The Bruins are undefeated this season and while they haven’t played the toughest schedule this season and this may be their toughest test this season. However, UCLA has dominated in every game this season with the smallest margin of victory being 11 against Nebraska. Lay the points.

I just don’t see Stanford keeping up with the Pirates who have shot a sizzling 50.8 from the field this season. Statistically they don’t play as good of defense as the Cardinal, but that in part is because of scheduling.

The Green Wave has had a difficult schedule to date playing Missouri, Arizona and Oklahoma. The same can’t be said of the Yellow Jackets who have played two unlined games against Sam Houston St. and Southern.

Penn State bounced back nicely from Sunday’s blowout loss to Cincinnati which is a sign that this team has their heads on straight. The Colonials have the size advantage, but I think the difference here will be the Nittany Lions speed.

South Carolina is bringing back a crop of players that were able to win 25 games in 2015 under the leadership of Head Coach Frank Martin. In addition to Thompson, the Gamecocks also feature another seasoned senior veteran in Duane Notice and sophomore five-star recruit P.J Dozier returning with a year of experience to form a very talented and deep front court. This team has yet to hit their high point with all the young talent on their roster and this scenario seems like the perfect opportunity for the Gamecocks to make a name for themselves and place themselves on the national landscape. This same group of players were responsible for an impressive victory of #8 Texas A&M on the road in 2015. In addition, the Gamecocks managed to qualify for the NIT as a #1 seed despite falling to the perpetual thorn in their side Georgia in the SEC Tournament by a point. The Gamecocks will certainly look to build on last year’s successes and taking down one of college basketball’s storied programs will boost their credentials. This one comes down to a matter of playing on a recognized name and expecting a certain result especially when the name brand team has a number next to their name. However, USC is a win away from earning a top-25 ranking of their own. Look for the Gamecocks to come out swinging.

I think that the total number is on the high side. Both of these teams play decent defense limiting their opposition to below 40% from the field and if they continue to do so, then there is a lot of leeway on the posted number.

I’m banking on the Hawkeyes play against Seton Hall where Iowa held a 44-42 lead at the break before the Pirates surged in the second half to win by 8. This is just too many points to lay on a team that has yet to be tested.

The two schedules of Weber State and UC Davis contrast greatly upon comparison. Weber State’s two losses came against two teams that are superior in ability to any of the teams that Davis has defeated this year. Weber State lost to Stanford and Pepperdine, teams with a combined record of 8-1. Stanford remains unblemished at 4-0 and they hail from arguably one of the most competitive conferences in college basketball. Pepperdine has been to numerous Men’s Basketball Tournaments themselves and they are a regular contender for the NIT. Pepperdine just came in off a win against another 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament qualifier in Arkansas-Little Rock. With this being said, Pepperdine could have lost as much as they could have won against the Wildcats as the difference was a mere point. UC Davis’ best win this year was a nine-point triumph against Sacramento State. UC Davis’ most recognizable opponent so far this year was Tennessee State and they were the ones to beat Davis and they did so by considerable margins. Weber State is a huge step up in quality for UC Davis while California-Davis is a typical featherweight that Weber State mows down on a regular basis. The difference in level of competition will be the deciding factor in this Thanksgiving turkey-tosser. While playing favorites often has disadvantages the price here is too good to pass on Weber State.

Seton Hall comes into this game with extra rest having not played in one week. We think that could be a problem facing a Florida team that matches well with them. Florida didn’t dominate as expected when stepping up against St. Bonaventure two games back, but used that as wake call in their next out. That came against Belmont and the Gators played a full game extending the lead in the second half in an easy 78-61 three days ago. That gives us more confidence in laying the small spread against an opponent who may have to shake off some rust.

I may be oversimplifying this, but Vanderbilt were upset by Bucknell and 75-72 the same team that Butler destroyed 86-60 two days earlier. The 8 points is substantial, but the Bulldogs shooters have been accurate shooting 52.8 from the field compared to the Commodores limping into this match with a 42.5 mark just 0.1 better than what they allow defensively.

The Spartans have been very inconsistent playing Arizona tough then getting destroyed by Kentucky in their first two games. The next two matches were more of the same with a 47-point blowout of lowly Mississippi Valley State in an unlined game followed by a one point escape as a -14.5 favorite over Florida Gulf Coast. The Red Storm tasted defeat for the first time against a decent Minnesota team losing by 6 but covering the six point spread. I think it will be more of the same tonight with Michigan State getting the win, but St. John’s getting the cover.

The Wolverines may have turkey on their mind, but there is no way that they won’t be motivated against a Gamecocks team that knocked them made easy work of them 76-64 last season. Tarence Kinsey and Tre Kelley were the leading scorers for South Carolina and they’re no longer with the team. It is payback time at the Colonial Life Arena tonight , lay the points.

This game should by no means be penciled in as a win for the Gators, regardless of where it is taking place and who it against. Belmont as an institution has without question acquired substantial big game experience against big name opponents. This is team that qualified for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on four occasions in the past five years. Almost always, the Bruins were pitted against an elite opponent in the first round and this gives them a huge advantage as they travel to Gainesville. Bruins Coach Rick Byrd has the experience and expertise against Power Conference foes as it has been an integral part of him architecting this program. This is a basketball team that has consistently won more than 20 games each year in 11 of the 13 previous seasons. The Bruins will show no trepidation against the Gators as they will see this as yet another opportunity to make a name for their up and coming program. The Gators should be well careful when entering this fixture as Belmont will certainly give them everything they have and even if the Bruins fall there is more than enough points here for Belmont to come in under the number.

Initially the Catamounts appear to be a team that is a tune-up opponent for many to take advantage of and pencil in a scheduled win. However, this is certainly not the case by any means The Catamounts pieced together a run in the back end of the 2015-16 season as they made it all the way to the Southern Conference semifinals before falling to the defending conference champion Chattanooga by just four points. WCU came in as a .500 basketball team while Chattanooga had already exceeded 25 wins on the season. On their path to the semifinals, the Catamounts won seven of their last eight defeating the conference’s premiere teams, including Wofford, Mercer and Furman. The Catamounts return four of five starters from last season along with two key bench players who played a significant role in propelling the Catamounts to the CBI. There is a great chance the Catamounts are likely undervalued yet again as they own a 7-1 record against the spread in their last eight road affairs. Against a marginal opponent such as Marshall, it is safe to conclude that amount of points the Herd are spotting here is likely an extreme case of an overlay.

Teams like Oregon are often placed in positions where they are overvalued and spotting more points than necessary. Against a team like Valparaiso this is a hazardous proposition. The Crusaders are a team that is accustomed to playing at an elite level, as they finished 30-7 in their aforementioned preceding campaign. Valparaiso ransacked the Horizon League for all of the regular season as they posted a record of 16-2 in conference play making their way through the field on sound defensive play. To conclude their regular season efforts, Valparaiso fell in overtime to Green Bay in the Horizon League Tournament Quarterfinals, the same squad that continued on to win the conference championship and secure an eventual guaranteed NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bid. Nevertheless, the Crusaders did not let up. This is a team that rolled teams game-in and out in the NIT Tournament. The teams that Valpo took down, included Florida State, St. Mary’s and BYU all of whom were bubble teams in the final week of the regular season. Valparaiso will look at this game as an opportunity where Oregon may be caught guilty of looking at this contest as a tune-up game as they prepare themselves for Pac-12 play. If Oregon takes this team lightly or if they conform to the defensive blueprint of Valpo, Oregon may be in big trouble.

Arizona is a pedigree in the college basketball world and widely established as a blue-chip team. Even most casual college basketball bettors know who the Wildcats are. The same cannot be said for the Roadrunners. In college basketball with all the teams one can play on, familiar teams often are the most expensive. With this being said, Arizona is likely to spot inflated points as they will without question cultivate a lot of action by virtue of public familiarity. Nevertheless, Arizona and CSB are polar opposites and match-up exquisitely. Arizona loves to move quickly and score, Bakersfield loves to slow thing down and shut opponents down. Typically in contests of this nature, the defense almost always demands the game to be played to their specifications complemented overall by a slower rhythm and flow to the game. If Bakersfield asserts their will, Arizona may have to ward off a pesky foe if they don’t fall outright. Arizona entered their contest with Wichita State in a similar position. Much of the pubic liked the Cats despite Wichita having the stronger defense and the rest is history. Cal State hung around with Oklahoma in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and they return many of the players that were on that very squad. Don’t expect the Roadrunners to lay down for the Wildcats by any means.

We are not huge proponents of playing chalk but in this case LSU is certainly a more economical and outright smarter play. The Terriers finished their 2015-2016 efforts in an abysmal fashion. The Terriers more or less crashed and burned as they were owned by Southern Conference opponents down the backstretch. The perpetual thorn in Wofford’s side? Western Carolina who made a run in the post-season tournament mostly at the Terriers expense as they defeated them on three occasions last year which were most influential and impactful to Wofford’s cause.

LSU is a tough SEC team, they are no Kentucky but they are certainly a team that can hang with the best of them. The Tigers defeated Florida and Texas A&M in Baton Rouge last year, covering as a favorite despite both teams holding better records on game day. They have a home court advantage and for a team like Wofford who at this point doesn’t know who they are or where they are going, we will lay the Terriers at all costs.

Both of these teams are shooting the lights out and research would probably support a statement that the title game has never matched two finalists that have a FG% of over 51% in tournament play. No one is hotter than Villanova who shot an insane 71.4% against Oklahoma and the speed and athleticism of UNC can give the scorekeeper a workout. However, the Wildcats know that the key for them will be slowing this game down and that's something that the excel at one of the main factors why they ranked No. 11 in the nation this season in scoring defense. Villanova's defense has been sharp throughout the tournament holding all five opponents to under 70 points and three of the five to fewer than 60. Likewise, North Carolina has held three of their opponents to 67 or fewer and allowed only the fast playing Hoosiers to exceed 74 points. Note that the title game has gone UNDER in five of the last six games and that's exactly where I think it will land tonight.

What is intriguing is the lack of reaction from the public in spite of what Syracuse has achieved. UNC has been dominant throughout this tournament, they seem to be outright better than every team they encounter. In addition to routing Indiana and Notre Dame, the Tar Heels are also responsible for making an example of the Providence Friars. Syracuse rests on the list of UNC victims over the span of their winning streak, but the margin of victory was just five in that fixture (75-70).
The Orange appear to be a fluke to the public, reflected in their heavy lean on the Tar Heels. However, Syracuse's second half performance against the Cavaliers, one of the nation's best defenses would suggest this team can be a menace for all that come across it. Cuse has nothing to lose, they have already exceeded expectation and will likely enter looser than UNC who was forecasted to win a national title.

Villanova suffered their worst loss of the season against Oklahoma back in December falling by 23 points 78-55. They shot a putrid 4 of 32 from behind the arc and those types of numbers have little chance of repeating themselves. So that will bring them closer, but a quick look at the score sheet shows that the Sooners' star guard Buddy Hield didn't dominate with a ho hum 16 points on the night on 6 for 17 shooting. Look for the margin to be in single digits this time around, but the winner stays the same.