Michigan had the luxury of playing two virtual home games so far in this tournament. The Wolverines played in nearby Auburn Hills, and they had a massive home crowd advantage against South Dakota State and VCU. The location helped Michigan greatly because they are a very young team without much experience. It also didn

Arizona was quite impressive in their first two tournament games. The Wildcats blew out a very good Belmont team by 17 points (81-64), and they followed that up with a 23-point win (74-51) over Harvard. The biggest weakness for Arizona coming into this tournament was their weak 3-point defense. But the Wildcats stopped that leak in a big way as they held Belmont and Harvard to just 28.9% (13-45) shooting from beyond the arc. That

Marquette was terribly over-seeded at #3 for this tournament, and we saw this team get extremely lucky in their first two games. The Golden Eagles trailed throughout their game against Davidson, and they hit a last-second layup to win. Marquette was in a dog fight with Butler before pulling that game out 74-72. The Golden Eagles went 23-8 during the regular season, but the majority of those wins came on their strong home court where they went a perfect 16-0. Marquette went just 5-6 in true road games and 2-2 on neutral courts; 4-2 now after winning two games in this tournament. Marquette played 8 tournament teams away from home during the regular season and they did not beat a single team in regulation time. And that trend continued with their two, last-second wins over Davidson and Butler.

Miami won in a blowout in their first tournament game as they beat Pacific 78-49. But the Hurricanes were in a battle with Illinois after Miami shot the ball poorly in that game. The Hurricanes hit just 40.0% (22-55) from the field and 36.0% (9-25) from three-point land in their 63-59 win. We expect Miami to play much better tonight, and their best game lays over Marquette

Maryland has played a lot of games lately, and the Terrapins may hit the wall tonight. Coming into tonight

Illinois is a mediocre team at best and their 23-12 record speaks to that. Yes, they did play in the ultra-tough Big 10, but the Illini were thoroughly out-played and they are the only team to be playing in this tournament that had a negative efficiency margin in conference play. Illinois was able to advance because they were facing another weak team in Colorado, and that game came right down to the final few minutes. Illinois needs to play at a quick pace while making a lot of three

Minnesota has been up and down all season long, and their inconsistency has plagued them all year. The Gophers came into their NCAA tournament game on Friday on a 3-game losing streak and as losers of 11 of their previous 16 games. Minnesota took advantage of an ill-prepared UCLA team and won 83-63. UCLA will fire their head coach after that poor showing so we

North Carolina got a pretty easy opponent on Friday as the Tar Heels were never threatened in their 78-71 win over Villanova. But their competition takes a major jump in class here with Kansas, and we expect North Carolina

California beat UNLV 64-61 on Thursday night, not because of how good they played, but rather more like how bad UNLV played. The Rebels were completely unprepared for that game and they shot just 32.2% (19-59) from the field and 30.0% (6-20) from three point land. California is a 2-man team with Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs; they scored 32 of California

Memphis continues to fly well under the radar; the Tigers come into today

Oklahoma is a very experienced team that returned 86% of their possessions and 83% of their minutes from last season. Head coach Lon Kruger is in his second full season at Oklahoma and the Sooners played up to their expectations this season. Oklahoma comes into tonight

Northwestern State had a pretty good season as the Demons went 23-8 overall and 17-3 in the Southland conference. However, they played the fourth weakest non-conference schedule of all the NCAA tournament teams and the three teams below them have already lost. Northwestern State plays at an extremely fast pace, but they will be unable to control the tempo in this game. Florida plays the opposite way as the Gators play at slow pace and their style will dictate this game. The Demons

James Madison is in a very difficult situational spot for today

Belmont has been everybody

Davidson had another terrific season as they went 26-7 and won the Southern conference tournament to earn the automatic NCAA bid. This program is no stranger to the tournament, and head coach Bob McKillop is tremendous. Davidson

Bucknell had a terrific season; the Bison went 28-5 overall and 15-2 in conference play. Four of their five losses came by 3 points or less, and they played extremely well against a couple of Big 10 teams earlier this season. Many believe the Big 10 is the best conference in the country and Bucknell won at Purdue and only lost by 3 points at Penn State. The Bison only lost by 2 points at Missouri, and they beat other tournament teams New Mexico State and La Salle. The Bison play at an extremely slow pace, and their half court style of basketball allows them to be competitive against the bigger name teams. Bucknell also has a very efficient offense that shoots 45.5% from the field and 36.0% from three-point land. Their defense is also fantastic as they hold opponents to just 57.7 points per game on 37.9% shooting from the field and 30.9% shooting from three-point land.

Butler has proven themselves on the big stage over the last few years. But this year

Valparaiso is a sneaky good team that should give Michigan State all they can handle. The Crusaders went 26-7 this season and they were a profitable 17-12-1 ATS in their lined games. Valparaiso has solid core of veteran players led by Ryan Broekhoff and Kevin Van Wijk who both average double digits per game. Valparaiso has a very good offense that averages 71.5 points per game on 48.7% shooting from the field and 37.5% shooting from three-point land. The Crusaders played a pair of tough, non-conference games on the road at Saint Louis and at New Mexico and they showed well in those games. Valparaiso lost both of those games by 13 points as their defense held the Billikens to only 62 points and the Lobos to just 65 points. Valparaiso was only a 6

Boise State is a very streaky team; they win or lose games in bunches. The Broncos come into tonight

Middle Tennessee State had an outstanding season, but the Blue Raiders got very little attention. They come into tonight

Ohio is disinterested in playing this game tonight in Denver. The Bobcats lost their chance for an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament when they lost to Akron in the MAC championship game. Ohio played in the NCAA tournament last year, and they made it to the Sweet 16 after upsetting Michigan and South Florida. They eventually lost to North Carolina in overtime so the fact that they missed the tournament this season is extremely disappointing to them. They also have long travel out to Colorado for this game, and they

The A-10 tournament played to form as #2 VCU will play #1 Saint Louis for the conference title this afternoon. This will be the second meeting of the season between these two teams. Saint Louis won the first game on their home court as they beat VCU 76-62. The Billikens shot the ball incredibly well in that game as they hit 55.3% (26-47) from the field while VCU only shot 44.4% (24-54) from the field. However, VCU dominated the boards in that game as they out-rebounded Saint Louis 15-7 on the offensive glass. Saint Louis was only a 2-point favorite on their home court in that game, and since they are now laying more points in this game on a neutral court presents some good value with the Rams.

VCU is built to play fast and force their opponents into mistakes and turnovers. Saint Louis is disciplined and only turns the ball over on 17% of their possessions so the match-up may not seem to favor VCU. However, we like the fact that the Rams are very good on the glass, and their ability to get offensive rebounds will give them a lot of second-chance points in this game. We also like that VCU played in two competitive games to reach this game while Saint Louis played in a pair of non-competitive blowouts. Saint Louis is a really good team and if they made a deep run in the NCAA tournament we wouldn

Syracuse has come to play in the Big East tournament. The Orange came into the tournament in a slump as they had lost four of their last five games to close the regular season. But they

North Carolina came thru for us last night with an easy win and pointspread cover in their 83-62 blowout of Florida State. That was a great setup for the Tar Heels, but today

Florida State has won three straight games including last night

Arizona has won back-to-back games by double digits after losing their previous two games on the road at USC and UCLA. The Wildcats controlled their game against Colorado last night as they led by 14 points midway thru the second half. Colorado made a run, but Arizona held strong and won 79-69. Tonight

Iowa is quietly playing some good basketball right now. The Hawkeyes have won seven of their last nine games and one of those losses came by just 4 points. Iowa comes into tonight

LSU beat Georgia 68-63 yesterday afternoon, but the Tigers will face a superior opponent in Florida today. LSU was facing a Georgia team that has a limited offense, and the Tigers were able to take advantage of that. They jumped out to a 39-19 halftime lead, but they needed to hang on after Georgia out-scored them 44-29 in the second half. LSU allowed the Bulldogs to get to the free throw line 30 times, and Georgia also out-rebounded the Tigers 45-31, including 18-10 on the offensive glass. Despite their win, LSU was lucky, and if they repeat that performance here, they

Washington has been treading water in the Pac 12 all season. The Huskies are not that good of a team, and that is obvious from their 18-14 record, including a 10-9 record in conference play. Washington beat their in-state Washington State last night for the third time this season. That was a meaningful win for the Huskies, and they may suffer a bit of a letdown in tonight

Texas A&M has been an up and down team all season. The Aggies have an overall record of 18-14, but they are just 8-11 in conference in play. They padded their record with a slew of early season cupcakes, and their stay in the Big 12 tournament should be a quick one. Texas A&M beat a dreadful Auburn team last night 71-62, but they were extremely unimpressive in that win; the Aggies face a much stiffer challenge tonight against Missouri. Texas A&M won the only regular season match-up 70-68 at home versus Missouri, but the Aggies shot the ball extremely well in that game. Texas A&M shot 50% (28-56) from the field and 50% (6-12) from three-point land.

Missouri comes into tonight

Texas Tech has been dreadful all season. The Red Raiders come into today

These two teams just played on Saturday in their final regular season game of the season. Boise State beat San Diego State 69-65 to split the season series after the Aztecs held on for a 1-point win (63-62) back in February. Boise State is playing much better basketball down the stretch after suffering thru a losing streak that coincided with injuries. The Broncos are now a healthy team, and they

Cincinnati has played terrible basketball down the stretch. The Bearcats are just 3-6 over their last nine games with a 5-point win over UConn and an 8-point win in overtime at home against South Florida. This team has had trouble scoring the basketball all season long, and in a tournament game on a neutral court, they cannot be trusted when laying points. Cincinnati has scored 68 points or less in 12 straight games while averaging just 57 points per game during that stretch. They

This is the third meeting of the season between Saint Mary

Indiana looked like the best team in college basketball early on this season. But the Hoosiers haven

Illinois has lost two of their last three games after winning their previous five games in a row. Both of their recent losses have come on the road; they lost by 13 points at Michigan and by 8 points at Iowa. The Illini offense was awful in both of those games as they scored just 58 and 55 points after shooting a combined 34.2% (39-114) from the field. They will face another stiff challenge this afternoon against the stout Ohio State defense that allows just 55.7 points per game on their home court while holding opponents to just 36.7% shooting from the field and 29.9% shooting from three-point land.

Ohio State has won four consecutive games after losing three of their previous four games. The Buckeyes won 67-58 at Indiana in their last game, and they will carry over that momentum into this game which will be the final home game of the season. Ohio State is 15-2 on their home court this season with 11 of those wins coming by 10 points or more. It has been 17 days since Ohio State has played a game at home so they will be ready with a solid effort in front of their fans. The Buckeyes have covered the pointspread in three of their last four games with the lone loss coming when they beat Northwestern by 10 points when laying 11. Illinois is on a 0-4 ATS slide while failing to cover those games by a combined 23 points. Ohio State is playing much better basketball right now so we

Central Florida comes into tonight

San Diego State closed out their home schedule with a solid win over Air Force on Wednesday night. That win was preceded by a road loss at New Mexico, and it was the Aztecs fourth consecutive road loss and their fifth road loss in six conference games. San Diego State

Kansas State has quietly played some good basketball this season. The Wildcats come into this game with a 25-5 record, but they are getting very little recognition. As good as they

Wisconsin comes into tonight

Kentucky surged for three games after losing Nerlens Noel for the season. The Wildcats beat Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Mississippi State after losing by 30 points at Tennessee in their first game without Noel on the court. Kentucky

Butler comes in off an embarrassing loss at VCU on Saturday. The Bulldogs lost that game 84-52, and the 32-point loss was their worse conference loss in 27 years. Butler has now lost two games in a row as they also dropped a 65-61 home game previous to their no-show at VCU. Since that ugly loss, Butler seniors Andrew Smith and Emerson Kampen held a players-only meeting on Monday at Smith

Air Force has played much better this season than most people realize. The Falcons are a more athletic bunch than previous teams so they

Oklahoma State comes into tonight

Arkansas comes into tonight

St. John

Bowling Green has had a rough season; the Falcons are just 12-17 on the year, including an ugly 1-11 away from home. They come into tonight

Cincinnati was in a very good scheduling and situational spot for their home game on Saturday against Connecticut. The Bearcats were off back-to-back road losses and returning home to play the injury-riddled Huskies off a grueling overtime game in which they lost by a single point. Cincinnati was supposed to blow Connecticut out of the gym in that game, but they didn

NC State comes into tonight

Colorado St snapped their mini 2-game losing streak with a 74-67 home win over Fresno St on Wednesday night. But even that win was uninspiring for the Rams, and after going through a gauntlet schedule, Colorado St seems to be a bit fatigued right now. Tonight they have to take to the road and play in a difficult place at Boise St, and we expect another sub-par effort from Colorado St. The Rams are a good team, but they just need some time to regain their earlier season form in order to play at their peak level.

Boise St is playing much better basketball down the stretch after suffering thru a losing streak that coincided with injuries. The Broncos are now a healthy team, and they

Indiana St was in a terrific situational spot for their last home game against Drake. But the Sycamores were flat for that game which is not a good sign at all. There

Valparaiso has played good basketball all season, but the Crusaders are in a difficult scheduling spot for this game at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday afternoon. Valparaiso needed a second-half comeback in their last game to beat Youngstown St, and since that was the final home game for their seniors, we expect a letdown this afternoon. The Crusaders have struggled in their recent games at Wisconsin-Green Bay losing their last two trips there, including a 75-60 loss last season. Valparaiso needs to play fast to be at their best, but the Phoenix play at a much slower pace at home and that will take the Crusaders out of their comfort zone.

Wisconsin Green-Bay finally returned home for their last game and they won 78-61. That game was preceded by 3 straight road games which were part of a stretch where the Phoenix played seven of their previous ten games away from home. Today will be their final home game of the season, and since this will be just their fourth home game since January 19th, we expect a solid performance. Wisconsin Green-Bay is 12-2 on their home court this season because of their terrific defense. The Phoenix holds opponents to just 57 points per game on 37.5% shooting from the field and 31.1% shooting from three-point land. This is a great spot for the home team so we

Gonzaga is a very good team, there

Drake has been able to survive their multiple injuries this season, but tonight we expect everything to catch up to them. One of their better scorers, Jordan Clarke, is battling a nagging knee injury still and he is listed as a game-time decision. With Clarke out, Kori Babineaux has been picking up the slack for the Bulldogs and head coach Mark Phelps called him the

This is a pretty fierce rivalry, even in basketball. The Iron Bowl carries onto the basketball court as well, and these teams really want to beat each other no matter what the records say. Auburn won the first meeting in an ugly 49-37 game that was one hideous display of basketball. The Tigers only shot 34.1% (15-44) from the field and 22.2% (2-9) from three-point land in that game. But there were two areas in which they did well that show that they have a slight match-up edge over Alabama. The Tigers got to the free throw line 23 times in that game and they only allowed the Crimson Tide 9 trips to the line. Auburn also out-rebounded Alabama 32-28 while grabbing 9 offensive rebounds. Those areas will once again be key factors in this game that will allow Auburn to hang inside the double digit pointspread throughout this game.

Alabama is in a terrible situational and scheduling spot for tonight

Both teams come in off a Saturday loss, but of the two, we expect Syracuse to bounce back with a winning effort on Monday night. The Orange lost 57-46 at home to Georgetown, but we

Temple has won four of their last five games after losing five of their previous nine games. However, three of those four Temple wins have incredibly come by a single point so it

UCLA is an ultra-talented team, but they

Illinois St was playing terrible basketball early on this season. The Redbirds suffered thru a 4-9 stretch before turning things around and winning 7 of their next 8 games. But Illinois St is back in a funk as they

These two teams are clones of each other. Denver and Northern Iowa both play at an extremely slow place while being efficient on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. They both knock down free throws at over 73% and they are both well coached. Because they are so similar, we see some tremendous value in taking a handful of points with the road underdog in this game. Denver comes in with a 17-8 record and they

California is playing pretty good basketball right now, but this isn

Tennessee has been playing well over their heads recently. The Vols have won and covered the pointspread in four consecutive games; they were just 2-3 in their previous five games. Tennessee

Oklahoma St is in a terrible situational and scheduling spot for today

Stanford is not in good current form right now. The Cardinal has lost three of their last four games and their lone win came by just 3 points. Stanford had won five of their previous seven games before their current losing skid so their fortunes have changed for the worse. One of their wins during that stretch came at home against Oregon St; the Cardinal won that game 81-73. However, they hit a whopping 14 three pointers in that game and they were actually losing 66-65 with just over 4 minutes left to play. The Beavers also out-shot the Cardinal 49.2%-44.8% and also out-rebounded the Cardinal 33-23, including 11-7 on the offensive glass. Oregon St thoroughly out-played Stanford despite losing that game, but the extreme 3-point shooting by the Cardinal was too much to overcome.

Oregon St really struggled early in the season after losing Angus Brandt. But the Beavers have played much better basketball even though they

Wisconsin has played tough and close games over their last five ballgames. The Badgers won by 6 points at Illinois before playing three consecutive overtime games. They followed up those four games with their best all around game of the season when they beat Ohio St by 22 points on Sunday afternoon. Some expected Wisconsin to be flat for their game against the Buckeyes after three grueling overtime games, but the Badgers fooled everybody by waxing Ohio St 71-49. The Badgers shot incredibly well as they hit 52.7% (29-55) from the field in that game while knocking down 7 of their 19 three pointers. Wisconsin can

Florida certainly looks like one of the best, if not the best team in the country. The Gators come into tonight

Virginia comes in off an ugly loss at North Carolina. The Cavaliers lost that game 93-81 as the Tar Heels shot 49.2% (29-59) from the field and 46.4% (13-28) from three-point land. North Carolina also got to the free throw line 30 times. The margin of defeat wasn

These two teams played last month with Kansas St edging West Virginia 65-64 after hitting two free throws with just 21 seconds left to play. That game was nip and tuck throughout, and we expect another close game between the Mountaineers and Wildcats tonight. West Virginia has improved their play significantly over their last eight ballgames. They

Illinois may appear that they have turned their season around by winning their last three ballgames. The Illini avoided a letdown in their last game which was a 79-59 home win over a bad Purdue team. Illinois went into that game off back-to-back underdog wins over Indiana and Minnesota; they were getting 8 and 8

Minnesota is a very talented team, but something just isn

Boise St has reverted back to their early season form in their last three games. The Broncos won two of those three games and they lost the other game by a single point at San Diego St. They were just 1-4 over their previous five games as they were playing without some key players because of injury. Everybody is back on the court, and Boise St is an extremely dangerous team going forward and New Mexico head coach Steve Alford is well aware of that.

Memphis is cruising thru CUSA this season; the Tigers are a perfect 10-0 in conference play. However, they come into tonight

Oregon has won back-to-back games after losing their previous three games. Despite the wins, the Ducks are not fully back to their early season form. Oregon is still playing without their starting point guard Dominic Artis who has missed the last six games with a foot injury. With Artis on the court, Oregon was averaging 14.7 assists and 15.3 turnovers per game. In their last six games without him, the Ducks are averaging 10 assists and 17.1 turnovers per game. Oregon

Pennsylvania is playing their best basketball of the season right now. The Quakers are 3-4 over their last seven games after going just 2-13 over their first 15 games of the season. Six of their last seven games have all been close as well with just one loss coming by more than 9 points. Pennsylvania was playing shorthanded earlier because of suspensions, and the Quakers have now adjusted their play with the guys they have. They will also welcome the return of big man Darien Nelson-Henry who has been out with a knee injury. His return for tonight

Wisconsin is in a terrible scheduling and situational spot for tonight

San Diego St comes into tonight

These two teams met last month with Iowa St blowing Texas out by 20 points (82-62). The Cyclones won that game because they shot 43.9% (25-57) from the field and an incredible 42.3% (11-26) from three-point land. The Cyclones also had a 27-13 free throw attempts edge in that game. Iowa St also caught Texas at the perfect time as the Longhorns were off back-to-back overtime losses. That was the perfect storm for Texas not to be at their best, and their lack of focus showed in their defensive ineptitude. Iowa St is now the team in the bad scheduling spot as they come in off a loss and have to face the Longhorns who will be sky high for this game with the return of their best player.

Texas has struggled throughout this season; the Longhorns are just 10-13 on the season. However, they

Michigan is 21-3 on the season with two of their three losses coming over their last three games. Their other game was a 76-74 overtime home win over Ohio St. Some may say Michigan is not playing their best basketball right now, and that may be true if you compare their early season results to their most recent stretch of games. However, Michigan just played at Indiana and at Wisconsin, and those are two tough places to win. The Wolverines were not embarrassed in either game as they only lost by 8 points at Indiana and lost their last game by 3 points in overtime after Wisconsin made a half-court three to tie the game in regulation. Michigan has been outstanding when coming off a loss over the last two seasons, and in fact they are a perfect 10-0 in this exact situation. We expect Michigan to bounce back strong tonight in East Lansing as a game with their arch rival will bring out the best in the Wolverines.

Michigan St continues to survive and win their games. The Spartans are getting out-played for the most part and they haven

Valparaiso is in the Horizon Conference lead by two games, but tonight

Marquette hasn

Illinois comes into tonight

NC State is not in good current form right now. The Wolfpack have lost three straight games and they

UC Irvine is in a terrible situational and scheduling spot for tonight

This is the second meeting of the season between Long Beach and Northridge; the 49ers won 78-69 on their home court last month. Long Beach was able to win that game despite allowing the Matadors 30 free throw attempts and 17 offensive rebounds. The 49ers were out-played in that game, and they were fortunate to escape with the win. Long Beach has had trouble rebounding the basketball all season long, and that was evident in their last game at Hawaii in which they lost 94-73. The 49ers were out-rebounded 46-21 by Hawaii in that game, and considering Northridge out-rebounded them 38-32 overall, including a 19-8 edge on the offensive glass in the first meeting, we expect the Matadors to control the boards in this game tonight.

Northridge is playing terrific basketball right now as they

These two teams just met two weeks ago with Iowa St winning 73-67 on their home court. However, the Cyclones won that game because they shot 50% (11-22) from three-point land as Kansas St actually out-shot them for the game 50.9% (28-55) to 48.1% (26-54). Iowa St also caught Kansas St at the perfect time as the Wildcats were off their close, hard fought 4-point loss against rival Kansas. Despite all that, the Cyclones were still only able to win that game by 6 points, and Kansas St actually held a lead with just over 7 minutes left to play in the game. Iowa St is now the team in the bad scheduling spot as they come in off a pair of home wins over Baylor and Oklahoma after dropping their last two road games at Texas Tech and Oklahoma St.

Kansas St returns home off back-to-back road wins, and with Kansas losing two games this past week, the Wildcats are in line for the Big 12 regular season title.

Colorado played poorly to open up conference play as the Buffaloes went just 1-4 over their first five games. But since then they

Iowa is quietly playing some good basketball right now. The Hawkeyes are just 4-6 over their last ten games, but five of those six losses have come by single digits, including four losses by 4 points or less. Iowa already beat Wisconsin 70-66 earlier this season, and in fact, the Hawkeyes have won the last three meetings against the Badgers.

Minnesota opened the season with a 15-1 record and they looked like a serious team that could make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. But the Golden Gophers lost their next four games before bouncing back and winning their last two games. Their 4-game losing streak can be excused as they played at Indiana, Michigan, at Northwestern, and at Wisconsin. All four of those losses came by 8 points or less so it

Wichita St opened the season by winning 19 of their first 21 games. But the Shockers have lost back-to-back games coming into tonight

Seton Hall opened the season at 12-2 and they headed into Big East play on a 6-game winning streak. But the Pirates have lost their way as they come into tonight

Virginia comes in off a big home win over NC State on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers trailed that game by 11 points in the second half before their late rally propelled them to a 58-55 win. That type of win will have this team overconfident, and considering they haven

Indiana St is off a huge upset win at Wichita St on Tuesday night. The Sycamores were 12-point underdogs in that game and they won 68-55. Indiana St shot 53.3% (24-45) from the field while Wichita St was ice cold shooting just 27.1% (16-59) from the field. Indiana St has played in back-to-back emotional games as they beat Northern Iowa 59-58 after they got a controversial foul call with just 0.3 seconds to play in the game. The Sycamores are now in a terrible scheduling and situational spot as they go from a double digit road underdog to a small road favorite, and they are doing it off back-to-back outright wins. Indiana St was also fortunate that their last two opponents combined to shoot just 34% (35-103) from the field. Tonight

Temple has played a brutal schedule this season, especially on the road. The Owls last seven road games have come against Butler, George Washington, Xavier, Kansas, Syracuse, Duke, and Villanova. Temple went a respectable 3-4 in those games and two of their four losses came by just 5 and 7 points. Not many teams would have been able to run that gauntlet and come out like Temple did so the Owls should be commended for how well they played. Tonight

Dayton comes in off a 66-61 loss at Xavier on Wednesday night. The Flyers only lost that game by 5 points, and you

Conference play has not been kind to either one of these two teams. Oregon St comes into this game at just 1-6 in conference play while California checks in at 3-4. However, there

Iowa St suffered an ugly loss at Texas Tech last Wednesday night. That loss prompted a player

This is the second meeting of the season between Northern Iowa and Evansville; the Purple Aces beat the Panthers 62-59 as 5

Pittsburgh comes in with a good looking 17-4 record, but the majority of those wins have come against weak and inferior opponents. The Panthers have played three conference opponents that are comparable to Louisville and they went just 1-2 SU and 0-3 ATS in those games. Pittsburgh failed to cover those games by a combined 35 points which shows Pittsburgh being overvalued against the better teams in conference play. On the season, Pittsburgh

Michigan St continues to survive and win their games. The Spartans are getting out-played for the most part and they haven

Ohio is the class of the MAC this season and they come into this game with a perfect 5-0 record in conference play. Ohio returned all five starters from last year

Xavier has quietly turned the corner in conference play. The Musketeers had lost 5 of their previous 6 games before opening Atlantic 10 play with four consecutive wins before losing at Charlotte in their last game. But we can give Xavier a pass for that loss because Charlotte has one of the better defensive teams in the conference. Xavier is taking a major step down in defensive class here as St. Joseph

Temple has been inconsistent this season. The Owls have some impressive games on their schedule as they beat Syracuse and took Kansas down to the wire. But they also lost to St. Bonaventure and Canisius which is not good. Temple