The Cardinals are just an awful team. They’ve been getting blown in the first half in recent games, and I think that’s the best bet tonight. 

Many of the key metrics favor the Sun Devils, but their body of work on the road certainly isn't impressive. They were defeated by 2-13 Texas Southern and suffered a blowout 37-point loss to San Francisco with wins over a mediocre Colorado team and 6-11 SMU. Oregon has had some sketchy losses in recent games but looked good on the road in Utah, but this is more of a play against the Sun Devils.

Northwestern isn’t going to outshoot many teams from the field, but they can get to the line and get their points that way. Which is exactly what I think happens against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights haven’t crossed 65 points in their last three games and may need to surpass that tonight to get by the Wildcats. The over is tempting, but I think the spread offers more value.

The Jayhawks have crushed the opposition at home, going 9-0 and outscoring the opposition 81.5 to 62.7. The recent history in this series versus the spread has the public siding with Oklahoma, but I think that is what keeps Kansas fully focused tonight. The Sooners are off a tough game on Saturday with a huge defensive effort (or were the Red Raiders flat from their loss to Kansas) to win in OT 68-63. Either way, I'm laying the double-digit spread, backing the home side, and counting on the Jayhawks D coming up big.

This is a massive spread. I won't lay it, and I don't like Syracuse enough to take the points. The Cavs have a significant edge in three-point shooting and have stepped it up in their last two games. If those shots can continue to fall, I think that we should be able to fade the line move and get the money on the Over. Take the OVER 126

The Longhorns (-3.5) showed a lot of grit battling for the slim 1-point win on the road in Oklahoma on New Year's Eve. The Longhorns haven't been a bettor's best friend as of latefailing to cover the spread in six of their last eight games. They have a good shot to start an upward trend tonight. They face a KSU team that may be a little too full of themselves after coming back from a large early deficit and prevailing 82-76 in overtime on Saturday. Texas is the better shooting team. They play better defense and can trash KSU on the boards.

I'm taking the points in this one. Memphis has played the much tougher schedule, but USF has won six of their last seven and did beat decent clubs in UMass and Hofstra and lead a good Auburn team at the half before falling by just eight points. Sure, Memphis did beat the very same Auburn team by nine, but they're really beat up now, and I just don't see them putting up enough points to distance themselves and making the Under bet also a solid play.

Alabama has played a much tougher schedule, but Mississippi State has just one loss on the season, and it did come against a quality opponent. The Bulldogs have played exceptional defense, albeit versus the lower SOS, holding every opponent to 66 or fewer points. They have the No. 3 scoring defense and the sixth-ranked FG % defense and may be able to slow down the Bama offense, similar to what Houston did.

I like the Minutemen here, but I'm not comfortable laying this

  big of a line. Neither team shoots the ball well—especially the Big Green, whose shooting

  numbers are dismal against Division teams. The Under seems like the play here, and that's exactly

  where my money is going to land. Take the Under 139.5

This a tough call versus the spread, as i can see a couple of scenarios on how this will play out. But one thing is commong in both and that is the scoring. I think both squads can hit or surpass 75 points making the Over the way to b et this game. 

Kansas had the easier time of it Saturday, leading its game by double-digits most of the way, while North Carolina is coming off a huge emotional effort against Duke. Which, in our minds, leaves the Heels susceptible to a letdown. Also, the Jayhawks are the better defensive team and much less reliant on the 3-pointer than the Tar Heels, which in our books, in a game like this, is a positive. So we're betting Kansas here, minus the points. 

Duke won the first meeting between these teams this season by 20 points, while North Carolina won the second meeting by 13. We feel this game will be much closer than those two. And yet we believe the Blue Devils are the better, more complete team in this match-up; they shoot the ball better and play better defense. We don’t give a schnit about Coach K’s final run toward a title, but we are betting Duke here, minus the points. 

The line on this game would probably be one or two points if Villanova were at full strength. But it's not, so the Wildcats are catching a couple of buckets. And yet, how many times have we seen teams rise to an occasion when missing a key player? Heck, it happens almost every night in basketball. So we won't be surprised when Villanova pulls something similar. Also, the Wildcats are the best free-throw shooting team in the nation and possibly of all-time. Also, Kansas is only a .500 team ATS this season when favored and against quality opponents. We're taking Villanova here, plus the points.

By most of the numbers we understand why Houston is favored here; the Cougars shoot the ball

a little better from the field than does Villanova and play a little tougher defense. However,

Sagarin ranks the Houston schedule at No. 77 in the country this season, the Wildcats’ at No. 11.

Also, the Cougars only shoot 66 percent from the free-throw line while Villanova shoots a D-1-

best 82.5 percent. And those free-throws might come in really handy in a close game, such as

this one should be. So we like the Wildcats here, for the win.

Miami owns the edge on offense in this match-up, but Iowa State owns the edge on defense. And we love betting on the better defenses. Also, the Cyclones played a tougher schedule than the Hurricanes this season. Finally, this game looks destined to go down to a last possession, maybe in overtime, and 2.5 points might actually be a lot. We're taking the points with Iowa State.          

Gonzaga is the better team here and should win this game. The Bulldogs shoot the ball better from the floor and the 3-point line, hold opponents to under 38 percent FG shooting and do a little better job on the boards. But Gonzaga also shot just 16/30 from the line in its first-round tournament game, which basically cost them the money, then hit just 13/24 against Memphis. And you've gotta hit those free throws when you're trying to close out games and cover spreads. Meanwhile, Arkansas can play some defense, and after shooting so poorly last Saturday, we expect better Thursday night. We're not calling for the outright upset here, but we are taking the Hogs and the points.

Tennessee is just the better and hotter team here, playing great ball over the last six weeks or so. Also, 11 of the Vols’ last 13 wins have come by at least six points, which would do the job in this spot. Also, we didn’t even think Michigan deserved an invitation to the Dance. So we’re taking Tennessee here, minus the points.

Iowa is just the hotter team here and this is the perfect time of the season to ride hot teams. The Hawkeyes are throwing the ball in the hole like crazy as of late, hitting the 80-point mark seven times over their last eight games. Purdue, meanwhile, is only 6-3 its last nine times out and strug-gled to beat several lesser opponents over that span. So we’re taking Iowa here for the win.