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College Basketball

Thursday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
7 minute read
Houston (-2, 129 ½) at UCF – 7:00 PM EST – CBSSN

Two teams sit tied atop the American Athletic Conference at 8-1 as both teams hit the road on Thursday night. Cincinnati travels to Memphis, while Houston (21-1 SU, 14-7-1 ATS) heads to Orlando to square off with the third-place squad in the conference, UCF (16-4 SU, 10-9-1 ATS).

The Cougars picked up their sixth consecutive win last Thursday in a revenge spot by beating Temple, 73-66. Houston avenged its only loss of the season which came at Temple in early January, but the Cougars failed to cash in the second matchup as 9 ½-point home favorites. Corey Davis, Jr. led the Cougars with 24 points, as Houston overcame 4-of-18 shooting from three-point range and 13 missed free throws.

The Knights rebounded from an ugly 77-57 defeat at Memphis on January 27 to slip past UConn last Thursday, 73-67. UCF built a 12-point halftime edge, but the Huskies rallied back to get within the number and pick up the narrow cover as seven-point road ‘dogs. B.J. Taylor paced the Knights with 21 points, as UCF outscored UConn, 25-10 from the charity stripe.

Houston has put together a solid 5-1 SU/ATS mark on the road this season, while UCF has failed to cover the spread in five of the past six games with the only ATS win coming against last-place Tulane. Last season, the Cougars captured two matchups with the Knights, including a 69-65 victory in Orlando. The second meeting took place in the AAC tournament as Houston crushed UCF, 84-56 as nine-point favorites.

Washington (-1, 134) at Arizona – 9:00 PM EST – ESPN2

In spite of owning a 9-0 conference record and an 11-game winning streak, Washington (18-4 SU, 13-8-1 ATS) is on the outside looking in as far as the Top 25 polls go. The unranked Huskies have won and covered all nine Pac-12 games this season, including pulling off a sweep of the Los Angeles squads. Washington cruised past USC last Wednesday, 75-62, while knocking off UCLA last Saturday, 69-55 as the Huskies have cashed the UNDER in four of the past five games.

The Huskies head to the desert this week for a pair of contests, starting with a trip to Tucson to face Arizona (14-8 SU, 10-11-1 ATS). The Wildcats put together an impressive 4-0 start in conference play, but UA has gone backwards of late by losing four of the past five games, including three straight contests on the road. The most recent setback came in last Thursday’s 95-88 overtime loss at Arizona State as 5 ½-point underdogs, marking the second straight season that Arizona has lost three consecutive games.

Washington and Arizona met only once last season as the Huskies edged the Wildcats in Seattle, 78-75 as seven-point underdogs. The Wildcats have captured each of the past four meetings with UW in Tucson, as the Huskies were listed as a double-digit underdog in each of those contests. Since getting blown out at Auburn in early November, Washington has covered in each of its past five true road games, including a perfect 4-0 mark in the Pac-12.

Iowa at Indiana (-1 ½, 147) – 9:00 PM EST – ESPN

Both these teams are coming off impressive underdog victories this past weekend as each club tries to build off those upsets. Iowa (17-5 SU, 11-11 ATS) forged above the .500 mark in Big 10 play by cruising past Michigan as five-point home underdogs last Friday, 74-59. Not only did the Hawkeyes snap a two-game skid, but they limited the Wolverines to 32% shooting from the floor to hand Michigan its second loss of the season.

Indiana (13-9 SU, 8-13 ATS) wishes it snapped only a two-game losing streak as the Hoosiers erased a seven-game slide on Saturday in a 79-75 overtime stunner over Michigan State as 13 ½-point underdogs. The Hoosiers overcame 39% shooting from the floor to pick up their first conference road win since December at Penn State. Archie Miller’s team improved to 3-8 ATS in Big 10 play, but the Hoosiers are 0-4 ATS in Bloomington against conference foes, which is in stark contrast to a 9-0 ATS mark last season.

Last season, Indiana swept the two-game series from Iowa, including a 13-point triumph at Assembly Hall. Iowa’s last victory at Indiana came in 2015, as the Hoosiers have grabbed five of the past six meetings. The Hawkeyes have hit the OVER in four of five road conference affairs, while allowing at least 82 points four times. The Hoosiers haven’t eclipsed the 73-point mark at home in four Big 10 contests, while drilling the UNDER all four times.

West Coast Conference Nuggets

The game of the night in the conference involves Gonzaga and San Francisco hooking up from Spokane. The Bulldogs (8-0 WCC) are riding a 12-game winning streak, which includes a 96-83 victory at USF as nine-point favorites in mid-January. Gonzaga has failed to cash in its last two opportunities as a home favorite in wins against Loyola-Marymount and San Diego. The Dons (5-3 WCC) play their third consecutive road contest after slipping up at San Diego and St. Mary’s. USF owns an 0-4 ATS record on the road inside the WCC, while losing its last three in the underdog role.

Santa Clara and Pepperdine are in the middle of the conference standings heading into Thursday’s action. The Broncos (4-5 WCC) held off the Waves (4-5 WCC) in their first matchup last month, 67-64 as 1 ½-point home favorites to improve to 5-1 in the last six meetings with Pepperdine. Santa Clara has yet to win consecutive league games as the Broncos are coming off an overtime victory over Portland their last time out. Pepperdine had won two straight but slipped up at Pacific last Saturday to fall to 6-3 ATS in WCC play.

Two more middle of the road WCC squads hook up in southern California as Loyola Marymount hosts San Diego. The Toreros (4-4 WCC) started the season at 11-4 in non-conference play, but USD has been uneven in league action, while losing three of four games away from San Diego. USD has cashed in its last three games overall, including in an 85-69 setback to Gonzaga as 22 ½-point road ‘dogs. The Lions (4-5 WCC) look to rebound from an 18-point defeat at BYU on Saturday, while trying to avenge a 71-58 loss at San Diego in January.

Portland is the lone winless team in WCC team as the Pilots (0-9 WCC) host BYU. The Cougars (6-3 WCC) sit in second place in the league behind Gonzaga, although BYU has alternated wins and losses in each of its last five games. BYU cruised past Portland in its first meeting in Provo last month, 79-56 as 17-point favorites, the fourth straight win and cover in the series as double-digit chalk. The Pilots last won a game on December 21 against Florida A&M, while owning a 1-3 ATS mark at home inside the WCC.

The third WCC game of the night involving a double-digit line takes place in the Bay Area between St. Mary’s and Pacific. The Gaels (5-3 WCC) snapped a two-game skid by holding off San Francisco, 86-80 to narrowly cover as 5 ½-point home favorites last Saturday. The Tigers (3-6 WCC) are seeking back-to-back conference wins for the first time after downing Pepperdine last Saturday, while Pacific is 0-3 SU/ATS as a road underdog in league play.

You can reach Kevin Rogers via e-mail at rogers@vegasinsider.com

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.

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