What a weekend it was in college basketball. Baylor hung on in Stillwater, Florida smoked Auburn, Louisville beat Duke in Cameron, Depaul beat Butler, Houston shocked the Shockers, Seton Hall solidified themselves as a top ten team… the list goes on and on. As for my picks, they were great as well. We ended up 4-1-0, with the lone loss being Army (-2), who won by just one point. Last night was not so hot for me, to say the least.
But, alas. Back on the horse with a full slate of games tonight. Maybe it’s writing the articles that help me win. It’s a lot easier to put my thoughts into paragraph form rather than tweets. As always, I take all credit for correct picks and pass the blame for any that are wrong. Be sure to follow me @LukeTheKid3 on Twitter as we try to make some money. Here are my top five bets for tonight. As always, winners are italicized.
LSU (-3) vs. Florida- 7:00 PM tip
As mentioned in the open, Florida absolutely dismantled Auburn on Saturday afternoon, winning 69-47 over the slumping Tigers. Keyword: slumping. Auburn had already dropped a game to Alabama before heading to Florida and a historically tough road environment. Florida is a very talented basketball team. But on the other side of things, LSU has quietly become the only undefeated team left in the SEC. Granted, it’s been tight wins against lesser opponents. Due to this, the line is pretty low. The Tigers love to score the basketball and their defense is good enough at home to win this one by a decent margin. Not to mention, the Gators are 1-3 away from home this season. Grab the Tigers to cover at home. As Jon Rothstein says, Will Wade: American Gangster. Senior guard Skylar Mays will control this game.
Wichita State (-5) at. South Florida- 7:00 PM tip
I’ve seen this line at -4.5 in some places, but ESPN has it at 5 so we’ll keep it at that for consistency’s sake. Fact: Wichita State is not playing good basketball. They’ve lost two in a row by double digits to Temple and Houston. However, I tend to think they’re more like the team that handled Memphis for 40 straight minutes than the team that dropped two straight. South Florida is the worst team in the American according to record, but they’ve played and lost three straight very close games. The Bulls will play good enough defense to keep it close for a while, but the Shockers offense will be too much to handle late. I love the way Wichita State can spread the floor from deep while also having a big man inside in Jaime Echenique. Look for the Shockers to bounce back tonight.
Bowling Green (-8.5) vs. Eastern Michigan- 7:00 PM tip
I can’t resist a tasty MAC line. Bowling Green comes into this one red hot, winners of four straight. Eastern Michigan is going the other way, dropping all five of their MAC games this season. Although Bowling Green does not win big often, they do have an offense that is 10 points per game better than Eastern Michigan. The Falcons also have the two best scorers in this game in Justin Turner and Dylan Frye, combining for over 30 points per game. I like the home team to win this game by double digits. In the MAC, anything can happen, but I’m flying with the Falcons here.
Iowa State (-6) vs. Oklahoma State- 8:00 PM tip
Our fourth pick is a matchup of basement dwellers in the Big 12. For Oklahoma State, they are who they are: a pretty bad basketball team that played its biggest game of the season on Saturday and blew a nine-point halftime lead. Not only did they lose to Baylor, but they also allowed the Bears to cover, helping me out in last Saturday’s picks. As for Iowa State, they’re almost as bad but to me, there is some hope. Three losses have come to Kansas, Baylor and Texas Tech. The Cyclones offense is much better than the low-50s it was scoring in those games. And, speaking of great guard play, the Cyclones have it in Tyrese Haliburton and Rasir Bolton. Oklahoma State can guard anyone defensively, but won’t score enough to keep pace on the road. Iowa State gets back on the right track tonight.
Marquette (-8) vs. St. John’s- 9:00 PM tip
The Johnnies played a hell of a basketball game last Saturday, taking Seton Hall to the wire at MSG. But that was at MSG, a gym St. John’s has played well in forever. St. John’s blew a 43-30 halftime lead, losing by three to the Pirates. One of the biggest issues for the Red Storm was their inability to guard Myles Powell (but who really can?). Well, in comes Markus Howard and his 28.2 PPG coming off of a win over Georgetown where he had 42 points and a win over Xavier where he dropped 35. St. John’s is 0-3 in true road games this season, all of them in Big East play. No Big East game is easy, but Marquette is heading in the right direction. Too much Markus Howard tonight.
