I went 3-0 last night in college hoops, making me 8-7 in CBB overall this week. Let’s keep that record way over .500 as we soar into Super Bowl weekend!
Rice -4 (-105), 1 unit: This is a 3:00 EST start time so put your bet in now if you like my side! It doesn’t get much worse than Southern Mississippi. This line should be higher, but Rice is coming into this contest on a 5-game slump, so naturally that gives the books a little pause when they consider just how many points they should be favored. We expect some positive regression for the Owls. Rice is an above average offensive unit and they’re especially good beyond the 3-point line, ranking 60th in adjusted 3 point percentage on Haslametrics. Southern Mississippi is one of the worst offenses and 3 point defenses in the country, so this is a good matchup for the Owls to get off the schneid and put up a good performance. Rice is back home after a good 5 day rest, making this even better angle.
Bellarmine -8 (-115), 1.5 units: Bellarmine is getting better and better as the season progresses. The Knights have looked especially above-average on offense lately, shooting exceptionally from the field. In the last 3 games, Bellarmine has shot 60%, 57%, and 53.4%. While they can’t expect to keep that pace going for the rest of the year, they haven’t showed any signs of slowing down. Their opponents haven’t been the most staggering either, but their opponent today is on the same level of the ASUN Conference teams they’ve faced the past few weeks. Like a lot of teams right now, Jacksonville’s chances of making any sort of postseason run are slipping away, while Bellarmine is humming on a 6-game win streak. Jacksonville is about the same defensive rank as Stetson, a team that Bellarmine easily beat twice 2 weeks ago. Jacksonville is significantly worse than Stetson on offense, however, which I think is the difference today. Bellarmine will pull ahead at some point and I think they win by double digits.
Wright State -9.5 (-110), 1.5 units: I’m going to save us all some time here and just tell you that Wright State, at least from everything I’ve watched and read, is a significantly better team than UIC. The script here for those who like the dog is that IUC is a different team at home and they struggle on the road. Their home wins against Oakland back in December were impressive, but are we supposed to get excited about recent home wins against Robert Morris? Or a win against Youngstown State? Please. Do a little research into Wright State and in every single way, they’re far and away a much better team than the UIC Flames. Literally every single matchup favors the Raiders. I can’t go against that significant of a disparity, even in an in-conference game on the road.
