Wednesday NCAAB Picks
Our team of writers and handicappers hand out their College Basketball picks and predictions for Wednesday, February 11.
Wake Forest at NC State, 7:00PM ET
A pair of road losses put a damper on Wake Forest’s outstanding start. Traveling to the RBC Center may not make it easy to bounce back.
The seventh-ranked Demon Deacons, whose ACC title hopes took a hit last week, look to beat North Carolina State on the road for the first time in nearly four years Wednesday night.
It took a home game for Wake Forest (18-3, 5-3) to recover from two road losses. The Demon Deacons routed Boston College 93-76 on Sunday after falling 76-74 at Georgia Tech on Jan. 31 and 79-52 at Miami last Wednesday.
Wake Forest, once the No. 1 team in the nation, entered its matchup with the Eagles having lost three of four overall following its school-record 16-0 start.
NCAA Free Pick: Wake Forest – View Game Matchup | Best Line: -5.5 Sportsbook.com
Xaiver at Dayton, 7:00PM ET
If both Xavier and Dayton had won their games over the weekend, Wednesday’s matchup between the southwestern Ohio rivals would have been for first place in the Atlantic 10.
Instead, each team will be trying to rebound from a loss when the 14th-ranked Musketeers travel to Dayton, where the Flyers have won 16 straight games since the last time Xavier visited.
Xavier (20-3, 8-1) had won 11 straight to surge into the top 10 before Saturday’s 72-68 loss to Duquesne, the Musketeers’ first conference defeat of the season.
Normally one of the better defensive teams in the nation, Xavier trailed by 15 at halftime after allowing 45 points on 17-of-21 shooting (81.0 percent). Its second-half push came up short even though it held the Dukes without a field goal for the final 7:44.
NCAA Free Pick: Xaiver – View Game Matchup | Best Line: -3.5 Sportsbook.com
North Carolina at Duke, 9:00PM ET
Duke rarely has problems winning at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Then again, neither does Tyler Hansbrough.
Through the years, the North Carolina star has made himself right at home inside college basketball’s most notorious arena, where its inhospitable hosts over the past few seasons have won 90 percent of the time.
But none of those victories have come against a Hansbrough-led team, and now the defending national player of the year is looking to add another footnote to his career Wednesday night by joining Tim Duncan as one of the few visiting players to finish 4-0 in front of the Cameron Crazies.
And, in typical Hansbrough fashion, the no-nonsense forward is taking a pragmatic view of the prospect of winning four in a row here.
NCAA Free Pick: North Carolina – View Game Matchup | Best Line: -1.5 Sportsbook.com
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Posted: 2/11/09 12:26PM ET
