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College Basketball

Thursday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read
The last Thursday of college betting action in January serves up a trio of featured options in the Big Ten and Pac-12.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers get things started in a road game against the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Irish. Later Thursday night, the No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes head to College Park for a showdown against the No. 15 Maryland Terrapins. Moving across the country to the West Coast, the Arizona Wildcats will be on the road against the Washington Huskies.

Minnesota Golden Gophers at No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini
(FOX Sports 1, 7:30 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: >Illinois -5, Total 134
Provided by Unibet (NJ and PA only)
Odds subject to change

Betting Matchup

Minnesota fell back to .500 in the Big Ten (straight-up and against the spread) at 5-5 with Sunday’s 70-52 loss at home to Michigan State. It closed as a three-point underdog and the total stayed UNDER 142 points. It has stayed UNDER in four of the last six games. The Golden Gophers are 11-9 SU overall with a 7-11-1 record ATS. Their top two players all season long have been center Daniel Otura (19.7 points and 11.3 rebounds) and guard Marcus Carr (16.1 points and 6.8 assists).

The Fighting Illini remain one of six Big Ten teams in the national rankings. They are tied with Michigan State for first place in the conference standings at 7-2 SU. Saturday’s tight 64-62 road victory over Michigan as 4 ½-point underdogs was their sixth SU win in a row. They are 4-2 ATS during the same span. Illinois (15-5 SU, 10-8-1 ATS) has averaged 67.7 points per game over the last six games as opposed to an overall scoring average of 75.4 points on the season.

Betting Trends

-- The Golden Gophers have a 6-1 record ATS in their last seven Thursday games and the total has stayed UNDER in 13 of their last 14 games on the road.

-- The Fighting Illini are a perfect 6-0 SU in their last six home games but they slip to 1-4 ATS in their last five games played on Thursday.

-- The series is tied 2-2 SU in the last four meetings with Minnesota holding the 3-1 edge ATS. Illinois has the slight 6-4 edge (SU and ATS) over the last 10 meetings with the total going OVER in six of the last eight matchups.

No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 15 Maryland Terrapins
(Big Ten Network, 8:30 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: >Maryland -5, Total 146
Provided by Unibet (NJ and PA only)
Odds subject to change

Betting Matchup

Following back-to-back road losses to Penn State and Nebraska to start the month of January, the Hawkeyes have won their last five games starting with a 67-49 home victory against Maryland on Jan. 10 as two-point underdogs. Their record ATS in these seven games is 3-2-2. Iowa has an overall record of 15-5 SU (12-6-2 ATS) with a 6-3 mark in the Big Ten. Center Luka Garza racked up 21 points with 18 rebounds in Monday’s 68-62 win at home against Wisconsin.

Maryland was able to make it three SU wins in a row with Sunday’s tight 77-76 victory on the road against Indiana. It closed as a 2 ½-point road underdog to cover in the last four contests. The total went OVER 133 points on Sunday but it has stayed UNDER the closing line in nine of the Terrapins’ last 13 games. They are 6-3 SU in the conference and 16-4 overall. Anthony Cowan Jr. (15.5 points) and Jalen Smith (15.2 points) are the team’s top two scorers. Smith scored the final seven points in Sunday’s win.

Betting Trends

-- The Hawkeyes are 3-2 ATS this season on the road and 4-2-1 ATS in seven games closing as underdogs.

-- The Terrapins have a 7-4 record ATS in 11 home games and they have won their last 12 games at home SU.

-- Maryland has won four of the last six meetings SU but Iowa has the 4-2 edge ATS. The total stayed UNDER 146 ½ points in the first meeting and it has stayed UNDER in three of the last four games between the two.

Arizona Wildcats at Washington Huskies
(ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: >Arizona -2.5, Total 136.5
Provided by Unibet (NJ and PA only)
Odds subject to change

Betting Matchup

The Wildcats are 3-3 SU and 4-2 ATS in six Pac-12 games this season. They lost to Arizona State 66-65 on Saturday as five-point road favorites after covering as six-point favorites at home in their previous 75-54 romp over Colorado. Arizona is 13-6 SU with a 10-9 record ATS. It is averaging 80.7 PPG behind a trio of players scoring at least 12 points a game. The Wildcats are shooting a respectable 47.8 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from three-point range.

Washington (12-9 SU, 9-12 ATS) has lost its last three games SU and ATS to fall to 2-6 SU and ATS in conference play. The total went OVER 130 ½ points in Saturday’s 76-62 road loss to Colorado as an eight-point underdog. It had stayed UNDER in the Huskies’ previous seven contests. They have failed to score more than 66 points in each of the last six games. On the year, this team averages 70.0 PPG while holding its opponents to 63.4 points a game.

Betting Trends

-- The Wildcats have gone 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS in four previous road games this season. The total has gone OVER in 12 of their last 18 games played in the month of January.

-- The Huskies are 16-4 SU in their last 20 home games and the total has stayed UNDER in nine of their last 10 conference games.

-- Arizona has won eight of its last 10 games against Washington SU but the Huskies swept last season’s series 2-0 SU and ATS. They have covered in their last four games against the Wildcats with the total staying UNDER in four of the last five meetings.

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