Top 25 Betting Recap

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

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.

Virginia Tech (18-3 SU, 12-8 ATS) sputtered through the week, suffering two of their season's five total losses in the past week. A home loss against fellow ranked team Louisville (17-7 SU, 13-9-2 ATS) is an acceptable loss, but an eight-point setback on the road against a subpar Clemson (15-8 SU, 10-13 ATS) side is a not a good look. The Hokies failed to cover both games this week, and they're now on a 3-7 ATS skid dating back to New Year's Day. It won't get any easier for the Hokies, either, as Virginia (20-2 SU, 16-6 ATS), Duke (21-2 SU, 15-8 ATS) and a trip to Florida State (18-5 SU, 10-12-1 ATS) loom on the horizon before the regular season concludes.

 Tennessee (22-1 SU, 13-8-1 ATS) is not looking to loosen their grip on the top-ranked spot anytime soon. They rolled through Florida (12-11 SU, 9-14 ATS) and Missouri (11-11 SU, 9-12-1 ATS) by 12 points each. In fact, each of their past five wins since their overtime scare at Vanderbilt (9-14 SU, 8-15 ATS) have been by 12 or more points. Overall, the Vols have won 18 in a row since their overtime setback against Kansas (18-6 SU, 10-14 ATS) on a neutral-site court back on Nov. 23.

Speaking of the Jayhawks, they were picked to be one of the challengers for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That ship might have sailed already, as they cannot seem to shake their shooting funk. Sure, injuries and some off-court situations have reared their ugly head to derail things in Lawrence, but they're an uncharacteristic 2-6 ATS over the past eight outings, and just 3-4 SU in the past seven. If they didn't have the 'Kansas' name, they'd probably be unranked by now.

Duke won a titanic showdown and rematch with Virginia on Saturday in Charlottesville, 81-71. That's a seventh straight win for Coach K's bunch, and a fourth cover in a row. The 'under' is also 5-1 in the past six for the Blue Devils, who have been a parlay players friend lately. The Hoos suffered just their second loss of the season, both to Duke, but this time they didn't spoil the afternoon for side bettors with a late bucket and a bad beat like they did at Cameron a few weeks ago.

Nevada (23-1 SU, 15-7-1 ATS) was having some issues covering a spread a few weeks ago, but those woes appear to be in the rear-view mirror. The Wolf Pack have covered five in a row, and won those games by an average of 24.4 points per game. Each of the past five spreads have seen Nevada favored by double digits, and they have been able to get it done. The 'over' is also 4-1 during the span, as they're averaging 93.8 PPG. In fact, Nevada ranks 24th in the nation 82.5 PPG, while allowing just 66.6 PPG to check in 55th in the country. That's going to mean quite a few covers even favored by 10 or more points.

Gonzaga (23-2 SU, 18-7 ATS) rolled up a pair of lopsided wins against pretty good teams this week. On Thursday the Zags pounded San Francisco (18-6 SU, 10-11-2 ATS) by a 92-62 score to comfortably cover an 18 1/2-point number, and they routed St. Mary's (15-10 SU, 15-10 ATS) by 48 points, covering a 17-point spread. Many folks might question the conference schedule of the Bulldogs, but remember, this is a team which lost by just three to Tennessee on a neutral-court, while ticking off a win against Duke by two points back on Nov. 21. They can hang with the titans of the college basketball world yet again. They're 11-3 ATS over the past 14 games, too.

VegasInsider Staff

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