it has improved to 12-1 with wins in six straight games, covering each of the last four. The Bulldogs are 23-3 overall which includes a 23-1 run with the lone loss coming against Furman and they have a rematch with the Paladins at home in their next game. Samford is a perfect 15-0 at home following a 26-point win over Western Carolina and this is a tougher than expected road spot. Mercer is coming off a home loss against Wofford on Wednesday to make it two straight losses following a pair of home blowout wins over VMI and Furman to conclude a 2-1 homestand. The Bears are still one game over .500 at home and while three of those wins were against non-Division 1 teams, we do need the outright win as we are only concerned about the inflated number. Mercer played the Bulldogs tough in the first meeting on the road in a seven-point loss and cover and the electric home floor will be a big advantage here. 10* (630) Mercer Bears

This is a play on the FLORIDA ST. SEMINOLES as part of our Sat. CBB Afternoon Three-Pack. Following a loss to North Carolina, Duke went home for a three-game homestand and won all three games while also covering those games as well. The Blue Devils are now back on the road for three straight games where they are 4-3 with the other two defeats coming against Georgia Tech and Arkansas. Duke is 10-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference which is a half-game behind the Tar Heels for first place and a half-game ahead of Virginia. While Duke is 13-1 in Quad 3 and 4 games, it is just 6-4 in Quad 1 and 2 games. Florida St. is back home following a loss at Virginia Tech on Tuesday which was its second straight loss and fourth loss in its last five games. The Seminoles are still a game over .500 in the conference which is a huge turnaround from their 7-13 season a year ago, already having matched those seven wins in the ACC. Florida St. is 7-6 at home which is nothing special but three of those losses where by two or fewer possessions and it is catching an overinflated number. 10* (650) Florida St. Seminoles

This is a play on the NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS as part of our Sat. CBB Afternoon Three-Pack. North Carolina was rolling along with a 17-3 record including a perfect 9-0 start in the Atlantic Coast Conference but it has lost three of its last five games while covering just once over its last six games. The Tar Heels are back home following a seven-point loss at Syracuse where it blew a late lead and allowed the Orange to get their revenge from a 36-point loss in Chapel Hill last month. North Carolina still has the lead in the conference and is back home where it is 10-1, the lone loss coming against Clemson in its most recent home game. Virginia Tech pulled away late to defeat Florida St. by 10 points on Tuesday which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Hokies are now a game under .500 in the conference and hit the road where they are 1-6 with the only win coming at NC State which is No. 81 in the NET rankings. Virginia Tech is ranked No. 62 and its six Quad 1 losses are tied for the third most in the ACC and this is a game the Tar Heels will not be looking past after having lost the last two meetings in this series. 10* (652) North Carolina Tar Heels

This is a play on the GEORGETOWN HOYAS for our Fri. CBB Signature Enforcer. It has been another lost season for Georgetown as it is 1-12 in the Big East Conference with its only win coming against winless DePaul and even that was not easy. The Hoyas are sitting right about where they were predicted and they are back home where they are 7-8 following a 22-point loss at Creighton which was their ninth straight loss. They have been blown out in three of their last four games but those were against the three top teams and Georgetown has gone 5-1 against the number in its other six game during this losing skid so it has been competitive. Villanova is coming off a must win game as it rolled over Seton Hall by 26 points on Sunday to make it two wins in its last three games following a five-game losing streak. The Wildcats still have work to do as they are on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament despite sitting No. 40 in the NET rankings. While a win here will not do them any good, a loss could crumble them but that is not our concern as we are about the overinflated number. Villanova has a revenge game against Butler on deck followed by a game at Connecticut. 10* (882) Georgetown Hoyas

This is a play on the BROWN BEARS for our Ivy League Game of the Year. Princeton made a magical run in the NCAA Tournament last season where it advanced to the Sweet 16 and continued right where it left off by starting 9-0 and 15-1 before losing a pair of games on the road at Cornell and Yale, the two top teams in the Ivy League. The Tigers are in third place, two games back, and they are not going to be concerned about margin here with the rematch against Yale set for the next day. The Tigers opened 6-0 against the number and then the markets adjusted and continue to overadjust as they are 4-8 in their last 12 lined games. Brown was expected to be a factor in the conference after going 7-7 last season and bringing four starters back but an awful nonconference portion of the schedule where it went 4-11 has carried over into conference action. But things could be better as the Bears have lost some brutal games as they have dropped eight of their 16 games by five points or less including five by one possession. Brown is 2-5 in the Ivy with two of the losses being by five points combined and the other three less than this big number. 10* (891) Brown Bears

This is a play on the PORTLAND ST. VIKINGS for our Thu. CBB Contrarian Closer. Portland St. was up at the top end of the Big Sky Conference but has suffered three straight losses to fall to 5-7which is good for seventh place but they remain only two games out of the all-important fourth place position. The Vikings were caught in a rough stretch though as they hosted first place and 10-1 Eastern Washington and then went on the road and lost at Weber St. and Idaho St. as significant underdogs. Portland St. is back home where it is 8-2, the other loss coming against aforementioned Idaho St. Northern Colorado is keeping pace with Eastern Washington as it is 8-3 and just two games back following a 3-1 homestand. It has been clutch but possibly fortunate with two wins by three points or less and another two wins taking place in overtime. The Bears are back on the road where they are 4-6 with one of those wins being in overtime and this just their third road game in over a month so the schedule has been in their favor as they finish with five of seven on the highway. 10* (816) Portland St. Vikings

This is a play on the CSU FULLERTON TITANS for our Thu. CBB Late Powerhouse. CSU Fullerton was riding a three-game winning streak to move to 4-5 in the Big West Conference but has lost three games since then including a tough two-point loss at CSU Bakersfield last Saturday. The Titans are back home where they are 5-4 which is certainly nothing great but three of those losses came against three of the top four teams in the conference including a two-point loss against 10-3 UC Davis. They have played one of the tougher schedules in the conference with the most Quad 1 games. UC Riverside is coming off a two-game homestand where it won both games including a huge upset over then 11-1 UC Irvine by 10 points as an eight-point underdog. That improved Highlanders to 9-3 at home but now they hit the road where nothing has gone right as they are 0-12. To their credit, three of those losses were by just one point but on the flip side, six have come by double digits. UC Riverside is a half-game better in the conference than the Titans which is keeping this number low. 10* (818) CSU Fullerton Titans

This is a play on the CALIFORNIA BAPTIST LANCERS for our WAC Game of the Year. California Baptist had its five-game winning streak snapped a week and a half ago at home and that also snapped a four-game home winning streak. The Lancers did bounce back with a win over UT Arlington but gave it back on the road last Saturday at Utah Tech in a seven-point loss. They are 7-5 in the Western Athletic Conference which has them in solo third place but they are just a half-game up on three other teams and with the next three games taking place on the road, this is a big game to maintain their spot. Six of nine overall losses have come by two possessions or less including five by three points or less. Utah Valley snapped a four-game losing streak with a huge 29-point win over Abilene Christian as the wins have been few and far between as the Wolverines are just 2-7 over their last nine games. They are coming off a three-game homestand and are back on the road where they are 1-10 with the only win coming in their first road game of the season in overtime over Sam Houston St. 10* (820) California Baptist Lancers

This is a play on the WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS for our Thu. CBB Signature Enforcer. This is an excellent spot for Western Illinois that was sitting in solo second in the Ohio Valley Conference but lost a pair of home games against Little Rock and UT Martin by three points each to fall to 8-4. The Leathernecks are now tied with two other teams for second place and this has turned into a big game even though it is a weak opponent. Western Illinois is at 8-5 Tennessee St. on Saturday and then hosts first place Morehead St. so it needs to keep pace and heads to Cookeville with a solid 8-6 road record including 6-1 in the OVC. Tennessee Tech had lost six straight games to move to 1-9 in the conference but then made a trip to last place Lindenwood last Saturday to pull out a win and then welcomed rival Tennessee St. on Tuesday and destroyed the Tigers by 20 points which makes it letdown time while playing its third game in six days. The Golden Eagles are 6-6 at home but three of those came against non-Division 1 teams and another against SE Missouri St. which is 0-11 on the road. 10* (781) Western Illinois Leathernecks

This is a play on the TULANE GREEN WAVE for our Thu. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Tulane is coming off a loss at Memphis on Sunday which was its fourth loss in its last five games but three of those defeats were on the road while the other came against 9-2 Charlotte by four points. The Green Wave return home where they were 10-2 prior to the 49ers loss with one of those losses coming against Florida Atlantic by one point and George Mason by three points. They are 4-7 in the American Athletic Conference with four of those losses coming by two or fewer possessions. SMU has been on a roll with four straight wins and seven victories in its last nine games to get to 8-3 in the conference which puts it just two games back. The recent four-game winning streak includes three home wins with the road win coming at Rice and the Mustangs are 2-3 in the AAC on the road with the other win coming at East Carolina with both victories against teams ranked well below Tulane in the NET rankings. SMU is just 1-3 in Quad 2 games which is where this one falls. 10* (734) Tulane Green Wave

This is a play on the DREXEL DRAGONS for our Thu. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Drexel is back home following a three-game roadtrip where it went 0-3 to fall from 8-1 to 8-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association. A loss at Monmouth was not a good one but the last two did come against Charleston and UNC Wilmington, both of which are in a tie for first place. The Dragons are 9-1 at home that includes a nine-game winning streak after losing the season opener and they do have big conference wins against UNC Wilmington and Delaware. They are on a 0-5 ATS run which is the play on spot. Hofstra is also 8-4 in the conference as it has won four straight games and seven of its last eight to get back into the race. The last two wins were on the road where they are just 4-7 but those two victories were against Hampton and North Carolina A&T which are at the bottom end of the conference while the only other road CAA win was against 6-6 Stony Brook. The Pride have three close road losses by three points or less but they were significant favorites in those games. 10* (750) Drexel Dragons

This is a play on the WYOMING COWBOYS for our Wed. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Utah St. shook off a pair of blowout losses against San Diego St. and Nevada with a blowout win at home against Boise St. by 19 points on Saturday. The Aggies maintained their lead in the Mountain West Conference by a game at 8-3 over four other teams but now they are in a difficult spot. Coming off that huge bounce back win and then heading to Colorado St. before a revenge rematch with the Aztecs sets them up for this sandwich situation and in a tougher than expected environment. Wyoming had won four of five games with the only loss coming against San Diego St. on the road but the Cowboys have lost two straight games by 14 and 18 points against UNLV and New Mexico respectively. They are now 5-5 in the conference which includes solid wins against Nevada and Colorado St. and both of those were at home where Wyoming is 8-2 with a loss against Weber St. in addition to the loss against the Lobos which was their last game. 10* (710) Wyoming Cowboys

This is a play on the AUBURN TIGERS for our Wed. CBB Signature Enforcer. South Carolina has won seven straight games to sit in a first place tie with Alabama in the Southeastern Conference at 9-3. Despite the standings, the Gamecocks are No. 45 in the NET rankings which is eighth in the conference despite a solid Q score and they are currently pegged as a No. 5 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The 21 wins are second most in the country but those have come against a schedule ranked No. 107 which is by far the easiest schedule played by all SEC teams. Auburn had won three straight games including a huge win over rival Alabama by 18 points in the most recent victory to move to 8-2 in the conference but went to Florida on Saturday and got roughed up by 16 points in a game that was not even that close as the Tigers never led and trailed by as many as 29 points. Auburn is back home where it is a perfect 12-0 and it is a dominating 12-0 with all wins coming by double digits and by an average of 20.6 ppg. 10* (700) Auburn Tigers

This is a play on the BRADLEY BRAVES for our Wed. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Bradley was on an 11-1 run with the lone loss coming against Indiana St. in overtime but it has dropped two straight games including a home loss against Drake on Saturday. The loss against the Bulldogs dropped it to 9-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference to fall into third place and it was also the Braves third home loss of the season. This is now the get right game before they hit the road for a pair of games at Northern Iowa and Missouri St., two very tough home venues. Illinois-Chicago came into last week 1-11 in the conference with the only win coming against 2-12 Valparaiso but the Flames picked up a pair of upset wins on the road at Illinois St. and at home against Northern Iowa. The win over the Redbirds was just their third road win of the season, the others coming rival Loyola-Chicago in the third game of the season and Jacksonville St., which is No. 170 in the NET rankings. They are heading to the wrong place at the wrong time on Wednesday. 10* (692) Bradley Braves

This is a play on the SETON HALL PIRATES for our Big East Game of the Month. Seton Hall is coming off a bad loss at Villanova on Sunday by 26 points which knocked the Pirates outside the NCAA Tournament bubble as it was hanging on by a thread to begin with. They are still a solid 8-5 in the Big East Conference which is good for a tie for third place but they are 2-4 over their last six games with the two wins coming against Georgetown and DePaul so they are in need of another quality victory. Seton Hall is 10-3 at home which includes a nonconference loss against Rutgers and its two Big East losses were against Providence and Creighton by a combined seven points. Xavier is also coming off a loss as it fell to Creighton at home by seven points which snapped a three-game winning streak. The Musketeers are also on the outside looking in as they are now 2-8 in Quad 1 games and heading out on the road is not ideal as they are 2-5 with a win over DePaul and short-handed Providence. Seton Hall is playing with revenge following a 20-point loss in the first meeting. 10* (672) Seton Hall Pirates

This is a play on the NEVADA WOLF PACK for our Tue. CBB Signature Enforcer. Nevada is coming a pair of huge wins against Utah St. and San Diego St. to get back into the Mountain West Conference race where it is now 6-4, one of seven teams separated by a game and a half. The Wolf Pack remain home where they are 12-1, the lone loss coming against Boise St. Nevada has had the Lobos number for a few years but New Mexico made a statement just over two weeks ago in a 34-point win at home and the Wolf Pack certainly have not easily forgotten their biggest loss of the season. New Mexico got off to an 18-3 start but has dropped two of its last three games, both at home surprisingly, and now comes a real road test for the first time since January 2. The Lobos have won three straight road games but those were against Wyoming, Air Force and San Jose St., three of the four worst teams in the conference. The only Quad 1 road game was at Colorado St. which resulted in an eight-point loss and the other road win was at New Mexico St., No. 267 in NET rankings, by one point. 10* (650) Nevada Wolf Pack

This is a play on the WISCONSIN BADGERS for our Tue. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Wisconsin got off to an 8-1 start in the Big Ten Conference and a 16-4 start overall but it has lost four straight games to fall into a tie for third place, three games behind first place Purdue. Three of those games were on the road where they were favored so those were bad losses with just one of those being a Quad 1 defeat while the lone home loss was against the Boilermakers. Wisconsin heads back home after a 22-point loss at Rutgers on Saturday where it is 11-2, the other loss coming against Tennessee in the second game of the season. The Badgers are No. 21 in the NET rankings and their six Quad 1 wins are second most in the conference. Ohio St. is coming off a win over Maryland which snapped a five-game losing streak for the Buckeyes which are now 4-9 in the conference, only one game ahead of Michigan for last place. The win over the Terrapins followed up a brutal loss against Indiana where they blew an 18-point second half deficit so give them credit for the bounce back but now they hit the road where they are 0-6. 10* (634) Wisconsin Badgers

This is a play on the VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES for our ACC Game of the Year. Virginia Tech was riding a three-game winning streak but lost at home against Duke and followed that up with two road losses at Miami and Notre Dame to fall to 1-6 on the road. The Hokies have a lot of work to do and this is a game they cannot slip up with as they have games against North Carolina and Virginia on deck. They have been hurt with a 3-7 record in Quad 1 games with those seven losses being the most in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia Tech is back home where it is 10-2, the other loss coming against Miami in addition to the loss to the Blue Devils. Florida St. has been a pleasant surprise in the conference as it is 7-5 which is good for fifth place however the resume is not very good and the Seminoles are well down the in the NET rankings at No. 97 which is 12th in the ACC. They are coming off a loss to Virginia at home and are back on the road where they have been pretty good with a 4-3 record but the line is taking that into consideration with the short number. 10* (644) Virginia Tech Hokies

This is a play on the EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES for our Tue. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Evansville had its four-game winning streak snapped with a three-point loss at Murray St. on Saturday but was still able to cover the big number. The Purple Aces fell to 6-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference and have obviously been playing much better since a five-game losing streak in December-January and they have now covered six-straight games. While that is a streak we like to go against, this situation is different as they are back home where they are 10-2 and will be out for revenge following a 49-point loss at Drake in mid-January. The Bulldogs are coming off a huge win at then 9-4 Bradley to make it two straight wins. Drake is now 11-3 in the conference which is a game and a half behind Indiana St. for first place and while it will need to try and keep pace, this is a difficult letdown spot coming off that victory. They are 4-4 on the road with three of those losses coming in the conference and in all three instances, the Bulldogs were laying fewer points than they are on Tuesday. 10* (624) Evansville Purple Aces

This is a play on the TOWSON TIGERS for our Mon. CBB Supreme Annihilator. This is a get right spot for Towson which fell to 7-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association following a 12-point loss to Delaware at home which was its first home loss of the season after a 10-0 start. The Tigers have now lost two straight games following a five-game winning streak with the other loss coming against Hofstra, another team ahead of them in the standings but this begins a great stretch. This is the first of three games against the three worst teams in the CAA with a combined record of 6-29. This is a big number but not nearly big enough as we have it at 17. Elon had won two of three games before getting blown out at home against Stony Brook on Thursday by 15 points. Those two wins were on the road at North Carolina A&T and Hampton but those two teams both possess losing records and those were the first two road wins of the season for the Phoenix after a 0-8 start. Only three of those losses were single digits and the closest margin was a seven-point defeat against 3-9 William & Mary. Overall, Elon has played a schedule ranked No. 333 in the country. 10* (886) Towson Tigers

This is a play on the IOWA HAWKEYES for our Sun. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Minnesota is coming off a win over Michigan St. on Tuesday, its first Quad 1 win of the season, to make it three straight victories for the Golden Gophers to improve to 6-5 in the Big Ten Conference. All three wins were as underdogs and Minnesota has now covered five straight games which has been its deal all season, now 19-3 against the number. Lines have been adjusted along the way but clearly not enough although this is a good adjustment for Sunday. Despite being one of only five teams with a winning conference record, Minnesota is tenth in the Big Ten in NET ranking at No. 85. Iowa lost at Penn St. on Thursday by 10 points so this is a quick turnaround and that could be a good thing in this spot. The Hawkeyes fell to 5-7 in the conference and are outside the NCAA Tournament bubble with their 13-10 record with a lot of that due to going 0-6 in Quad 1 games, the only team in the conference not to have registered a Quad 1 victory. Iowa is back home where it is 10-3 and its 1-5 ATS run solidifies the play on the contrarian angle of going against that run. 10* (862) Iowa Hawkeyes

This is a play on the TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE for our Sun. CBB Signature Enforcer. UAB has caught fire at the right time and gotten back into the American Athletic Conference race as it improved to 7-3 following a home upset win over Florida Atlantic to avenge a 13-point loss in Boca Raton last month. The Blazers have won three of its last four games while covering all of those as underdogs and now they come in as road chalk as they are getting overvalued. UAB is 4-4 on the road with one of those coming against slumping North Texas and the others coming against UTSA and Middle Tennessee St., both of which are 8-15, by three points combined and 5-17 Alabama A&M. Tulsa is coming off a pair of losses to drop to 3-7 in the conference but it is a live dog here as the Golden Hurricane remain a solid 11-3 at home. They are 12-10 overall against what is an average schedule but metrics are on their side. While the records are complete opposite within the conference, these teams are not far off from each other as UAB has a NET ranking of No. 123 while Tulsa comes in at No. 185 and that does not equate to a line like this. 10* (850) Tulsa Golden Hurricane

This is a play on the COLORADO BUFFALOES for our Sat. CBB Star Attraction. Colorado snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over Arizona St. on Thursday to improve to 7-5 in the Pac 12 Conference. The Buffaloes moved to 13-0 at home which includes six conference wins with impressive significant wins against Oregon and Washington St., both of which are 8-4. This is obviously the biggest test to come to Boulder and if facing a top ten team is not motivation enough, there is revenge in play after Colorado went to Arizona and got hammered by 47 points back in January. Winning over the Wildcats here has not been an issue as the Buffaloes have won three straight meetings. Arizona pulled off a six-point win at Utah on Thursday which was its fourth straight victory following a loss at Oregon St. The Wildcats lead the conference at 9-3 with all three of those losses coming on the road. The other two defeats were against Washington St. and Stanford as significant favorites and while the win at Utah was a difficult situation, this will be similar playing a second game in three nights in the thin air. 10* (826) Colorado Buffaloes

This is a play on the UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS for our Sat. CBB Late Powerhouse. The Gauchos came up small for us on Thursday but we will go back to them here. UC Santa Barbara opened 0-3 in the Big West Conference but it won six of eight games before losing to UC Irvine and now sits at 6-6 which is good for a tie for fifth place with CSU Northridge. The three losses over this stretch have surprisingly been at home which have been their last three home games as well so they will be out to get those back where they were 7-2 coming in. The Matadors are coming off a 13-point win over 0-12 Cal Poly which was its second straight victory to get to the 6-6 mark. Both of those wins were at home where CSU Northridge improved to 9-3. It is 6-6 on the road which includes a solid win at UCLA and it then opened 2-0 in the conference on the highway which included another win against Cal Poly. However, the Matadors have lost their last four road games, three of which have been by at least 20 points. 13 of 15 wins have been Quad 4 or non-Division 1 games. 10* (830) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

This is a play on the UTEP MINERS for our Sat. CBB Supreme Annihilator. Conference USA is wide open at the half-way mark with three games separating the top eight teams. UTEP remains home after splitting its two games last week including a tough two-point loss against Liberty to fall to 3-5 in the conference. Now it is the second meeting against I-10 rival New Mexico St. after dropping the first meeting by 10 points last month so there is revenge in play. The Miners are winless on the road but are 11-3 at home which included a 3-0 record in the conference prior to the loss against the Flames. New Mexico St. has also been off for a week following a pair of wins at home against Liberty and Jacksonville St. to improve to 5-3 in the conference. Two of those wins have been by exactly a bucket and both were at home as the Aggies hit the road where they are winless at 0-9. All three road conference losses have been by double digits and New Mexico St. has a couple key players out with Brandon Suggs out with an injury and Robert Carpenter serving a suspension. 10* (818) UTEP Miners

This is a play on the RIDER BRONCS for our Sat. CBB Contrarian Closer. Rider is back home following a pair of road losses at Iona and Fairfield which followed a three-game winning streak and the Broncs are now 5-7 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They are 5-3 at home including wins in three of their last four games here and it has been a solid overall turnaround. Rider opened the season 3-11 with nine of those losses coming away from home and that included a 0-3 start in the conference and of the seven conference losses, four have been by four points or less. That does not include a loss at Marist where the Broncs lost by 23 points, easily their biggest MAAC loss of the season. The Red Foxes have won two straight games after alternating wins and losses for seven straight games and the recent two-game stretch has them two games over .500 in the conference. Marist opened the season 9-1 against the number but it just 4-7 ATS over its last 11 games. The winning record is skewed by the fact the Red Foxes have played the No. 359 schedule in the country. 10* (784) Rider Broncs

This is a play on the NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS for our Big 10 Game of the Year. Nebraska is coming off a loss at Northwestern on Wednesday to fall to 6-7 in the Big Ten Conference as the road continues to be an issue. The Huskers fell to 1-7 on the highway including 0-7 in the conference but they are back home where they are 14-1 that includes all three Quad 1 wins which came against Purdue, Michigan St. and Wisconsin. Nebraska is squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble and the issue now is that it cannot play itself in as it can only play itself out with no more Quad 1 games remaining on the schedule and it cannot lose these fringe Quad 2 and Quad 3 games. Michigan is coming off a win over Wisconsin, sending the Badgers to their third straight loss and that snapped a five-game losing streak for the Wolverines. That win was at home where they are not great to begin with and now they are back on the road where they have lost all four conference games. They own two other Quad 1 wins which were against Iowa and St. John's which were back in November and December. 10* (772) Nebraska Cornhuskers

This is a play on the DENVER PIONEERS for our Sat. CBB Ultimate Underdog. Denver has lost four straight games including the last three taking place on the road and the Pioneers have dropped five of their last six with four of those defeats on the road. The only win over this stretch was a one point victory over last place South Dakota which was a non-cover and Denver is now on a 0-6 ATS run. That is adding value to the Pioneers which come in 8-2 at home with one conference loss against Omaha and the other coming against Oral Roberts in overtime. They can move within one game of third place with a Saturday victory. St. Thomas is coming off a pair of blowout victories including a 22-point win at home over Oral Roberts on Thursday to move to 9-2 at home. Overall, it is 16-9 with three of the victories being non-Division 1 wins as well as 11 Quad 4 wins and they have played a schedule ranked No. 309 in the country. The Tommies are 6-4 in the Summit League with two of those losses on the road where they are 6-6 overall. 10* (744) Denver Pioneers

This is a play on the BUTLER BULLDOGS for our Sat. CBB Signature Enforcer. Providence moved to 6-6 in the Big East Conference with a home upset over Creighton on Wednesday which snapped a two-game slide. It was a rare quality win for the Friars which came into that game on a 3-6 run since forward Bryce Hopkins was lost for the season and two of those wins came against Georgetown and DePaul which are now a combined 1-22 in the conference. The victory over DePaul was one of only two road wins on the season as they are 2-5 yet have gone 5-1 ATS over their last six road games which is adding value the other way. Butler is coming off a hard-fought nine-point loss at Connecticut which snapped a four-game winning streak that included a pair of impressive wins over Creighton and Villanova. The Bulldogs are 6-6 in the conference and return home where they are 10-2, the two losses coming against Seton Hall and Connecticut. Butler could use another quality win as it is ranked No. 51 in the NET rankings and will be out for some revenge here as it lost the first meeting in overtime. 10* (660) Butler Bulldogs

This is a play on the GEORGE WASHINGTON REVOLUTIONARIES for our Sat. CBB Early Dominator. Loyola-Chicago is coming off a road win at George Mason on Wednesday to make it three straight wins and improved to 4-3 on the road. The Ramblers fell behind early but was able to come back despite allowing 59 percent shooting as the Patriots turned the ball over 17 times. They improved to 8-2 in the Atlantic Ten Conference which puts them a game out of first place heading into Friday and while it is in solo third place, the Ramblers are No. 9 in the conference in the NET rankings. George Washington opened conference action with a loss to Fordham before winning three straight games including an impressive win over VCU but the Revolutionaries have since lost their last five games while failing to cover any of those. This does include a pair of bad home losses against Rhode Island and LaSalle but they are still 11-3 at home and the defense will need a bigger effort as they have yielded 80 or more points in five straight games with opponents shooting close to 50 percent. 10* (604) George Washington Revolutionaries

This is a play on the VCU RAMS for our Fri. CBB Star Attraction. VCU is one of the hotter teams in the Atlantic Ten Conference as it has won seven of its last eight games after a 0-2 start with losses against St. Bonaventure and George Washington, both of which were at home. The only loss during the recent stretch was also against St. Bonaventure on the road so taking out those two games against the Bonnies, the only defeat was by just a bucket. This is a big home game for VCU as it can pull within one game of Dayton in the A-10 with still one more meeting to go in the season finale. The Rams need to hold their home court as the remaining schedule not only includes the game at Dayton, but also games as Massachusetts and Richmond. After suffering its only loss in the conference against Richmond, Dayton has won its last three games to maintain its lead by a half-game over Richmond, which hosts 2-8 LaSalle on Saturday. The Flyers are 5-2 on the road with the other loss coming at Northwestern but the only real good road win was at SMU back in November by just two points. 10* (886) VCU Rams

This is a play on the UB SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS for our Thu. CBB Ultimate Underdog. UC Santa Barbara opened 0-3 in the Big West Conference but it has won six of its last eight games to move into a tie for fourth place and while catching first place is unlikely, a win here gets the Gauchos with a lot of games left including another game against UC Irvine. The two losses over this stretch have surprisingly been at home which have been their last two home games as well so they will be out to get those back where they were 7-2 coming in. This is a big rivalry and the Gauchos have seen this series shift and this is a great spot to start playing the role of spoiler if nothing else. UC Iriine has won four straight games since suffering its lone conference loss at UC Davis by just a bucket so the Anteaters have clearly been the class of the Big West through the half. They are perfect at home at 9-0 but 5-6 on the road and while this includes a 4-1 record in the conference, three of those wins have come against teams a combined 8-25 and this will be the second hardest test besides the game against the Aggies. 10* (840) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

This is a play on the CALIFORNIA BAPTIST LANCERS for our Thu. CBB Supreme Annihilator. California Baptist had its five-game winning streak snapped last Saturday with a one point loss against Seattle at home and that also snapped a four-game home winning streak. The Lancers are 6-4 in the Western Athletic Conference which has them in solo third place but they are just a half-game up on three other teams including the opponent tonight and with four of the next five games taking place on the road, this is a big game to maintain their spot. California Baptist is 13-8 overall and have actually played better than that record as of those eight losses, six have come by two possessions or less including five by three points or less. UT Arlington is one of those teams chasing the Lancers as it has won two straight games and five of its last seven after a 1-3 start in the WAC. The last two victories have come on the road but those were against Southern Utah and Utah Tech which are both 4-7 and those were the first two road wins for the Mavericks after starting 0-9 on the road. 10* (846) California Baptist Lancers

This is a play on the WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS for our OVC Game of the Month. Little Rock has won two straight games and five of its last six to improve to 7-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 13-11 overall. Two of the wins over the recent six games have been on the road but those were against Eastern Illinois and Southern Indiana which are 4-6 and 3-7 in the conference respectively. The Trojans are 3-6 on the road overall with the only other win coming at Tennessee Tech which is 2-8 in the OVC and the winning records have been bolstered by playing an easy schedule that is ranked No. 360 in the country so they are overvalued based on that. 19 of 23 games against Division 1 teams have been Quad 4 games and the Trojans are 1-3 in Quad 3 games. Western Illinois has won three of its last four games with all four of those being on the road and the Leathernecks are back home where they have only had nine games and this is just their fourth home game since December 18. Despite this, they are just a game out of first place with a very favorable closing schedule. 10* (822) Western Illinois Leathernecks

This is a play on the ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS for our Thu. CBB Signature Enforcer. Green Bay has won three straight games to move to 10-3 in the Horizon League but all three of those games were at home and the last two were against Detroit and IUPUI which are a combined 2-25 in the conference. Four of the 10 wins have come against those two teams and now the Phoenix hit the road where they are 5-7 and while they are 7-0 at home in the conference, they are just 3-3 on the road in the Horizon with the other win coming at Wright St. Green Bay has a game at Youngstown St. on deck which plays into first place in the conference and it is a revenge game for the Phoenix from a 30-point loss last season. Green Bay is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games which adds value the other way. Robert Morris has been playing better as it has won five of its last eight games after a 0-4 start in the Horizon with two of the recent losses coming on the road which was part of a four-game roadtrip over the last two weeks. The Colonials are 6-5 at home which is nothing spectacular but they are live here. 10* (770) Robert Morris Colonials

This is a play on the UNC WILMINGTON SEAHAWKS for our Thu. CBB Star Attraction. UNC Wilmington picked up a big win at Charleston a week ago and followed that up with a lethargic effort at home against Campbell but still picked up the win. The Seahawks are now 7-3 in the Coastal Athletic Association which is good for a second place tie with the Cougars and they have a chance to move into a first place tie with a victory here. They are 7-0 at home with their 15 other games taking place on the highway so they have held up great playing a tough schedule ranked No. 109 in the country. UNC Wilmington is only five spots behind Drexel in the NET rankings and it will be out for revenge following a 15-point road loss a month ago. After opening 7-0 in the conference, Drexel has lost two of its last three games, both of which were on the road where the Dragons are now 5-7 and while this would typically be a good bounce back situation for a first place team, this is not the case here going back on the road against an avenging team that is playing its best basketball of the season. 10* (778) UNC Wilmington Seahawks

This is a play on the NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS for our Wed. CBB Star Attraction. Northwestern is back home following a two-game roadtrip where it went 0-2 that included a tough overtime loss at Purdue and the Wildcats were unable to recover and lost by nine points in overtime at Minnesota three days later. Northwestern fell to 6-5 in the Bog Ten Conference and the venue has made a huge difference as the Wildcats have gone 1-5 in their six conference road games while going 5-0 in their Big Ten home games which includes big wins over Purdue, Michigan St. and Illinois. They are 11-1 at home overall with the one loss being a hiccup against Chicago St. where they just did not show up. Nebraska picked up another huge win last week at it defeated Wisconsin for its third Quad 1 win but all of those have been at home, the other two coming against Purdue and Michigan St. The Huskers have moved to No. 52 in the NET rankings and are now a projected No. 9 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Their problem has been on the road where they are 1-6 with all six losses coming within the conference. Northwestern is 11-2 in non-Quad 1 games and these are the games it cannot lose going forward. 10* (738) Northwestern Wildcats

This is a play on the SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI GOLDEN EAGLES for our Wed. CBB Supreme Annihilator. It has been an up and down season for Southern Mississippi, the reigning Sun Belt Conference champions and the favorites once again, as it got off to a 2-4 start before winning three straight games only to go on a 1-3 skid that included a bad conference opening loss against Georgia Southern by 21 points. The Golden Eagles then went 6-1 with the only loss coming at 9-2 Troy which they would avenge but it was a bad current roadtrip where they finished 0-3 after winning the opener of the four-game trip at Coastal Carolina. They return home where they are 7-1 and remain undervalued. It has been a bad season for Old Dominion as it has fallen into last place in the conference at 2-9 with the two wins coming against Marshall. The win in Huntington has been the only road won of the season for the Monarchs where they are 1-9 and the majority of the losses have not been close with six of those coming by more than two possessions including four by double digits. Three of their five Division 1 wins have been Quad 4 victories which again, the two exceptions were both against Marshall and they have gone 0-10 in Quad 3 or better games. 10* (710) Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

This is a play on the NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS for our Wed. CBB Signature Enforcer. Northern Iowa is coming off a bad loss at home against Murray St. as it lost by 28 points as a six-point favorite which made it three straight losses for the Panthers. This comes after a five-game winning streak and the Panthers are now 6-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference and are in a three-way tie for fifth place, one game out of fourth place. Northern Iowa remains home where it is 7-3 with one of the other losses coming against first place Indiana St. This is the ideal get right bounce back spot with last place Illinois-Chicago on deck and mired in a 0-5 ATS run. Missouri St. has had an opposite run as it has won and covered four straight games following a 1-5 straight to also move to 6-6 in the conference. Two of the recent Bears wins were on the road but one of those was at 2-10 Valparaiso while the other one at Southern Illinois was by only one point and it took overtime. They are 4-6 on the road overall and while they own a Quad 1 win at St. Mary's, that was before the Gaels caught fire and they have a huge home game up next against Indiana St. 10* (716) Northern Iowa Panthers