This is a Big 5, in-city rivalry game (154th meeting) that has been lopsided recently. Temple has won the last ten meetings between the two teams as the Owls have simply had the much better team in those games. But that

North Carolina will be facing a style of basketball in this game that they do not like at all. Virginia wants to grind this game in the half court, and considering head coach Tony Bennett

This is a rematch game from two weeks ago when Vanderbilt lost at home to Kentucky. The Commodores were right in that game until the end before losing 69-63. There

This is an important game for Butler while it is a meaningless game for Valparaiso. With a win, the Bulldogs will get the #2 seed in the upcoming Horizon League tournament, and along with that comes an advantageous first round bye. Valparaiso has already clinched the #1 seed in the tournament, so a loss by the Crusaders tonight will not hurt them. This is also a rematch game from way back in early December; Valpo won that game 77-71 at Butler in overtime. That was when Butler was playing terrible basketball and still trying to establish their identity for this year

New York and Miami play for the second time this season, but this game will have a totally different look than the first one. The Heat won the first match-up 99-89 but the Knicks played that game without Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith wasn

Alabama comes into tonight

If you just look at these two teams at face value, then you may be inclined to think that Southern Mississippi is the superior team. The Golden Eagles come into tonight

There has been no team in the country more impressive than Wichita State over the last two weeks. The Shockers are a perfect 4-0 and ATS during that time winning by 25, 21, 15, and 17 points. Wichita State

Both teams are playing their last game before the All-Star break, and we do not expect much defensive intensity, especially from these two young teams. Sacramento played at Miami last night and the Kings allowed 120 points in that game. It was the third time over their last five games in which they allowed 114 points or more in a game. In their last five games, the Kings allowed 110 points per game on 47.9% shooting from the field and 39% shooting from three-point land. The last time Sacramento faced Washington, they allowed the Wizards to score a whopping 136 points and since they are in terrible defensive form, we can expect another high offensive output from Sacramento

West Virginia snapped their recent 1-5 slump with an impressive 66-48 win at Pittsburgh last Thursday night. The Mountaineers will be playing just their second game over the last eleven days so they are fresh as can be for tonight

Philadelphia comes into tonight

North Carolina is one of the most talented teams in the country, there

San Antonio

We played against Oklahoma City last night and we

Denver was in dire straights for the first week of February; the Nuggets lost five consecutive games straight-up and against the pointspread. We went against Denver in three of those games and we were fortunate enough to get three wins. Since their slide, the Nuggets have gone 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS. They could actually be 3-1 SU if not for their loss at Memphis on a last-second tip-in. Injuries decimated the Nuggets, and that was the reason for their struggles. But guys have been returning to the lineup, and the biggest return came at Memphis when center Timofey Mozgov played over 15 minutes in that game. Expectedly, he was a bit rusty but head coach George Karl expects Mozgov to be more effective tonight.

These two teams have played in some wild, high-scoring games over the last two years and we expect another one tonight. Philadelphia comes in on a 2-game losing streak as their offense and defense each failed them in one of the games. The Sixers allowed 103 points in their loss at Orlando on Wednesday night; the Magic shot an incredible 53.3% (40-75) from the field and 60% (15-25) from three-point land. In their 82-75 home loss to Dallas on Friday night, the Sixers

This game should be one of the most entertaining of all the BracketBuster games on the schedule. Long Beach St and Creighton both have potent offensive teams that love to get up and down the court. The 49ers average 74 points per game on 46.8% shooting from the field and 35.8% shooting from three-point land. The Bluejays average 80 points per game on 51.1% shooting from the field and 43.8% shooting from three-point land. Long Beach has scored more than their seasonal average in 8 of their last 10 games so they come into this game in tremendous offensive form. They

This is a rematch game from late-January when Ohio St beat Michigan 64-49 on their home floor. But that game was close for the first 30 minutes before the Buckeyes went on a late-game run to pull away and win by double digits. Michigan shot the ball terribly in that game as they hit just 35.8% (19-53) from the field and 32% (8-25) from three-point land. The Wolverines only had 4 free throw attempts in that game while the Buckeyes shot 18. But with tonight

Florida comes in off a confidence building win at Alabama on Tuesday night. That win snapped a mini 2-game losing streak for the Gators. Florida has had three full days to get ready for the

Phoenix will be playing their fourth game in five nights, and Los Angeles

These two teams have played in some wild, high-scoring games in the past and we expect another one tonight. Denver comes in off one of their worst offensive games of the season after scoring just 84 points in their loss at Dallas on Wednesday night. The Nuggets shot a dismal 35.7% from the field and an ugly 22.2% from three-point land. Denver was also putrid from the free throw line as they hit just 58.1% of their attempts. But despite their poor shooting, the Nuggets

Both teams come into tonight

Vanderbilt comes in off a home loss to Kentucky on Saturday night. The Commodores were right in that game until the end before losing 69-63. There

Portland is a mess right now. The Blazers come into tonight

Denver was in dire straights over the last two weeks. Injuries decimated the Nuggets, and we were able to take advantage and play against Denver a few times. However, the tide has turned in Denver

Temple comes into this game with St. Bonaventure with the more impressive record; the Owls are 19-5 while the Bonnies are just 13-9. However, if their schedules were flipped, the records would be opposite. Temple has played an easier schedule because all of their tough opponents have come on their home court. The opposite is true for St. Bonaventure as their toughest opponents were all played on the road. Tonight is the first game that the Bonnies will host a tough conference opponent on their home court, and we expect them to take advantage of their opportunity.

St. Bonaventure plays on an extremely strong home court; the Bonnies are 9-1 at home this season. Their lone home loss came way back on December 1st which means they are a perfect 5-0 at home in conference play. St. Bonaventure plays exceptional defense at home as well as they hold opponents to just 58 points per game on 39.6% shooting from the field. They held four of their five conference opponents to 56 points or less, including three of those teams to 51 points or less. Temple has won 8 consecutive games, but their offense was able to score at will in those games as they scored 73 points or more in every game. Their last loss came on the road at Richmond in a game in which Temple scored just 65 points. And in fact, the Owls two other true road losses also occurred when they where held to 65 points or less. St. Bonaventure should not be the underdog in this game so we

The CAA has three good teams this season: Drexel (21-5), VCU (22-5), and George Mason (21-6). Those three teams are tangled in a three-way tie for first as they all own 13-2 records in conference play. All three teams have also locked up first-round byes in the conference tournament, so this game is all about the regular-season title, seeding and getting into the discussion for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. There

UNLV comes into tonight

Miami has won their last three games in blowout fashion; they beat the Wizards by 17 points, the Hawks by 20 points, and the Bucks by 18 points. But those types of blowout wins over inferior opponents are expected by the Heat. Tonight

This is a rematch game from two weeks ago when Virginia beat Clemson 65-61. The Cavaliers shot the ball incredibly well in that game as they hit 55.8% (24-43) from the field and 42.9% (6-14) from three-point land. Virginia also connected on 73.3% (11-15) of their free throw attempts. Clemson did not shoot the ball well in that game as the Tigers hit just 40.7% (22-54) from the field and 38.1% (8-21) from three-point land. Despite the shooting discrepancies, Virginia was only able to win that game by 4 points on their home court. That tells us that these two teams are much closer than their record and rankings may indicate, and it provides us with some value in taking Clemson as a small home favorite in this game tonight.

Virginia is also dealing with a major injury to one of their best players. Joe Harris broke his non-shooting hand in the Cavaliers loss at North Carolina on Saturday. His availability will be a game-time decision, but even if he plays, how effective will he be with a cast on? Virginia was already playing with a thin roster (just 8 scholarship players):

These two teams have played in some wild, high-scoring games in the past and we expect another one tonight. Minnesota comes in on a 3-game losing streak as their defense has been terrible in their last couple of games. The Timberwolves have allowed 204 points on 45.4% (79-174) shooting from the field and 40% (16-40) from three-point land over their last two games. And things shouldn

Syracuse comes into tonight

This is a rematch game from back in early January when Drake went into Evansville and won 69-60 as 5-point road underdogs. The Bulldogs shot the lights out in that game as they hit 61.4% (27-44) from the field and 58.3% (7-12) from three-point land. But a major part of that offensive outburst came from Drake

Northwestern has never been to the NCAA tournament, and this season was going to be their best shot to make it. The Wildcats started the season off strong by winning 10 of their first 11 games. But Northwestern hit a major rough patch once conference play began and they lost 7 of their next 9 games. The Wildcats have turned things around since as they come into tonight

Kentucky is the most talented team in the country, there

Both teams played last night, and they both won road games so neither has a scheduling advantage coming into tonight

If you just look at these two teams at face value, then you may be inclined to think that Alabama is the superior team. The Crimson Tide come into tonight

The two best teams in the Missouri Valley Conference will play the rematch game from back on New Year

We played against Oklahoma City last night and notched a solid win on the Sacramento Kings. We

Chicago has been steamrolling teams recently; the Bulls have won four straight games all by 20 points or more. The impressive thing about is the fact that all four of those games have come on the road. However, the Bulls are playing on the tail-end of a 9-game road trip with a spotlight game in Boston on deck. This is the ultimate flat spot for Chicago, a chance for them to lay off the gas and get in some much needed rest for their big game against the Celtics. Derrick Rose will be a game-time decision tonight with a sore back; he only played 22 minutes in Chicago

This is a pretty big game in the Pac 12 as Oregon needs to win to stay within shouting distance of the teams at the top. Washington is one of those teams at the top, and with a 9-2 record in conference play, the Huskies feel secure with their position. But a loss tonight and a couple of more ahead could spell doom for Washington. Both teams come into tonight

Oklahoma City has the best record in the NBA as the Thunder come into tonight

Golden State comes into this game at just 8-14 on the season, but the Warriors have played much better basketball than that record indicates. The Warriors have been involved in a lot of close games, and in fact, five of their last six losses have all come by single digits. Head coach Mark Jackson altered his starting lineup and the team took notice.

Los Angeles comes into tonight

These two teams have played in some wild, high-scoring games in the past and we expect another one tonight. Houston comes in with some confidence after winning 99-90 in Denver on Monday night. The Rockets

Dallas is on a 3-game losing streak, but the Mavericks were in a difficult scheduling stretch for those games. Dallas was playing on the backend of a 5 games in 7 nights and 3 games in 4 nights sequence, including a back-to-back home to road set to finish off the week. However, the Mavericks have had a full 3 days off to recuperate from that unfavorable schedule so they should be well-rested and ready to get back into the win column tonight. Dallas will also be looking to avenge an ugly 22-point home loss (117-93) to the Nuggets from back in late-December so they certainly have plenty of motivation for this game tonight.

Denver is struggling mightily right now; the Nuggets have lost three straight games and five of their six games overall. There are two major reasons for their recent bad play. The first is the scheduling fact that the majority of their opponents lately have had extended rest before playing in the thin air and altitude of Denver. And that is the exact case tonight for the Mavericks. The second reason is the slew of injuries the Nuggets have right now as starters Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov are out with left ankle sprains. Corey Brewer took a leave for a personal matter while Nene, Aaron Afflalo, and Rudy Fernandez are all game-time decisions tonight. The Nuggets have no togetherness right now with all of the missing pieces, and since Dallas is looking to snap their losing streak, we

If you just look at these two teams at face value, then you may be inclined to think that Tulsa is the superior team. The Golden Hurricane come into tonight

Miami has been a team playing at a fast pace this season. But when Dwyane Wade missed six games with an injury, the Heat became a jump-shooting team that settled for a lot of three

Oklahoma City has the best record in the NBA as the Thunder come into tonight

Phoenix comes in off a 99-90 win in Atlanta last night. The Suns shot the lights out as they hit 51.9% (41-79) from the field and 45.8% (11-24) from three-point land. That big offensive performance sets the Suns up in a negative situation tonight, especially when we consider their scheduling spot. Phoenix is playing their fourth game in five nights, and it

Indiana continues to fly well under the radar right now. The Pacers come into tonight

This will be the last meaningful game played between these two rivals as Texas A&M will be leaving the Big 12 conference for the SEC. And since Texas won the first meeting 61-51 in Austin, the Aggies of Texas A&M are quite focused on handing their rival a loss in this game tonight. In that first meeting, Texas

The Lakers came through for us last night in their 93-89 win at Denver as 4-point road underdogs. Los Angeles was in a terrific scheduling spot for that game as they had a full two days to prepare while they were catching the Nuggets on a back-to-back set. However, the Lakers are now the team in the negative scheduling spot for this game tonight as they are playing on a back-to-back road set while Utah was off last night. Los Angeles will also be playing another game in the thin air and altitude, and considering four of their five starters played more than 33 minutes last night, we can anticipate the Lakers to be a bit fatigued in the second half in this game.

Utah comes into this game off back-to-back losses, including a loss in their last home game. The Jazz are also looking to avenge a pair of losses to the Lakers this season, including a 90-87 home loss in overtime three weeks ago. Kobe Bryant played over 42 minutes in that game and he took a whopping 31 shots. It

Iowa State continues to fly well under the radar this season. The Cyclones keep on winning, but they are getting very little recognition for what they

South Florida is quietly playing some good basketball in the Big East right now. The Bulls are 6-3 in conference play with two of their three losses coming by a combined 14 points. Overall, South Florida is 13-9 on the season with half of their losses coming by 4 points or less. The Bulls have played solid defense all season as they are holding their opponents to just 60 points per game on 41.7% shooting from the field and 32.2% from three-point land. South Florida also plays at an extremely slow pace as they rank #341 in the country in that category; they

Los Angeles is finally playing all-around good basketball right now. The Lakers have won back-to-back games after going just 2-5 over their previous 7 games. The offense has finally come together as the Lakers have scored 106 points in each of their last two games. We expect their offense to continue their scoring ways tonight in Denver as the Lakers will be facing a Denver team that likes to play at a fast pace with little regard to defense. Los Angeles will also be fresh for tonight

New York has been through a rough and tumultuous season; the Knicks come into tonight

These two teams just met on Sunday night with Los Angeles winning 109-105 at Denver as a 6-point road underdog. We played the Clippers in that game because they were catching the Nuggets in a terrible scheduling situation. However tonight, we

Miami has been a team playing at a fast pace this season. But when Dwyane Wade missed six games with an injury, the Heat became a jump-shooting team that settled for a lot of three

Illinois St is quietly playing solid basketball this season. The Redbirds come into tonight

Sacramento has been non-competitive for the majority of the season. The Kings come into tonight

Seton Hall opened the season at 15-2 and that earned them a national ranking. But since then, the Pirates have lost four straight games and they

Portland won for the ninth time in ten tries at home when they thrashed the Suns 109-71 on Friday night. The Blazers have not played since that game so they come into tonight

The Los Angeles Clippers are now back to the team they were at the beginning of the season. Chris Paul has returned to the court for the last two games after missing the previous fives games with a hamstring injury. Paul is back to 100%, and his presence alone makes the Clippers a tough out in every game for any team. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins called the Clippers

This is a rematch game from January 10th when Indiana St beat Evansville 80-78. That win by the Sycamores was their only win over a 7-game stretch before they beat Northern Iowa 59-54 on Wednesday night. Needless to say, Indiana St is not in good current form right now and since they

This is a pretty big game in the Pac 12 as Washington needs to win to stay atop the conference standings while Arizona needs a win to get into that bunched group at the top. Washington comes in off a win at Arizona State on Thursday night. What was peculiar about that win for the Huskies was the fact that they actually won a slow-paced game that was played in the half court. Washington won that game 60-54, but the Huskies usually get waxed when held to less than 70 points; they own 13 and 18 point road losses in such games this season. Washington is going to face another slow-paced team tonight as Arizona ranks 245th in pace compared to Washington ranking 21st in pace this season. The Huskies were able to overcome the slow pace at ASU because the Sun Devils lack a strong offense, but that will not be the case tonight against the Wildcats.

Arizona has alternated wins and losses over their last four games. They come into tonight

This is a Big 5, in-city rivalry game (153rd meeting) that has been lopsided recently. Temple has won the last nine meetings between the two teams as the Owls have simply had the much better team in those games. But that

Middle Tennessee St is probably the best

Oklahoma City has the best record in the NBA as the Thunder come into tonight

Colorado has been an easy team to handicap in conference play so far this season. The Buffaloes are a perfect 5-0 at home in Pac 12 play and 0-2 on the road against conference opponents. Colorado is playing their first year in the Pac 12 after leaving the Big 12, and their big home advantage comes in the fact that their opponents aren

This is a rematch game from Monday night when the Celtics throttled the Magic in Boston 87-56. The knee-jerk reaction for tonight

Portland is in a tough scheduling spot for this game tonight. This will be the Blazers third game in three nights, and since they won the previous two games, we do not expect much effort or energy tonight. Portland has also struggled on the road this season; the Blazers are just 3-6 on the highway versus a strong 8-1 at home. And they

Minnesota is having a good season considering they lost one of their key players early on. The Golden Gophers come into tonight

Indiana is flying well under the radar right now. The Pacers come into tonight

San Diego St is in another tough scheduling spot for this game tonight. The Aztecs survived their home game on Saturday against Air Force after beating UNLV as a 3

South Florida is quietly playing some good basketball in the Big East right now. The Bulls are 5-2 in conference play with their two losses coming by a combined 14 points. Overall, South Florida is 12-8 on the season with half of their losses coming by 4 points or less. The Bulls have played solid defense all season as they are holding their opponents to just 59 points per game on 41.5% shooting from the field and 31.1% from three-point land. South Florida also plays at an extremely slow pace as they rank #342 in the country in that category; they

Golden State comes into this game at just 5-10 on the season, but the Warriors have played much better basketball than that record indicates. In seven of the Warriors' ten losses, they were losing by 3 points or fewer during the final 5:15 of the game, and in four of those games, the Warriors lost a lead in the final 6:10 of the game. This team has been close in the majority of their games, and head coach Mark Jackson senses that his team is ready to breakout.

Syracuse comes into tonight

USC does not look like a good team on paper; the Trojans come into this game with a 5-14 record. However, USC is a well-coached team that plays a smart style of basketball. The Trojans are a slow, half court team that frustrates opponents who like to play fast. And that is exactly the style of play in which Oregon State has their most success. We

Air Force is a quirky team to prepare for. They run an extremely slow offense while making opponents defend for the entire shot clock. And it

Saint Louis is a difficult team to play because of the system they run under head coach Rick Majerus. The Billikens run complex offensive sets that just frustrate opponents into half court games. And Saint Louis is most effective when they are playing a team that loves to run up and down the court at a frenetic pace. Majerus is too smart of a coach to allow his team to get caught-up in a running game tonight, and some of the Billikens best games under Majerus have come against fast-paced teams.

Duquesne is most effective when they are able to play fast and score points on the break. But that

This is an important game in the Big 12 as it has conference title implications. Kansas comes in off an emotional home win over Baylor on Monday night. That was a major coup for the Jayhawks as they knocked off the unbeaten Bears and put themselves in the driver

Miami (OH) does not have a good record on paper as they come into today

SMU is just 10-8 on the season, but the Mustangs have proven to be a tough out as five of their eight losses have come by 6 points or less. They

Alabama has played solid basketball all season, but the Crimson Tide come into today

Indiana is flying well under the radar right now. The Pacers come into tonight

Oregon St comes into this game as losers of five of their last six games. All of those games have come in conference, but the Beavers had to face the best the Pac 12 has to offer right out of the gate. Tonight they

Arizona St comes into tonight

USC does not look like a good team on paper; the Trojans come into this game with a 5-13 record. However, USC is a well-coached team that plays a smart style of basketball. The Trojans are a slow, half court team that frustrates opponents who like to play fast. And that is exactly the style of play in which Oregon has their most success. We

Los Angeles is making a short, two-game trip to Florida to face the Heat tonight and the Magic tomorrow night. And according to Andrew Bynum,

This is a rematch game from 3 weeks ago; Missouri St won at Creighton 77-65. The Bears have had a knack for beating Creighton recently, and in fact, they

La Salle is a much improved team this season as the Explorers come into tonight

The Clippers are in a terrible scheduling spot for tonight

Maryland is a totally different team now than they were earlier this season. The Terrapins were playing without two of their better players as Pe

Both teams played afternoon games on Monday with Charlotte losing 102-94 at home to Cleveland while Orlando won 102-93 at New York. But of the two teams, the Bobcats hold a significant scheduling edge for this game despite it being a back-to-back set. Charlotte comes in off three straight home games and four home games over their last five games overall. The Bobcats are also playing a different style of basketball now as head coach Paul Silas has shifted towards more of a fast-pace game which Charlotte has adapted to pretty well. They

After opening the season at 1-4, the Dallas Mavericks have won 7 of their last 8 games including 5 games in a row. But before we say the mavericks are ready to repeat their title, we have to look at the teams they

Milwaukee comes into this game off a much need two day rest. The Bucks were blasted in their last game at Dallas 102-76, but they did not have Andrew Bogut on the court for that game. Bogut has been cleared to play (concussion symptoms) in this game, and his presence on the court stiffens the Milwaukee defense, especially inside the paint. The Bucks have dedicated their last two practices to defense so we expect a solid effort on that end of the court this afternoon.

This is a rematch from two weeks ago when Indiana knocked off Ohio St 74-70 as a 5-point home underdog. Today is the Buckeyes chance to extract some revenge from the loss, and we fully expect them to do it with a blowout win. Both teams come into this game off a loss; Indiana lost at home to Minnesota 77-74 while Ohio St lost at Illinois 79-74. Of the two losses, Ohio St

La Salle is a much improved team this season as the Explorers come into tonight

After an up and down first half to the season, Cornell appears on the verge of making a nice run through the Ivy League. The Big Red were besieged with injuries early on, and in fact, Cornell lost 74 player games to injury. But things have gotten a lot better for this team, and head coach Bill Courtney likes where his team is right now after the early season struggles.