Texas Looks To Rebound
By SBGGlobal.com
What was supposed to be the biggest game of the Big 12 season has lost a little luster as Texas has lost four of their last six games since rising to No. 1 in the country. Kansas was the college basketball betting preseason No. 1 and they have taken over the top spot in the polls again. Their 22nd win of the year didn’t come easy on Saturday as they struggled to get past Nebraska 75-64. They may have been looking ahead a little bit to this game on Monday.
Kansas is two-point favorite at SBG Global with total of 153.
Kansas was able to survive against Nebraska thanks to Marcus Morris who scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. In the last eight games he has scored at least 13 points and pulled down at least seven rebounds. “I just tried to put myself in the best position to score. I feel like we came out really strong, then we started to let up. I was just trying to go hard. The other team isn’t looking for me,” Morris said, “They’re looking for Cole (Aldrich) because he’s such an effective player. They’re falling asleep, (while) I’m trying to get around them and get the rebounds.”
There is no question that Kansas was looking to Monday’s big game against Texas. “I expect it to be a hostile place with a good crowd. They’re still a Top 10 team. We’re going to go down there and it’s going to be a dog fight. There is no way we can let Texas get offensive rebounds, or we will not come out the victor.” Morris said, “Everybody has to go to the glass and every rebound is going to be tough. The strongest man is going to get it. This is a big game, but we never look past any opponent.”
Texas is coming off an 80-71 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday. The Longhorns are reeling but they are at home and they should come out with a great performance on Monday. One of the main problems for Texas has been abysmal free throw shooting. They were 10 of 27 in the loss to Oklahoma.
Kansas has not done well recently on the road vs. the college basketball odds. The Jayhawks are 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine road games.
Texas has played well on Monday’s but that is about the only positive trend they have for this game. The Longhorns are 23-9 ATS in their last 32 Monday games. The Longhorns are 6-21-1 ATS in their last 28 vs. the Big 12. The Longhorns are 0-4 ATS in their last four home games.
Holy Crap! This is truly a Big Monday!
By Doug Upstone of 3Daily Winners
ESPN viewers have suffered a visual assault this past week promoting tonight’s games and rivalry week in general, yet the matchups from the Big East and Big 12 are exemplary. Negative thinkers may believe Villanova and Texas losing on Saturday takes away from the meaningfulness of these contests; however this college basketball writer and sports bettor chooses to think differently, instead it creates even greater urgency for the Wildcats and Longhorns to play their best and prevail. Football may be history for another season, but what a way to kickoff the off-season!
Villanova at West Virginia 7:00E
Villanova (20-2, 15-6 ATS) completes the gruesome task of two games in three days on the Big East conference road. The Wildcats started their game at Georgetown like many cars around Washington D.C. area Saturday, stuck with no place to go in losing 103-90. Nova ran into a focused Hoyas club off a loss to South Florida, as they shot 56 percent from the field, went 8 of 13 from beyond the arc and hit 12 of 13 free throws before halftime in building 50-31 lead. Coach Jay Wright’s squad did more than fair share to contribute to first conference loss, committing 16 turnovers over the opening 20 minutes.
“That was not one of our better performances, but you’ve got to give Georgetown most of the credit. They jumped on us,” coach Wright said. The Wildcats have won and covered both their games this season with one day between contests and is 18-6 ATS playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last two seasons.
West Virginia (19-3, 9-12 ATS) is in second place, one game behind Villanova and Syracuse and played Saturday in a strange contest even for them. St. John’s was a popular home favorite among sports handicappers receiving 7.5-points with the Mountaineers in look-ahead situation. It certainly seemed like a smart wager with the Red Storm up 16-points in the first half and leading 33-22 at halftime. Coach Bob Huggins lit into his team and six minutes in the second half, they went on 16-0 run on the way to a 57-27 final 20 minutes, for the win and cover.
With a six-game winning streak (4-2 ATS) the Mountaineers are getting their house in order. Devin Ebanks is scoring better, Truck Bryant has regained his shooting eye and though Kevin Jones has been slightly off, he kills opposing teams with his assertive offensive rebounding, adding points in that manner. Da’Sean Butler is West Virginia brightest star and is playing like it. The bottom line, coach Bob Huggins is starting to see the team that started 11-0, albeit, against stiffer competition these days and his club is 10-4 ATS in February.
This has all the makings of a real Big East physical war in which the basketball won’t be pretty, but entertaining nevertheless. West Virginia is a five-point favorite with total of 150 and they are 4-1 SU and ATS the last five times Nova came calling.
Villanova is 10-4 ATS facing clubs with winning records and is 5-2 SU and on the road this campaign. The Mountaineers are 11-1 and 4-7 ATS at home and university officials hope the only thing the fans bring is a full throat to scream positively for their team.
Kansas at Texas 9:00E
Studying tape of Texas (19-4, 9-10 ATS) early in the season, the most discernable difference is defensive on-the-ball pressure. The Longhorns played with greater enthusiasm in the first part of the year and have to rekindle that feeling, especially against a team like No. 1 Kansas. The 80-71 loss at Oklahoma as a touchdown favorite was the lowest point of the season for a club that has lost four of six and covered the spread once since Dec.22 (1-9 ATS).
Oklahoma deserved credit for making nine 3-point bombs in the first half, but a hand up or denial defense would have helped. According to Orangebloods.com, Texas missed anywhere from 8 to 17 layups against a second-rate Sooners frontline and the free throw shooting was hysterical if it wasn’t so sad (10 of 27).
Texas is at the top of their game when the points are distributed. Damion James, Avery Bradley and for the most part Dexter Pittman hit their averages, but when Justin Mason, Dogus Balbay, Gary Johnson and J’Covan Brown are at or near double digits, Texas is that much better. The Horns are 31-18 ATS at home against offensive teams scoring 77 or more points a contest.
After suffering brief slump caused by internal and external forces, center Cole Aldrich is back and Kansas (22-1, 9-10-1 ATS) is back on track. The big man is exhibiting many of the qualities why he is being compared to former NBA great Kevin McHale. His presence along with a smokin’ hot Marcus Morris, gives the Jayhawks power in the paint, matched with devastating perimeter game. Kansas plays the 94-foot game led by PG Sherron Collins and the chemistry issue that manifested itself is to behind this team. The Jayhawks are 11-3 ATS vs. clubs outscoring their opponents by eight points a contest after 15 or games on the year.
It’s not official, but if Texas can’t knock off top-ranked Kansas in Austin, their season might be over, trying to be elite club. Both teams are Big Monday winners, with the Longhorns 23-9 ATS and the Jayhawks 16-5 ATS to start another work week.
Kansas is a 1.5-point road favorite and the straight up winner is 8-2 ATS in last 10 meetings, including three in a row.