The Trojans have averaged 80.3 points per game this season and that number goes up a couple of points at home where they have scored 82.8. Defensively as a host they’ve kept opponents to 66.6 points, but the competition for the most part has been lacking. Cal has had just one true road this season and while the team didn’t shoot well based on average they did put up 71 points against UCLA.

The Golden Gophers have played extremely well over the last nine games with a one point loss to the Spartans the only blemish on their record. That said, that might be their downfall today. They’ve had to play full out every minute of the last three games with two of them going to overtime and Thursday’s game being decided by just four points. It’s tough for anyone to play at that level for an extended stretch of time and for college kids it is even more difficult. I think Minnesota probably gets the win here, but not the money.

The Boilermakers have dropped two contests at home this season one in overtime to a hot Minnesota team in overtime and a three point loss to a very good Villanova squad back in November. Purdue is a big step up from Indiana and Marquette.

The Bearcats have a real solid 49.1 FG% overall, but that hasn’t travelled well to their opponents’ courts where they have shot a dismal 36.2 percent while putting up 58.7 points per contest over their three road games. Cincinnati’s defense did step up on the road holding the home side to 59.7 points 35.1% from the field. The Cougars have been all about defense at home this season holding their opponents to 59.1 points on 64% shooting even though most of their home wins have been in blowout fashion. This game has had some upward pressure on the total but I believe points will be hard to come by tonight for both teams.

Mississippi has been a profitable wager in the underdog role going 3-1 against the spread in that situation and has won and covered the last three games in this series. Both teams are coming off of consecutive losses, but the Rebels games are more impressive. Auburn is 6-1, but who have they beaten?

The Wolverines have won two of their last three but have dropped the L3 versus the line, so they find themselves in disfavour with the betting public. That’s a good spot for us to jump on the host who has won all but one home game this season. They catch a Terrapin team that has played just one game in the last 11 days and two in the last 18 days and may not have their game legs to keep this competitive to the end. Lay the points.

Notre Dame came up with a big one on Wednesday night knocking off the Cardinals 77-70 as a -1.5 point spread favorite for their fourth straight win and ran their undefeated streak at home to 10 games. The spread cover was their first in five games after starting the season 4-0 ATS. Clemson could go either way after their heartbreaking two point loss to UNC on Tuesday, but I think they use it to rebound here. The Tigers have won and covered both of their road tilts this season and the public is feeling all warm and fuzzy about the Irish driving the line to 5.5 points giving us the value we need to back the visitor.

The Gamecocks are 8-1 at home this season with an 11-3 record on the season. South Carolina has lost two of their three defeats by a combined five points and own losses against Memphis, Clemson and Seton Hall. The Gamecocks in spite of this still bode one of the most methodical and defensively efficient ensembles in all of the land doing so against premier competition. For the Aggies, they come in at 8-5 and have only played one game away from College Station this season where they lost and sustained their most recent pummeling at the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats, losing in despicable fashion as they were smoked by 42 points. We have yet to see the effects of this loss on the mindset of this team as results of this nature often throw any team out of sync as a result. When it is considered that the Aggies will find no refuge when venturing in to the hostile environment they will descend in to Columbia, it can easily be inferred that this one can get out of control as well. The Aggies have padded their resume beating up on teams such as American University, Northwestern State, Denver, California State University-Northridge and St. Francis (Pennsylvania) to compile most of their wins they have accrued. As for the Gamecocks, they have already raised some eyebrows. South Carolina has defeated teams like Syracuse, Michigan and Monmouth. The difference in strengths of schedule compared with the overall body of work each team calibrates the price of this market accurately and if anything allows us to dive in on a quality South Carolina team at a reduced price.

Kent State has put up an average of just 61 points per game in their three road games this season, but in their defense, they did play decent defensive clubs in the three games. I expect them to get back near their overall scoring average tonight. Ohio hasn’t been kind to OVER bettors going 2-6 in lined games, but at home they’ve averaged 78.7 points and will be facing a team that has allowed a generous 45.7% shooting as a visitor.

The road team has covered the spread in the last three and I believe that will continue tonight at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Oakland is a mediocre 3-2 SU away from home this season and is 2-2 in lined games in this situation, but the losses were to two good ones in Nevada and Michigan State. Two teams that would easily put away the Crusaders.

The Flyers have lost one game at home and that came back on November 19th to St. Mary’s. On average at home they’ve outscored their opposition 76.7 to 61.6 on route to their 7-1 record as a host. That said, they’re beat up with their leading scorer Charles Cooke dealing with a back issue and he may miss his second straight game tonight. The Rams have strung together four straight wins and broke off a three game road losing streak in that stretch where they lost the three contests by a combined 11 points.

Both teams come into this game on the downside with the Gaels losers of three of their last four and the Hawks losers of three straight. The visitor has won and covered the last three in this series and with the current form of tonight’s opponents taking the points is the advisable play.

The Golden Gophers have been extremely consistent this season with just two losses on the board with one to Florida State on the road and a one-point loss in OT to Michigan State at home. I think that Minnesota gained a lot of confidence in their overtime win over Purdue in their latest and should use that to build on in their match tonight against Northwestern. The Wildcats have yet to lose at home this season going 9-0, but of the nine wins only the victory over Wake Forest could be considered to be of against a quality opponent.

UCLA leads the country in field goal efficiency at 54.3% while proliferating 93.9 points per game and converting on 42.4% from three-point range. These numbers can undoubtedly foster a lot of attention and compel many to take back this outfit spotting an abundance of points to any opponent. As a result of UCLA’s dynamic offense, they have not had to rely on their defense much and this is probably a good thing for the Bruins. The UCLA defense ranks 238th nation-wide in scoring, 257th against opponent three-pointers and 171st in defensive rebounding. However, the Golden Bears have yielded differing numbers in the defensive operations department. The Bears are a team that utilize their defense to win games. In fact, Cal stands at 10-4 this season because of this narrative. Cal ranks in the top-twelve nationally in scoring defense, lowering both opponent field goal percentages and opponent three-point field goal percentages. This is ever more prolific considering how offensively orientated the Pac-12 is. California is also one of the best offensive rebounding teams in all the land and thus they can easily keep the ball away from the Bruins as much as they can curtail their scoring initiatives. UCLA has been honing their offense to win games but the question remains in what will happen when they meet a rival that knows how to beat them and who will unleash their defense upon them. This prompt makes UCLA a risky play and while they may have won every game in Westwood in the previous four years, the number here may certainly be inflated here by namesake alone.

The Buckeyes look vulnerable in this spot. The Boilermakers were on an impressive roll before losing in overtime to the Gophers. That game should have them primed for a good effort tonight. Purdue does have just the one true road game this season and they did come up short in that contest falling by 7 points to a very good Louisville team, but they are 4-0 on a neutral court with a quality win over Notre Dame. Ohio State can come up with a good one and the home team has won the last five in this series, but I think believe this will be won on the boards and that’s been the Boilermakers’ strength in recent games.

Neither team has been padding bettors’ bankrolls with both having negative returns and of the two UConn leads the way with a dreadful 2-8 spread mark this season. I think that’s going to change here. The Huskies have played a tough December schedule going off as the dog in four of the five lined games and while they have dropped their last three spread decisions two of the losses came in overtime. Look for Connecticut to been in this to the last buzzer and may surprise with an outright win.

Louisville as expected came out flat against Virginia after having a week to pat themselves on the back after defeating Kentucky, but responded well to the loss by knocking off Indiana 77-62 as a three point dog. The Cardinals are in a double revenge spot but I think that the Irish are the play here. Notre Dame is a perfect 9-0 at home this and has only two losses on their resume for this season losing against Villanova and Purdue on a neutral surface. They had the lead in both games at the break and a full game performance by the host should give them the W tonight.

‘Nova has beaten Butler in six straight dating back to the 2013 season winning each game by three or more points. That margin that would get them the money here with the current point spread listed at Villanova -2. Overall the Wildcats have won 14 straight to start the season, but the competition hasn’t been overwhelming. Butler has faced on paper a much more difficult schedule and while they did come up with a stinker off of the break against St. John's and earlier in December against Indiana State, they have played extremely well at home or on a neutral court going 11-0. That said, Villanova’s smallest margin this season of victory was three points and that came against DePaul after a week off and they responded with an impressive win over Creighton on the road.

This one could be a true value play. First, we get an Eastern Michigan team that will take on the hosting duties at home where they remain unscathed this season at 6-0 against a intra-state rival they are chomping at the bit to face. In fact, Eastern Michigan has had the hot hand in this rivalry in the last two meetings between the Chippewas and Eagles. Yet, with all these factors taking in to consideration, the consensus has gone against the Eagles and now taken the points to conform to the trending market assessment. Likely the incentive to step in on the Chips is rooted in the fact they have a nicer record to look at as they are 10-3 compared to EMU’s 8-5 record and when you toss in points, it seems like a sure-fire play. However, the analytics would reveal that the CMU has played a much softer schedule with luck going their way. On the contrary, Eastern Michigan has played one of the toughest in America. Now the Chippewas will likely meet attrition against a team that has had their number. We will swallow the points in this one.

Clemson has won nine straight overall and are undefeated at home this season. They catch a UNC team that is 1-2 on the road and straight up and against the spread and losers of two games SU as a visitor when favored. The Tar Heels could come up with a huge game after the embarrassing loss to Georgia Tech, but I’ll go the other way and take the 3.5 points allotted to the home team.