CBB Game of the Week Tuesday 10* Top Play Boston College Eagles +9.5 @ Virginia Cavaliers @ 6 ET - The Cavs are a solid team known for stellar defense. However, their long-term struggle season after season tends to be with scoring and that is the situation now moreso than ever this season. That is a big part of the reason the Cavaliers are a rather mediocre 12-9 this season. Now, because they are at home and hosting an Eagles team that has had its share of struggles this season we are seeing this line way too high. Virginia has gone just 7-7 last 14 games and only 3 of the wins were by more than 5 points. You read that right...the Cavs have just 3 wins of more than 5 points in their last 14 games! That said, I love the Eagles plus the big points here and will challenge the Cavaliers to win this game by double digits. Boston College has some extra confidence heading into this win off a big win over Pittsburgh. Keep in mind, that is the same Panthers team that the Cavs beat by an average margin of only 3 points in their two meetings this season. The Eagles have played 20 games this season and only 5 of them resulted in a loss by a double digit margin. I see the Cavaliers winning this game but I look for it to be a tight low-scoring battle as the road team covers! 10* BOSTON COLLEGE +9.5

NCAAB Patriot League Game of the Year 10* Top Play Monday Colgate Raiders -8.5 @ Lafayette Leopards @ 6 ET - I know this is a bit of an off the radar match-up but it caught my attention for two reasons. Colgate, whom I lost with Friday, was a team I was looking to come back with in their next game. Lafayette is a team from Easton PA whom I am familiar with from my family roots in Rickenbach PA which is just north of Reading PA and not far from Easton. The Leopards had rare success in recent seasons but this season they are back to being the bad Lafayette team they usually are. Lafayette lost league scoring champion Justin Jaworski coming into this season and that has hurt this team a lot. They are 5-13 on the season and the Leopards have lost 5 of 7 games and just can not score at nearly the same level that the Raiders can. Colgate had won 4 straight before their tough loss at Boston University and they will bounce back here. The last time the Raiders faced the Leopards they dominated and won the game by 25 points. I know this is a big line on the road but it is fully justified in a game in which the majority of my models are projecting a double digit road win. Lafayette's last loss was by only 4 points but, prior to this, their last 3 losses all were by 14 or more points. Look for this one to be in that range as well. 10* COLGATE -8.5

CBB Game of the Week Sunday 10* Top Play Boston College Eagles -3.5 vs Pittsburgh Panthers @ 4 ET - The Eagles off back to back ugly losses but both were on the road and they had their chances against the Tar Heels at North Carolina but shot extremely poor in that game. Boston College is now back home and I expect the shots to be falling for them here as they enjoy their return home. The Eagles are catching the Panthers at an ideal time for a big win. Pittsburgh is off a big win versus Syracuse and note that the Panthers have only managed B2B wins twice this season and each time the 2nd game was against a foe much weaker than this BC team. Look for the Eagles to come up with a blowout win here. 10* BOSTON COLLEGE -3.5

CBB Daytime Dominator Saturday 9* Top Play St John's Red Storm +13.5 @ Villanova Wildcats @ 4:30 ET - The Red Storm can hang tough in this game. Looking at their road games this season, St John's did get blown out once but they also lost by 2 at Indiana, lost by 2 at Pittsburgh, lost by 10 at a ranked Providence team, lost in OT at UConn, and are off a big road win at Seton Hall. As you can see the Red Storm have been solid away from home and are coming off a confidence-boosting win over the Pirates. That said, I feel this is too many points for Villanova to be laying here. The Wildcats are a strong ranked team but off a dominating win over DePaul that is resulting in an inflated line here. Nova has big games against two ranked teams, Marquette and UConn, coming up and the Cats may not be fully prepared her for a scrappy Red Storm team that is absolutely going to give them all they can handle in this one. Look for this game to be decided by a single digit margin. 9* ST JOHN'S +13.5

CBB Ivy League Game of the Month Friday 10* Top Play Pennsylvania Quakers +4 @ Harvard Crimson @ 5 ET - Dingle is off a huge game for the Quakers even though he shot very poorly from 3-point land. Getting him rolling again - 31 points in that game - is a huge plus for Penn and watch him now knock down his threes at a much higher rate in this one. The Quakers are playing better currently than what their full-season record indicates and that is why they are such a small dog here even though Harvard has the much better full-season record. Note that the Crimson have been without forward Chris Ledlum - top rebounder and 2nd leading scorer - each of last 3 games. Also, Harvard has been without another key rotation player, guard Idan Tretout, each of the last 3 games. The Quakers get it done on the road here and we probably will not even need the points but I will grab them for added insurance in this one. 10* PENNSYLVANIA +4

CBB Daytime Dominator Friday 9* Top Play Colgate Raiders -1 @ Boston University Terriers @ 2 ET - Both teams entering this game on hot streaks but Boston University enters the game with the much better record on the season plus this game is on their home floor. Do not let the line fool you here. The game is priced this way for a reason and Colgate dominated the Terriers in their meetings last season plus enters this game on a 4-game winning streak with all 4 wins by MORE than a DOZEN points each! The Raiders get the best of this one even though the game is at Case Gym in Boston. 9* COLGATE -1

CBB Early Dominator Thursday 10* Top Play Nebraska Cornhuskers +7.5 vs Wisconsin Badgers @ 5 ET - Yes, the Badgers are off a loss here but the last time they were off a defeat they barely squeaked by Nicholls, a Southland Conference team! Also, Wisconsin has a big game on deck this weekend hosting rival Minnesota. Yes, the Badgers have a strong record this season but lets talk about what they have done since opening the season with a pair of blowout wins. Wisconsin has since gone 13-3 but the average margin of the 13 wins is only 6 points! Simply put, the Badgers are not known for blowing teams out. Only 2 of their last 12 victories have been by a double digit margin! The Cornhuskers have an ugly 6-13 SU record on the season but this is a scrappy underdog when on their home floor. Nebraska lost versus Ohio State in OT, was down by just 5 to Illinois with under 2 minutes to go in game, and lost by just 7 to Indiana. All those games were at home and all of those games so the Huskers fall just short. I would not be surprised, given the situation here, to see the Cornhuskers get the shocker upset but, at the very least, a home dog cover is likely here. 10* NEBRASKA 

CBB PA Dominator Tuesday 9* Top Play Temple Owls +4.5 vs Cincinnati Bearcats @ 7 ET - I know the Owls have been off for nearly two weeks and they may be a bit sluggish/off in the first half of this game. But eventually Temple will put it together in this match-up and I love the Owls now getting 4.5 points after this line opened up closer to just a bucket on this one. The last 3 meetings between these teams have all been decided by 3 or less points. Temple is a tough team at home and Cincinnati has been a mediocre team on the road this season. Also, the Bearcats have some injury issues at forward with Newman and Lahkin. Even if those two guys play they are unlikely to be 100% and I look for the Owls to take advantage. Two of last three Cats road games were losses and the only win was by just 4 points. Temple is 4-1 SU and ATS last 5 games and I look for the Owls to get the home dog cover in this one. 9* TEMPLE +4.5 

CBB Early Slaughter Monday 10* Top Play Boston College Eagles +11 @ Wake Forest Demon Deacons @ 6 ET - Wake Forest just demolished North Carolina 98-76 Saturday. Must of been pure and complete dominance, right? Hardly, you would be hard pressed to find another box score like this one! The Tar Heels had 81 shots from the field and the Demon Deacons had just 59 field goal attempts yet won by 20+ points! Highly unlikely and it was just one of those nights where UNC "couldn't throw it in the ocean" as they were just off with their shooting all night! Though WF has been hot this is the perfect letdown spot. I am not saying Boston College will get the upset but I am saying they should stay within single digits for sure and we are getting extra line value here after the Wake Forest result on Saturday. Note that the Eagles have won 2 of last 3 games and though this was preceded by a stretch of losses, note that Boston College has had only 2 losses by more than 11 points this entire season. Very comfortable with the big points here given the situation and the Eagles playing with a little more confidence after winning 2 of 3 games. 10* BOSTON COLLEGE +11

CBB Earliest Dominator Friday 10* Top Play Toledo Rockets +4.5 @ Ohio University Bobcats @ 6 ET - This is a great match-up featuring two teams off to great starts this season. I feel the value lies with the revenge-seeking underdog on the road. Though Toledo had won the past two regular season meetings, they fell short in March in the MAC Tourney Semi-Finals. As a result, the Rockets ended up going to the NIT while the Bobcats got the one more win they needed in the MAC Championship and ended up going to the Big Dance. Ohio University certainly still has a fantastic program as evidenced by their strong start this season but Toledo is highly motivated here and has a fantastic team. The Rockets have only 4 losses this season and the two most recent ones were by a margin of only 3 points. Toledo is on a 5-game winning streak and keeps it going here! If you look at the stats so far this season, the Rockets are the better shooting team and also have the better statistics on the defensive side of the ball too. I am grabbing the points here in a game where an upset would certainly not be a surprise! Take the points for added insurance. 10* TOLEDO +4.5

CBB ESPN2 Dominator Monday 10* Top Play Baylor Bears -5.5 @ West Virginia Mountaineers @ 5 ET - Buy low, sell high. It works in the stock market and it works long-term in the sports betting market as well. Does not mean you win every single time but when opportunities like this come around I don't hesitate to get involved. The Bears have lost back to back games so there is an anti-Baylor sentiment right now. This line has dropped already from 6.5 to 5.5 but I look at this situation differently than the markets and hence the value here. The Bears are a very good basketball team off back to back losses and now they are on the road so we get some line value with a manageable spread since they are travelers for this one! Keep in mind, the host Mountaineers are on a 1-3 ATS run which included 2 SU losses. Those 2 SU losses for West Virginia were each by 15 or more points! Look for another double digit margin here as the Bears pull away as this one goes one. 10* BAYLOR -5.5

CBB Earliest Dominator Saturday 8* Northwestern Wildcats +8 @ Michigan State Spartans @ Noon ET - The Wildcats biggest loss this season has been by a margin of only 8 points and that was at Ohio State and then followed by a loss by 7 points in the double-OT game they just played on Saturday. Northwestern is now only 8-6 on the season but their 6 losses all by single digit margins and the average margin of defeat only 5.7 points per loss. The point is that we have excellent line value with the points here in my opinion. As strong as Michigan State has been this season they barely snuck by the Wildcats in their meeting 2 weeks ago and this is a tough scheduling spot for them here. They are off a last second home win over Minnesota and have big road games at deck at Wisconsin and Illinois. The big points offering big value here in my opinion. 8* NORTHWESTERN

CBB Earliest Cash Thursday 10* Top Play Stanford Cardinal +7.5 @ Washington State Cougars @ 5 ET - There has been a line move toward the Cougars here and it is likely due to the fact that the Cardinal are in a perceived flat spot coming off their big upset win versus USC Tuesday. So I get it. I understand it. But I feel we have value here as the line is just too much. Stanford is 9-4 SU this season and their last two losses were by 7 or less points. They won't be too tired from Tuesday's game because it was their first game since prior to Christmas. Keep in mind too that Washington State is off a bit of a big win too as Saturday they got their first win at Utah in 75 years. The Cougars have not won back to back games since November. Also, the Cardinal had won 3 straight in this series before a loss in the most recent meeting between these teams so some payback is on order here. Even if they fall short SU look for the points to be enough for the ATS cover for the road dog in this one. 10* STANFORD +7.5

CBB Daytime Dominator Sunday 10* Top Play Minnesota Golden Gophers +12 @ Indiana Hoosiers @ Noon ET - Indiana is off a big win over Ohio State. Keep in mind though, that 16-point victory was a 4-point game with about 6 minutes left in the game. The Hoosiers, coming off a big win over ranked Big Ten foe, could absolutely be a little flat here. At the very least, their a little over-valued in this spot as a result in my opinion. Note that Indiana was only 4-3 SU last 7 games heading into that win over the Buckeyes. Minnesota just got blasted by Illinois by 23 points so the set up here in terms of line value is perfect. The Golden Gophers had entered that game against the Illini with an overall 10-1 record this season and the lone loss was by 8 points to a ranked Michigan State team. I feel the Gophers better than they are being given credit for here and we have big value with the big line. 10* MINNNESOTA +12

CBB ESPN Smash Pass Saturday 10* Top Play St Mary's Gaels +3.5 @ Brigham Young Cougars @ 10 PM ET - In a game projected to be a tight low-scoring game there is extra value with having the points on your side. Both teams are strong defensively but what I like about St Mary's is their big trouble last season was poor shooting but they have better in that regard so far this season. The Gaels getting 3.5 points here because they are on the road but also I like the double revenge angle here as St Mary's returned most everybody from last season's team and they lost both games to BYU last season. Look for the Gaels to get some measure of revenge here against the Cougars and the best kind of revenge is payback for a home loss by handing that team a home loss. I expect an outright road win for the revenge-minded Gaels here at Brigham Young but will grab the point in case they fall just short. 10* ST MARY'S +3.5

CBB Big East Game of the Month Friday 10* Top Play Marquette Golden Eagles -2 @ Georgetown Hoyas @ 6:30 ET - The Golden Eagles will take advantage of a rusty Hoyas team here. Georgetown has not played in 3 weeks and they certainly are not invincible on their home floor either. Not only have the lost a couple at home already this season they also have lost to Marquette in each of the last two times they have hosted them. However, the Hoyas did beat the Golden Eagles in the Big East tourney last season and it is payback time here. Marquette did not just lose that game, they got embarrassed as they scored just 14 first-half points on their way to a 19 points loss. The Golden Eagles are a young team but have already grown as the season has gone on and have covered each of their last two road games plus enter this game off a big home win over Providence. 10* MARQUETTE -2

CBB Early Dominator Thursday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins +11 @ Illinois Illini @ 7 ET - The Illini just are not the same team without point guard Andre Curbelo and his return is unlikely for tonight's game yet this line is priced as if he would be playing. Maryland is a talented team that has been bolstered this season with solid play from newcomers (transfers) Qudus Wahab and Fatts Russell. They have joined Eric Ayala to give this team a solid trio at the top and the Terrapins have not lost a game by more than 8 points this season. They are getting double digits here and, the point is, Maryland getting double digits as a dog would equate to a 13-0 record this season! I know Illinois, even with Curbelo hurting, is still a high-quality team but only 4 of their last 11 games have been victories by more than 10 points! I look for this game to be decided by a single digit margin given all of the above. 10* MARYLAND +11

SEC Game of the Month Wednesday CBB 10* Top Play Alabama Crimson Tide +2 @ Florida Gators @ 7 ET - We are getting line value here because the Crimson Tide are on the road. Alabama is ranked and is the better team in this match-up and Florida is not as strong as Gators teams we have seen in recent seasons. So long-term approach here is bettors see Florida as a small home favorite and are induced to jump all over it but Bama is really the stronger team this season and could contend for the SEC Title. Also, the Gators game at Ole Miss for last week was cancelled so this will be Florida's first game in two weeks. They are likely to be rusty here as a result. The Tide, on the other hand, are off a win versus Tennessee last week and that gives them an edge here as at least they have seen some recent action. I know the Crimson Tide have slipped up lately in terms of ATS results but that is merely serving to give us line value in this spot. Keep in mind Florida's last game was a big win but over an out-classed Stony Brook foe. Prior to that the Gators were on a 1-4 ATS run. The Tide has played the tougher schedule so far this season too. 10* ALABAMA +2

CBB Earliest Dominator Tuesday 10* Top Play Ohio University Bobcats +1.5 @ Akron Zips @ 6 ET - Akron is off a huge win over Buffalo. That was big for the Zips because the Bulls had knocked them out of the MAC Tournament last season. As for the Bobcats, they lost by 20 points in their visit to Akron last season so they will be looking to make up for that Tuesday. I expect Ohio University to do just that as they are a fantastic 10-2 this season and their only two losses were to LSU (12-1 this season) and Kentucky (a ranked team) and both those teams are solid SEC programs. The fact Bobcats are on the road here is the only reason they are a small dog and I won't hesitate to grab them given the above factors. They catch the Zips a little flat off their revenging win. 10* OHIO UNIVERSITY +1.5

CBB Daytime Dominator Monday 10* Top Play Rotation #306051 Alabama State Hornets -8 @ Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils @ 5 ET - The Hornets are only 2-11 this season and yet opened up as 10 point favorites here on the road at Mississippi Valley State. Big mistake, right? After all the line already dropped to a -8 because the sharps must be lining up on the Delta Devils here. Long-time followers know how I feel about supposed mistakes by the odds makers. The fact is that Alabama State at least has a couple wins on the season and also the Hornets are coming off back to back ATS covers against Texas Tech and Texas! They have certainly been a lot more competitive than a Mississippi Valley State team that is 0-10 this season and losing by an average margin of 29.5 points per game! The Delta Devils have one loss by a 4-point margin but all the other 9 defeats hae been by 14 or more points and I feel strongly this one will too! The Hornets are the better shooting team and the much better team on the defensive end also and one of just two wins that Mississippi State had season was on the road against this team. Now payback will be delivered on the road in their first meeting since then! 10* Alabama State -8

CBB Game of the Week Saturday 10* Top Play DePaul Blue Demons +1.5 vs Providence Friars @ 3 ET - The Friars are off a big win versus Seton Hall but the Pirates were down 5 players, including 1 starter, and this resulted in a limited rotation as the bench was much shorter than usual. Now Providence faces a tough DePaul team and this is a rare road game for the Friars. Look for home court and health to be big difference makers here. Keep in mind Providence had just one player shoot well from 3-point land in the win over Seton Hall as the rest of the team made just 1 of 11 three pointers! Look for the Friars to struggle on the road here and the Blue Demons take advantage with a big home court win as they get revenge for a pair of tight losses last season versus Providence including one in double OT! 10* DEPAUL +1.5

CBB Contrarian Crusher Wednesday 10* Top Play Mississippi State Bulldogs -2.5 vs Arkansas Razorbacks @ 5 ET - Bulldogs got blasted at Arkansas by double digits last season. That takes the run to 32-12 SU for the home team in match-ups between these foes. Mississippi State should keep that home trend going here and they are 15-4-1 ATS in the last 20 meetings as a host against the Razorbacks. I look for a big key here to be that home court edge and also how it impacts the shooting of these two teams. Arkansas has been horrible both inside and outside the 3-point line in terms of shooting percentages away from home this season. The Bulldogs have been rock solid in terms of the shooting percentages at home this season with 50.2% and 40.6% overall and outside the arc, respectively. Lay the short number here. 10* MISSISSIPPI STATE -2.5

CBB ACC Network Blowout Monday 10* Top Play Brown Bears +10 @ Syracuse Orange @ 6 ET - With all the time off between games for these teams I feel it strongly favors a double-digit dog. That's because it could be a bit of a sloppy game with a tough flow to it. That equates to a game in which it is hard to establish a big lead and maintain it. Yes Syracuse is the better team from the bigger conference. However, the Orange playing for the first time since over two weeks ago. Also, that was a loss that wrapped up a 2-5 stretch for Syracuse and one of those two wins was by just two points in double overtime. The Bears off a loss versus Vermont but it was by only a 5-point margin and Brown entered that game having won 4 straight. Two Bears losses that immediately preceded the 4-game winning streak were by 6 or less points. Tremendous value with the points here as I look for it to be tough for Syracuse to pull away as both teams show some rust in this game after the long layoff. 10* BROWN +10

CBB Game of the Week Saturday 10* Top Play Wyoming Cowboys -7.5 vs South Florida @ 1:30 PM ET @ Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii - This game is the battle for 5th place in this tournament and it has a local start time of 8:30 AM ET on Christmas Day. That is very tough on teams even though the players have been in Hawaii for some time already. It is just tough to play early morning basketball and to shoot well that early in the day. That said, I feel this situation strongly favors the much better team on offense. Wyoming shoots about 10 percentage points higher both inside and outside the arc and also averages about 20 points more per game on the season! With that said, a South Florida team that often struggles to score points is likely in trouble in this early morning start! Also, the Bulls are off a rare win where they did score well. Keep in mind, this is a USF team that is 0-4 SU this season when off a win. Yes, South Florida has yet to win back to back games this season. The Cowboys have 10 SU wins this season and 9 of those in lined games and they have had only 1 ATS loss in those 9 victories! Lay it! 10* WYOMING -7.5

CBB Contrarian Crusher Wednesday 10* Top Play Tennessee Volunteers -1.5 vs Arizona Wildcats @ 7 ET - The Wildcats are 11-0 this season and the Volunteers already have 2 losses. Must be something wrong with this line, right? After all, how can Arizona be an underdog when they have not lost a game all season? Precisely! The point is that Tennessee is the favorite for a reason! Don't let the line fool you. The fact is that the Volunteers have played a bit of a tougher schedule and their two losses were to Villanova and Texas Tech, the latter of which was in overtime. The Vols have the rest edge here too since their most recent game, versus Memphis, was cancelled. Home court edge, rest edge, and in my opinion a slight strength of schedule edge so far this season. Two high-quality programs but watch the hosts surprise a lot of people when the knock off an undefeated team that is ranked among the top teams in the country. 10* TENNESSEE -1.5

CBB Earliest Blowout Friday 8* Liberty Flames -3 @ East Carolina Pirates @ 1:30 ET - The Flames are very well coached and returned most of their key guys from last season. Liberty enters this game off a confidence-boosting dominating win. Yes, the Flames come from the Atlantic Sun Conference and that is certainly weaker than the American Athletic where East Carolina resides. However, the Pirates have not been on the same level that Liberty has in recent seasons and being a top team in the Atlantic Sun trumps being one of the bottom teams in the American Athletic. This line is small enough that I am comfortable laying this number with a well-coached Flames team in this tournament setting. 8* LIBERTY -3

CBB Earliest Cash - 10* Top Play Incarnate Word Cardinals +17.5 @ Rice Owls @ 12:15 ET - I know Rice is the better team from the bigger conference but don't be surprised if the Cardinals hang around in this game. Incarnate Word lost some key guys from last season but have received bigger contributions than expected from some newcomers and this is a well-coached team too. That said, even though they have a tough 2-8 SU record note that they have won 2 of last 3 games and also 3 of their last 6 losses have been by a single digit margin. Rice, looking at their last 7 games, have won 4 of 7 but 3 of the 4 wins by 15 points or less including two by just 5 points and one of those was in triple OT. The Owls get the win here but look for it to be by single digits. 10* INCARNATE WORD +17.5

CBB Non-Conf Game of the Month Saturday 10* Top Play Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets +8 vs LSU Tigers @ 6 ET - The Yellow Jackets are a scrappy underdog with a strong backcourt. The backcourt depth they have is going to give LSU some trouble here in this one. Georgia Tech going to be tough for the Tigers to put away especially with this game being played at Atlanta. We get line value here too because LSU is undefeated on the season. The Tigers are 8-0 SU this season but barely snuck into the top 25 and that is because their strength of schedule thus far is absolutely a concern. We take advantage here with a Yellow Jackets team that is off B2B losses but actually led North Carolina in the 2nd half of the eventual loss by a double digit margin. Just too many points here in a game that should be ultra competitive all the way through and I look for better shooting down the stretch for the Jackets here after that tough performance against the Tar Heels as the 2nd half wore on. Battle tested and a hungry home dog combine for strong odds of the host getting the money in this one. 10* GEORGIA TECH 

CBB TV Rout Saturday 8* Illinois Illini +3 vs Arizona Wildcats @ 5 ET - This line has jumped from Illinois being the favorite at home to now being a 3-point dog as of Saturday about 6 hours before tipoff. I like the home dog Illini to surprise in this one. Yes, Arizona is undefeated SU on the season but this game was originally priced this way for a reason and lets not forget the hosts in this match-up have won 5 straight games and will be very tough to beat in this game. With the confidence boost of the recent win over a solid Iowa team as well, look for the Illini to surprise a lot of people with an upset win in this one. 8* ILLINOIS

CBB Earliest Rout - 10* Top Play Texas Longhorns +1 @ Seton Hall Pirates @ 6:30 ET - Historically line flips like this don't seem to go well for those who follow the money. The point is when a line flips and a team that was the underdog becomes the favorite if you play that team that becomes the favorite and has been steamed by the betting markets it just does not work out well. I expect that long-term trending to continue here as Seton Hall was a 2.5 point dog and is now favored and I like UT considering that situation. The Longhorns want to atone for their lone loss this season which was an embarrassing one against Gonzaga. Now here is their first chance against a quality team since that ugly loss to the Bulldogs. The Pirates have won 7 of 8 games this season and that is why we're getting line value here with a ranked among the top ten teams in the nation. I'll take it! 10* TEXAS +1

CBB Game of the Week - 10* Top Play Virginia Cavaliers -4.5 @ James Madison @ 6:30 ET - This line was as high as a 6.5 and then dropped to as low as a 4. Long-time followers know I like to fade line moves. I feel we are getting excellent line value here with the Cavaliers. Yes the Dukes have the better record early this season but consider the competition they have faced. This is no disrespect to James Madison but they play in the Colonial Athletic Association. Virginia, on the other hand, plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavs projected by many to finish in the top 3 or 4 in the ACC while the Dukes also expected to be top 3 or 4 in their conference but again that is the CAA. Yes James Madison is at home for this game but I just think Virginia's defense is going to be too much for this Dukes team. Two years ago when these teams met the Cavaliers won 65 to 34. I am not saying this game but will be like that but I am just saying I do not think the gap has closed so much between these teams. Tony Bennett one of the best coaches in college hoops and I do expect a victory by about a 10 point margin in this one as they dial up the defense again in this one. 10* VIRGINIA -4.5

CBB Earliest Rout - 10* Top Play Texas Southern Tigers +23 @ Florida Gators @ 6 ET - Texas Southern comes from a weak conference and they are 0-7 to start this season but the Tigers have played a brutal non-conference schedule. Keep in mind, we are not asking them to win this game but, rather, just to cover. This line is inflated because Texas Southern just had their worst loss of the season and because the Gators are off their first loss of the season. I feel the result here is solid line value as this Tigers team won their First Four game in NCAA Tourney last season and then lost to Michigan but by much less than the spread on this game. Also, the first 6 losses for Texas Southern this season came by an average margin of 10 points and this included some tough competition. Florida started the season 6-0 SU but 4 of the 6 wins were by less than the spread on this game. Just too many points here as the Tigers are hungry to be much more competitive in this game than their most recent and should shoot the ball much better in this one after a horrible shooting effort in prior game. Florida gets back on track and gets a big win here but I expect that big win to fall in a range of 12 to 18 points. 10* TEXAS SOUTHERN +23

CBB Rivalry Rout  - 10* Top Play Rhode Island Rams +6 @ Providence Friars @ 2 ET - I really like the scrappy Rams getting points in this rivalry match-up. Rhode Island has shot the ball very well early this season and also defended very well. The Rams are more talented than many realize and they seem to have jelled well early this season which is always important. Rhode Island is catching the Friars off a tight, hard-fought win over Texas Tech so the set-up is perfect here. 3 of Providence's last 5 wins by 5 or less points. The average margin of the Rams two losses just 3.5 points. In a game that should go to the wire and does have potential for an outright upset, I love having the sizable points here. Strong shooting early this season, hitting the boards hard, and playing solid defense. Like what the Rams are doing and they are catching rival Providence at the right time to spring the upset. Grab the points as added insurance. 10* RHODE ISLAND +6

CBB Early Blowout - 10* Top Play Boston College Eagles +5 vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ 6 ET - This Eagles team has new energy in the program based on some new faces on the team as well as a new head coach and he came in with a solid track record too. I like the hard-nosed gritty attitude that Boston College has. They are one of the lesser talented teams in the ACC but they battle so hard and they are known for battling the Irish particularly tough when they face them at Chestnut Hill. This one should go down to the wire as the Eagles are 5-0 SU at home this season and Notre Dame has a 3-3 SU record but the 3 wins were against weaker foes and the Fighting Irish have struggled some when stepping up in terms of level of competition. This will be a fierce battle as a result and is also just the 2nd true road game for Notre Dame this season. An outright upset will not be a total shock but certainly the points provide valuable added insurance I will not pass up on in this one. 10* BOSTON COLLEGE +5

CBB Early Crusher - 10* Top Play Northern Kentucky Norse +4 @ Cleveland State Vikings @ 7 ET - Double revenge spot from last season as the Vikings took B2B meeting in January. The Norse are 1-3 SU this season and 0-4 ATS but have played the tougher competition overall in comparison with Cleveland State so far this season. Yes, the Vikings are 4-2 SU this season and, statistically, look like the better team on paper. But, as the saying goes, the teams do not play the games on paper! Two quality Horizon League programs but I like the value of the revenge-minded underdog that has played the tougher schedule thus far this season. 10* NORTHERN KENTUCKY +4

CBB Game of the Month - 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Panthers +3 vs Minnesota Golden Gophers @ 7 ET - Part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. I know that Pittsburgh has disappointed early this season but there were some foul trouble factors in their most recent loss to UMBC and the Retrievers also were insanely hot from 3-point land in that game. The Panthers will bounce back here and as I mentioned in my November 14th write-up about Minnesota: "The Golden Gophers are in rebuild mode. Yes Minnesota is a Big Ten school and is commanding more respect from the betting markets than an Ivy League school does but this is merely serving to give us some extra line value here with a solid Princeton team." Ultimately I lost that pick with the underdog Tigers in double OT but my feelings are the same and this Minny team now facing its first true road game tough test. Pitt is normally a tough place to play and I know that has not been the case early this season but this Panthers team can turn the tables in a hurry and I know they will come out highly motivated in this one and I expecting a massive effort. Love the fact that the betting markets saw this line open up at 2.5 with an undefeated Minnesota team taking on a 2-4 Panthers team. You know the world is going to be lining up on the Gophers here. In typical contrarian fashion, give me the home dog no one will want in this one. 10* PITTSBURGH 

Situational Slaughter - 10* Top Play St Mary's Gaels +1.5 vs Wisconsin Badgers @ 5 ET - The Badgers off huge upset win over Oregon. Johnny Davis scored 30 points in that game but the rest of the team scored only 35 points. Also, the Ducks did a great job on him in the 2nd half and held Wisconsin to only 25 points total in the 2nd half of the near comeback win. That said, you can bet the Gaels will have some defensive focus centered around slowing Davis down. St Mary's has a veteran team and the Badgers are the much younger team in this match-up and the Gaels just knocked off Oregon by double digits yesterday. Keep in mind the Gaels are the #2 team in their conference but that #1 team is Gonzaga and, of course, the Bulldogs are the best team in the nation as they continue to prove on a game by game basis. That said, this Gaels team is flying a bit under the radar but they are really good and, after a poor shooting season last year, the shots have been falling much better for them this season and they keep that going here! 10* ST MARY'S +1.5

Daytime Dominator - 8* Houston Cougars -6 vs Oregon Ducks @ 2:30 ET - Yesterday I faded the Cougars with Wisconsin and the Badgers got the outright upset win. However, Houston was down by 20 at the half and very nearly came all the way back for the win. This is a very good Cougars team and they will bounce back off that loss. I like the fact that they are facing a Ducks team today that is off a double digit loss to St Mary's and also got crushed by 32 by BYU this season too. Houston had been undefeated before yesterday's loss and all the Cougars wins had been by 8 or more points with 3 of the 4 victories by 18 or more points. 8* HOUSTON -6

CBB Tourney Dominator - 10* Top Play Wisconsin Badgers +8 vs Houston Cougars @ 5 ET - The Cougars are highly ranked and off a dominating win over Butler yesterday. However, Wisconsin is a solid team that is 4-1 this season and off a solid win over Texas A & M yesterday. The Badgers only loss this season was to Providence. Not only are the Friars a very deep and veteran team, Wisconsin was without Johnny Davis in that game. He is currently the Badgers leading scorer and combines in the backcourt with Brad Davison to give Wisconsin a solid 1-2 punch. Those guys are the top two scorers for the Badgers and they combined for 40 points in yesterday's win over the Aggies in the Maui Invitational being held here in Vegas where I live. I am following the tournament action and feel we have strong value here in a game projected to be very low-scoring and yet where were are getting significant points with a solid underdog. I'll take it! Yes the Cougars have been playing very well but this is a challenging match-up for them. 10* WISCONSIN +8

Philly Special - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #758 Thursday 10* Top Play Temple Owls +5.5 vs Clemson Tigers @ 4:30 ET - The Tigers have yet to play a strong team. Also, this Clemson team is going to really be hurting after the loss of some key players from last season and, in particular, that includes Aamir Simms. As for Temple, they already became battle-tested by having to battle USC in their most recent game. The Owls lost but it was good they had to battle with a solid Pac-12 team like the Trojans. Temple returns most of their key players from last season and they were heavily impacted by Covid last season so don't judge them too quickly on those results. This Owls team is highly talented and has experience and I look for them to surprise here. Yes the location of this game favors the Tigers but there is a reason this game for the Owls against an ACC school was priced this way. I look for them to surprise here and if they do fall short of the upset look for it only to be by a bucket or two. 10* TEMPLE +5.5

Early Dominator - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #688 Tuesday 10* Top Play Villanova Wildcats -25.5 vs Howard Bison @ 6:30 ET - It is not often that I lay big points but this spot is too good to pass up! The Wildcats are off a loss at UCLA Friday night and need a big bounce back. The Cats already proved in their season opener they will show no mercy on a team as they blew out Mount St. Mary's by 40 points. By the way, that team is in the Northeast Conference and expected to contend for the league title in a conference that certainly is a little tougher than the Mid-Eastern Conference that Howard resides in. Also, the Bison are expected to finish in the lower half of the conference and the Mid-Eastern is arguably the weakest in Division 1 basketball. Keep in mind, Howard is off the upset win at Bradley Saturday but the Braves missed half of their 26 free throws and shot horribly from 3-point land while the Bison lit it up from outside. Bradley outrebounded Howard by a big margin too. So the fact Howard, first two games were non-lined, is 3-0 this season is merely helping to give us line value here because the Wildcats are vastly superior and at home and are angry off a loss. Considering all these factors, another win in the 40-point range would not surprise me in the least. Either way big blowout by 30+ is likely. 10* VILLANOVA -25.5

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #803 Monday 10* Top Play Bowling Green Falcons +16.5 @ Ohio State Buckeyes @ 6:30 ET - You might remember I faded the Buckeyes with another MAC team, Akron, last week in their season opener and the Zips very nearly upset Ohio State. This Falcons team is just as good as Akron. Also, Bowling Green already had their "wake up call" early this season as they lost their opener to Western Carolina. The Falcons responded by winning their most recent game by 41 points. Granted it was an over-matched team they faced but BG did return 4 starters from last season's team plus they added a bevy of Division 1 transfers and I expect this Falcons team to give OSU plenty of trouble here. Keep in mind, Ohio State was fortunate to even beat Akron and they were a huge favorite in that game and won by a point on a late bucket. The Buckeyes then "responded" by beating MAAC school Niagara by only 10 even though they were a 20-point favorite. That said, a lot of value with the big MAC dog again in this one. 10* BOWLING GREEN +16.5

ESPN2 Smash Pass - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #696 Sunday 10* Top Play Princeton Tigers +2.5 vs Minnesota Golden Gophers @ 7:30 ET - The Golden Gophers are in rebuild mode. Yes Minnesota is a Big Ten school and is commanding more respect from the betting markets than an Ivy League school does but this is merely serving to give us some extra line value here with a solid Princeton team. The Tigers have outside shooters, have a solid system in place, and are the more cohesive team in comparison with Minny early this season. Yes the Gophers just upset Western Kentucky but the Tigers got an upset win of their own over South Carolina. Give me the points here as I look for the more veteran team to make the key decisions down the stretch that turn this game for them and so with them pulling away for the win we should not need the points. But I will grab them for extra value should they lose on a late bucket. 10* PRINCETON +2.5

ESPN2 Smash Pass - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #663 Saturday 10* Top Play Texas Longhorns +7.5 @ Gonzaga Bulldogs @ 10:30 ET - Gonzaga lost their top assistant coach as he went to Arizona. The Bulldogs also lost a couple key players from last year's amazing team. Make no mistake, and it goes without saying as the #1 ranked team in the nation, of course this is fantastic team in Spokane, WA. However, this UT team is for real. Texas hired away head coach Beard from rival Texas Tech and he has a bevy of fantastic assistant coaches with him and this team has added tremendous talent. Now when you add in all these factor plus the Longhorns hitting 13 of 23 three pointers in their opener while the Bulldogs shot 6 of 21 three pointers, you can see where I am going with this one. The Horns come in with the underdog mentality and an playing the disrespect card as if most give them no chance to win this game. I am here to tell you this Longhorns team is very good and extremely well-coached and they could get the upset win here! At the very least, this road dog should surely get the cover as I see this game absolutely going down to the wire. 10* TEXAS +7.5

CBB Contrarian Crusher - 10* Top Play Tarleton State Texans +27 - I know the Texans are only in their 2nd year since the jump to Division I basketball but this program is led by Billy Gillispie who has big school experience as a head coach. Tarleton State returned all 5 starters from last season's team and has other solid key reserves back as well. The Texans will do better to hang around in this game then most people are expecting. Kansas is off that big opening game win versus Michigan State so this is the perfect spot to fade them. I look for the Jayhawks to win by 15 to 20 and so we have some wiggle room with this huge line. I don't think Kansas is going to run up the score too much in this one and Gillispie is a good enough coach to get the most out of his players in a spot like this and their compete level will not stop. Just too many points! We'll take it. 10* TARLETON STATE +27

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #747 Wednesday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bulls +13.5 @ Michigan Wolverines @ 6:30 ET - Michigan projected to be one of the best teams in the nation again this season but the Wolverines lost a ton of production from last season's team. That said, is going to take some time for this team to be firing on all cylinders. Buffalo, on the other hand, should hit the floor running - literally - as they enter this season with nearly their entire roster of starters and key returners back from last season's team. Yes the Bulls are "only" a MAC team but they are projected to be the #1 team in their conference and we are not asking them to win this game rather just to keep it respectable. That said, I love the value of the double digit points being offered in this one as I feel strongly that the Bulls are going to hang around in this one and lose by just a single digit margin. The Wolverines have the more talented players but the Bulls are the more cohesive group and that latter factor is particularly a key early in the season! 10* BUFFALO +13.5

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #605 Tuesday 10* Top Play Akron Zips +16.5 or +17 @ Ohio State Buckeyes @ 6 ET - Buckeyes are a ranked team and, as such, certainly are a high quality team. But Akron is relishing this shot against the big boys and I don't see them getting completely obliterated here. Maybe they lose by 10 or 12 but I really expect that the Zips could keep this one close in a game likely decided by a single digit margin. Ohio State actually ranked last in Big Ten defensive efficiency last season. Also, the Buckeyes lost their starting backcourt. The Zips lost their star guard but this is still a solid MAC program that brought back a lot of solid scoring talent on the wings too and has a solid interior defender. The Buckeyes are going to find out that the Zips came to play very hard in this one and I expect it to be quite the battle with Ohio State pulling away late but not by a big enough margin to cover this huge spread. 10* AKRON +16.5 or +17

Game of the Month - CBB Rotation #803 Saturday 10* Top Play UCLA Bruins (+) vs Gonzaga Bulldogs @ 8:34 ET - All you here about is Gonzaga and going for the undefeated season and how great they are. I get all that and the Bulldogs indeed just might do it. But they are over-priced here as a large favorite against a Bruins team that is doing a great job of playing with an "us against the world" mentality. When Alabama drilled that 3-pointer against UCLA at the buzzer to force OT in the Sweet 16 most teams would not have been able to overcome that. But the Bruins are proving to not be "most teams" as they calmly gathered themselves and beat the Crimson Tide handily in the OT period. That would have left most teams out of gas and unable to duplicate the effort against an even tougher foe, Michigan, in their next game but again "most teams" does not define this Bruins team. UCLA continues to surprise and they will be more competitive in this game than many people are expecting. I know Gonzaga just beat USC handily as they blitzed them early and the team could not recover. The Bulldogs outshot the Trojans as Southern Cal struggled to hit shots. I see the Bruins getting more clutch shots. It has been the nature of this team throughout the tournament and I see it continuing here. Of course I am not calling for an upset here. I am just saying I absolutely do expect the Bruins to hang within a single digit margin in this one. 10* UCLA

CBB Rotation #657 Tuesday 10* Top Play USC Trojans (+) vs Gonzaga Bulldogs @ 7:15 ET - Gonzaga is a great team of course. They are undefeated on the season. However, the public bettors - and there a lot of them throwing plenty of money around during March Madness - are all over the Bulldogs. That said, even with that, this line is moving toward USC. Why is that? The sharps are on the Trojans here and you can include me in that group as well. The Trojans have played a tougher schedule. Also, Southern Cal matches up better with Gonzaga then any other team left in the tournament except perhaps Baylor would have a decent shot against the Bulldogs. We all know how rare undefeated seasons are. The point is that if Gonzaga was going to get upset this would likely be the game and truly I would not be surprised to see that happen here. Sprinkling a little on the money line here too is not a bad idea at all. The Trojans allow less points per game, allow a lower shooting percentage from the field, rebound the ball just as well, and also get more blocked shots on the defensive end than the Bulldogs. Again, Gonzaga is a great team but don't lose sight of all of the above plus the fact that the Dogs are being asked to win this game by double digits. I just don't see that happening and expect Southern Cal to be in this one all the way. USC is 25-7 on the season and only 1 loss was by more than 10 points. UCLA lost to the Trojans in both meetings this season and one of those was an 18-point lambasting. What does that have to do with this play? Well the Bruins knocked BYU out of the tourney with a win by nearly double digits. BYU is the best team, other than Gonzaga, in the Bulldogs conference. The Cougars lost all 3 games against Gonzaga this season - once in tournament - but the average margin was 12 points. Like I said, UCLA knocked out Brigham Young and Southern Cal better than UCLA. This game in Elite 8 action going to be much closer than the public thinks. 10* USC

Sweet 16 Game of the Year - NCAA 10* Top Play UCLA Bruins (+) vs Alabama Crimson Tide @ 7:15 ET - This line has consistently climbed and is now a full +7 as of gameday morning. Look for the underdog Bruins to surprise some people in this one. I know that Alabama is on an 8-game winning streak but 4 of their last 9 wins have been by a margin of 5 or less points. Also, the Crimson Tide final two wins of the SEC tourney came by a combined 6 points. One of those wins was over LSU who just got bounced by a Big Ten foe in this tourney and the Big Ten has underachieved in this tourney this season. Also, the other win was over Tennessee and the Vols just got bounced from this tourney by Oregon State. Coincidentally now another SEC team takes on a Pac-12 team and I expect this to be another very challenging game for the favorite. The Crimson Tide are a solid team but coach Cronin has this Bruins team believing. Though they entered the tourney on a losing streak their recent Pac-12 losses were by a combined 5 points the last 2 games and were against USC and Oregon State. Both the Trojans and Beavers are still alive in this tournament. The loss before that was Oregon, also still alive in this tournament. And all these losses were by a single digit margin. Alabama only had to beat Iona and Maryland (again, Big Ten struggling) to get to this point and the Tide face a dangerous Pac-12 underdog in this one. All the pressure is on Bama here and the Bruins shot the ball very well this season, even in road games, and with an underdog "nothing to lose" mentality could give Alabama fits here as all the pressure is on the favorite. Upset alert but I will grab the points as added insurance as the Pac-12 ATS dominance continues. 10* UCLA

Contrarian Crusher - NCAA 8* Florida State Seminoles (+) vs Michigan Wolverines @ 5 ET - The Big Ten certainly underachieved in this tournament. Yes Michigan is still alive but there is a reason this line moved toward Florida State even though the Wolverines are ranked higher. I look for the Seminoles to give Michigan a lot of trouble down low at both ends of the court. In other words, easy buckets for FSU in the paint while the Wolverines will find the going in and around the paint very tough in the offensive end. Of course the biggest edge of all here is the coaching edge for the veteran Hamilton over the inexperienced Howard. The loss of forward Isaiah Livers was also a huge one for Michigan. The fact we are getting points here is simply an added bonus as I fully expect Hamilton to outcoach Howard and the Noles to advance to the Elite 8 with a solid win here. 8* FLORIDA STATE

Big East Beast - NCAA 8* Creighton Bluejays (+) vs Gonzaga Bulldogs @ 2:10 ET - Too many points. Gonzaga was fortunate to get the cover against Oklahoma and we all know how badly the Big 12 ended up performing in this tournament. That said, Gonzaga got here off a win over the Sooners and facing an outclassed Norfolk State team. Of course the Bulldogs are a great team and that is why they are undefeated on the season. But they will face a major test here. I expect Gonzaga to win but look for this game to be decided by a single digit margin. The Bluejays actually have slightly better defensive numbers than the Bulldogs and they played the tougher schedule this season too. After Creighton had some tough recent shooting efforts, they got it going in their most recent win in NCAA Tourney action. That is a huge confidence boost for the Bluejays and they will carry momentum from that better shooting effort right into this game. 8* CREIGHTON

Top Play - 10* Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (+) vs Arkansas Razorbacks @ 7:25 ET - Arkansas is off a tight win over Texas Tech but the Big 12, other than Baylor, really ended up being a dud in this tournament. What I like about Oral Roberts here is they score so well and are dangerous with their 3-point shooting. I don't expect them to have the same scoring droughts that Colgate had in the opening round against the Razorbacks. Keep in mind, Colgate led Arkansas 33-19 before allowing a 17-0 run to end the half. Then, after tying the game at 58 more than halfway through the 2nd half, Colgate allowed a game-ending 27-10 run. Those two 17 point differentials were, of course, the key to the Razorbacks win and cover. That is not happening against Oral Roberts and I feel Arkansas is a little over-rated in this match-up. I expect them to win this game but only by a single digit margin as the Golden Eagles will put up a helluva fight. Only 4 of the last 13 games for the Razorbacks have resulted in an Arkansas win by more than 11 points. The Golden Eagles lost by 11 at Arkansas in December but got dominated on the glass in that one. They are well aware of that fact and though the Razorbacks will hold a rebounding edge thanks to their size and athleticism edges, you can bet the hungry underdog is going to be much better on the glass in this one than they were in the first meeting. 10* ORAL ROBERTS

Big East Beast - 8* Villanova Wildcats (+) vs Baylor Bears @ 5:15 ET - The Big 12 has not been what it was cracked up to be heading into this tournament. That said, the lone remaining team is certainly a good one but just how good are they given the lackluster performance of the Big 12 in this tournament? Even though the Wildcats are without Collin Gillespie, I like them in this spot as a live dog. The Bears just beat Wisconsin but the teams scored exactly the same number of points from the field. Yes Baylor outscored the Badgers at the free throw line by 13 points but another key to the game was 14 turnovers for Wisconsin compared to just 4 for the Bears. That is not happening for Baylor against Villanova. Also, since the covid pause that impacted the Bears program, they finished the regular season and Big 12 tournament on a combined 5-2 SU run. Not only did they lose 2 of 7 games but 3 of their 5 wins were by 6 or less points including one in OT. I do feel Baylor will find a way to win this game but it won't be easy and the points are far too much against a well-coached Wildcats team that also has plenty of big-game experience. Look for this one to go down to the wire as the Cats only two losses since Gillespie got hurt came by a combined total of just three points! 8* VILLANOVA

NIT Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #614 Thursday 10* Top Play Colorado State Rams (+) vs NC State Wolfpack @ 7 ET - The Wolfpack have played a tougher schedule than the Rams this season but I am fading the line move here and grabbing the team that has proven to be more committed to defense. On the season Colorado State allowed 66 points per game. Note that North Carolina State allowed 74 points in games away from home this season! The Rams held opponents to lower shooting percentages from the field including beyond the arc. While the Wolfpack were in the mid-40s and mid-30s respectively in those two categories, the Rams were closer to 40% and 30% respectively. Before a high-scoring win over Buffalo last week, Colorado State allowed 62 points or less in 5 of 7 games. NC State, on the other hand, allowed an average of 79 points per game the two games preceding the win over Davidson last week. The Rams find a way here and get more stops when it counts. 10* COLORADO STATE

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #609 Wednesday 10* Top Play Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (+) vs Pepperdine Waves @ 8 ET - Coastal Carolina blew a late lead and had to go to OT to beat Stetson yesterday. Yes the Waves are a better team than the Hatters. However, the Chanticleers won that game yesterday despite making just 4 of 16 three-pointers and 17 of 32 free throws. On the season Coastal Carolina hits 36% of threes and 72% of free throws. In other words, yesterday's poor shooting unlikely to be repeated here and I also do not expect Pepperdine to have a big rebounding edge like they did yesterday. The Chanticleers are a solid rebounding team. Also, though the Waves won yesterday's game by double digits, they actually had 5 less shots from the field than Bellarmine. Also, Pepperdine hit 46% of their threes. That is unlikely to be repeated here and Coastal Carolina is a solid team defensively. The Chanticleers allowed 67.6 points this season on just 38.5% from the field and only 30.8% from three point land. Grab the points in this one and don't be surprised if the underdog wins this one outright. If not, the loss likely to be by the slimmest of margins. 10* COASTAL CAROLINA

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #601 Tuesday 10* Top Play Stetson Hatters (+) vs Coastal Carolina Chanticleers @ 5:30 ET - The Hatters beat Bellarmine in the Atlantic Sun conference tourney and, of course, that is the same Bellarmine team that is taking on Pepperdine in the other CBI game going today. The point being that Stetson is better than their record indicates and are playing solid basketball at the right time of the season for sure. That does not mean they will upset Coast Carolina here but it does mean there are strong odds this is going to be a helluva game that goes down to the wire. That said, I don't see the Chanticleers covering this big number and they actually played a slightly weaker schedule than Stetson did this season. Also, the Hatters have won 3 of 4 games and their only loss was to Liberty who ended up in the NCAA Tourney. The 3-1 run by Stetson was preceded by a 1-2 stretch but both losses came by 5 or less points and the Hatters should be in this one all the way with Coastal Carolina as well. 10* STETSON

Pac-12 Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #827 Monday 10* Top Play Colorado Buffaloes (+) vs Florida State Seminoles @ 7:45 ET - I am going with Colorado again here after successfully using them against Georgetown on Saturday. In that write-up I mentioned the following: "The Buffaloes are a strong team in both defensive and offensive efficiency. Also, they are a top free throw shooting team. They will be very focused here coming off a disappointing 2-point loss in the Pac-12 tourney to Oregon State who, by the way, is a pretty good team as shown yesterday. The Beavers won outright versus Tennessee by double digits as nearly a double digit dog!" Keep in mind Oregon State followed up the win over the Volunteers with another upset win over Oklahoma State yesterday. The Pac-12 is showing in this tournament that it is quite strong and I look for that trend to continue in this match-up. The Buffaloes will take advantage of a Seminoles team that is strong but has a couple of key weaknesses. Florida State often allows teams too many second chance scoring opportunities. In games away from home this season the Noles allowed 13 offensive boards this season which is nearly double what the Buffs allowed as travelers. Also, FSU known for turning the ball over too much. Florida State pulled away very late in their game against UNC Greensboro but now faces a much tougher opponent and the Seminoles have failed to get the cash in 4 straight games while the Buffaloes are on a 5-2 ATS run and get the job done again there. 10* COLORADO

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #817 Monday 8* Oklahoma Sooners (+) vs Gonzaga Bulldogs @ 2:40 ET - I am aware of the De'Vion Harmon situation for the Sooners but feel strongly that this is still far too many points. Oklahoma is "only" 16-10 on the season but 8 of their last 9 losses came by a margin of 7 or less points. Also, the Sooners played the tougher schedule this season in comparison with Gonzaga. Keep in mind, the Bulldogs were on a 1-3 ATS run before getting the cover against Norfolk State in the first round but that game was a clearly a complete mismatch as evidenced by the huge spread on the game. The Bulldogs have been a favorite in range of 11 to 14 points twice in the past 7 weeks and they did not win either game by more than 11 points. Considering that as well as the Sooners knack for tight losses, look for this one to surprise many and be decided by single digits. 8* OKLAHOMA

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #804 Sunday 10* Top Play Villanova Wildcats (-) vs North Texas Mean Green @ 8:45 ET - Villanova keeps catching breaks. Yes they are without Collin Gillespie and that has derailed their bigger hopes and dreams for this season but I don't see them bowing out just yet. Their first match-up was against Winthrop and, though a quality team, that was a smaller school program that the Wildcats could handle. Now they were supposed to be facing Purdue in this round. A dangerous Big Ten team would have been tough on the short-handed Cats. However, Nova caught a break as North Texas upset the Boilermakers in the first round! The Mean Green, don't get me wrong, are certainly a quality team but they are similar to Winthrop in that they don't come from a Power Five conference and lets not forget how strong Villanova is. Yes the Gillespie injury is a significant issue for them but lets not forget the other talent that is on this team. The Mean Green played a much weaker schedule than the Wildcats did this season and I know they are well-coached and play solid defense but both those two items describe the Wildcats as well. So what is the difference then? The level of players the Wildcats have. That is why the Cats are in the Big East and the Mean Green are in Conference USA. Again, not knocking the team, just saying that there is a difference in talent level and we are now getting solid line value here since the Wildcats are without Gillespie and North Texas just upset Purdue in OT in the first round. Now the Cats are laying just 5 points as the markets love the dog in this one. Everything clicked for the Mean Green in their upset of the Boilermakers. This is still a North Texas team that lost 3 straight games to close out the regular season prior to making a run through their conference tourney. 10* VILLANOVA

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #809 Sunday 8* Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (+) vs Illinois Illini @ 12:10 ET - These in-state rivals having a rare meeting here. Did you see Abilene Christian (located in Texas) upset the Longhorns last night? The point is that these in-state meetings come tourney time can certainly be dangerous for the bigger programs. The hungry underdogs facing the bullies of the neighborhood tend to kick things up a notch and be highly aggressive and motivated. I am not saying another upset looms here but I am expecting this game to go down to the wire. The Ramblers are very well coached and, of course, the Illini are too. But, the point is that Loyola is catching points here in a game in which they are going to be very hard to put away. Illinois, prior to destroying Drexel in the first round, had seen 3 of their 6 immediately preceding wins come by 5 or less points. Loyola has just 4 losses this season and 3 of the 4 were by a margin of 5 or less points. This one goes down to the wire. 8* LOYOLA-CHICAGO

Big East Beast Top Side - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #791 Saturday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins vs Connecticut Huskies @ 7:10 ET - Both teams play solid defense and struggle some in the offensive end. In a game likely to be a low-scoring grinder, there is even more value than usual with having the points on your side. I especially like having the points in this case because the Terrapins do have a great shot at the outright upset here. The Huskies rely heavily on James Bouknight and he has not been himself in recent games. He has only had one strong shooting performance in his last 4 games. In those 3 games Bouknight combined to go 12 of 38 from the field and averaged just 13.3 points per game! Connecticut needs him but the Terps have the defenders to shut him down plus he has had just one big game from 3-point land last 10 games. In the other 9 games he has gone a combined 5 of 31 from downtown. Overated? Sure looks like it but it could be a health issue right now. Either way the Huskies are not necessarily the better team here and, especially with consideration to the Bouknight situation, a well-coached Terrapins team that has bought into a commitment to defense makes the underdog the play here. 10* MARYLAND

Big East Beast EARLY - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #784 Saturday 8* Colorado Buffaloes (-) vs Georgetown Hoyas @ 12:15 ET - Congrats to the Hoyas on an amazing run through the Big East tournament as they managed to win it thanks, in part, to Villanova being without all-everything guard Collin Gillespie. Now after certainly deserving of being commended for the Big East run, Georgetown's season with end with a thud here. The Buffaloes are a strong team in both defensive and offensive efficiency. Also, they are a top free throw shooting team. They will be very focused here coming off a disappointing 2-point loss in the Pac-12 tourney to Oregon State who, by the way, is a pretty good team as shown yesterday. The Beavers won outright versus Tennessee by double digits as nearly a double digit dog! So the Hoyas are off their biggest win of the season and Colorado is off a 2-point loss that will have them very dialed in for this game. The Buffaloes went 6-1 this season when entering a game off a loss and the average margin of victory was 12 points. 8* COLORADO

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #730 Friday 10* Top Play Villanova Wildcats (-) vs Winthrop Eagles @ 9:57 ET - The Wildcats are in trouble here according to many people. That is because they lost Collin Gillespie to a season-ending injury two weeks ago. I know he was a very important player but do people realize the disparity between these two teams in terms of level of opposition they face each year? Yes Winthrop went 23-1 this season but they played no one of any significance. I am serious. Give them credit for a strong season as they took care of business for sure but again their "business" was nothing like what Villanova faces in the Big East. In fact, even comparing non-conference schedules, there is simply no comparison. The toughest game for Winthrop this season was UNC Greensboro. The Wildcats, conversely, were facing teams like Texas and a team that was ranked 18th when they faced them and a Virginia Tech team that is now ranked 25th. That was their non-conference schedule and, again, the Big East competition they faced all season was tougher than the Big South competition the Eagles faced. The fact the Wildcats are without Gillespie here actually helps us in terms of ATS value here in my opinion. We get a lower line as a result as a 6.5 is much more manageable than a double digit line where the back door cover always looms with "meaningless" late buckets. At the same time, you know Villanova will not overlook Winthrop either because, without Gillespie, the Wildcats know they must maintain proper focus here. Nova by double digits! 10* VILLANOVA

Earliest Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #741 Friday 8* Drexel Dragons (+) vs Illinois Illini @ 1:15 ET - Illinois is a great team of course and a popular choice to win it all this season. However, this is still too many points in my opinion. This is particularly true with Drexel having backdoor cover potential as well. The Dragons went a fantastic 11-3 ATS in road games this season as they averaged 72.4 points as travelers on 49.1% shooting from the field including 39.2% from three point land. Teams that shoot the ball that well away from home make for dangerous underdogs in a tournament setting. I still expect the Illini to win this game by double digits but I expect the Dragons to actually stay inside the number the entire way in this one. Only 4 of the last 21 victories for the Illini have been decided by a margin greater than 23 points. The key cogs in the Dragons rotation are upperclassmen and they have enough veteran leadership to weather the storm here and remain competitive throughout. The Illini pull away late but still win this one by no more than 18 points in my opinion. 8* DREXEL

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #714 Thursday 10* Top Play Wichita State Shockers (+) vs Drake Bulldogs @ 6:27 ET - Here is another one with a classic line flip. Wichita State was favored by 2.5 points and now the line has swung the other way and it is Drake favored by 2.5 points! I know the Bulldogs have the better record on the season but they closed the season going 7-4 last 11 games including losing 2 of last 3. Wichita State closed the season with a loss to Cincinnati by just a single point in the AAC Tourney but this followed an 8-game winning streak for the Shockers! In fact, Wichita State was on a 15-2 run prior to the loss to the Bearcats. The Shockers and Bulldogs are former rivals in the Missouri Valley Conference but Wichita State is now in the AAC and did play the tougher schedule this season. I do not believe the betting markets are practically factoring that into this match-up and we'll take advantage of that here. 10* WICHITA STATE

Earliest Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #716 Thursday 8* Texas Southern Tigers vs Mount St Mary's Mountaineers @ 5:10 ET - The line move here has gone from Texas Southern being favored by 2.5 points to Mount St Mary's being favored by 1.5 points. The Mountaineers have struggled to get consistent offensive production this season while the Tigers strength is scoring in bunches. Texas Southern averages 75 points per game while Mount St Mary's averages only 64 points per game. Also, there were only 4 teams in the conference tournament Mount St Mary's just played in. Texas Southern enters this game off 9 straight wins and having won 14 of last 15 games. The Mountaineers enter this match-up just 4-3 SU last 7 games and one of those wins came in overtime. The Tigers have scored 73 points or more, not including OT points, in 11 of last 12 games. 8* TEXAS SOUTHERN

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #706 Wednesday 10* Top Play Richmond Spiders (+) vs Toledo Rockets @ 7 ET - I understand the line flip here but the Spiders opened up as the favorite for a reason. Now Richmond is a 3 point dog and I won't hesitate to step in. The Spiders have had about two weeks off and normally that is a bad thing but that is not the case here! Senior big man Grant Golden (finger) and senior guard Blake Francis (hip) have both been able to recover better from injuries as a result of the extra time off. These two are the top two scorers for Richmond and Golden is also solid in terms of assists and rebounds. I know each of these guys have been listed as a game time decision for this evening but I would be very surprised if they miss this game. Keep in mind, the NIT is down from the usual 32 teams to just 16 for this season. The Spiders certainly want to make a run at it and I just don't see these guys missing this game. I know Richmond is on a 3-game losing streak but Francis missed the most recent game and played only 9 minutes in the prior game (got hurt) and with Francis in the lineup for a full game the Spiders have never lost back to back games. I feel strongly that both guys will play but even if 1 of the 2 misses, Richmond will have 4 guys on the floor that average double digits in points, and again I do expect this number to be 5 though! The Spiders are undervalued here against a MAC team that, in regulation time, has allowed an average of 77 points per game last 4 games. The Rockets will struggle to do enough on the defensive end against a Spiders team that has allowed an average of only 65.6 points per game even during a rough 4-4 stretch to end the season! 10* RICHMOND

Championship Best Bet - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #658 Sunday 10* Top Play Illinois Illini (-) vs Ohio State Buckeyes @ 3:30 ET - The Buckeyes upset Michigan yesterday thanks to hitting a ridiculous 12 of 22 three pointers! The Illini hung on to beat Iowa yesterday despite making only 3 of 15 three pointers! You see the difference? This is helping to create line value here because Ohio State scored a total of only 32 points yesterday from inside the arc. Illinois scored a total of 73 points yesterday from inside the arc. Recent meetings between these teams have been tight but I look for the Illini to pull away as this one goes on. The Buckeyes are playing for 4th time in 4 days and their game prior to upsetting the Wolverines went into overtime too. Conversely, the Illini are playing just their 3rd game in 3 days and their first one was a blowout win over Rutgers. Strong situational edge here for the favorite. Lay it. 10* ILLINOIS

Big East Beast Top Side - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #848 Friday 10* Top Play Seton Hall Pirates (-) vs Georgetown Hoyas @ 6 ET - The Pirates are off a hard-fought OT win but the Hoyas have the disadvantage of playing a 3rd game in 3 days. Also, Georgetown is off a huge upset win over Villanova. Conversely, Seton Hall's win over St John's did not come easily but the fact is the Pirates had finished the regular season on a 4-game losing streak. As a result, Seton Hall felt some extra pressure in their 1st game of the Big East tourney. With that first win now out of the way, and with the Pirates the only team other than Villanova to win this tourney in recent years, Seton Hall knows they have a real shot at winning this tournament thanks to the Wildcats being knocked out of it. I like the fact that the Pirates reached double digits in shots blocked yesterday plus held the Red Storm to just 24% from beyond the arc. The Hoyas benefitted from hitting 41% from three point land yesterday plus going 23 for 23 from the line against Nova. Neither of those stats likely to be repeated here and I expect the Pirates to roll in this one as a result. They beat the Hoyas when they faced them away from Georgetown and the only reason they lost the game in which they visited them is because the Hoyas made a ridiculous 10 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. That is not being repeated here. 10* SETON HALL

Big East Beast Day Game - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #626 Wednesday 8* Georgetown Hoyas (+) vs Marquette Golden Eagles @ 3 ET - The Hoyas led the Golden Eagles 36 to 20 at halftime of their lone meeting this season but went on to lose that game. Suffice to say Georgetown will be very focused and ready to play the full 40 minutes here in the rematch that has come up in the Big East tournament. Marquette has won each of the last 3 meetings between these teams and the Hoyas are ready for payback in this triple revenge situation. The Eagles finished the regular season winning 4 of 5 but Georgetown also was on a 4-1 run before an ugly season ending loss to Connecticut. Coming off a 98-82 beatdown, the Hoyas look to atone for that loss here. Georgetown had covered 3 straight road games prior to that loss. The Golden Eagles won their most recent road game but entered that game having lost 4 of their last 5 Big East games played away from home. This one is a road game for each of course but I like the Hoyas as they had been playing well on the road ATS before the loss to the Huskies. They will regroup and get payback here against Marquette. The Golden Eagles are making just 30% of their three pointers on the road this season while the Hoyas are making 40% of theirs from beyond the arc. Don't be surprised if that ends up making a difference in this one and I am grabbing the points here as added insurance but do expect an outright upset. 8* GEORGETOWN

Earliest Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #779 Monday 10* Top Play Elon Phoenix (+) vs Hofstra Pride @ 6 ET - The Pride took advantage of a Delaware team yesterday that had not played a game in 5 weeks. Even with that edge, Hofstra was nearly upset and had to pull away late. They were fortunate that the Fightin' Blue Hens lost by 8 points despite the Pride missing 12 free throws out of 29! That poor free throw shooting and the fact that Burgess and Ray played the whole game - all 40 minutes - could come back to bite Hofstra here. Elon has the lesser record on the season but keep in mind they were also priced this way in the game against James Madison yesterday and the Dukes were the #1 seed in this tournament. That said, I feel we have some solid line value here with the Phoenix. That is particularly true because Elon won yesterday's game despite shooting only 32% from inside the arc! That is right, the Phoenix made just 8 of 25 shots from 2-point land and yet still beat James Madison. It is now a 6-0 SU and ATS run for Elon entering this one. Look for that streak to reach 7-0 for the Phoenix here. I do expect an outright upset but will grab the points just in case. 10* ELON

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #741 Sunday 10* Top Play Texas Tech Red Raiders (+) @ Baylor Bears @ 4 ET - The Bears check the box on a number of things here that make it hard for me to imagine them winning this game by much of a margin. They already have a loss this season so it is not like they are motivated by going for an undefeated record. Baylor also already won at Texas Tech this season so there is no revenge angle in play here for the Bears. Also, they already locked up the Big 12 title. With all of the above factored in, look for the Red Raiders to prove to be the team that wants this one a little more! Of course that does not mean they will win this game outright but I do expect Texas Tech to put up a helluva fight and for this game to likely be decided by a final margin of just a bucket or two. The Red Raiders last 7 losses have featured 6 by a margin of 8 or less points and 2 of those defeats were in overtime. In fact, other than the 8 point loss to Baylor, the other 5 of those tight losses were decided by an average margin of just 3.6 points. Look for another tight one here as the Red Raiders are back on track and playing as a confident bunch as they enter this game on a 3-0 run with an average margin of victory of 18.7 points per game. 10* TEXAS TECH

Earliest Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #603 Saturday 8* Pittsburgh Panthers (+) @ Clemson Tigers @ Noon ET - The Panthers are off a win but this followed a lengthy losing streak. Here is the key though. Pittsburgh's 5-game losing streak featured all 5 losses coming by 7 or less points. Pitt is a very strong rebounding team and is not an easy team to blow out. Also, on the road, they are allowing just 41.6% from the field to their opponents. I know Clemson is a very solid team, particularly at home, but I do not see them winning big in this game. The Tigers are going to have their hands full with a scrappy dog that hits the boards hard and plays tough defense more often than not when traveling. Also, when these teams met last season the Panthers lost by 20 points and that was on their home floor! Pitt shot very poorly in that one from 3-point land while Clemson shot lights out from beyond the arc. That kind of ridiculous disparity will not happen again here. Grab the generous points being offered to a scrappy underdog in this one. 8* PITTSBURGH 

ACC Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #840 Friday 10* Top Play Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+) vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ 8 ET - Of course it has been a disappointing finish to the regular season for Wake Forest. However, the Demon Deacons are not going to lay down here in their home finale. That said, this is simply too many points in my opinion. Georgia Tech is only 3-5 in road games this season while Wake Forest is 5-5 in home games. Also, the Yellow Jackets are off a huge home win versus Duke. Not sure how excited the Jackets are going to be about this game as a result. That said, the Demon Deacons are likely to prove to be the hungrier team and they lost the first match-up with Georgia Tech this season largely due a big disparity in 3-point shooting as they had a horrific shooting night. However, Wake Forest is hitting 34% from beyond the arc this season and Georgia Tech is shooting 35% from beyond the arc this season. In other words, and particularly with this rematch being at Winston-Salem, the Yellow Jackets are unlikely to hold such an edge from 3-point land in this one. Look for this one to go down to the wire as the Demon Deacons are a very hungry home dog here and I just do not see them losing this game by double digits on their home floor. 10* WAKE FOREST

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #618 Tuesday 10* Top Play Georgetown Hoyas (+) vs Xavier Musketeers @ 7 ET - Georgetown leading scorer Jahvon Blair will be back for senior night in Washington DC tonight. The Hoyas still managed to get by without him at DePaul on Saturday afternoon. Georgetown now faces a much tougher challenge then they did with the Blue Demons but I don't see the Hoyas being denied in their home finale. Georgetown should hold a rebounding edge here and the Musketeers are not quite the same team without guard Nate Johnson. I know they just upset the Bluejays but that makes me like going against Xavier even more here as they could be a little flat after upsetting Creighton. That was the Musketeers home finale and now they face a team highly motivated to win their home finale as well. Keep in mind, Xavier was on an 0-4 ATS run prior to knocking off the Bluejays. Also, the Hoyas enter this game on a solid 6-2 ATS run at the betting window. With the early line move toward Xavier, I like this one even more. Grab the home dog in this one as they have gone from being a slight favorite to now being the underdog in this one. Traditionally going against moves like this works out very well and I love this spot for all the reasons noted above too. 10* GEORGETOWN

Big East Beast Top Side - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #684 Saturday 10* Top Play Xavier Musketeers (+) vs Creighton Bluejays @ 5 ET - Without a shadow of doubt, of course, Creighton is a very good team. Also, Xavier looks very unimpressive to the betting markets because of a recent 1-3 run. However, all that has done here is create exceptional value in my opinion. Keep in mind, the Musketeers had an unwanted two weeks off due to health protocol impacting their schedule so one could give them a mulligan for the home loss to Connecticut which followed. Since then Xavier has had two tough road games and just one home game. They won the only home game and the Musketeers are now 10-2 at home this season. Again, I know the Bluejays command (and deserve) respect but prior to a road win and cover at Georgetown in their most recent away game, Creighton was on a 1-3 ATS run in road games. This is Xavier's home finale and you know they would love nothing more than to get revenge for their road loss at Creighton earlier this season plus close the home portion of their schedule with a big win. As you would expect, the Bluejays don't shoot as well nor score as well on the road as they do at home. As you would also expect, the Musketeers do shoot better at home plus score better as a host. They have a great shot at the upset here which certainly has me liking the added value of having these points on our side too. 10* XAVIER

Big East Beast Early - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #610 Saturday 8* DePaul Blue Demons (+) vs Georgetown Hoyas @ Noon ET - The Blue Demons might get Javon Freeman-Liberty back for this one. He has been in concussion protocol but this began exactly two weeks ago so today could be the day for him at home and in the most winnable game remaining on DePaul's schedule. Even if he does not play here, I like the fact this line has gone from a pick'em to a -3 on Georgetown. Yes the Blue Demons are at the bottom of the Big East but the Hoyas are not dominators, particularly on the road, by any stretch of the imagination. That said, taking a look at DePaul's last 6 home games, 1 was a high-scoring loss but in the other 5 games they allowed an average of only 61.2 points per game! This team does show some commitment on the defensive end. As for Georgetown, they allowed an average of 72.5 points per game in their last two games and those were at home and they got dominated on the glass by UConn in the most recent of those two games. Also, the Hoyas have allowed an average of 79 points per game in their last 3 road games. Don't be surprised when the Blue Demons prove to be the hungrier team in this one and get the job done on their home floor. 8* DEPAUL

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #737 Thursday 10* Top Play Iowa Hawkeyes (+) @ Michigan Wolverines @ 7:30 ET - The #3 team in the nation at home where they are 11-0 this season and facing a team that is only 5-4 this season when away from home and yet this one featured a 3.5 as an opening line. The odds makers had the right idea and yet the market place things they have it all wrong and have already pushed this line to as high a 5.5 in some spots. In typical contrarian fashion I am on the other side of the move but, as always, it is not without reason. The Hawkeyes are 5-2 SU in their last 7 road games and the two losses each came by 5 or less points. That said, I love the line value here as Michigan is off of 3 straight hard fought wins and is going to be really tested now by a dynamic Iowa offense that is averaging 80 points per game its last 4 games. The Wolverines are off a high-scoring win over Ohio State but had averaged only 69 points per game in their 3 preceding games. Allowing 87 points to the Buckeyes also has to be a concern for Michigan as they now take on the highest scoring team in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes also have far and away the best assist to turnover ratio in the conference plus they lead the Big Ten in rebounding. Grab the generous points here. 10* IOWA

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #684 Wednesday 10* Top Play Butler Bulldogs (+) vs Seton Hall Pirates @ 7 ET - This line is not up everywhere right now and that is because of the questionable status of three senior starters for Butler. The Bulldogs have Bo Hodges, Bryce Nze, and Aaron Thompson all listed as questionable for this one. My take on this is I don't see these guys again all missing another game. Maybe not all 3 play but I would be surprised if at least  2 of the 3 are not seeing action in this game tonight. Why? Well they are seniors and even though they have two more regular season games left this is definitely the most winnable game on their schedule that remains. Their next two games are versus Villanova and at Creighton. Yikes! By the way, even without all 3 of those aforementioned starters, the Bulldogs were down by only 5 points with a minute and a half to go in their 12 point loss to the Musketeers Sunday. Now they are at home and a big dog and could have some starting firepower back for this one and note that Seton Hall is 13-9 this season while Xavier is 12-4. The Pirates are certainly solid and have gone 10-6 in Big East action but the Musketeers are no slouches it is just their Big East schedule has been heavily impacted by covid. There is simply tremendous value with the home dog in this match-up and I suspect this line will steadily come down as the day goes on so lets jump on the early value here in a game the Bulldogs will be gunning hard for the upset win. It truly is their most winnable game left on the schedule and historically they are a tough team at Hinkle Fieldhouse. 10* BUTLER

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #628 Tuesday 10* Top Play Villanova Wildcats (-) vs St John's Red Storm @ 8 ET - Randomly playing revenge situations will get you in trouble in no time but finding the right revenge spots can be pure gold. The best teams in the Big East this season are Villanova and Creighton. The Wildcats lost by double digits at St John's earlier this season and now it is payback time. Why should we expect a solid home win for Villanova here? Well the best sample size to look at is how the Red Storm performed against the Bluejays this season. St John's has already faced Creighton twice and lost each game by an 18 point margin. Villanova can do the same here and this line is down to an 11 as of early game day morning. I'll take it. The Wildcats will take advantage of a Red Storm team that has allowed 86 points per game in its last two games. Villanova is a very strong shooting team at home. Also, the Wildcats are allowing just 66 points per game as a host this season. Coincidentally the posted total on this game is 152.5 and 86-66 indeed sounds about right and the expectation of that final score is justified per the above. The point is you can see why I am expecting the Cats to win this one by about 18 to 20 points. 10* VILLANOVA

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #828 Sunday 8* Xavier Musketeers (-) vs Butler Bulldogs @ 7 ET - The Musketeers are off back to back losses but that was preceded by a 13-point win at Butler that brought Xavier to 11-2 on the season. Now the Musketeers are hosting the Bulldogs and in a foul mood and, as a result, this match-up has blowout written all over it. Butler is off back to back losses and is now 1-8 SU (and 2-7 ATS) on the season in road games. Overall, 6 of the Bulldogs last 7 losses have come by at least a dozen points and I am expecting this one will as well. The Musketeers suffered a 1 point loss when they hosted Butler last season so they won't overlook this team nor will they take their foot off the gas. Blowout city in this one! 8* XAVIER

Big 12 Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #639 Saturday 10* Top Play Texas Tech Red Raiders (+) @ Kansas Jayhawks @ 2 ET - The Red Raiders have had a layoff due to a combination of weather and covid issues forcing postponements. That can, of course, be detrimental to a team. However, Texas Tech is not a normal team as they are one of the best teams in the nation and they are also fighting mad here. Their most recent game left the players and the coach fuming and they have been waiting a long time to get back on the floor and they will make the most of this opportunity today. The Red Raiders also have lost 3 games against Kansas including the most recent one by a single point in December. That said, Texas Tech is hell bent on revenge here and I am well aware of the fact that the Jayhawks have been playing better and winning some games. The key here though is who they faced. Now Kansas is in more of a dog fight style of game here and the last 5 times they have played a game with a spread either way that was 5 or less points, they have gone 0-5 SU and ATS. The Jayhawks simply aren't the same team they used to be and they already got blasted at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this season. I am not saying Kansas will get blasted here but I am saying the Red Raiders get the road win. Payback time here. 10* TEXAS TECH

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #614 Saturday 8* Villanova Wildcats (-) vs Connecticut Huskies @ 1 ET - The Huskies got their star player, James Bouknight back in their most recent game and that is keeping this line lower. I know Connecticut is a respectable team, especially with Bouknight back healthy again. However, the Wildcats are off just their 3rd loss of the season and will be ready to respond here just like they did after their first two losses. Keep in mind, Villanova entered that game with a 13-2 record on the season. The Huskies have lost 2 of last 3 road games and each defeat came by at least 8 points. The Wildcats two wins when off a loss this season each came by double digits and had an average margin of victory of 22 points per game. 11 of Villanova's 13 wins have come by a margin of at least 8 points and this one will too. UConn is on a 3-4 SU and ATS run and each of their last 3 losses have come by at least 7 points. With the spread on this one sitting right around a half-dozen points, we have solid value with a home team angry off a loss. 8* VILLANOVA

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #672 Wednesday 10* Butler Bulldogs (-) vs Marquette Golden Eagles @ 6:30 ET - The Bulldogs lost by 3 at Marquette two weeks ago but couple of important notes about that. One is that this is the only win that the Golden Eagles have had in their last 7 games! Another is that when you look at the box score for that game it is somewhat of a miracle that Marquette even won that game. The Golden Eagles took only 39 shots from the field but hit 61% of them. That high shooting percentage will most definitely not be repeated on the road. Also, the Bulldogs had just 9 turnovers in the game while Marquette had 22. Again, bit of a miracle that the Golden Eagles somehow held on to win that game. Now it is payback time and I like the fact that Butler is at home for this one. The Bulldogs have won 6 of 9 home games this season while Marquette is just 2-6 ATS in road games on the season. Butler has won 3 of its last 4 home games and that included knocking off Creighton when the Bluejays were ranked #8 in the nation. They can play with anyone here at Hinkle Fieldhouse and I expect a solid home win here after they arguably deserved much better in the first meeting in Milwaukee a few weeks ago. 10* BUTLER

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #608 Tuesday 10* Top Play Connecticut Huskies (-) vs Providence Friars @ 6:30 ET - The Huskies seek revenge for a loss by a double digit margin at Providence last week. Connecticut actually had 9 more shots from the field but the Friars had 18 more free throw attempts. That latter statistic will not be repeated here at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT. Also note that Connecticut's James Bouknight is very close to returning from his elbow injury. The Friars are off a road win but entered that game having lost 4 of last 5 away from home. Huskies are averaging 76 points per game at home this season while Providence has been held to an average of 62 points per game in last 3 road games. The revenge-minded home team gets a boost with the imminent return of Bouknight even if he is yet on the floor this evening. There is a mental aspect to this as well that their star's return is imminent. 10* CONNECTICUT

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #803 Sunday 10* Top Play Marquette Golden Eagles (+) @ Seton Hall Pirates @ 3 ET - The Golden Eagles will be ready to bounce back after an embarrassing blowout loss at Villanova by a 32-point margin. That was their first really bad loss of the new year as in 2021 the average margin of defeat had been 6.4 points per game. That said, and considering they are in a good spot, Marquette is offering significant line value here after opening up at about an 8 point dog. The Pirates are in the perfect spot to struggle as they are off back to back wins on the road as a very small favorite. Now Seton Hall has not played in over a week while Marquette played on Wednesday. After that blowout loss to the Wildcats, the Golden Eagles will be ready to respond here as they look for some revenge against the Pirates. Seton Hall has actually won 5 straight games against Marquette so payback is on order here. Look for the Pirates to fall to 0-3 ATS in their last 3 home games as they have lost back to back games both SU and ATS and the Golden Eagles challenge them all the way after getting embarrassed on Wednesday. 10* MARQUETTE

Big East Best - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #630 Saturday 8* Georgetown Hoyas (-) vs Butler Bulldogs @ 1:30 ET - Georgetown is off an ugly home loss to Creighton in which they suffered from very cold shooting and scored just 48 points. However, in their 3 prior games heading into that one, the Hoyas scored an average of 77.7 points per game. Georgetown, after beating Providence, then faced ranked teams in 3 straight games. The Hoyas are off back to back losses but now will take advantage of a stepdown in level of competition here. Georgetown is hosting a Butler team that is off back to back wins but the most recent one was a fortunate one as they were getting hammered by St John's but then rallied in the 2nd half, tied it with just a few seconds left, and then won by 3 in overtime. Also, the Bulldogs have not won 3 straight games this entire season and I do not expect that to change here as their 2-game winning streak comes to an end. Also, Butler did beat Georgetown by 8 points earlier this season but the Bulldogs are just 1-7 SU on the road this season. Grab the Hoyas in this one. 8* GEORGETOWN

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #897 Friday 10* Top Plays Temple Owls (+) @ Cincinnati Bearcats @ 7 ET - The last 4 games between these teams have been decided by an average of just 3.8 points and now the Owls are a 6.5 dog in this one and it is a revenge spot. Temple lost at home against Cincinnati a week ago. The Owls enter this one off 3 straight losses but they got the big dog cover with a strong effort at Wichita State on Sunday. Temple is now on a 3-0 ATS run in road games and I look for the Owls to continue that strong run as travelers here. Though the Bearcats got the cover at Temple a week ago, Cincinnati is 2-9 ATS in their other games this season and I feel they are over-valued in this one. Opponents are actually shooting 47.5% against the Bearcats in their home games this season while the Owls are holding opponents to 40.9% in their road games this season. I am grabbing the hungry, undervalued dog in this one. 10* TEMPLE

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #737 Thursday 10* Top Play Purdue Boilermakers (+) @ Minnesota Golden Gophers @ 5 ET - Early line movement toward Minnesota already and I understand that because of the revenge angle. However, there is a match-up issue here. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Golden Gophers by 17 in the first meeting and it was not entirely a fluke. Minnesota has been outrebounded by a margin of 2 boards per game this season while Purdue is outrebounding opponents by 7 boards a game on the season. Comparing these two teams' stats on the season, the Boilermakers are also the better shooting team. Purdue has won 6 of 8 games entering this one while Minnesota is off a win but that was preceded by 6 losses in 8 games. The Boilermakers also have a rest edge here having not played since the 6th while the Gophers just played on the 8th. Minnesota has a great home record this season but the odds maker set this line very low with good reason. Don't let the number scare you away. Look for the road team to roll in this one. 10* PURDUE

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #644 Wednesday 10* Top Play Providence Friars (+) vs Connecticut Huskies @ 4 ET - The Huskies are a different team without leading scorer James Bouknight and he is out indefinitely with an elbow injury. Connecticut is now on a 1-3 SU/ATS run without him. As for Providence, reinforcements are very near to returning as both Jared Bynum and Jimmy Nichols are nearing returns. So when someone casually looks at this game, they see an 8-4 team laying just 1.5 points at a 9-10 team. However, as you can see, there is absolutely a reason this game is priced this way so do not be fooled by the 4-win team in this range. The Friars are off a home loss in which they allowed 92 points and they will be ready to respond big here and improve to 5-0 this season when off a game in which they allowed 79 or more points. Another disadvantage for UConn here is this is just their 2nd game in the past 2 weeks. The home team in a much better spot here from a situational and personnel perspective. 10* PROVIDENCE

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #631 Tuesday 10* Top Play St John's Red Storm (+) @ Butler Bulldogs @ 9 ET - The Red Storm are red hot entering this game on a 6-0 SU run and 8-0 ATS run. St John's next game after this is not for a full week. That  said, the Red Storm can absolutely lay it all on the line here with a strong aggressive effort. Speaking of aggressive play, that is the reason St John's is averaging twice as many (10) steals per game as Butler is (5) this season. Turnovers were a key in the first meeting between these teams and that was a Red Storm home win by double digits. Now in this second meeting, because Butler is at home, the host is a popular choice. The line opened up with St John's -1.5 but has flipped and is now up to a -2.5 on the Bulldogs! Love the added value here with the road dog. Butler enters this game off a home win versus DePaul but this was preceded by a stretch that saw the Bulldogs go 3-7 over 10 games. Butler is simply not as strong this season and the Red Storm are surging. Not only do they do a better job in terms of steals and blocked shots, St John's also has been the better shooting team this season across all categories - from the field, free throws, and three pointers. Grab the road dog Red Storm here plus the points but expect an outright win. 10* ST JOHN'S

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #609 Saturday 8* Seton Hall Pirates (+) @ Connecticut Huskies @ Noon ET - The Pirates are 9-5 their last 14 games and here is the key. 4 of those 5 losses came against ranked teams. The only other loss was in overtime. That said, you can see why I expect Seton Hall to now take advantage of facing an unranked UConn team and we get some line value based on the Pirates being on the road so the points are on our side. Seton Hall off a dominating win in which they allowed only 43 points and forced plenty of turnovers. The Pirates will build off that here. The Huskies are 8-3 this season while Seton Hall has 8 losses already this season and yet Connecticut is a very small favorite here even though they are at home. This is a typical contrarian situation for me and I feel the Pirates are the better team and will get the job done on the road here. The road dog is the better shooting team on the season and I like the way their defense played in their dominating win earlier this week. 8* SETON HALL

Early TV Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #860 Friday 10* Top Play Penn State Nittany Lions (-) vs Maryland Terrapins @ 7 ET - Why is a 6-8 team favored over a 10-8 team? Precisely why I am playing the 6-8 team. The fact is the Nittany Lions are off a bad loss at Wisconsin and in bounce back mode. Before the ugly loss to the Badgers, Penn State had beaten Wisconsin as part of a 3-1 SU and ATS run and that victory over the Badgers was at home where the Lions have won 3 straight and they should make it 4 in a row Friday. The Terrapins are off a win versus Purdue by the slimmest of margins but are on a 2-6 ATS run and off the nail-biter win, will fall flat here. Maryland averaging just 62.6 points per game on the road this season while the Nittany Lions are averaging 81.1 points per game at home this season. The Terps are the better team defensively but the home/road dichotomy for PSU is a big one and they again come up big at home with a strong shooting performance off a loss. 10* PENN STATE

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #736 Thursday 10* Top Play Temple Owls (+) vs Cincinnati Bearcats @ 7 ET - I am a Philly guy and was surprised the Owls didn't get it done on Sunday against Tulane. The game meant a little something extra after the passing of John Chaney whose name is synonymous with Temple basketball. The fact is that Sunday's disappointing result had a lot do with getting outrebounded and also the Green Wave shot much better. The Owls actually had just as many shot attempts as Tulane did in the game. Now Temple catches a break with facing a Cincinnati team that has not played in 3 and 1/2 weeks. Not only that, the Bearcats have lost 6 of their last 7 games. The Owls had won 3 of 4 before Sunday's loss and will respond big at home here. Cincinnati will struggle after the long layoff. Temple head coach Aaron McKie is also an Owls grad and the loss of Cheney means something extra to him for sure and I really look for a tremendous effort from the home team here and, unlike Sunday, they are catching the right team at the right time and they are a dog. I will take it. 10* TEMPLE

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #681 Wednesday 10* Top Play Seton Hall Pirates (+) @ Providence Friars @ 7 ET - When I see two teams with similar records and yet the game is around a pick'em, I will immediately be looking at the road team. In other words the odds makers are telling us who the better team is just by the fact that the road team is not a dog even though they are away from home and facing a team with a similar record. In this case, I was already looking at this game as the Pirates fell just short of the cover for me against Villanova on Saturday. That game saw Seton Hall hurt by one long scoreless drought that ended up being the difference in the game. The fact is the Pirates had 6 more shot attempts from the field in the game but the Wildcats shot a ridiculous 10 of 22 from three point land. Now Seton Hall is taking on a Providence team that has lost 5 of its last 7 and 1 of those 2 wins came in OT! In fact, the Friars are 5-6 in their last 11 games but 3 of the 5 wins came in extra time including one was a double OT game. Included in this stretch was an OT win at Seton Hall and the Pirates will now take advantage of their shot at revenge here. 10* SETON HALL

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #853 Monday 10* Top Play Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+) @ Louisville Cardinals @ 2 ET - The Yellow Jackets should have Bubba Parham back for this one as he is making the trip to Louisville after missing the last game to attend his cousin's funeral. I like the set up here as this is a classic case of two teams going the opposite direction and this is particularly true as it pertains to the betting window. The Cardinals are off a loss that dropped them to 1-3 SU and ATS in their last 4 games. They scored only 50 points in that game and it was against a Clemson team that just got waxed at Duke. For some more comparative reasoning though that is the same Tigers team that Georgia Tech just beat by 18 points. Also, the Yellow Jackets just beat Florida State by double digits while one of Louisville's 3 recent losses was against the same Seminoles team and they lost by double digits. The Jackets really stepped up without Parham in their most recent game to beat the Noles and now they get a boost with his return. I like those factors as well as the fact we're getting some points here against a team that has not covered any of the last 4 times they were favored in the -3 to -6 range. Cardinals fade continues as the Yellow Jackets improve to 3-0 ATS in their last 3 meetings with Louisville. 10* GEORGIA TECH

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #819 Sunday 10* Top Play St John's Red Storm (+) @ Marquette Golden Eagles @ 3:30 ET - The last time the Red Storm lost a game it was at home against the Golden Eagles by a bucket. The last time Marquette won a game was that tight victory at St John's. The point is that now we get a chance at right back revenge and can ride a hot team and fade a cold team. That said, I like our chances here. In that first match-up the Red Storm actually had 13 more field goal attempts than Marquette but simply had an off shooting night. But this is a St John's team that is now surging with confidence courtesy of a 3-game winning streak and they have won 4 of their last 5 overall and are on a 5-0 ATS run. The Golden Eagles have lost back to back games and 6 of their last 9 SU. During this 9-game run, Marquette has covered just ONCE! Grab the value with the road dog in this one as they are primed for an upset so I will gladly take the points here. 10* ST JOHN'S

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #648 Saturday 10* Top Play Seton Hall Pirates (+) vs Villanova Wildcats @ 3:30 ET - Seton Hall is loaded with seniors and juniors and that is the key to why they will bounce back here. The Pirates just lost an unbelievable game at home against Creighton Wednesday. Seton Hall had a huge lead rather late in the 2nd half and then witnessed a miraculous comeback as the Bluejays just had one of those shooting stretches where they could not miss. A younger team would be in trouble in their next game but Seton Hall is loaded with upperclassmen who know how to respond in a situation like this. The Pirates are at home which helps here and they also have plenty of confidence against the Wildcats. Though only 2-3 SU in the last 5 games against Villanova, Seton Hall has a knack for playing the Cats tough as the 3 losses each came by just 2 points apiece. The Wildcats are off a dominating win versus Providence but that was driven by a 19-9 turnover edge. They won't have that edge against the Pirates and, in fact, the turnovers are about equal in the last 4 meetings between these two teams. I expect Seton Hall to be very focused and motivated at home here after the way they lost to Creighton Wednesday and with the fact this is also a revenge game as the Pirates lost a tight one less than 2 weeks ago at Villanova. Payback time. Grab the generous points. 10* SETON HALL

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #897 Friday 8* North Texas Mean Green @ Rice Owls @ 3 ET - The Owls have 6 players averaging 19 or more minutes per game this season and 3 of them are on the injury report for this game. Evee (covid), Havsa (ankle), and Mullins (toe). That said, this is not an ideal set up for a Rice team that has lost 3 straight games and hosts a North Texas team seeking revenge for a loss in their last visit here. Also, the Mean Green have won 6 of their last 8 games and I have been particularly impressed with their defensive play as they have allowed just 62.8 points per game this season. North Texas has allowed just 49 points per game in their last two games. I know they have had a layoff here between games but that has become the new norm in 2021 and they are rested and ready to go here. Lay it. 8* NORTH TEXAS