College Basketball Picks

It will be the Michigan Spartans versus the Duke Blue Devils in the final match of the Elite 8. This is an awfully tough game to pick for the public splitting the point spread wagers down the middle. The sharps on the other hand are either avoiding the game or laying down on this one side. Our sharp handicapper is inline with that action and spells out why he is betting this side of the line.

Auburn’s last loss was to Kentucky and they’ve gone a huge run since, stringing together an 11-game win streak. Will Auburn get some payback today? Hoops handicapper Dan Jamison digs into the match-ups and feels comfortable backing this side versus the number. Find out who and why.

The oddsmaker opened this contest with the Cavs favored by 4.5 points over the Boilermakers. Each team had a battle on their hands in the Sweet 16 with Purdue needing overtime and Virginia prevailing over Oregon after the Ducks rallied to tie the game with inside of 4.5 minutes left. The NCAA odds board has the Cavs as the 4 to 4.5 point favorites with a total line of 125.5. Read on to get our prognosticator’s play on this game.

Two fantastic defensive clubs take to the floor at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday night when Gonzaga and Texas Tech tip off at 6:10 PM ET. The team with the better offense will be the key to this game and on paper the Bulldogs certainly do stand out in that category. See Dan’s take and get his against the spread prediction.

Both teams have been solid against the spread recently, with the Tigers going 6-4 and the Tar Heels going 7-3. An interesting trend shows that the Tar Heels play great basketball after coming off a win by 20 points or more. They are 9-1 straight up and 7-2-1 against the spread. As for Auburn they are 5-2 straight up and 4-3 ATS when they win their previous game by 10 to 19 points. Obviously every team still in the tourney is coming off some kind of high, as losers go home. But which team truly has momentum? Matt Lowry breaks down the matchup and the sportsbook’s spread of 5.5.

PJ Washington remains sidelined and is listed as questionable for this Sweet 16 game. Without Washington, Kentucky had just two double-digit scorers in the game against Wofford, which is a huge concern especially against a defensive-minded team like Houston. Sportsbooks seem to agree making the Cats only 3 point favorites. Matt Lowry gives his college basketball prediction.

Remember what Bill Simmons has fondly said: always beware of the “nobody believes in us” team. LSU has taken that status and run with it so far, winning two games by a combined six points against Yale and Maryland to overcome losing its coach and reach the Sweet 16. It’s the 30-year anniversary of the last time an interim coach won the national title (Michigan’s Steve Fisher), and the Tigers appear to have rallied around coach Tony Benford and their chance to silence their critics. Does that create an opportunity here betting LSU against the spread at +6? DJ gives his basketball pick!

Both of the tournament games have been worrying for this Tennessee team. In the first-round game against Colgate they had to go to the final minutes to put them away and of course their most recent game where they blew a 25-point lead to Iowa in the second half. Is underestimating early round teams the reason the bookmakers have made them only 1.5 point favorites?

Texas Tech’s weakness on defense is that it’s not a great rebounding team, which came back to bite the Red Raiders in the Big 12 tournament when West Virginia dominated them on the glass and pulled a stunning upset. If the Wolverines are willing to hit the glass should we expect them to cover against the 1.5 spread? Dan Jamison has your free pick!

Oregon just might be the hottest team in the nation right now after dismantling both Wisconsin and UC Irvine, making the country sit up and take notice of how good the Ducks really are. Oregon is a team that can play either pace even if Virginia slows the game to a crawl. Sportsbooks are offering Oregon bettors a big 8.5 cushion versus the Cavs. Dan looks at this match up and predicts if that will be enough!