While Georgia Tech lost plenty from last year’s team, Tennessee did not. Of the six players who averaged more than 20 minutes a game for the Volunteers last season, all six of them are back in orange this year. The leader of the Volunteers is junior forward Grant Williams, the SEC player of the year from 2017-18, but he’s hardly the only option Tennessee has. Can a loaded Vols team cover the 16 to beat the bookie?
Mike Krzyzewski loves his alma mater, but that doesn’t mean he takes it easy on Army when he’s on the opposition’s bench. In six meetings between Army and Duke with Krzyzewski coaching the Blue Devils, Duke’s margin of victory has averaged 44 points, and 2014’s game marked the first time Army had even come within 20 points of Duke. There’s nothing that suggests this time will be any different. Duke looked otherworldly against Kentucky, and while Army managed a win against Marist in its opener, beating the Red Foxes simply isn’t the same as blasting the Wildcats. This game is really about betting your sportsbook that Army will lose but more or less than 31. Dan Jamison gives his basketball prediction and pick!
Villanova lost several key players from last year’s national champions, but the Wildcats are still a very talented and experienced team. Villanova’s inside-outside attack starts with senior forward Eric Paschall, who showed exactly why he’s on the watch list for the Naismith Player of the Year honors in the opener against Morgan State with 27 points. At 6-foot-8, the forward isn’t the tallest for an interior player, but his 255-pound frame more than makes up for it and allows him to push opponents around inside. Will he be the force Villanova needs to cover the sportsbook’s line of -24? DJ has your college basketball pick!
Auburn’s attack ran through two players against South Alabama: guard Jared Harper and forward Chuma Okeke. Both players scored 20 points in the season opener, and both shot 60 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in the victory. Those kinds of numbers would be devastating against Washington given the kind of game the Huskies like to play. But Washington isn’t South Bama so what can we expect from the Auburn guards is game 2? DJ has your college basketball pick.
The No. 2 ranked Clemson Tigers hit the road to take on the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on Saturday night. The betting line is huge with Clemson backers being asked to lay -20 with a the total on the NCAA football board at 58. Handicapper Dan Angell digs into the numbers and gives out his top rated football pick.