Top 25 Betting Recap
Editor's Note: Don't miss out on 30 days of Winning College Hoops Picks from Joe Williams for the 2018-19 NCAABK regular season. Click to win! Each week until March Madness we'll take a look at how the Top 25 fared from college basketball, but straight up and against the number, while also taking a look at their upcoming schedule.
Michigan State (15-2 SU, 13-4 ATS) continues to keep pace with Michigan (17-0 SU, 9-8 ATS) for the top spot in the Big Ten (plus four) Conference. While the Wolverines have yet to experience a setback, they're not nearly as outstanding againts the spread as Sparty has been. Tom Izzo's bunch enters the new week with six straight covers, and they are 9-1 ATS over the past 10 following their 71-56 road victory at Penn State (7-10 SU, 5-11-1 ATS) over the weekend. In case you were wondering, the Battle for the Great Lakes State will take place on Feb. 24 in Ann Arbor, and again on March 9 in East Lansing.
Gonzaga (16-2 SU, 14-4 ATS) picked up an impressive road victory against San Francisco (14-3 SU, 8-6-2 ATS), and the Bulldogs were able to pick up their seventh consecutive cover in the process. The win and cover against the Dons was particularly interesting, however, as the previous six games were against much inferior opponents. USF is a potential Tournament team, and the Zags continued to chug right along. The high-scoring 96-83 win did slap the brakes on a six-game 'under' streak for Gonzaga. The 'under' is 8-2 over their past 10 outings, too.
Texas Tech (15-1 SU, 6-9-1 ATS) remains at the top of the Big 12 (minus two), and they're unbeaten at 10-0 SU at home. That will be put to the test on Wednesday when Iowa State (12-4 SU, 8-6-2 ATS) pays a visit to Lubbock. While the Red Raiders have just one blemish, a 69-58 loss against Duke (14-1 SU, 10-5 ATS) on a neutral-site court, they have struggled mightily against the number. TTU is just 2-7-1 ATS over the past 10, although they did earn a rare win and cover at Texas (10-6 SU, 6-10 ATS), 68-62.
The biggest losers of the week were Mississippi State (12-3 SU, 7-8 ATS), Ohio State (12-4 SU, 7-9 ATS) and St. John's (14-3 SU, 7-9-1 ATS). The skid of the Bulldogs is especially surprising, as they have two losses in a row after opening 12-1. A loss to rival Mississippi (13-2 SU, 14-1 ATS) was especially stinging. In fact, the Rebels could make their way into the Top 25 next week, as they're tied for the top spot in the SEC after the big win. Ole Miss has covered 14 of 15 games, so even if they're inexplicably left out of the Top 25, remember their dominance ATS.
The Buckeyes have dropped three in a row and are danger of falling out of the Top 25 after a 12-1 start. The Big Ten offers few breaks, but at least OSU is home for two this week against Maryland (14-3 SU, 8-8-1 ATS) and Purdue (10-6 SU, 8-8 ATS), two teams spinning their wheels against the number. As far as the Johnnies are concerned, they have dropped three of the past five outings, although they're still 5-1-1 ATS. Just because they're skidding a little, they're still valuable at the betting window.
Villanova (13-4 SU, 10-7 ATS), currently the only unbeaten team in the Big East, is poised to make a return to the Top 25 in a big way, especially since some of the teams at the bottom of the rankings had a tough time this week. They could be back in the Top 20. The Wildcats won a big road game over the weekend at Creighton (10-7 SU, 7-9 ATS) as short 'dogs. 'Nova is a solid 9-4 ATS over the past 13 games, including 3-0 ATS in the past three road games, but total bettors will find them particularly interesting. The 'under' is 11-3-2 across their past 16.
| 1 | Duke | 2-0, 1-1 | 7-3 | Syracuse, Virginia | | 2 | Michigan | 2-0, 2-0 | 5-5 | at Wisconsin | | 3 | Tennessee | 2-0, 2-0 | 6-3-1 | Arkansas, Alabama | | 4 | Virginia | 2-0, 2-0 | 9-1 | Virginia Tech, at Duke | | 5 | Gonzaga | 2-0. 2-0 | 7-3 | Loyola Marymount, at Portland | | 6 | Michigan State | 2-0, 2-0 | 9-1 | at Nebraska | | 7 | Kansas | 2-0, 2-0 | 5-5 | Texas, at West Virginia | | 8 | Texas Tech | 2-0, 1-0-1 | 2-7-1 | Iowa State, at Baylor | | 9 | Virginia Tech | 1-0, 0-1 | 5-5 | at Virginia, Wake Forest | | 10 | Nevada | 2-0, 2-0 | 5-4-1 | at Boise State, Air Force | | 11 | Auburn | 1-1, 1-1 | 4-6 | at Texas A&M, Kentucky | | 12 | North Carolina | 1-1, 1-1 | 6-3-1 | Notre Dame, at Miami-Florida | | 13 | Florida State | 1-1, 1-1 | 3-7 | at Pittsburgh, at Boston College | | 14 | Mississippi State | 0-2, 0-2 | 5-5 | Florida, at Vanderbilt | | 15 | N.C. State | 1-1, 0-2 | 7-3 | at Wake Forest, at Notre Dame | | 16 | Ohio State | 0-2, 0-2 | 3-7 | Maryland | | 17 | Houston | 1-1, 0-2 | 6-4 | at SMU, at South Florida | | 18 | Kentucky | 2-0, 0-2 | 5-5 | at Georgia, at Auburn | | 19 | Buffalo | 2-0, 2-0 | 7-2-1 | at Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan | | 20 | Iowa State | 0-2. 0-2 | 5-4-1 | at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State | | 21 | Marquette | 2-0, 1-1 | 7-3 | at Georgetown, Providence | | 22 | Indiana | 0-1, 1-0 | 5-5 | Nebraska, at Purdue | | 23 | Oklahoma | 1-1, 0-1-1 | 8-1-1 | Kansas State, at Texas | | 24 | St. John's | 0-2, 1-1 | 6-3-1 | Creighton, at Butler | | 25 | TCU | 0-2, 1-1 | 8-2 | West Virginia, at Kansas State | |
COLLEGE-BASKETBALL APR 9, 2024
