Zack Cimini
Duke vs. Syracuse
Pick: Syracuse
If Syracuse wants to make their tournament chances more probable tonight is a golden opportunity against Duke. Duke's won seven straight but all have been by ten points or less. All season Syracuse's strength offensively has been when they can get feature points in the interior with freshman Taurean Thompson, Tyler Lydon, and Tyler Roberson. Look for the Orange to attack a sore spot of the Blue Devils in the interior, which features a key senior to senior matchup in Tyler Roberson and Amile Jefferson. An area Roberson has dominated as he has averaged sixteen points and thirteen rebounds in the last three match ups against Duke.
David Banks
Butler vs. Villanova
Pick: Villanova -10
The nation’s No. 2 team, Villanova, has an impressive 26-2 overall record. One of those two losses was to Butler, the team the Wildcats will face on Wednesday night at home in The Pavilion. Villanova, 13-2 in Big East play, has not lost since a 74-72 upset defeat at the hands of Marquette. The Wildcats have won seven in a row since thanks in large part to the nation’s 18th-best scoring defense. Villanova allows opponents just 63 points per game.
On Jan. 4, Butler (20-6, 9-5) defeated Villanova 66-58 to end the Wildcats 20-game winning streak. The Bulldogs outshot (45% to 37%) and outrebounded (33 to 24) Villanova to gain the victory. They will need to repeat that performance and get great play from their experienced stars. The Bulldogs are led by 6-7 junior Kelan Martin who averages 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Andrew Chrabascz is a 6-7 senior who has been around for what seems like forever. Chrabascz adds 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds a game. Butler has won its last two after struggling for a stretch where they lost three of four games.
Villanova has possibly the nation’s best starting five led by the talented Josh Hart who shoots 51 percent from the floor and scores 18.8 points per game. Jalen Brunson adds 14.6 points a game and last year’s national championship game hero, Kris Jenkins, scores 13.3 per game. After facing Butler on Wednesday night, the Wildcats will face No. 20 Creighton at home on Saturday afternoon.
Oskeim Sports
Utah State at San Jose State
Play: San Jose State -1
San Jose State head coach Dave Wojcik has done a tremendous job this season as the Spartans have their most conference wins (7) since 1995-96. Looking to end an 18-game losing streak to Utah State, the Spartans hope to secure their fifteen win of the season in this Mountain West Conference affair.
San Jose State has shown incredible poise this season, posting four wins in games in which it trailed by double-digits. The most recent come-from-behind win occurred on Saturday against Air Force wherein the Spartans erased a 13-point deficit to ultimately prevail 83-78 in overtime. The Spartans trailed 41-28 at halftime and 64-54 with 7:13 left in the second half before fueling their comeback.
The Spartans are 9-5 SU at home this season where they are averaging 77.6 points per game and converting 72.8% of their free throws. The Spartans have also won and covered five of their last six games over which time they are averaging 74.4 points per game and making 74.3% of their foul shots.
Overall, San Jose State is mediocre offensively (74.0 points per game against teams that would combine to allow 74.0 points per game), but that is good enough to have success against a pedestrian Utah State stop unit that is allowing 75.9 points per game on the road. The Aggies are allowing opponents to make 38.0% of their three-pointers on the road, including 40.3% from beyond the arc over their last five games.
Those defensive numbers are appealing for San Jose State investors in light of the fact that the Spartans are shooting 48.7% from the field over their last five games and are converting 35.6% of their tree-point attempts at home.
I also like the fact that San Jose State is limiting its opponents to just 33 rebounds per game at home (7 offensive boards), while the Aggies are averaging a woeful 32 rebounds per game on the road (7 offensive boards).
Utah State is 2-10 SU and 2-9 ATS on the road this season where its averaging just 66.2 points per game on 42.8% shooting from the field. Over its last five contests, the Aggies are averaging 66.2 points on 40.5% shooting from the floor. One also has to question how much gas Utah State has left in the tank after losing four of its last five games, including back-to-back defeats against San Diego State and Nevada.
From a technical standpoint, Utah State is a money-burning 6-13-1 ATS in its last 20 games overall, 3-10 ATS in its last thirteen games following a loss, 3-10-1 ATS in its last fourteen games as an underdog and 1-7 ATS in its last eight road affairs. With San Jose State standing at 5-1 ATS in its last six Mountain West Conference games, take the Spartans and invest with confidence.
Executive Sports
Minnesota at Maryland
Play: Minnesota +4.5
The Golden Gophers protect the rock very well. They are averaging only 10.5 turnovers per game the past 8 games. And, they have 40 or more rebounds in each game over the past 6. They have won 5 in a row, and now take on the challenge of going on the road to upset #24 ranked Maryland. The Terps only have 5 losses on the season, but 3 of those have come recently in just the past 5 games.
Andrew Lange
Texas A&M at Arkansas
Play: : Over 144.5
In the first meeting between Arkansas and Texas A&M in College Station, the Aggies were able to control tempo (64 possessions) but still lost 62-60. The venue switches to Bud Walton Arena where the Razorbacks tend to control pace and score at a higher clip. A&M coach Billy Kennedy on tonight's game: "We’re going to need to score,” he said. "You get opportunities to score in transition against them. We need to make good decisions and put the ball in the hole. You’ve got to take good shots against them. If the game is in the 80s or 90s we’re in trouble.” They'll have their chances tonight as Arkansas ranks last in the SEC in strength of schedule according to Ken Pom and yet still own the league’s third-worst defensive efficiency. A&M hasn't been shy about putting up points on some of the SEC's "all offense, no defense" teams. Against LSU, the Aggies hung 92 and 85. Against Ole Miss they hit for 80. And last time out against Auburn, they notched 81. Also note that the first meeting had 102 points with just under 10 minutes to play and both teams went ice cold. Market with the assist here as the opener was bet down from 147 to a very playable 144.5.
Bruce Marshall
Capitals -1.5 +192
The Caps have lost twice since their recent enforced layoff. But they won 5-0 the last time they faced Philly, and the Flyers have lost five of their last seven. Michael Neuvirth has been in goal for Philly in place of Steve Mason since that 5-0 result. Meanwhile, Braden Holtby (29-8-5, 2.01 GAA, .926 save percentage) is back in goal tonight for the Caps after taking off Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Rangers.
UC Irvine / Fullerton Over 141
This Orange County rivalry has been controlled lately by UCI, which continued its recent dominance over CSF with a 20-point romp at the Bren Center back on Jan. 14. The better news for the Anteaters is the availability of high-scoring G Luke Nelson, who missed action early in the season with hamstring issues and then in late January with ankle problems, but has pumped in 19 ppg his last three (thru Feb. 15) in his most-recent return and who burned the Titans for 20 in UCI's earlier 87-67 romp. The lowest total scoreline for a Fullerton home game this season has been 134, while the Anteaters are "Over" 11-6 their last 17.