College Hoops Conference Picks – Saturday Four Play
BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:
Auburn Tigers (11-7 SU, 9-3 ATS) at Arkansas Razorbacks (12-4 SU, 5-5 ATS)
Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, AR — 1 PM ET
Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* ARK has won five of the last six meetings SU
* AUB has covered three of the last four meetings * Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total
* ARK has won 12 of the last 13 meetings SU as the home team
* ARK is 9-3-1 ATS in the last 13 meetings as the home team
* ARK has had the shooting edge in each of the last six meetings
* AUB has had the rebounding edge in four of the last six meetings
After losing three straight games to Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Florida, all by nine points or more, the feeling is that Arkansas has regressed. Or is it that the Hogs are just not as good as everyone was led to believe? Well, since this team beat Oklahoma AND Texas, and not many SEC teams can do that, would seem to indicate something that can be corrected. One of the problems is a lot of turnovers, which can be traced to Courtney Fortson, the explosive but erratic guard who has committed 32 of them in his last six games. Michael Washington (17.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg) will be a load for Auburn to handle. The Tigers have pulled off few surprises, and have missed the mark against better teams, but until the Hogs get a handle on freshman Fortson, they’ll be vulnerable to the Auburn trap, which gathers over 10 steals a contest, second in the nation.
Our PREDICTION: AUBURN BY 2
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BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:
Oklahoma State Cowboys (12-5 SU, 5-5-1 ATS) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-5 SU, 6-4 ATS)
Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, NE — 4 PM ET
Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* OSU has won five of the last eight meetings SU
* NEB has covered seven of the last nine meetings
* NEB has won four of the last six meetings SU as the home team
* NEB has covered five of the last six meetings as the home team
* NEB has had the shooting edge in four of the last six meetings
* NEB has had the rebounding edge in each of the last five meetings
* OSU has made more three-pointers in four of the last five meetings
Anyone who looks at the stats realizes that the Oklahoma State Cowboys love to push the tempo, as they average a robust 86 points per game. However, more than one high-octane opponent has come to a crawl at the Devaney Center, where Nebraska has allowed just 54 points a game and where it has won 25 of the last 29 outings. This year the disciplined Huskers have stymied a few capable squads, including TCU, Creighton and Missouri, and they should do just fine against the OSU squad that is very proficient, but VERY dependent, on three-point shooting. Don’t be shocked if Nebraska, which averages nine steals a game and is +6 in average turnover margin, take a few back the other way.
Our PREDICTION: NEBRASKA BY 8
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BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:
Wisconsin Badgers (12-6 SU, 7-9 ATS) at Illinois Fighting Illini (16-3 SU, 11-5 ATS)
Assembly Hall, Champaign, IL — 4 PM ET
Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* WISC has won the last five meetings SU
* WISC has covered four of the last five meetings
* Five of the last eight meetings have gone UNDER the total
* ILL has won seven of the last ten meetings SU as the home team
* Four of the last six meetings in Champaign have gone UNDER the total
* WISC has had the shooting edge in each of the last five meetings
Illinois has made a quantum leap from last year’s squad, which missed post-season action. Bruce Weber’s team may not win the Big Ten, but they certainly should be able to grab an at-large bid. The Illini can be positively stifling on defense, and indeed are allowing teams only 29% shooting from behind the three-point arc, while at the same time posting one of the best assist-turnover ratios (1.5-to-1) in the conference. That sounds like some of the Wisconsin teams of years past. This is not to say that Bo Ryan’s team doesn’t have something to offer, but the Badgers won’t be beating the Illini in the transition game, nor will they bully anyone on the boards, not with Mike Davis and an improving Mike Tisdale around. Here comes revenge for Wisconsin’s clean sweep last season, including a win that knocked Illinois out of the Big Ten tournament.
Our PREDICTION: ILLINOIS BY 13
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BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:
Colorado State Rams (7-12 SU, 7-11 ATS) at Wyoming Cowboys (12-6 SU, 6-5 ATS)
Arena-Auditorium at Laramie, WY — 6 PM ET
Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* WYO has covered six of the last nine meetings
* WYO won seven of the last nine meetings SU as the home team
* CSU has had the shooting edge in four of the last six meetings
* WYO has had the rebounding edge in seven of the last nine meetings
* CSU has made more three-pointers in six of the last seven meetings
Colorado State recently ended its 19-game regular season conference losing streak with a win over UNLV and has beaten Air Force since then, but this is team is reeling from the suspension of Marcus Walker, who was averaging 15 points a game. The Rams are down to eight scholarship players on the roster at present, making them especially vulnerable to a Wyoming squad that has blasted out 80 points and is thirsting for revenge. You see, while CSU was losing all those regular season games in the Mountain West, they still ousted Wyoming from the conference tournament last season. There’s not a lot of three-point weaponry with the Rams; on the other hand, Sean Ogirri, the Wichita State transfer, is filling it up from beyond the arc for Wyoming (41%, 3.5 treys per game), giving the home team a chance to create distance.
