Sure the 8.5 points is a lot to give up, but I believe I have enough to substantiate backing the Red Raiders tonight. In the first match, Texas playing at home were outscored by ten in the second half to fall by six, and we're only asked to lay 2.5 more points. The Longhorns will be without their leading scorer Kerwin Roach II this time around who had a team-leading 17 points and five assists in the loss. IN his absence they did give Baylor all they could handle in an OT loss and blew out Iowa State getting it done with the long ball. The Texas shooters hit on 60% of their 3-point shots versus Iowa State and 55.6% against Baylor but now face one of the top 3-pt defenses in the nation. I believe the loss of Roach II catches up to them tonight.

Rivalry games produce the unexpected, and few teams hate each other as much as the Dawgs and the Gators. With Georgia’s season all but done, they will treat this border state feud as a March Madness game. The Dawgs will throw the kitchen sink at the Gators and have all the makings to become a barking dog capable of producing a scare or even an upset.

ESPN’s matchup predictor is giving K-State a 70.9 percent chance at winning this game over Baylor. The Wildcats have been very good at home this season with a 12-2 record, while the Bears are just 6-5 on the road. We expect K-State to regroup following their 64-49 loss to Kansas, and take care of business at home this weekend.

The Road Runners will utilize their strong home court presence (10-3 SU at home this season) to get another win against the Monarchs. Chances are UTSA will win this one more convincingly this time around, but it doesn't matter at the end of the day because all we need is one basket to get the job done. We can trust UTSA well get the job done.

This is a Syracuse team that can pull off an upset, as they defeated No. 1 Duke earlier this season in overtime. Perhaps the team can get off to a hot start against North Carolina to get back on track and finish the season off strong. Do not count on it though. The Tar Heels are one of the top teams in the country.

The 49ers will throw the kitchen sink at Middle Tennessee State. The 49ers are hungry to end Middle Tennessee State's supremacy in this series, and they know too well that this is their best chance against a more human MTSU. Charlotte comes in under the number. An upset is not of the question here.

North Carolina has flown under the radar for much of the season, but the win over Duke should garner some attention. The Tar Heels are for real, and they can score with anyone in the country. Florida State has rattled off eight straight wins, but that streak comes to an end on Saturday. North Carolina is simply too talented, and they roll over Florida State in this game.

Sacramento State by all indications should control the ebbs and flow of this game which means that an upset is likely in the works. While this game may indeed come to a basket, the Hornets will likely win this one by a more decisive margin as their defense create some separation from their overvalued opponents that are favored strictly by recency bias and tournament pedigree.

Duke and North Carolina games are usually instant classics, and this should be much of the same. This will be an incredibly fast-paced game, with plenty of NBA type talent on the floor. North Carolina will keep it close for a while, but eventually, Duke will wear them out.

This is going to be an excellent game between two of the top teams in the country. In the end, we are going with the program with the most success. We are taking Kentucky to win this game at home.

Three of the recent six games between these two sides were settled by a bucket. Two of these contests required overtime. Given the fact that the price for taking back the point is equivalent to backing Y-State outright, we’ll take that one point as it may actually be pivotal in a historically hard-fought and scrappy match-up such as this one. However, when push comes to shove Youngstown State has all the intangibles to get the win outright here on their own court.

This game has all the makings of a blowout written all over it, and we can trust that UC Santa Barbara will get the job done here. The Gauchos will take the Highlanders wire-to-gate and win this one by double digits at the minimum.

It’ll be interesting to see if Gilbert can make it through pregame warmups and suit up for this game now that the team is without Adams. All indications are that he’s close to returning and it would be nice for the Huskies to get back their floor general. Given the injury concerns to the Huskies, we’re picking the red-hot Cougars Thursday night.

When we look at how both of these teams have been performing lately, it's tough not to roll with the Badgers in this matchup. Not necessarily scoring a monumental amount of points lately, Wisconsin had just found ways to win close games over their five-game winning streak. Happ will continue to be the focal point of this offense, but winning games doesn't usually come down to one player's performance. Brad Davison has really picked it up lately, averaging 16 ppg over their winning streak. The sophomore guard is averaging 11.1 ppg this season, but the Badgers are dangerous when they play good team defense and can get complimentary scoring outside of Happ. We're taking the Badgers at home in Tuesday's showdown.

Very simply, Northern Kentucky is a superior team compared to their opponents. They shoot better (NKU hits 48.3% success rate on their field goal attempts – 29th in NCAA compared to Oakland who hits a 69th ranked 46.9%), they are far superior in scoring defense as Oakland gives up a 309th ranked 77.6 points per game compared to NKU’s 75th ranked 67.5 points per contest. As a result of a heavy public lean on the dog, we get the Norse at a reduced price. Take advantage.

This is expected to be a great basketball game. The Cavaliers are a very small favorite at home, but in the end, we expect the Duke Blue Devils to come away with the road upset win. This would be a massive win for Coach K and his young squad.

The Terriers areas are in a prime spot to stub their toe here. However, much of the consensus will dissent as the Buc's most recent loss at home against UNC Greensboro combined with Wofford's flawless Southern Conference record has something to do with why they are leaning on the Terriers here with the point. Nevertheless, this is an ETSU basketball team that prides itself on playing at another level on its own floor, and nothing can typify that more by ending Wofford's present win streak both at-large and against them.

Both teams' average's around 70 ppg, but the Badgers shoot about 3% better from the field. The advantage for Wisconsin could come down to their team defense. The Badgers only allow 61.5 ppg, compared to Minnesota who gives up 70.3 ppg. The Gophers last game ended in a loss to Purdue, and before that, they were teetering back and forth in wins and losses. They did go on a nice six-game winning streak during December and took down no. 19 Iowa a few games ago so this is definitely a team that can pull off a win, especially at home. Despite that, look for the red hot shooting of Wisconsin to lead them over the top.

North Dakota State will transform what an eight-game road losing streak into a two-game road winning streak at the expense of the Leathernecks was. The Bison will play a complete game and allow costly WIU turnovers combined with NDSU’s edge in bench play to win this contest by potentially another double-digit margin.

Both of these team's average around 70 ppg, but Kansas allows just as many points per game (70.3), as they score (76.7). Texas Tech is allowing only 56.8 ppg, and they need that defense to be in full force against this Kansas offense. Each team shoots 47% from the field, and this game could come down to which side can slow down the opposing star better. Lawson and Culver lead each of their teams in both scoring and rebounding, but Lawson as a height advantage down at the forward position. This is going to be a tough game on the road for the Red Raiders, and we just can't see Bill Self's team losing three straight games.