Sports Picks & Predictions

We lost with Kent St. on Monday as it caught a hot shooting Northeastern team. The Golden Flashes shot 51 percent from the floor, but the Huskies hit 56.5 percent of their shots while also going 20-23 from the free throw line giving Kent St. no chance. It is in a good spot to rebound tonight and snap its three-game losing streak. It has certainly been a disappointing start for the Golden Flashes which are 5-6 and have been a solid bounce back team as they 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a double-digit loss at home. Despite an 8-3 record, the Beavers are the third lowest ranked team in the Pac 12 Conference as they do not own a quality win with a schedule that is ranked No. 338 out of 351 Division I teams. They are riding a six-game winning streak but only two of those were by big margins. Oregon St. defeated St. Louis, Jacksonville St., Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Loyola-Marymount by a combined 10 points so those were very unimpressive victories. Another reason the schedule is rated so low is that this is the first true road game for the Beavers. This has typically been a horrible spot as the Beavers are 1-7 ATS in their last eight road games following three or more consecutive home games. This is the second meeting in two years and last season on this very same date, Kent St. lost in Eugene by 19 points so there is revenge in play tonight. 10* (522) Kent St. Golden Flashes

Towson opened the season with a three-point loss at Old Dominion but has since reeled off 10 straight victories including a pair of wins in Ireland but now comes a real test in just its third true road game of the season. The Tigers sit atop the Colonial power rankings but that is not saying much in what is a weak group of teams this season and overall, they have played a schedule ranked No. 225 in the country. This is a very talented and deep team and one that will contend in the CAA but we like going against the winning streak as the Tigers are 2-6 ATS in their last eight road games following three or more consecutive home games. Oakland typically plays a tough early season schedule to get ready for this part of the season and this year is no exception as it has played Syracuse, Kansas and Michigan St. those were all blowout losses, but the experience is huge. Towson will be out for revenge from last season as it lost to Oakland 90-72 in the Vegas 16 Tournament, but road revenge is not a good angle and that game shows how good the Golden Grizzlies matchup with Towson. Going back, they are 28-11-1 ATS in their last 40 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (734) Oakland Golden Grizzlies

Northern Kentucky heads to Texas A&M sporting a 7-4 record with three of those losses coming by a combined five points. The Norse were an NCAA Tournament team last season with a 24-11 record and put up a fight with Kentucky before losing by nine points and the end to last year is important for this year as they have four starters back. This is the biggest test to date for Northern Kentucky, but it matches up well here as it can counter down low with Texas A&M where the Aggies usually have a big edge. Texas A&M is 9-1 with the lone loss coming against Arizona and it has moved up to No. 8 in the latest AP Poll. The public is all over the Aggies here in what is believed to be too short of a price, but it is actually the opposite based on recent happenings. Robert Williams is a beast down low but is on concussion protocol and while he is expected to play, he is not 100 percent. Another starter, Admon Gilder, who is third on the team in scoring and their best free throw shooter, suffered a knee injury in the last game and is out indefinitely. His absence will be costly to a team that is shooting just 63.4 percent from the charity stripe in five home games. Going back, the Norse are 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games against teams with a winning home record while the Aggies are 0-7 ATS in their last seven home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (523) Northern Kentucky Norse

Syracuse is coming off a huge win against Georgetown on Saturday in overtime and that could spell letdown tonight as focus could be a real issue. The Orange are now 9-1 on the season including other win over Connecticut and Maryland but those are programs in rebuilding mode and while the opponent tonight will not scare many teams because of name, the Bulls will be a tough out. All of Buffalo's losses have all come against solid teams and include a 73-67 loss against No. 20 Cincinnati on a neutral court. Buffalo could be adding another weapon tonight as Wes Clark, a transfer from Missouri, could make his season debut after sitting out the first 10 games because of transfer rules in fall semester grades are posted by tonight. Still, Buffalo has a very balanced offense with five players averaging double-digits in scoring not counting Dontay Caruthers who is out with a stress fracture in his foot. The Bulls are No. 16 in the country in pace so the full court press that Syracuse brought out against Georgetown could be neutralized. The Bulls are 6-1 ATS in their last seven road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600 while the Orange are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win. 10* (509) Buffalo Bulls

Kent St. is back home following a pair of tough road games at Xavier and Wright St. and is in good position to rebound and at a very favorable price. The Golden Flashes are 3-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming against Southeastern Louisiana, a contender in the Southland Conference. Star player Jaylin Walker went 10-20 from the floor in that game but the rest of the team was a dreadful 31 percent. The Golden Flashes have put an exciting product on the floor this season, with a faster style of play than last year's MAC Tournament Championship team as they are averaging 70.6 possessions per game, the fastest Kent St. team on record. Northeastern is riding a four-game winning streak but all those wins came at home where the Huskies are a perfect 5-0 but away from home, they are just 1-4. This is the first time they have been favored on the highway and it is a bit overaggressive as they have failed to cover and of their four lined games on the road. Northeastern is shooting just 37.7 percent on the road as the offense misses T.J. Williams, the 2016-17 CAA Player of the Year. 10* (724) Kent St. Golden Flashes

While we usually turn our heads at road revenge, this is a completely different situation. Cincinnati was 30-5 after a first-round win in the NCAA Tournament last season but got ousted in the second round by UCLA as it lost by 12 points as the Bruins were efficient as they shot 50 percent from the floor, hit 11 three-pointers and committed just three turnovers. That is not Cincinnati basketball and it is showing that this season by allowing opponents to shoot just 36.1 percent from the floor while forcing 16.2 turnovers per game. The Bearcats lost consecutive games against Xavier and Florida bust bounced back with a big win over Mississippi St. last time out to gain momentum heading into today. UCLA is off to a 7-2 start but five of those wins came against nobodies and it has struggled against teams with a pulse. Wins over Georgia Tech and Wisconsin came by three and two points respectively and losses against Creighton and Michigan were big. The Bruins are 5-0 at home but those victories were against those poor teams, so this will be the first true home test of the season. Going back, the Bruins are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning % above .600 and we expect them to struggle again against a team out for serious payback. 10* (545) Cincinnati Bearcats

This is one of those lines that makes you think, as Florida St. is No. 19 in the country thanks to winning and covering every game this season at 9-0 and 7-0 respectively yet is favored at a reasonable price. The public has taken note as the Seminoles are one of the biggest consensus plays of the day but despite that, the line has actually come down, so we take advantage of the reverse line movement. We played against the Cowboys last Saturday as they were getting too much respect at home against Wichita St., but they match up a lot better here. Oklahoma St. is a balanced team with eight players averaging between 7.4 and 12.7 ppg and that can be tough to defend. Florida St. does possess an impressive win over Florida but that is about it as even with that game, it has played a schedule ranked No. 286 in the nation. The Seminoles went 26-9 last season but lost four starters from that team including two that are playing in the NBA so because of that and the soft schedule, it is hard to get a read on a team like this. The talent and athleticism are here once again but the fact of the matter is that Florida St. has not been tested much this season and is laying too much here on a neutral floor. 10* (599) Oklahoma St. Cowboys

It comes as no surprise that the public is all over Iowa here based on name in this matchup and what many will consider being a short line. The fact is that the Hawkeyes are not a good basketball team and we learned that the hard way a couple weeks back when they lost at home to Penn St. in their conference opener. This is a deep roster that should be producing better results, but they have been unable to make a move while four of their five wins have come in non-lined games. Drake won seven games last season under two different coaches and this season has a new head coach, but this is a team heading in the right direction. The Bulldogs brought back a lot of production and they have been very competitive with a 5-5 start, four of those losses coming by five points or less including defeats against Colorado, Wyoming and Minnesota. This is a deep team as well and has the best player on the court in Reed Timmer who leads the team in all categories. Drake possesses a big edge in the significant free throw shooting category as it is shooting 79.8 percent from the line which is No. 5 in the country, compared to 65.2 percent for Iowa, good for No. 309. 10* (603) Drake Bulldogs

Dartmouth finished in a tie for last place in the Ivy League last season and it is expected to hold down last place again this season. The Big Green are off to a 3-4 start including a win at Maine last Friday but now they face their biggest challenge of the season as they have played a schedule ranked No. 341 out of 351 Division I teams. This is a very young team with nine freshmen and sophomores on the roster and are even worse off now. Dartmouth was expected to have three starters back from last season including preseason All-Conference forward Evan Boudreaux, but he is out for the season as he was ruled ineligible after averaging 17.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg last season. Additionally, Guilien Smith, the only other double-digit returning scorer, is out until January with a broken finger. Illinois-Chicago is off to a disappointing 3-6 start, but the schedule has been challenging. The Flames have a solid nucleus back from a team that improved its record by 12 games last season and they are expected to contend in the Horizon League this season. We are getting value in this line considering they are off to a 0-6 ATS start and going back, the Flames are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games following a double-digit loss at home. 10* (824) Illinois-Chicago Flames

USC opened the season 4-0 but has lost three straight games against some powerful competition so it catches a break tonight and will be fully motivated to put the pedal on the gas. The Trojans made a run in the NCAA Tournament last season and came into the season ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll, but the three losses have dropped them out of the poll. They have four of five starters back and while the offense has struggled of late, they will be playing one of the worst defensive teams in the nation. Santa Clara had a winning record last season as it finished a game over .500 but its season ended in the WCC Semifinals and did not get to play in a postseason tournament. The Broncos have three starters back, but the losses will be hard to replace especially Jared Brownridge who finished his career as the No. leading scorer in program history. Santa Clara is 3-6 to start the season with six games coming at home and the other three on a neutral floor in Seattle making this its first true road game of the season. The only victories came against Division III La Verne University, Arkansas Pine Bluff and Northern Arizona with the last two teams possessing an RPI of No. 344 and No. 277 respectively. 10* (514) USC Trojans

Temple has won two straight games and is now playing its third straight home game after opening the season with six straight games away from home. While the Owls are facing the No. 1 team in the AP Poll, a better indicator of this matchup is looking at the RPI since rankings are meaningless. They come in ranked No. 8 in the most recent RPI while the Wildcats are ranked just slightly ahead at No. 6, so these teams are much closer to each other than what the public is aware of. Temple does have some impressive wins on the resume as it has defeated Clemson, Auburn and South Carolina and most impressive, all were away from home and overall it has played the No. 3 ranked schedule in the nation. We have seen some big upsets this season and Villanova is on alert now in what will be a tough road game for a team that has not played a very tough schedule. A 16-point win over Gonzaga looks impressive but the Bulldogs are not the same team from last season as it is No. 38 in the RPI. While the Wildcats are still extremely talented, the loss of Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds is tough to make up while on the flip side, Temple has four starters back from last season plus the return of point guard Josh Brown who played only five games last season. 10* (720) Temple Owls

At first glance, this line looks to be inflated but it should be higher based on the situation. Mississippi St. comes in with a perfect 8-0 record which is exactly half of what it won all of last season, but it is a skewed undefeated record. The Bulldogs have played a schedule that is ranked No 341 out of 351 Division I teams and on top of it, they have yet to leave Starkville as all eight games have come on their own floor. They are the lone remaining team in the county that has not played away from home and they are going into a hornets nest tonight. The Bearcats are coming off a 30-win season and have three starters back including AAC Preseason Player of the Year Gary Clark. After opening the season 7-0, Cincinnati has dropped its last two games against Xavier and Florida, two above average teams both of which were away from home. The Bearcats return to BB&T Arena where they look to extend their 30-game home winning streak which is the longest in the country and they have not lost three games in a row since February, 2015. Mississippi St. is 0-7 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win of more than 20 points. 10* (522) Cincinnati Bearcats

This game could not set up any better for Kansas which is coming off its first loss of the season. The Jayhawks lost to Washington in Kansas City by nine points as a 21.5-point favorite, so we will see them buckle up and get the job done in their return home to Allen Fieldhouse. Six of their previous seven wins resulted in double-digit victories and there is no reason to think that it will not happen again today. Arizona St. is a quality team as it comes in undefeated and ranked No. 17 in the current AP Poll. The Sun Devils own a quality win over Xavier but that is about it and Sunday is their first true road game of the season. They could not have picked a worst time and opponent to be hitting the highway. Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas is 37-4 at home against ranked opponents and this streak includes 19 consecutive wins. It gets even better when the Jayhawks are back home following a loss as they are 37-0 at home in their last 37 games after a defeat. 10* (516) Kansas Jayhawks

We won with the Miners last Saturday and will be backing them again here as they are home dogs once again with a lot of that based on records. They had lost six straight prior to that win but they have played a tough schedule which is currently ranked No. 46 in the nation. The Miners roster is comprised of eight newcomers including five freshmen and only five returners from last year's fourth-seeded C-USA team that went 15-17 overall but an impressive 12-6 in conference play. They do return four starters while getting graduate transfer Keith Frazier from SMU, who is a former McDonald's All-American. Washington St. won 13 games last season and lost four starters and is expected to contend for last place in the Pac 12. The Cougars played their first true road game on Wednesday and got annihilated at Idaho by 27 points so wins over San Diego St, and St. Marys are a thing of the past. 10* (792) UTEP Miners

Tulsa and Kansas St. square off in Wichita with the Golden Hurricane grabbing a significant number on a neutral floor. They are 4-4 with only one of those losses coming by more than what they are getting here. Tulsa returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, and 72 percent of its offense from last season's team. It is shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and it has shot at least 45 percent in six of its eight contests, including four games of at least 50 percent shooting. One significant improvement from last year is the defense as it has allowed opponents to shoot just 38.6 percent away from home. Picked to finish eighth in the Big XII Conference, Kansas St. returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last year's team that went 21-14 and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats lone loss came against a good Arizona St. team and they have failed to cover their last four games when laying points. 10* (783) Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Gallagher-Iba Arena used to be one of the most feared places for opponents to go to but that is not the case anymore as the Cowboys home court advantage has shrunk. They went 19-13 over the last two seasons and while they are 6-0 at home this season, the best win came against Austin Peay which is currently ranked No. 266 in the RPI. Oklahoma St. has the worst RPI of all Big XII teams as its schedule is ranked No. 339 out of 351 teams in the nation. Wichita St. comes in with an identical 7-1 record but against a much tougher schedule and the Shockers have had this game circled for close to a year. The Cowboys won last season in Wichita by 17 points which was the only home loss of the season for the Shockers and they will be out for serious payback. Laying points on the road is usually not ideal to back but the case is different today. 10* (763) Wichita St. Shockers

It has been a good start to the season for Oklahoma which is off to a 6-1 start and those six victories are more than half of their wins from last season. The Sooners lost a ton of production from two years ago, so they are more experienced now but are not nearly the same team that made it to the 2016 Final Four. The Sooners are getting too much credit for a win over Oregon back on November 26 as the Ducks are in a rebuilding mode and struggling to find consistency. They were favored by 29 and 23.5 points in their last two games and did not come close to covering either of those yet continue to be overvalued heading into this game. USC opened the season 4-0 and has lost its last two games but those came against Texas A&M and SMU, two powerful programs. The Trojans came into the season ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll and the two losses have dropped them to No. 25, but this team is still loaded with potential. They brought back all five starters from last season and while they are without De'Anthony Melton, Jonah Mathews has filled in great. While this is a neutral court game, the fact that it is in Los Angeles is a big edge for the Trojans. 10* (524) USC Trojans

It has been a miserable couple seasons for Drexel as it has gone 15-48 the last two seasons and while there will be some minor improvements this season, the Dragons are still predicted to finish near the bottom of the CAA. They are off to a 4-4 start and do have an impressive win over Houston, but they have sense endured a bunch of injuries that have killed their depth as they are basically a six-deep team right now with injuries to Troy Harper, Sam Green and Miles Overton taking their toll. Drexel has won two straight but against much inferior opposition and in the only true road game this season, it lost at NJIT by 12 points. LaSalle is 5-4 but has played a much tougher schedule and it is back home where it is 3-0 on the season. This includes an upset win over Temple and this will be a good game to get them prepared for their game against Villanova on Sunday. The Explorers went 15-15 last season and have all five starters back so this is a team than can make some noise in the Atlantic Ten. They have a clear edge at the free throw line as they are hitting 81.1 percent from the stripe, which is fourth in the nation. 10* (714) LaSalle Explorers

Vanderbilt made a surprising trip to the NCAA Tournament last season, but it has its work cut out already as it fell to 3-5 after a loss against Kansas St. it has been a brutal schedule thus far as according to KenPom.com, Vanderbilt has the 40th toughest schedule so far in the nation and the seventh-toughest among Power Five schools. The slow start is a little surprising as the Commodores return eight letter winners and three of their top four scorers from last season. Vanderbilt has not been kind to its backers as it has gone 0-7 against the number. Middle Tennessee also went to the NCAA Tournament last season as it is coming off 31 wins, but it is now in reloading mode as it lost C-USA Players of the Year JaCorey Williams and All Second Team player Reggie Upshaw. The Blue Raiders are coming off back-to-back wins over Florida Gulf Coast and its only real test so far resulted in a loss at Belmont. This is an under the radar rivalry and the Commodores will be out for payback following a 23-point loss to the Blue Raiders last season. 10* (552) Vanderbilt Commodores

Temple is the only team from a major conference that has yet to play a home game but that finally ends tonight as the Owls open the home portion of their season against Wisconsin. They are coming off a bad loss at George Washington as 11-point favorites which was their second loss of the season, the first coming against city rival LaSalle. Temple does have some impressive wins on the resume as it has defeated Clemson, Auburn and South Carolina and most impressive, all were away from home. We played against Wisconsin on Monday and it pulled off the upset at Penn St., but it almost did not happen as the Badgers nearly blew a 17-point second half lead as it was a missed Nittany Lions shot in the final seconds to avoid the loss. The victory snapped a 1-5 run against some elite competition and the cohesiveness of this team is still not there after losing four starters from last season. This is not a deep team as after forward Ethan Happ, there is a drastic decline in production. 10* (526) Temple Owls

Princeton won the Ivy League last season for the first time in six years as it went undefeated and it will be contending again. The Tigers are off to a disappointing 2-5 start which includes losses against Butler, BYU and Miami and tonight presents a good opportunity to snap a two-game slide. The Tigers have not been hot from long range over the last two games, combining for 15 of 56 (.268) against Lehigh and Miami and hitting 30 percent neither time. History suggests they will break out of it, as it has been five years since Princeton shot below 30 percent in three consecutive games. Princeton has failed to cover any of its four lines games so that is where the value comes into play. George Washington pulled the upset over Temple last time out to even its record at 4-4. That was clearly the signature win for the Colonials whose other victories have come against Howard, Hampton and Morgan St. After finishing sixth in the Atlantic Ten last season, they are picked to finish No. 11 as they lost a lot of production with four starters gone. 10* (529) Princeton Tigers

This is one of our favorite college basketball situations where we are backing an unranked favorite over a ranked underdog on the road. The Red Raiders are coming off a loss in their last game against Seton Hall which took place at MSG as they caught a hot shooting Pirates team that went 11-20 from long range. Texas Tech heads back home where it is 4-0 on the season and it has put together a 33-game nonconference home winning streak dating back to the 2013-14 season. The streak is the nation's fifth-longest only behind Duke, Arizona, Butler and Villanova. The Red Raiders are a tough out and they rank inside the NCAA Top 35 in seven categories including rebounding margin where they have a significant edge tonight. Nevada is off to an 8-0 start and cracked the AP Top 25 and while this is a very solid team, the Wolf Pack have not defeated any one of note. On top of them going 8-0, they have covered every game as well and that streak is skewing the markets. The Wolf Pack have already won a nation's best four true road games this season and have won seven consecutive true road decisions dating back to last season. However, the Red Raiders are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games against teams with a road winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (724) Texas Tech Red Raiders

We played against Penn St. over the weekend and it resulted in a push as the Nittany Lions went to Iowa and won by four points to open 1-0 in the Big Ten while securing their first victory at Iowa since 2001. This is a team on the rise that has all five starters back from a team that hung with the big boys last season but dropped a bunch of close games. They have only suffered two losses, both to worthy opponents away from home against Texas A&M and NC State. The rest of their non-conference plays into their favor and there is reason to believe that they will come in to the full Big Ten slate with a record of 13-2. Wisconsin made another trip to the Sweet 16 last season, but this edition may miss out on all postseason tournaments. The Badger lost four starters from last year and they are struggling on offense, coming off a pair or poor showings against Ohio St. and Virginia. They have faced some tough opponents and as strange as it may sound, Penn St. now falls into that category. The Nittany Lions have not defeated Wisconsin since 2011and this is the first time they have favored over this stretch which shows how these teams are trending. The Nittany Lions are 10-1-1 ATS in their last 12 games against teams with a losing straight up record. 10* (526) Penn St. Nittany Lions

We won with Boise St. on Friday as it defeated Oregon outright in Eugene on a half-court shot as time expired, snapping the 46-game home court winning streak for the Ducks but now the Broncos are paying the price. This is a huge overlay because of that win and this has letdown written all over it. That was the third straight victory and cover for the Broncos and now they go from a seven-point dog to a 19-point favorite which is a huge swing no matter the opposition difference. The Pilots had their hands full as one of the host teams of the PK80 tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. Portland drew the defending champion North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round and were handed a 102-78 defeat then followed that up with losses against Oklahoma and DePaul. While all three wins have come against non-Division I teams, this is still a solid team built around a high-scoring offense that can keep pace here. Going back, the Pilots are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600 while the Broncos are 0-7 ATS in their last seven home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. 10* (725) Portland Pilots

We won with New Mexico on Wednesday as it hammered Evansville at home, but the home venue played a big part in that play and now the Lobos hit the road for just the second time this season. New Mexico has played one true road game this season which resulted in a 19-point loss at New Mexico St. The Lobos are favored on the road not because of what they have done but what their opponent has done of late. UTEP is coming off a horrible game where it shot 37.5 percent from the floor including 4-23 from long range and not one player scored in double figures. That was its sixth straight loss, but this team is much better than that. The Miners roster is comprised of eight newcomers including five freshmen and only five returners from last year's fourth-seeded C-USA team that went 15-17 overall but an impressive 12-6 in conference play. They do return four starters while getting graduate transfer Keith Frazier from SMU, who is a former McDonald's All-American. This is a great opportunity to get back into the win column as the Miners have covered nine of their last 10 home games going back to last season. 10* (596) UTEP Miners

After a 2-0 start, Long Beach St. has dropped five of its last six games but as is typical with the 49ers, they have played a tough schedule with losses coming against West Virginia, Missouri, Nebraska, Arizona and Oregon St. twice. None of those games were at home and Long Beach St. is back at Walter Pyramid for the first time since November 14 and only for the second time this whole season. The 49ers went 1-9 in their first 10 games last season with those nine losses coming consecutively on the road and they returned home with a big win over Pepperdine and we can expect the same here. Fresno St. is expected to have another good season following n NIT berth last season as it has four starters back from its 20-13 squad but being favored on the road is quite aggressive considering it failed in the other attempt this season at Evansville where the Bulldogs lost as six-point favorites. They are 4-0 at home but 0-2 in true road games and catch the 49ers at a bad time and they are 4-0 ATS in their last four home games following three or more consecutive road games. 10* (578) Long Beach St. 49ers

We are high on Penn St. this season as it has all five starters back this season and is going to be a tough out in some games that it should not be in. But putting the Nittany Lions in the road favorite role here is outlandish as they have lost two of their last three games against good teams after a 5-0 start against poor teams. They were hammered by Texas A&M and lost in their last game at NC State where they were road favorites as well. Iowa will be a team on the rise as well after a 19-15 season and a trip to the NIT. The Hawkeyes have four starters back and are one of the deepest teams in the conference with 11 players that are averaging 13 or more minutes per game. They are coming off a bad loss at Virginia Tech but head back to Iowa City for their first home game since November 16. Iowa finished ahead of Penn St. last season and is picked to finish ahead of the Nittany Lions again yet is getting points at home and going back, the Hawkeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games following three or more consecutive road games. 10* (566) Iowa Hawkeyes

Oregon rolled in its first four games of the season, winning by an average of 32.8 ppg but those victories came against overmatched unknowns. The Ducks then went to play in the Phil Knight Invitational in nearby Portland and showed this team still has a long way to go. Despite playing in front of partisan crowds, the Ducks struggled against all three teams, losing to Connecticut and Oklahoma while needing overtime to defeat DePaul. The roster got gutted from the Final Four team from last season as they lost four starters, including three NBA draft picks, with their top five scorers having departed. Additionally, they will be without five-star freshman recruit Troy Brown tonight, their fourth leading scorer and leading rebounder. Boise St. returned home following a loss in the championship game in the Puerto Rico Tip Off where it defeated UTEP and Illinois St., two solid teams, while losing to Iowa St. The Broncos lost some pieces from last season as well, but they have enough back to remember the disappointing loss here last season by five points. For a Boise St. team with eyes on getting to the NCAA Tournament, a game like the one tonight could go a long way in helping them be in consideration for an at-large spot come March. 10* (725) Boise St. Broncos

South Carolina was the Cinderella story last season in the NCAA Tournament, making a Final Four run and finishing the season with 26 wins. Coming anywhere near that will be difficult this season as the Gamecocks lost three double-digit scorers including 2017 SEC Player of the Year Sindarius Thornwell who averaged 21.4 ppg and 7.1 rpg. They are off to a 5-1 start but has not been tested with a pair of wins over Western Michigan being the best of the bunch. They have been favored by at least 8 points in every game showing how poor the opposition has been. Temple is 3-1 including a pair of quality victories over Clemson and Auburn. The Owls are coming off a loss against city rival LaSalle, a team that returned all five starters. Temple has four starters back from a disappointing 17-17 team and big things are expected this season. If this is a close game late or if Temple needs to seal the deal, the Owls have a huge edge at the free throw line as they are shooting 81.2 percent from the stripe which is No. 6 in the country while the Gamecocks are hitting just 66.2 percent from the line, good for only No. 271 in the nation. 10* (532) Temple Owls

Evansville is off to a 5-1 start on the season and has covered all four lined games following a close loss against Louisiana Tech in the championship game of the Cancun Challenge. The Purple Aces have overachieved thus far, and they are now playing their first true road game of the season and it comes in one of the toughest environments in college basketball. Evansville finished eighth in the MVC last season and that is the prediction once again for a team that lost Jaylon Brown, who averaged 20.9 ppg and led the conference in scoring. New Mexico has taken a fall over the past few years which led to the firing of head coach Craig Neal to the Lobos are far from a doormat. They won 17 games last season and while The Pit is not quite what it used to be, the Lobos are 25-9 over the last three years here. They are coming off an embarrassing loss in their last home game against Tennessee Tech which is part of a four-game skid so if there is ever going to be an all-out effort, this is the time and laying a short price against a team that hits the highway for the first time sets up a great value play. 10* (760) New Mexico Lobos

We played on Northern Iowa a week ago against SMU and the Panthers won that game outright while pulling off another upset over NC State the following day. They ran out of gas in their third game in three days against Villanova, but they certainly held their own in a 14-point loss against a top five team. To defend that loss, the fact the Panthers did not go to the free throw line shows how the game may have been officiated. The Panthers finished two games under .500 last season, but they were a very young team with only two seniors, so they bring back a ton of experience and are projected to contend in the MVC. They also faced North Carolina in their opener on the road and the Panthers played well in a 17-point loss so playing two elite opponents only helps their cause. UNLV is a team on the rise and is off to a 6-0 start but being a road favorite is a little aggressive considering this is the first time the Rebels have left Vegas after winning just two road games last season. They have dominated opponents which is factoring into this line but a young team playing its first road game is something to stay away from. 10* (746) Northern Iowa Panthers

Alabama made news last week by playing and coming close to winning against Minnesota despite playing 3-on-5 and that is factoring into this line with the betting public loving this team right now. While there are no suspensions, there are key injuries for the Tide as forward Braxton Key, an NBA prospect, is out until next month, key reserve Armond Davis is also out until December while starting freshman and second leading scorer John Petty is questionable tonight with an ankle injury. Louisiana Tech is going to be playing with a mission this season. The Bulldogs went 23-10 last season including a 14-4 record in C-USA which was good for a second-place finish and after getting ousted in the conference tournament semifinals, they were completely snubbed by all postseason tournaments. They have three starters back this season and are off to a 5-0 start while possessing one of the top backcourts you will see as four guards are averaging double-digits in scoring led by Jalen Harris and NBA prospect Jacobi Boykins. The Bulldogs need quality wins, and this will qualify as one of those so expect a huge effort tonight. 10* (753) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Utah St. is on its 11th day of a 13-day roadtrip so there is some fatigue settling in. The Aggies are 2-2 on the trip, losing to Gonzaga and Portland St. while winning a tournament in Nashville, defeating northeastern and New Hampshire. The Aggie guards will have their work cut out for them, especially since three of the top four will most likely not play. Brock Miller (foot) and Julion Pearre (calf) are for sure out, while Koby McEwen (ankle) is doubtful. This is not ideal as McEwen is their best player and was names MWC Freshman of the Year last season. Valparaiso is 7-0 and back home following five straight games on the highway. While the Crusaders lost four starters, this team is long and deep. They start 7-foot sophomore Jaume Sorolla, then bring in 7-2 sophomore Derrik Smits and Utah St. does not have the size to match up as 6-11 center Norbert Janicek is out for the season. The backcourt is deep with three double-digit scorers so there are edges both down low and up top. 10* (534) Valparaiso Crusaders

Florida St. is a heavy consensus play for tonight which comes as no surprise as the Seminoles are a team that has been playing at a high level for years while Rutgers has not been relevant in years, but the roles could be reversed this season. The Seminoles are coming off a 26-win season and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament. However, they lost the majority of the starters from that team and are now relying on a lot of players stepping up in key roles for the first time in their careers. This is the first true road game for Florida St. and it comes at an underrated venue. While Rutgers won just 15 games last season, it was more than twice as many victories from the previous season. It lost seven Big Ten games by single-digits after losing 15 conference games by double-digits the previous season and it brings back four starters. The Scarlet Knights are off to a 6-0 start and while they have not been tested, this is a team on the rise that will produce some surprises this season. This could be the first. 10* (518) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Xavier is coming off its first loss of the season as the defense was to blame. It led by as many as 15 points in the first half but allowed 73 points over the final 23 minutes of the game. After building that 15-point lead late in the first half, the Musketeers then went scoreless over the final three-plus minutes of the period as the Sun Devils went on a 15-2 run to pull within a bucket going into halftime. Xavier will be out for immediate redemption and there will be added motivation as well. The Musketeers opened last season 7-0 before a trip to Waco and they lost by 15 points, so payback is in play. Baylor is 5-0 including a pair of wins over Wisconsin and Creighton but this will be the biggest test of the season for the Bears which lost a lot of production and experience from last season. This is the first true road game of the season for Baylor and it comes against a pissed off Xavier teams in one of the tougher environments in the country. 10* (512) Xavier Musketeers

This is the first true road game for Maryland but that is not a huge concern in this spot. The Terrapins are 6-1 with three of those games coming on a neutral floor so they have had some exposure to other courts as opposed to their own. The one loss came against a good St. Bonaventure teams and Maryland bounced back from that with a win over New Mexico. The Terrapins defeated Butler earlier in the season by 14 points which was an impressive signature victory. They are dealing with the loss of Melo Trimble, but this team is still pretty loaded as three of five starters returned from their 24-win season and currently have nine players averaging 11 or more minutes per game. Syracuse is 5-0 but has yet to be tested with their best win coming against Oakland. The Orange are extremely young as they lost three key starters as well as two senior reserves that played big roles. They look good defensively but again, have not played anybody and the Achilles Heel that has plagued this team for years is back against as Syracuse is hitting just 63.9 percent from the free throw line which is No. 313 out of 251 Division I teams. 10* (717) Maryland Terrapins

Michigan St. coasted by DePaul and Connecticut, stomping both opponents by over 20 points in the first two rounds of the PK80 tournament. The Spartans will be tested here though, and it does have a favorable matchup as their size can be the difference in this one. North Carolina rolled in its first two games as well and while after leading the country in offensive rebounding a season ago, the Tar Heels lost most of their height heading into this season. They are led by junior forward Luke May, who is averaging 21.2 ppg and 10.8 rpg and is coming off scoring 28 points with 16 boards against the Razorbacks. Michigan St. has the size that can neutralize him though as Jaren Jackson Jr. (6-11), Nick Ward (6-8), Miles Bridges (6-7), Gavin Schilling (6-9), Xavier Tillman (6-8) and Ben Carter (6-9) are part of a big team. Michigan St. has had issues with North Carolina in the past, but this is one of the better advantages it has had, and the line is proving that. 10* (548) Michigan St. Spartans

St. Bonaventure is coming off a big upset over Maryland yesterday and while it is a big upset over a top program, the Terrapins are not the Terrapins we are accustomed to. The Bonnies head to the finals of the Emerald Classic with a 3-1 record with their lone loss coming against Niagara their season opener and that is a loss that cannot be ignored. St. Bonaventure went 20-12 last season and finished fifth in the Atlantic Ten but failed to go to a postseason tournament so there is plenty of motivation. However, the Bonnies will again be without their leader Jaylen Adams who is out with an ankle injury and his absence is pivotal in this matchup. TCU is another team that was snubbed by the NCAA Tournament committee, but the Horned Frogs were invited to the NIT and took their frustrations out on the bracket and won the whole thing. They bring back all five starters from their 24-win season and there is a realistic shot of contending in the Big XII with one of the best frontcourts in the conference. All-Big XII forward Vladimir Brodziansky was held in check yesterday as he had a tough matchup with Sam Longwood of New Mexico, but he has no such matchup issues tonight. 10* (753) TCU Horned Frogs

West Virginia comes into the Advocare Invitational ranked No. 20 in the country after opening the season with a 23-point loss to Texas A&M but it has recovered with four straight wins including a less-than-inspiring effort against Marist in the first round yesterday. The Mountaineers were favored by 29.5 points but won by just six points as they shot only 35.1 percent from the floor compared to 55.3 percent for the Red Foxes but they dominated the boards 41-28 including a 22-3 advantage on the offensive glass. They look to shoot better today and still have a dominant rebounding advantage. Central Florida defeated Nebraska yesterday to improve to 4-0 on the season but the Huskers are picked to finish No. 13 in the 14-team Big Ten and the other three wins came against nobodies. The Knights finished fourth in the AAC last season but are expected to fall back after an impressive 24-win season. They lost three starters and are without their best player as B.J. Taylor broke his foot in the first game and is out four-six weeks. He averaged 17.4 ppg in 29 games last season and his absence will be problematic here. 10* (546) West Virginia Mountaineers

Texas is coming off a miserable season, one of its worst ever and now the pressure is on head coach Shaka Smart in his third season. The good news is that his recruiting efforts are going to pay off with his best roster in his tenure and the Longhorns were able to start the season early in the summer with a trip to Australia and that makes such a big difference early in the season. Texas has 11 players averaging double-digits in minutes, so the depth of this team is a big advantage as well. Butler is 3-1 but suffered a bad loss against Maryland in its only real game of the season. The Bulldogs are going through another coaching change and while good things are expected, they are predicted to finish fifth in a relatively weak Big East Conference after the top three teams. After a last place finish in the Big XII last season, Texas is expected to make a top four finish this season which is big turnaround in a vital season for Smart. This is a loaded tournament and the Longhorns can make a name starting tonight. 10* (744) Texas Longhorns

SMU is coming off a huge season where it went 30-5 but suffered a loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and it is starting right where it left off. The Mustangs have started the season a perfect 4-0 with all four wins being blowout victories but they have played nobody, and this is a team that is in major transition. SMU is still on probation in that it is getting fewer scholarships and comes into this season needing to replace three important starters with a young roster that has not played together very much. The Panthers finished two games under .500 last season, but they were a very young team with only two seniors, so they bring back a ton of experience and are projected to contend in the MVC. Northern Iowa has rolled in its last three games against low-level competition, but they faced North Carolina in their opener on the road and the Panthers held their own in a 17-point loss and that experience against an elite team will help here. This line has a lot to do with what happened last season for SMU and it start this season, but it is overly aggressive in what should be a very competitive game. 10* (556) Northern Iowa Panthers

Idaho comes in to the season as the favorites to win the Big Sky Conference after going 12-6 last season, which was good for a tie for third, and 19-14 overall. That was good for an invite to the CIT which was important for extra playing time and practices. The Vandals are loaded as they bring back all five starters as well as point guard Perrion Callandret who took a medical redshirt last season after averaging 14.0 ppg in 2015-16. They are off to a 2-1 start with the lone loss coming at Nevada, the favorite to win the MWC. Santa Clara had a winning record last season as it finished a game over .500 but its season ended in the WCC Semifinals and did not get to play in a postseason tournament. The Broncos have three starters back, but the losses will be hard to replace especially Jared Brownridge who finished his career as the No. leading scorer in program history. Santa Clara is 1-2 to start the season with all three games coming at home including a 30-point loss to aforementioned Nevada. The only victory came against Division III La Verne University. The experience of Idaho will show in Alaska. 10* (585) Idaho Vandals

Louisiana Tech is going to be playing with a mission this season. The Bulldogs went 23-10 last season including a 14-4 record in C-USA which was good for a second-place finish and after getting ousted in the conference tournament semifinals, they were completely snubbed by all postseason tournaments. They have three starters back this season and are off to a 4-0 start including a victory over George Mason by 13 points in the first round of the Cancun Challenge. This is one of the top backcourts you will see as four guards are averaging double-digits in scoring led by Jalen Harris and NBA prospect Jacobi Boykins. Evansville pulled off the upset over Fresno St. to get to the finals and improved to 5-0 on the season while covering all three lined games. The Purple Aces have overachieved thus far and have a tough matchup here as their strength is in the backcourt but cannot match up with the Bulldogs. Evansville finished eighth in the MVC last season and that is the prediction once again for a team that lost Jaylon Brown, who averaged 20.9 ppg and led the conference in scoring. The Bulldogs keep rolling. 10* (592) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

We won with Penn St. last night as the Nittany Lions rolled over Pittsburgh and while we think this is a very good team, they take a huge step up in competition here and will have a tough time keeping up. Penn St. is 5-0 but has defeated no one good and that includes the Panthers who are in for a very long season. The Nittany Lions have covered all three of their lined games which is keeping this number a reasonable one. They will have size advantages over a lot of teams this season as they are big down low with five players averaging at least 5.2 rebounds per game. The problem tonight is they will be facing a bigger and more athletic team, so their typical advantage will not be in play here. Texas A&M is coming off an average season where it went 16-15 overall including 8-10 in the SEC and did not go to a postseason tournament. The Aggies are loaded this season as they are led by forward Robert Williams who was a projected first round NBA draft pick but decided to come back for one more season and could be the No. 1 overall pick next year. Overall, they have four starters back while also adding graduate transfer Duane Wilson to compliment J.J. Caldwell who will return from a suspension on November 30. Depth and experience to go along with a stingy defense will lead Texas A&M to the Legends Classic Championship. 10* (742) Texas A&M Aggies

California is coming off a difficult loss yesterday as it blew a double-digit second half lead against Wichita St. and it was outscored 54-35 in the second half, ruining a chance for a monumental upset. The Golden Bears are now 2-2 on the season with the other loss coming against UC Riverside at home while the two wins came against Cal Poly by three points and Wofford. The loss to the Shockers will be hard to recover from for this extremely young team that has been picked to finish dead last in the Pac 12 after losing four starters, a part-time starter and their best incoming recruit. It is going to be a long season, and this is a bad matchup to have after a bad loss as the Bears are a pressing team and will be facing a VCU team that has pressed hard for years and will know how to break it after practicing it so much. VCU lost to a good Marquette team yesterday and will look to rebound to get back over .500. The Rams also lost a lot to graduation and are breaking in a new head coach as well, but Mike Rhoades was an assistant here, so he knows the program and has reinstalled the full-court Havok system. The other loss on the season came against Virginia which was considered a quality loss. Look for the Rams to be the team to bounce back on Tuesday. 10* (733) VCU Rams

Another pair of undefeated teams square off late Monday night in Las Vegas as Mississippi plays Utah in the second game of the MGM Grand Main Event. The Rebels are coming off a solid season where they went 22-14 including 10-8 in the SEC but they were not quite there to get a berth into the NCAA Tournament and had to settle for the NIT where they won two games. Mississippi lost a ton as four starters departed and is still without Karlis Silins who was a projected starter coming into this season. The lack of proven players has shown early on as the Rebels have struggled the last couple games to put Eastern Kentucky and Georgia State away and now comes its best test of the young season. They had to rally twice in the second half to stay undefeated. Utah has rolled in its first three games including a win over Missouri in its last game although the Tigers were without Michael Porter Jr. Still, we can put that team on the same page as Mississippi. The Utes are doing it with defense once again as they are allowing opponents to shoot just 33.7 percent from the floor including 21.2 percent from long range. This is a very balanced team on offense with six players averaging between 9.0 and 14.0 ppg. Going back, the Utes are 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record. 10* (579) Utah Utes

This line may seem off to some based on who these teams are, but this is in fact correct and it is going to get a lot of public action on Pittsburgh. The Panthers are coming off a tough season where they went 16-17 including a 4-14 record in the ACC. They lost four starters to graduation while another one, Cameron Johnson, transferred to North Carolina while also losing five other players that decided to leave the program early. So, it is a complete rebuild in Pittsburgh and we are already seeing the signs it lost to Navy on the road and Montana at home while struggling to get past Santa Barbara in their last game. While the Panthers lost everyone, Penn St. has most everyone back as all five starters return from a team that went just 15-18 but showed signs of getting over the hump. The Nittany Lions has big wins over Michigan St., Maryland and Minnesota but faded down the stretch and missed the postseason. They are 4-0 this season, winning all four games by double-digits including a 13-point victory over the same Montana team that beat Pittsburgh. The Nittany Lions are 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a losing straight up record while the Panthers are 12-36-4 ATS in their last 52 games following a straight up win. 10* (567) Penn St. Nittany Lions

We played against Creighton in its last game but the Bluejays won at Northwestern as the Wildcats home court advantage not be as strong as in the past because of the relocation. The Bluejays shot lights out once again and they are shooting over 55 percent on the season while averaging 97.7 ppg. Creighton did suffer a loss in that last game however as starting senior forward Toby Hegner suffered a high ankle sprain and he will be out for a while. The Bluejays have covered both lined games this season which helps with this line while going back, they are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win. UCLA is also off to a 3-0 start, but it has not looked good in doing so. It narrowly defeated Georgia Tech in China while needing overtime to defeat Central Arkansas at home. It is obvious that the distraction stemming from the shoplifting incident carried over into basketball, but the Bruins shook those first two games off with a 28-point win over South Carolina St. last time out. After allowing an effective field goal percentage of 55.2 percent over its first three quarters back in the United States, including a mark of 59.5 percent by Central Arkansas, UCLA tightened up its defense in the second half against South Carolina St., holding the Bulldogs to a 44.3 percent effective field goal percentage. 10* (570) UCLA Bruins

The finals of the Puerto Rico Tip Off take place Sunday in South Carolina after a day off on Saturday. The Broncos defeated UTEP by just a bucket in the opener but came to life the next day and rolled over Illinois St. On the heels of a rough shooting outing in the opener against UTEP, senior Chandler Hutchison posted the 12th double-double of his career with 19 points and a career-high 18 rebounds against the Redbirds. He will look to back it up again against a depleted backcourt of Iowa St. that lost three double-digit scorers from the perimeter last season. We played against Iowa St. in its season opener and noted how there is little quality talent on this team. Donovan Jackson is the most productive returning player as he was fifth on the team in scoring with 6.4 ppg. Fred Hoiberg's staff neglected to recruit high school prospects his last two years at Iowa St. and those kids who would now be contributing as juniors and seniors, and ready to step into star roles, do not exist on the Cyclone roster. While both teams are in a rebuild, the Broncos are not nearly in as bad of shape as the Cyclones which narrowly escaped in the first two rounds. 10* (733) Boise St. Broncos

**7:30 PM ET Start** Providence is coming off another successful season where it went 20-13 and it is expected to be another great season for the Friars which return the bulk of their production. They are coming off a win over Washington yesterday in the first round of the 2K Classic and are heavy favorites to bring home the championship tonight. They opened the season with a blowout win over Houston Baptist but followed that up with a head-scratching loss against Minnesota where they melted down in the second half. High expectations lead to inflate lines early in the season which is the case her and adding to that is the fact they are playing a team that has won a total of 34 games over the last three seasons. St. Louis made the NCAA Tournament for three straight seasons, but the last three years have been a struggle where it has lost 21 games each season. This is a different team now however and could be one of the biggest surprises in the country. The Billikens have been picked to finish in the upper half of the A-10 thanks to four starters back as well as one of the best freshmen in the country and big name incoming transfers. Jordan Goodwin is a five-star recruit who is second on the team in scoring behind Javon Bess who came over from Michigan St. This team is talented and deep and is getting this many points because of the past and not the present. 10* (780) St. Louis Billikens

**2:00 PM ET Start** Boise St. is coming off another 20-win season and expectations are high once again for the Broncos. They have opened the season 2-0 as they routed Eastern Oregon on Friday (104-65) and Southern Utah on Sunday (90-69) but things will be not as easy Thursday afternoon. Boise St. has the best player on the floor in Chandler Hutchinson, who is the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, but they will be challenged with depth early on. They lost a couple of key players from last season including point guard Paris Austin who transferred to California after averaging 12.3 ppg and leading the team in assists. UTEP is coming off an easy win over Louisiana College after jumping out to a 32-0 lead. The Miners roster is comprised of eight newcomers including five freshmen and only five returners from last year's fourth-seeded C-USA team that went 15-17 overall but an impressive 12-6 in conference play. They do return four starters and were granted a sixth year out of center Matt Willms while getting graduate transfer Keith Frazier from SMU, who is a former McDonald's All-American. The confidence level of the Miners is high as they have won 14 of their last 18 games and they were able to open the season with a summer trip to Costa Rica that gave them an extra 10 practices and three competitive games. 10* (520) UTEP Miners

Northwestern achieved many firsts last season including their first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament which resulted in a win in the first round and a tough loss to Gonzaga in the round of 32. The goals are higher this season as the Wildcats have four starters back from their 24-win season and they were ranked in the initial AP Poll for the first time in program history. They have not looked great through two games but we can blame that on the lack of competition but that changes here, in at least name. Creighton is off to a 2-0 start as well but this is a team that will have a different look than it did at this same time a year ago. Creighton lacks a true point guard and it showed last year how it derailed their season when point guard Maurice Watson tore his ACL and the Bluejays limped to the finish line. They have just 38 assists in 73 made field goals and while they have been shooting lights out, they face their toughest defensive test of the season. Northwestern is playing its home games off campus this season at the Allstate Arena which is a half hour away and that will hurt later in the season when they will be playing early games. Playing a game at 8:00 PM local time will not affect the student crowd and the Wildcats home court advantage will be in full effect. 10* (736) Northwestern Wildcats

Under head coach Kevin Keatts, UNC-Wilmington won 78 games in three years and won or tied for the CAA regular season championship in all three seasons. Keatts has moved on as he took the job at NC State and in comes C.B. McGrath who was an assistance at North Carolina, so the transition will not be seamless. In addition, the Seahawks must replace four starters while the five-player recruiting class that was coming in all decided to go elsewhere so the roster is very raw and inexperienced. It is going to be a tough start for UNC-Wilmington which won its first game over NC-Wesleyan but hits the road for the first time against a much-improved opponent. Davidson missed the postseason for the first time since 2011 last year but the Wildcats will be contending in the Atlantic Ten Conference this season. They bring back four starters and got an early start to the season as they went on a summer exhibition tour in Europe which teams can do once every five years and that extra time together makes a big difference early in the season. Davidson rolled in its first game as well as it went an incredible 26-53 from long range against Charleston Southern and that is not good news for the Seahawks that struggled defensively against a D-II team. 10* (508) Davidson Wildcats

The Cowboys are the second biggest consensus on the entire college hoops slate and a big reason is name. Oklahoma St. is a big-name program and only laying 13.5 points against an unknown team looks to be easy money. That is hardly the case and this is a tough matchup against a team that can keep up. Both teams are coming off comfortable opening victories, so we do not have to dive into those but should bring up the fact that the up-tempo offense the 49ers possess is for real as they shot 62 percent while scoring 116 points albeit against a D-II school. Charlotte is loaded offensively and while it struggled last season on defense, it brought in players to help. Overall, the 49ers have four starters back so chemistry is in place. Oklahoma St. made a trip to the NCAA Tournament last season but lost head coach Brad Underwood who left for Illinois and while Mike Boynton Jr. was an assistant and is familiar with the roster, this is his first ever head coaching job. The Cowboys lost three starters including two important pieces in Juwan Evans (19.3 ppg and Phil Forte III (13.3 ppg) so there are voids to fill, and it may take a while. They rolled Pepperdine, but the Waves are a horrible team and the 49ers are getting just a field goal fewer points. 10* (729) Charlotte 49ers

San Diego opens the season two days later than most teams but are in a good spot to open it the right way. The Toreros 13-18 season but they bring back a load of talent and experience making this the best team under head coach Lamont Smith who is in his third season. Six of the top seven scorers are back for San Diego and Isaiah Wright, a point guard transfer from Utah, is now eligible. This is the first true point guard Smith has had at his disposal and that makes a huge difference. San Jose St. rolled over Antelope Valley in its season opener and never hearing of Antelope Valley shows how much of an unimpressive win it was. The Spartans made progress last season but encountered two huge losses over the summer as head coach Dave Wojcik stepped down in July and their best player, All-MWC First Team forward Brandon Clarke who averaged 17.3 ppg and 8.7 rpg, transferred to Gonzaga a month after that. The team is in transition right now as a new system was put into place, so it could take some time for them to come together. This line flipped right after opening and it is the right move. 10* (519) San Diego Toreros

Iowa St. has been to the NCAA Tournament every year since 2012 but that streak will be in serious jeopardy this season. The Cyclones are going through a serious rebuild and things could be sticky early in the season. They lost First Team All-Big XII point guard Monte Morris as well as double-digit scorers Deonte Burton, Matt Thomas and Naz Mitrou-Long. Donovan Jackson is the most productive returning player as he was fifth on the team in scoring with 6.4 ppg. Fred Hoiberg's staff neglected to recruit high school prospects his last two years at ISU and those kids who would now be contributing as juniors and seniors, and ready to step into star roles, do not exist on the Cyclone roster. Missouri won eight games last season, fired head coach Kim Anderson and hired Cuonzo Martin. The Tigers do not lack talent as they have a strong roster with potential lottery pick Michael Porter Jr. and four-star center Jeremiah Tilmon. Additionally, Blake Harris and Jeremiah Tilmon, who were supposed to be in Washington and Illinois respectively, decided to come to Missouri after their coaches were fired. This team is young, but expectations are high and getting off to a flying start is imperative which begins on Friday. 10* (552) Missouri Tigers

North Carolina came away with a narrow win over Kentucky to make it to the Final Four but got a scare when point guard Joel Berry II rolled an ankle. Luckily, nearly a week off will help it heal and there were concerns he would not be able to play but he has been upgraded to probable. Oregon had a surprisingly easy time against Kansas as it defeated the Jayhawks by 14 points following a pair of close wins over Rhode Island and Michigan by a combined four points. The Ducks will put up a fight but the Tar Heels are on a mission after the last second loss in the National Championship last season. One big key for Oregon is its defense and the strength is the match-up zone the Ducks play which is not good for North Carolina and its streaky outside shooting. But this is not necessarily a disadvantage for the Tar Heels which lead the nation in offensive rebounding percentage at 41 percent. They grabbed 13 offensive rebounds on 31 missed shots in the Elite Eight win over Kentucky and Oregon is not a good rebounding team. The Ducks are No. 128 in defensive rebounding percentage (Kentucky is No. 69) so North Carolina will have an even bigger edge on the glass should it not shoot very well. Oregon has just two players in the starting lineup that are taller than 6'4" while the Tar Heels have four starters that are 6'6" and taller. This makes the loss of center Chris Boucher a really big absence in this matchup. 10* (814) North Carolina Tar Heels

Gonzaga easily took care of Xavier on Saturday for its first start to finish easy game of the NCAA Tournament thus far. While this one may not be as easy, we can expect a comfortable win as the Bulldogs have the advantages at the important spots. The two big stars for each team resides in the backcourt with Nigel Williams-Goss for Gonzaga and Sindarius Thornwell for South Carolina. They pretty much negate each other out and with the perimeter defenses being so good on both sides, the secondary backcourt scorers for both teams will be crucial. Those should also negate each other out as they are fairly even when it comes to scoring and efficiency. Therefore, the difference in this one will come from down low and the Bulldogs have a huge advantage. Prezmek Karnowski, Johnathan Williams and Zach Collins average a combined 32.4 ppg and 18 rpg while the Gamecocks have only two significant frontcourt players who do not match up so that along with the depth down low will be the difference for Gonzaga. South Carolina did well against Florida in the interior but the Gators are far from the same team down low as the Bulldogs. Gonzaga uses its size, strength and ability to control the boards to limit teams second-chance scoring opportunities. While the covering has not been there as much, the Bulldogs are 16-4-2 ATS in their last 22 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (812) Gonzaga Bulldogs

CS Bakersfield is a surprise to be in the NIT semis at MSG as it won three road games and became the first No. 8 seed to reach the NIT semifinals. The wins came in some tough places as well as first at California, then at Colorado St., then two nights later at a UT\-Arlington team that was 14-0 at home. Amazingly, the Roadrunners led all of those games by at least 20 points at some stage in the game. They are ranked 15th nationally in defensive efficiency according to KenPom and their defensive field goal percentage of .369 is third-best among 351 Div. I schools. This defense is what made them tough on the road as they were up four in Arizona with eight minutes left and were down three at SMU with five minutes to go before losing both. The fact their 11 road wins this season rank fourth nationally tells a lot. Georgia Tech had a decent season but has made a nice run in the NIT. The Yellow Jackets were fortunate to have their first game moved to a home game against Indiana which was a big advantage and gave them some confidence moving forward. They too can defend but not quite as good as their opponent. Bakersfield went to the NCAA Tournament last year (lost to Oklahoma) and should have been there again but lost to New Mexico St. but was exhausted from a quadruple overtime game in the semifinals the night before. The Roadrunners are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog. 10* (777) CS Bakersfield Roadrunners

It seems pretty hard to believe that of the six teams left in the NCAA Tournament, three are from the SEC, with all of those three teams playing today. South Carolina and Florida will be meeting for the third time this season with the winner-take-all prize of heading to the Final Four. We saw the Cinderella slipper fall of Xavier last night and we will see the same today for the Gamecocks who have had a great run but cannot continue on behind just one player. These teams split their regular season meetings but it was Florida that should have swept the series. In the first meeting, the Gators missed all 17 of their three-point attempts and KeVaughn Allen, a first-team All-SEC guard, scored just one point. He came back with 26 points in the second meeting with the Gators rolling by 15 points which was the more atypical result. The Gators are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Gamecocks are just 1-9 ATS in their last 10 SEC games. 10* (722) Florida Gators

It has been a pretty incredible run for Xavier in the NCAA Tournament as the No. 11 seed has won all three games as an underdog culminating with the two-point win over Arizona on Thursday, ending the game on a 9-0 run. The Musketeers have won six of their last seven games following a six-game losing streak toward the end of the regular season. Against Arizona, Xavier shot 52.8 percent from the floor and was fortunate to catch the Wildcats on a bad shooting night. The Musketeers were outrebounded 35-24 including 14-6 on the offensive glass and that is a big problem here against a much better rebounding team. Gonzaga won another close game on Thursday and it has not looked like a No. 1 seed so far but it catches a good matchup here in a game that could turn into a runaway. The Bulldogs are big and Xavier will have to contend with Przemek Karnowski and the trio of athletic bigs who surround the Bulldogs center. Gonzaga committed 16 turnovers against West Virginia and the pressure defense but it will not have to worry about that here as Xavier forces fewer than 12 turnovers per game. The Bulldogs are 11-1 on the season against RPI top 100 teams while Xavier possesses 13 losses against top 100 teams from the RPI. While Xavier has covered seven straight games, going back, the Bulldogs are 15-4-2 ATS in their last 21 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (514) Gonzaga Bulldogs

South Carolina is one of a few remaining teams many feel can be the Cinderella story but the magical run ends here. Wins over Marquette and Duke were impressive considering the Gamecocks put up 93 and 88 points but a lot of that was due to its strong defense that forced turnovers while also winning the rebounding battle. The issue is that South Carolina has a horrible offense as it finished the season ranked last in the SEC in shooting and when it matches up against a team that can negate its strengths, it will be in big trouble. Baylor is one of those teams. While South Carolina has the No. 4 adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom, Baylor is at No. 13 so there is not a significant difference there. The Bears are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation as they are No. 4 in rebounding percentage and No. 2 in offensive rebounding percentage. They have outrebounded opponents by 8.0 rpg on the season while the Gamecocks are pretty much dead even and over the last five games, they are +12.8 rog while South Carolina is in the negative. Baylor is 9-4 against the RPI top 50 while South Carolina is just 3-5 which shows a pretty big stretch of schedule differential and that Baylor has been able to handle it well. Taking care of the ball is vital for Baylor and its 1.20 assist/turnover ratio show it can while on the other side, the Gamecocks 0.99 A/TO ratio is the worst of the remaining 16 teams. 10* (874) Baylor Bears

There are three 1-4 matchups in the Sweet 16 and judging by this line, linesmakers feel this is the most lopsided one. Based on the RPI though, this is actually the closest of the three matchups with this being No. 5 vs. No. 14 and the other two being No. 4 vs. No. 16 and No. 3 vs. No. 19. North Carolina is favored this much because it is a heavily bet team no matter who or where it is playing so the adjustment had to be made. We played against Butler when it faced off against Middle Tennessee St. and the Bulldogs proved they are primed for a legitimate run. This was proved a while back when they defeated Villanova not once but twice during the regular season. Overall, Butler is 16-5 against the RPI top 100 while North Carolina is 17-6 and that difference is insignificant adding on that Butler faced a slightly tougher schedule than the Tar Heels. North Carolina is the best rebounding team in the nation which is a concern for all teams playing the Tar Heels but the Bulldogs have found ways to be able to compete with the top rebounding teams they have faced. Villanova is a much better rebounding team than Butler yet the Bulldogs won the battle of the boards in both meetings. While this certainly is not a great matchup for the Bulldogs, the same can be said for North Carolina as the Bulldogs defend hard and can take away some of that high-powered offense. The Bulldogs are 19-6-1 ATS in their last 26 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (877) Butler Bulldogs

Many talking heads are saying West Virginia could be the team that takes down Gonzaga and its first ever trip to the Final Four because of the pressure the Mountaineers apply. While they do pressure well and force a ton of turnovers, Gonzaga handles the ball well, averaging 11.3 tpg, 40th in the nation. An argument can be made that Notre Dame was frazzled early and the same will happen to the Bulldogs, that should not happen as this veteran team will be able to handle it. Point guard Nigel Williams-Goss became the West Coast Conference player of the year after back-to-back double-digit scoring seasons at Washington. Johnathan Williams led Missouri in scoring, rebounding and blocks two years ago while graduate transfer Jordan Mathews started 65 games at California. People also point to the lousy schedule that Gonzaga played but it defeated Florida, Iowa St. and Arizona early in the season and overall it is 7-0 against the RPI top 50 and 13-1 against the RPI top 100. Meanwhile, West Virginia is 7-4 and 15-5 respectively so while it has more games against the better teams, those losses cannot be overlooked. This will be the tallest team that the Mountaineers have faced this season so their typical rebounding edge is no longer an edge and could end up a disadvantage here. The close game against northwestern was a good thing for Gonzaga and will help a large amount here. Going back, the Bulldogs are 20-6-1 ATS in their last 27 games against teams with a winning straight up record while the Mountaineers are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (816) Gonzaga Bulldogs

A compelling matchup leads off the Sweet 16 on Thursday as Oregon comes in as one of only two higher seeded teams that is an underdog. Rhode Island gave Oregon all it could handle, but a late surge in the second half, some clutch offensive rebounds and big-time threes gave the Ducks a 75-72 win. They compiled 15 offensive boards and 35 total rebounds against the Rams and that is a big edge to have in this upcoming matchup. Oregon lost center Chris Boucher to a season-ending injury in the Pac 12 Conference tournament, which has forced Oregon to play small and that will not hurt the Ducks here. The Wolverines struggle rebounding, and have been out-rebounded by 2.5 boards per game this season, one of the worst rebounding margins in the country. Offensive rebounding is particularly difficult, with Michigan getting 7.5 boards on that end per game. A strength of Oregon is long range shooting as it is hitting 40.5 percent from behind the arc since February and that is not good against Michigan as it is allowing opponents to shoot 37.5 percent from behind the three-point line, the 15th-highest rate among the 16 teams remaining. The Wolverines will be a very popular play here as they are the public darlings of the tournament, thus they are pegged as the favorite. That is an edge to Oregon as the Ducks are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog of fewer than seven points. 10* (814) Oregon Ducks

Central Florida will take on its second team from Illinois in three days and the Knights are back home to try and advance to MSG and the NIT Semifinals. They overcame an 18-point deficit and defeated Illinois St. 63-62 Monday on a pair of B.J. Taylor free throws with just 1.3 seconds to play. That type of comeback is huge moving forward and the Knights bring that momentum in Wednesday where they are 14-3 at home and are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games as favorites of less than seven points. Illinois is coming off an impressive effort on Monday as it took care of Boise St. by 15 points after trailing at halftime by a point. The second half effort was fueled by the fact that upcoming head coach Brad Underwood was in attendance, although not coaching, so the younger players were no doubt auditioning in front of their new coach. The Illini hit the road where they have struggled where they are just 3-6 and going back, they are 2-6 ATS in their last eight road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. Additionally, UCF is 8-2 ATS at home against teams with a winning record while the Illini are 3-7 ATS on the road against above .500 teams. 10* (768) UCF Knights

The NIT continues Tuesday and after seeing a pair of upsets by the road teams last night, we have that possibility again right here. We played against TCU last week when we felt it was overvalued against Fresno St. and that feeling is the same here. The Horned Frogs are coming off an impressive win at Iowa in overtime on Sunday and come home laying a big number. Since the end of their cupcake non-conference season, the Horned Frogs have only two wins by more than what they are laying here and those came against Oklahoma and Texas, both of which won just 11 games each this season. TCU will be without Jaylen Fisher who is its best three-point shooting, second best free throw shooter and is second on the team in assists. Richmond won on the road in the first round and was able to host its next game against Oakland which resulted in a four-point victory. The Spiders are 8-5 on the road this season and most important, they are 6-1 ATS as road underdogs, winning five of those outright with the two losses coming against VCU and Dayton. Going back, the Spiders are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 road games against teams with a winning home record while the Horned Frogs are 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (669) Richmond Spiders

Utah Valley finished 15-16 overall including a 6-8record in the WAC yet was invited into a postseason tournament. The Wolverines hit the road and easily took out Georgia Southern in the first round, a team that finished the season just 18-15 and was riding a three-game losing streak at the time. While that can be considered an impressive win, they will be facing a very big test. Utah Valley has only played four games this season that had lines and while it did cover all of those, it shows the discrepancy of the schedules and the levels of competition. Rice had a very strong season and is making its first postseason appearance since 2011-12. The Owls have won 10 of their last 13 games after defeating San Francisco in the first round, 85-76, last Wednesday. This is a young team with only two seniors on the roster so thing is a big springboard going into next season and that really can make a difference for teams getting extra time together. Rice has won 12 of its 15 games this season when playing with three or more days of rest while Utah Valley is just 8-11 when playing with that much time off. 10* (626) Rice Owls

This game is a contrast of styles as UCLA brings in the best offense in the country while Cincinnati counters with a top ranked defense and while the latter is usually an advantage at this stage in the season, the Bruins have too much firepower. The Bearcats have had a great season as they have lost only five games, two coming against SMU and two others against teams still in the NCAA Tournament. They are just 7-5 against the RPI top 100 as they were not tested much in the AAC. UCLA had no issues with Kent St. in its first game as the offense put up 97 points with five players scoring at least 14 points. UCLA totaled 25 assists against the Golden Flashes and shot 62.7 percent from the floor and the balance of this team cannot be overlooked. The Bearcats rank only 327th nationally in the Kenpom.com metric for AdjT (adjusted tempo), with 63.6 possessions per a 40-minute game. UCLA ranks No. 13 in that category at 73.1 and when this turns into a trackmeet, Cincinnati will not be able to keep up. The Bruins are 12-4 against the RPI top 100 and keep the run going on Sunday in easy fashion. 10* (732) UCLA Bruins

Rhode Island was a marginal bubble team prior to the Atlantic Ten Tournament but it went on to win three games in three days for the championship and then beat Creighton to move its winning streak to nine straight games. The Rams were up and down for the most part but five of their nine losses came by five points or less and overall they are now 10-7 against the RPI top 100. They provide matchup problems on both ends as they have a solid inside-outside game on offense and defensively, Rhode Island uses a version of VCU's "havoc defense" to relentlessly swarm the ball. Oregon did not get overly tested against Iona in its first game as it used its athleticism to run away from the Gaels. The Ducks will not be able to have that edge here though and they struggle against physical teams. The loss of Chris Boucher was big to begin with but it is bigger in a game like this as he was third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and first in blocked shots. The Ducks are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning straight up record while the Rams are 4-0 ATS in their last four games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (729) Rhode Island Rams

Middle Tennessee St. dominated Minnesota on Thursday as the Blue Raiders led by as many as 17 points and held off a late Gophers rally to pull off its second upset in the NCAA Tournament in as many years. This really was not an upset though as they were favored despite being seeded seven spots lower. After Middle Tennessee beat the Spartans last year, it was crushed by No. 10 seed Syracuse 75-50 as the Orange made their way to the Final Four and that loss will benefit it big this time around. The Blue Raiders rolled through the regular season, with only Gonzaga and Villanova finishing with a better winning percentage so this team is for real. Butler cannot be taken lightly as it easily took out Winthrop to advance and shook off a loss in its first game in the Big East Tournament. The Bulldogs handed Villanova two of its three losses this season so they can certainly play at a high level but at the same time, they did suffer some bad losses. Middle Tennessee St. has been an underdog only three times this season and covered all of those, winning two outright and going back, the Blue Raiders are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (525) Middle Tennessee St. Blue Raiders

Wisconsin won for us on Thursday as it was able to pull away late but now encounters a much tougher task in facing the No. 1 seed Wildcats. We mentioned that the Badgers were underseeded and they were able to take advantage against an overseeded Hokies team but because of their seeding problem, they have to face a top seed earlier than expected. Wisconsin was able to pull away against Virginia Tech thanks to taking 11 more shots including 14 more three-pointers which was in part to a 10-rebouind edge on the boards. However, the Hokies were one of the worst rebounding teams in the country, No. 263 in rebound rate and now will be facing one of the best. Villanova was up by just a point over Mount St. Marys at halftime but pulled away with a big second half and going into the game, head coach Jay Wright said he would expect his team to fell the No.1/No 16 pressure and that was the case as the Wildcats came out flat and played tight for 20 minutes. In addition to taking the rebound edge away from Wisconsin, the Wildcats have a huge free throw edge as they are hitting 79.2 percent compared to 64.8 percent for the Badgers. The Wildcats are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games as a favorite of fewer than seven points while the Badgers are 0-4 ATS in their last four games as an underdog. 10* (520) Villanova Wildcats

Wichita St. was considered by most to be most underseeded team in the NCAA Tournament and the linesmakers agree with that as they have listed the Shockers as a rather large favorite over Dayton despite being three seeds lower. Obviously they are a very solid team that finished 30-4 but the Missouri Valley Conference had a very down year and besides two wins over Illinois St., there were not many quality wins. They played a very easy schedule and went just 3-4 against top 100 teams with the other victory coming against Colorado St. Three of those four losses came against Louisville, Michigan St. and Oklahoma St. by an average of 10.7 ppg. Dayton actually comes in with a higher RPI than Wichita St. which makes the line that much more confounding. The Flyers bowed out of the Atlantic Ten Tournament after its first game but despite two losses in a row, they had won nine straight games prior to that. Dayton played a much tougher schedule and went 12-4 against top 100 RPI teams and six of their seven losses came by six points or less. Dayton went 4-1 ATS this season as an underdog while going 10-4 ATS in its last 14 games against winning teams. Meanwhile, the Shockers are 6-14 ATS in their last 20 neutral site games as a favorite. 10* (832) Dayton Flyers

Rhode Island was a marginal bubble team prior to the Atlantic Ten Tournament but it went on to win three games in three days for the championship to move its winning streak to eight straight games. The Rams were up and down for the most part but five of their nine losses came by five points or less and overall they went 9-7 against the RPI top 100. This is the first NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years for the Rams so this is a big deal. Creighton made a nice run in the Big East Tournament in beating Providence and Xavier it has struggled after an 18-1 start. There was talk of the Bluejays being a sleeper national title contender but then point guard Maurice Watson went down on January 16 and they closed the regular season 5-7 over their final 12 games. Davion Mintz, Tyler Clement and Ronnie Harrell all had their moments in the Big East tournament but no one has emerged at that spot and it takes them a while on a game-by-game basis to see which player actually prefers the matchup. This is not good in this tournament that favors strong guard play. The Bluejays are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Bluejays are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (843) Rhode Island Rams

It is rare to have a revenge game in the first rounds of the NCAA Tournament but that is the case here as USC defeated SMU back in late November. That game was in Los Angeles however where the Trojans were a perfect 18-0 this season. They are coming off a huge comeback win over Providence in one of the First Four games as they trailed by 17 points in the second half but came back to win by four. This is a tough situation playing a night game on Wednesday and then playing a day game two days later with a day of travel involved on top of that. SMU is one of the hottest teams in the country right now as it has won 16 straight games and is 26-1 over its last 27 games with the lone loss coming in Cincinnati by just two points. Still, the Mustangs did not get a great seed and they are highly motivated to make a big run especially not being able to play in the postseason last year due to program violations after finishing 25-5 overall. At the end of the regular season the Associated Press ranked SMU No. 12 and USA Today ranked them No. 15 in the nation. The Trojans are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Mustangs are 24-5-1 ATS in their last 30 games as a favorite. 10* (836) SMU Mustangs

Michigan comes into the NCAA Tournament with a lot of momentum as it has won five straight games including a stretch of four games in four days to win the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines have become a very popular pick to make a run but it will be tested right away. This game has pickem written all over it yet the Wolverines opened as the slight favorite and have already been bet up by the public. Michigan typically has a very efficient team and that is the case again this season however the Cowboys rank No. 1 in the nation in the KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) at 124.8. Oklahoma St. rolled through the non-conference with a 10-2 record, losing only to North Carolina and Maryland by a point but then things went south quickly as it lost its first six Big XII games. Five of those were against NCAA Tournament teams and four came down to the final minute. The Cowboys then went on to win 10 of their next 11 games before dropping their last three games, two against Iowa St. and the other against Kansas. The Cowboys are also one of the best free throw shooting teams in the nation and going back, they are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog. 10* (827) Oklahoma St. Cowboys

While many are claiming that Wichita St. was the most underseeded team in the NCAA Tournament, I think that claim goes to Wisconsin. The Badgers ended up with a No. 8 seed which does not make sense when comparing it to other teams in the Big Ten. The most glaring comparison is with Minnesota. Wisconsin and Minnesota had a similar resume yet the Gophers got a No. 5 seed despite Wisconsin sweeping the season series. The Badgers stumbled down the stretch with losses in five of six games but most were close and they blasted Minnesota in the final regular season game before making a run to the Big Ten Tournament championship game. When the Badgers play efficient, they are tough to beat and Thursday they will be facing one of the worst defenses in the entire tournament. The Hokies are ranked No. 230 in defensive efficiency and they have the worst RPI of any ACC team that is playing in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia Tech also played the easiest schedule of all of those ACC teams as well and are without one of their best guards as Chris Clarke was lost for the season. While the Hokies still possess a strong offense, the Badgers have the much stronger defense which is the big edge in this matchup. 10* (716) Wisconsin Badgers

This is the first ever NCAA Tournament appearance for Northwestern so just being here may seem like an excuse for the Wildcats not really showing up. That is the furthest from the truth and while the experience may be lacking on the court, it is not lacking on the sidelines. Chris Collins played and coached at Duke for a total of 17 years so he knows what the NCAA Tournament is all about. The Wildcats stumbled toward the end of the season as they lost seven of their last 12 games including a bad loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament but they are in a good matchup here. Vanderbilt enters the tournament with the most losses in the field and is considered to be one of the sleeper teams in the tournament thanks to playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. But the Commodores suffered some bad losses down the stretch of the season as five of their final seven losses came against teams not participating in the Big Dance and those were all in the SEC. The conference as a whole was very weak and if the Commodores cannot make threes, they are doomed which will likely happen here because of the strong Northwestern perimeter defense. The Wildcats balance will be the difference here. 10* (740) Northwestern Wildcats

While it has been mentioned that the lines can be affected by all of the so-called professional opinions leading up to the games on Thursday and Friday, this is one that makes sense. Rarely will you see a No. 12 seed favored but the Blue Raiders are a special team that rolled through their conference all season. C-USA is certainly not a strong conference but 17 of their 20 league wins were blowouts. Middle Tennessee St. has a couple of head scratching losses at home against Georgia St. and Tennessee St. but its other two losses were by just six points combined including a three-point loss against VCU. A 23-point win over Vanderbilt solidifies it and the win over Michigan St. in the NCAA Tournament a season ago shows they have kept the momentum going. Minnesota is a team that is hard to figure out as it has only one quality non-conference win and actually went through a three-game losing streak within the Big Ten. The Gophers bounced back with an eight-game winning streak but only two of those came against NCAA Tournament bound teams. 10* (733) Middle Tennessee St. Blue Raiders

The NCAA Tournament first round is announced four days prior to the first tip and we can gain so much line value based on all of the predictions that we hear leading up to that. Waiting often gives us an opportunity to go against some of these bold predictions upsets with the lines moving our way. One such game is one of the first games on Thursday as UNC-Wilmington is a very popular play for an upset and we are catching enormous line value. Virginia was an underachieving team this season with 10 losses but that is skewed. The Cavaliers lost four games by four points or less and dropped another two in overtime and those were all against ACC teams. The fact of the matter this is the No. 4 ranked defense in the nation in efficiency and is by far the best defense UNC-Wilmington has seen. The Seahawks score a ton but that came against No. 142 ranked schedule in the country. Many look at them hanging with Duke in the first round last season but that was a much easier matchup as Duke had no defense yet were laying more points than what Virginia is laying here. 10* (722) Virginia Cavaliers

Fresno St. was unable to duplicate what it did last season when it won its last six regular season game and tore through the MWC Tournament to win three games in three days to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs won five straight to end the regular season this year and took out New Mexico in their first tournament game but ran into a very strong Nevada team to get ousted. The head into the NIT as a No. 5 seed yet are getting a line compared to a No. 8 seed and the double-digit line is loaded with value. TCU played in a much tougher conference but the Horned Frogs are significantly overpriced here. They took out Kansas in the Big XII Tournament which was definitely a big win but the motivation of Kansas in that game needs to be questioned. TCU closed on a 2-8 run and its 13-6 home record is far from dominant. Fresno St. is 7-6 against top 100 RPI teams while going 21-6 ATS in its last 27 games against winning teams. TCU is just 4-12 against top 100 RPI teams and is 3-11 ATS in its last 14 games against winning teams. 10* (635) Fresno St. Bulldogs

The NIT tips off tonight and one of the intriguing games is this one where Indiana faces Georgia Tech but it is the lower-seeded Yellow Jackets that get to play at home. While the Hoosiers are the higher seed and have the right to hold the game on their home court, Indiana declined. ESPNU, which broadcast the selection show, said that it was due to a renovation project of Assembly Hall. A tweet from Indiana beat writer Mike Miller of the Herald Times of Bloomington (Ind.) reported that the school passed because students will be on spring break. This is excellent new for Georgia Tech which went 15-4 on its home floor this season and catches a Hoosiers team that won just two true road games all season. As for the Yellow Jackets, head coach Josh Pastner wants a home-court advantage and because of NIT rules where students have to buy tickets for $15 (home games are free during the regular season), he is paying for every student that wants to attend. The Yellow Jackets are 4-0 ATS in their last four games following a straight up loss. 10* (550) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

**Approx. 9:00 ET Start** We lost with North Carolina last night as Duke overcame a 13-point second half deficit to stun the Tar Heels in a game that looked like it would be a blowout the other way. Duke shot 59 percent in the second half and it was its best half of basketball in a very long time. Now the Blue Devils will be out to win their fourth game in four days, something that no team has ever done in the ACC Tournament. Getting past an efficient Notre Dame team will be no easy task and once again, the Fighting Irish are getting little respect. They defeated Virginia and Florida St. as underdogs and they are once again in that role despite being the higher seed by two spots. We won that game against Virginia noting that Notre Dame would be the more motivated team based on a home loss to the Cavaliers by 17 points. Now it catches a similar scenario as the Irish lost at home to Duke by 10 points which happened to be their next home game after that Virginia loss. Those were the only two home losses all season. The Blue Devils are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 neutral site games as a favorite while the Irish are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (756) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

**Approx. 6:00 ET Start** Iowa St. rolled over TCU on Friday as the Horned Frogs could not back up their huge win over Kansas and are now headed to the NIT. The Cyclones have different plans and will be out to win their third Big XII Championship in the last four years. This has been a very underrated team all season as they finished with just six conference losses, three coming by eight points combined and two coming against West Virginia so getting another crack at the Mountaineers is just what they want. West Virginia overcome a 12-point second-half deficit in winning against Kansas St. as the offense continues to struggle. The Mountaineers shot just 26.7 percent from the floor and have been held to 63 points or less in four of their last five games. The defense is the strength but even that has been concern, especially away from home. Friday was just like home for Iowa St., whose fans correctly refer to the Sprint Center as Hilton South as three-fourths of the sell-out crowd was backing the Cyclones which are now 7-2 ATS in their last nine games against teams with a winning straight up record. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers are 0-4-1 ATS in their last five games following a straight up win. 10* (749) Iowa St. Cyclones

**Approx. 6:00 ET Start** Nevada is rolling along with eight straight wins and it has covered all of those games as well which is more impressive considering it has been favored in every one of those. The Wolf Pack come in favored once again but it is an overinflated number based on the streak and it has already gone up from opening. Nevada won the regular season MWC Championship on the final day when it defeated Colorado St. at home in the lone meeting between the two teams. It ended up being an easy victory for the Wolf Pack on their home floor where they suffered only one loss all season and they have not been nearly as dominant away from home against quality teams. The Rams fit that category as they took down San Diego St. last night and they have been nearly as hot, winning 12 of their last 14 games. The loss against Nevada was surprising considering how big it was but it was all due to cold shooting in the second half as the Rams actually carried a two-point lead into the half. We expect this game to come down to the final moments which makes the heavy line very underdog friendly. 10* (747) Colorado St. Rams

**Approx. 1:00 ET Start** Rhode Island came through yesterday with a win over St. Bonaventure but it is still hanging on the bubble and has to continue its current run. While the Rams catch a Davidson team that is coming off an upset over Dayton, they would have been better off playing the Flyers which are the No. 27 ranked team in the RPI and that would have given them another opportunity for a quality win should they not gain the automatic bid with a championship. Rhode Island has won six straight games so peaking at the right time is on its side and going back, the Rams are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning straight up record. The Wildcats pulled off the upset yesterday to get a quality win in their corner but that was the first of the season away from home. That was actually just the second victory of the entire season as underdogs against seven losses and the first away from home. The Wildcats are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games as an underdog while the Rams are 4-1 ATS in their last five games as a favorite. 10* (734) Rhode Island Rams

**Approx. 7:00 ET Start** Vanderbilt is coming off a pretty easy win yesterday against Texas A&M and looks to sweep the Gators but Florida will have a say in that. The Commodores all but locked up an NCAA Tournament berth with the victory yesterday thanks to some quality wins and playing the third toughest schedule in the nation. Two of those wins came over Florida so there will be plenty of motivation on the Gators side tonight. Florida lost just four SEC games all year with the other two coming against Kentucky and South Carolina and the last loss against the Commodores came in the final regular season game so it is still fresh. The Gators didn't finish the season ranked No. 1 in the league in any of the prominent statistics, but they show up in the top five of 15 of them which shows how balanced this team is and a win here likely locks up a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a short trip to Orlando which is a huge edge. Florida is 8-1 ATS this season as a single-digit favorite and going back, the Gators are 4-0 ATS in their last four neutral site games as a favorite while the Commodores are 0-5 ATS in their last five neutral site games as an underdog. 10* (558) Florida Gators

**Approx. 7:00 ET Start** Duke made a strong comeback yesterday and took out Louisville for its second win in two days and now gets a chance to defeat North Carolina following a loss to end the regular season. The Blue Devils won Thursday despite getting outshot 48.3 percent to 44.1 percent but were fortunate that the Cardinals missed 17 of 21 three-pointers and struggled down the stretch by not making a shot over the final 3:43 of the game. They obviously have a tough matchup once again and while the motivation will be high, the motivation for North Carolina is on another level. With Kansas losing to TCU yesterday, the Tar Heels could make a case for the overall No. 1 seed with an ACC Tournament title. Yesterday against the Hurricanes, the Tar Heels blew open a 34-31 game by shooting 53 percent from the floor, including six threes, after halftime and holding Miami to 30.0 percent shooting. Because of the blowout win, North Carolina was able to ease up late and that is significant playing with no rest while this will be the third game in three days for Duke. The Blue Devils are 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 games following a straight up win while going 2-7 ATS in their last nine games as an underdog of fewer than seven points while the Tar Heels are 19-5-2 ATS in their last 26 neutral site games as a favorite. 10* (570) North Carolina Tar Heels

**Approx. 2:30 ET Start** We won with Michigan St. yesterday and it feels like once again that when the postseason comes along, the Spartans step it up and that is attributed to head coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans rolled over Penn St. and got the best draw in the quarterfinals facing a Minnesota team that not only has overachieved but they have a significant matchup advantage. The Gophers big men, specifically starting center Reggie Lynch, cannot stay out of foul trouble against Nick Ward and their attacking offense had trouble against Michigan St. in both meetings this season. Minnesota went 11-7 in the conference thanks to an eight-game winning streak prior to a season ending blowout loss against Wisconsin. Of those eight wins, six came against teams that will not be in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan St. played the toughest schedule of all Big Ten teams and this is time of season it pays off as losses early in the year against Arizona, Kentucky, Baylor and Duke only helps now in the postseason. 10* (519) Michigan St. Spartans

**Approx. 2:30 ET Start** St. Bonaventure has had a solid season as it picked up its 20th win yesterday against Massachusetts but the body of work to get there has been suspect. The Bonnies have won 12 Atlantic Ten games including the victory yesterday but not one of those came against a team with an above .500 record in conference play. They are one of only three teams in the entire conference that has just one victory over a top 100 team as the Bonnies are 1-10 against such teams and overall have played the easiest schedule of all Atlantic Ten teams. Rhode Island was expected to contend for the conference title and finished just two games out, going 13-5 and 21-9 overall. Despite this, the Rams are not guaranteed of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid as they are currently the last team out so they need to make a run in this tournament meaning a loss here likely sends them to the NIT. They have won five straight games so they have momentum coming into Friday while the Bonnies are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games following a straight up win. 10* (528) Rhode Island Rams

**Approx. 1:00 ET Start** Georgia survived against Tennessee yesterday and now gets a third crack at Kentucky in a game it essentially has to win to make an argument at an NCAA Tournament bid. The Bulldogs came in as the No. 8 seed in the SEC Tournament but are one of six teams in the conference with an RPI in the top 50. The problem has been they have very few quality wins but they have been so close to at least having a few. Georgia lost to Kentucky twice this season but both came down to the final seconds and in addition to the Kentucky losses, it fell to Florida on the road in overtime and lost to South Carolina twice by a combined seven points. The Bulldogs got forward Yante Maten back, who is second on the team with 18.4 ppg, after missing four games and his presence is huge. Kentucky is the class of the SEC as evidenced by this line but it is again inflated because of who the Wildcats are and they are 2-8 in their last 10 games as a double-digit favorite. Georgia is 5-0 ATS as an underdog of 7.5 or more points while going 10-2 ATS this season away from home against teams with a winning record. 10* (553) Georgia Bulldogs

**Approx. 11:30 ET Start** One of the biggest busts of the season, not only in the MWC but in the entire country, was San Diego St. which was expected to win the conference. Instead, the Aztecs lost their first three conference games and while they won eight of their next 11 games, a closing 1-3 stretch sent them to a 9-9 record and in need of running the table in the MWC Tournament. Things were not looking good last night as they trailed by 21 points in the second half but something clicked and they went on a huge run and won by 10 points in overtime. The 21-point second half comeback is the largest comeback after intermission in the history of the program and that effort can vault them a long way. Closing the game has been an issue as in five of its nine league defeats, it owned a lead of at least 11 points. Last night, they closed the other way. Boise St. closed the season with a win over Air Force to finish 12-6 to grab the No. 3 seed. While it was a solid year, the Broncos won the games they were supposed to but did not play great against the better teams down the stretch as they are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (789) San Diego St. Aztecs

**Approx. 9:30 ET Start** Many are saying that Virginia is peaking at the right time as after its win yesterday, the Cavaliers have won four straight games. However, one of those came against NC State while two others came against a poor Pittsburgh team. While the win over North Carolina was impressive, it was a huge revenge game and Virginia played arguably its best game of the season. Now the Cavaliers come in as a surprisingly big favorite that finished ahead of them in the standings and it seems to be overpriced. Notre Dame lost its regular season finale at Louisville after six straight wins and seems poised to make another tournament run. The Irish lost at home to Virginia back in January which was their worst loss of the season so they will be out for some retribution from that. As a matter of fact, Notre Dame has lost five straight to the Cavaliers, not covering once, so have that contrarian revenge angle going as well. We expect a tight game this time around and the favorable price gives a ton of value to the underdog. The Irish have covered six of their last seven games as underdogs. 10* (718) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

**Approx. 5:30 ET Start** 2017 is looking a lot like 2016 for Fresno St. and the Bulldogs hope they can repeat what they did a season ago. Fresno St. enters the 2017 MWC Championships on a season-long five-game winning streak. Last season, the Bulldogs ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak before winning the 2016 MWC Championship. Momentum is on their side right now but they get a tough matchup in their opener with New Mexico which is back at full strength. Senior forward Tim Williams, who is averaging 17.5 ppg, missed two games in December due to concussion protocol and seven in February due to a stress reaction on his left foot. He is back after playing the last game against San Diego St. and while he was out, other players stepped up in his absence which makes this a very deep team heading into the tournament. New Mexico has proven that it can be strong away from home as it became the first team in Mountain West history to take down San Diego St., Colorado St. and Boise St. on the road in a single season. 10* (785) New Mexico Lobos

**Approx. 2:30 ET Start** It was a pretty average season by Michigan St. standards but scheduling had a lot to do with that as it played the No. 15 ranked schedule in the nation. After a 4-4 start in the Big Ten, the Spartans won six of their next eight games including some quality wins and while they dropped their last two, both of those were by just three points. This young team has grown up a bunch since early season losses to Arizona, Kentucky, Baylor and Duke. Penn St. is coming off a taxing overtime win over Nebraska yesterday which snapped a five-game slide. The Nittany Lions will have a tough time regrouping for the revenge minded Spartans. The Spartans and Nittany Lions played once during the regular season, with the Nittany Lions winning, 72-63, back on Jan. 7 in a game played at The Palestra in Philadelphia. Michigan St. turned the ball over 17 times against the aggressive Nittany Lions and now that it is one-and-done season, it cannot afford that many missed opportunities on offense. 10* (722) Michigan St. Spartans

**Approx. 2:30 ET Start** Duke was able to make a second half push against Clemson to pull out a second round win and now faces a much stiffer test with Louisville which comes in rested with four days off. The Blue Devils struggled in the first meeting in the ability to get shots off and that will be the Cardinals goal again as they will want to keep this one slow paced and win with their defense. The Cardinals are 14th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.395), 11th in blocked shots (5.5 per game) and 14th in three-point field goal defense (.307) while sitting sixth in the nation in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency. Louisville has been great as a favorite this season, winning 20 of 23 games while covering 15 of those and converting five of six on the season against the number when laying seven or fewer points. The Blue Devils are 4-16-2 ATS in their last 22 games following an ATS win. 10* (714) Louisville Cardinals

**Approx. 9:00 ET Start** Two of the biggest disappointment square off in the first round of the Pac 12 Tournament and Colorado looks to be very overpriced here. The Buffaloes opened 0-7 within the conference but closed on an 8-3 run to gain some momentum to try and make a postseason run but six of those wins came at home and against some poor opposition. These teams split their two regular season meetings and while Colorado won the second meeting at home in blowout fashion, the line has been overadjusted here based on their second half of the conference season which as mentioned, it overrated. The Buffaloes have a significant home court advantage based on being used to the elevation but this is a below average team when playing outside of Boulder and they come down to the level of the completion. Washington St. opened 2-0 in the Pac 12 but it was downhill from there although the Cougars played well over the final two weeks with a couple of wins and a solid game against UCLA. Washington St. was 8-5 ATS as a double-digit underdog while the Buffaloes are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games following a straight up win. 10* (557) Washington St. Cougars

**Approx. 8:30 ET Start** The second game of the first round of the Atlantic Ten Tournament and the feeling here is that the wrong team is favored. St. Louis was picked to finish last in the conference but put together a solid run after a 1-7 start as the Billikens went a very respectable 5-6 over their final 11 games. Five of the losses came on the road however all were against teams above them in the conference standings. This was a very undervalued team throughout the season as St. Louis went 13-3 ATS over their last 16 games. Additionally, the Billikens are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up loss. Duquesne was also picked to finish near the bottom of the conference and the Dukes finished dead last with a 3-15 record. They lost 13 of their last 14 games so they come in with zero momentum and they were favored away from home only once and that resulted in an outright loss at St. Louis. The Billikens were 5-2 ATS this season as a single-digit underdog while the Dukes are 1-5 ATS in their last six games as a favorite of fewer than seven points. 10* (568) St. Louis Billikens

**Approx. 6:30 ET Start** Game Three of the first round of the Conference-USA Tournament features Charlotte and UAB with the latter needing to run the table to make the Big Dance. While the Blazers were never a lock, they opened the conference season 7-2 and were well on their way to finish at or near the top as predicted but the wheels fell off with a 2-7 finish to fall into the No. 7 seed. This is a team that can make a run at the top seeds because this is a very veteran team as UAB's current roster has a total of 33 games of experience in Conference-USA tournament play, which is the most of any team in the league. Charlotte did not close well either as it finished on a 3-7 run over its final 10 games which included just one victory away from home. The 49ers lost by 13 points at UAB in the lone meeting this season and a big difference was they were manhandled on the boards and that is a significant matchup edge again tonight. The best aspect of course is that this game is being played on the Blazers home court which is a big edge in the early round as a lot of the other marginal school fan bases will not be traveling very well. The 49ers are 2-12 ATS in their last 14 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (536) UAB Blazers

Georgia Tech won for us exactly a week ago in this same matchup but unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, they lost next time out in Syracuse putting some pressure on them this week. Georgia Tech is hanging on by a thread to make the NCAA Tournament as it is currently one of the last four teams out making this a must-win game and likely tomorrow as well. The Yellow Jackets are 2-4 in their last six games including an additional pair of road losses in Miami and Notre Dame and the one home loss against NC State really hurt them. Pittsburgh was close to the bubble as well but a run of four straight losses to end the regular season doomed the Panthers. They will be out to play spoiler but it has been a huge disappointment this season so the energy level tonight may be light. The feeling here is that the wrong ream is favored with a lot of that based on name and not what is at stake. The Panthers are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games as a favorite of fewer than seven points while the Yellow Jackets are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up loss. 10* (712) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets