This college basketball season has been a fun one and a successful one for us, as we’ve gained some steam down the stretch. With conference tournament play tipping off next week, things are about to ramp up in a big way. Let’s keep this momentum rolling into March.
Monday: Louisville at North Carolina – Over 161 (-110) Caesars
The Cardinals are one of the top scoring teams in the country. We saw them take a step back in Mikel Brown Jr.’s absence, but they’ve picked it right back up since his return. They’re averaging 89.2 points per game since their ugly loss at Duke in January. North Carolina’s offense has slowed down a bit since the Caleb Wilson injury, which is to be expected. But Henri Veesaar had a strong showing in his first game back from injury Saturday. He’ll have a size advantage against the Cardinals in this one, and Hubert Davis will be looking to attack it. The Tar Heels offense has been strides better at the Dean Smith Center, where they’re averaging 82.4 points per game. No Wilson will make things tougher, but Louisville’s pace should force this game over the total.
Tuesday: USC at UCLA – UCLA to Cover
It was an unusual week for the Bruins with everything we saw and heard from Mick Cronin. It was hard to predict how the team would respond to everything that went on. Following back-to-back blowout losses to Michigan and Michigan State, they took down Illinois 95-94 in an overtime thriller. We saw this team rally from down 23 in the first half to get a needed win against the No. 10 team in the country. It’s clear that the locker room is still bought into the coach and the program. As disappointing of a year as it’s seemed, the Bruins have been one of the best teams in the country at home, where they’re 15-1. The Trojans have lost two of their last three on the road. Alijah Arenas provided a jolt in his return from injury, but they haven’t been that much better since he’s been back.
Wednesday: Pittsburgh at Stanford – Stanford to Cover
Stanford has really tailed off after a strong start to the season. The Cardinal have dropped eight of their last 11 conference games; five of those losses were on the road and four were on the East Coast, showing that cross-country travel just isn’t an easy thing for these teams. Pitt is in that spot here. The Panthers have also won just three conference games so far. Jeff Capel’s teams haven’t been great at Pitt, but they’ve typically had a guy that can carry his teams to a victory. They don’t really have that this year.
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Thursday: Elon at Towson – Towson to Cover
The Tigers were the favorites to win the CAA heading into the season, but things have completely spiraled for this team since the start of conference play. Towson’s defense ranks seventh in the country at home, allowing 60.7 points per game; it’s the offense that has hurt them, as their two best players in Tyler Tejada and Dylan Williamson have not taken as big of a step as many expected. This team still has the talent to make some noise down the stretch and in the CAA Tournament, while Elon has been the worst defensive team in the conference, allowing 80.7 points per game.
Friday: Michigan at Illinois – Over
These teams are top-20 in the country, both averaging more than 85 points per game. Michigan and Illinois prefer a faster pace, but it’s two different types of offenses, as the Wolverines have a lot of success on the interior while the Illini want to run and gun. Michigan is second in the country from two-point range, shooting 62.3 percent, while Illinois is knocking down 11.3 shots from beyond the arc, which ranks sixth.
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