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College Basketball

Saturday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read
A trio of late-afternoon matchups in the Big 12 and the Big Ten including the top team in the nation round out the early betting board in college basketball this Saturday.

Getting things started is a showdown between the No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers and the No.1 Baylor Bears in Waco. Next up, the No. 22 Illinois Fighting Illini head on the road to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Closing out Saturday afternoon’s slate, the No. 9 Maryland Terrapins tangle with the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing.

No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers at No. 1 Baylor Bears
(ESPN+, 4:00 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: >Baylor -6, Total 130
Provided by Unibet (NJ and PA only)
Odds subject to change

Betting Matchup

West Virginia will wrap up a brutal two-game stretch on Saturday after losing to Kansas 58-49 on Wednesday night as a slight 1 ½-point favorite. It also lost to Oklahoma 69-59 in its previous outing as a 2 ½-point favorite on the road. The Mountaineers are 2-3 straight-up in their last five games while sliding to 1-4 against the spread. They are 18-6 SU overall with a 6-5 record in Big 12 play. West Virginia has failed to reach its scoring average (71.8 points) in three of its last four games.

The top-ranked Bears (22-1 SU, 15-8 ATS) keep rolling through Big 12 play at 11-0 SU (8-3 ATS) as part of an extended 21-game winning streak. They beat Texas 52-45 on Monday as six-point road favorites. The total has stayed UNDER in three of Baylor’s last five outings. MaCio Teague scored a team-high 11 points in Monday’s win but the big story with this team continues to be a defense that is ranked fourth in the nation in points allowed (58.3).

Betting Trends

-- The Mountaineers are 3-5 both SU and ATS on the road this season. They have covered in two of three games closing as underdogs.

-- The Bears remain perfect at home with 11 SU wins. They fall to 5-6 ATS on their home court with the total staying UNDER in four of their last five Big 12 home games.

-- West Virginia has a slight 3-2 edge both SU and ATS in the last five meetings with the total going OVER in the last three games between the two.

No. 22 Illinois Fighting Illini at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
(Big Ten Network, 4:30 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: >Rutgers -4, Total 130
Provided by Unibet (NJ and PA only)
Odds subject to change

Betting Matchup

With Tuesday’s 70-69 home loss to Michigan State as 2 ½-point underdogs, the Fighting Illini are mired in a three-game SU slump. The other two losses were against Iowa on the road and to Maryland at home. They are 8-5 (SU and ATS) in conference play and 16-8 (12-10-1 ATS) overall. The total has stayed UNDER in four of their last five games. Making matters much worse for Illinois was a knee injury to Ayo Dosunmu in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s loss.

Rutgers slipped to 8-6 SU (10-4 ATS) in Big Ten play with Wednesday’s 72-66 road loss to Ohio State as a 5 ½-point underdog. One of its early losses in the Big Ten was a 54-51 setback against Illinois as a 5 ½-point underdog on the road back on Jan. 11. The Scarlet Knights (17-8 SU, 15-8-1 ATS) are now 1-4 SU and ATS in their last five games with the total going OVER five of their last seven contests. Sophomore guard Ron Harper Jr. is the team’s leading scorer this season (11.2 points) but has been held to 10 points or less in his last five starts.

Betting Trends

-- The Fighting Illini have gone 3-1 both SU and ATS in their last four road games with the total staying UNDER in eight of the last 10 games on the road.

-- The Scarlet Knights are a perfect 16-0 SU at home this season with an 8-2 record ATS in their last 10 home games. The total has gone OVER in their last three games at home.

-- Illinois is now 8-1 SU and 6-3 ATS in its last nine games against Rutgers. The total has gone OVER in three of the last four meetings.

No. 9 Maryland Terrapins at Michigan State Spartans
(ESPN, 6:00 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: >Michigan State -7, Total 138.5
Provided by Unibet (NJ and PA only)
Odds subject to change

Betting Matchup

The Terrapins are at the top of the Big Ten standings at 10-3 and riding a SU seven-game winning streak into Saturday’s contest. They have gone 6-2 ATS over their last eight outings with the total going OVER in four of the last six games. Maryland is 20-4 SU overall with a 13-11 record ATS. In Tuesday’s tight 72-70 win against Nebraska as heavy 18-point home favorites, Jalen Smith scored 16 points with 13 rebounds. Eric Ayala also added 16 points to help squeeze out the win.

Michigan State is out of the national rankings and a game and a half out of the conference lead at 9-5 SU. It just snapped a three-game losing streak with the win over Illinois. The Spartans (17-8 SU, 11-14 ATS) still failed to cover as slight road favorites to fall to 2-5 ATS in their last seven games. The total has stayed UNDER in eight of their last 10 outings. Senior guard Cassius Winston continues to lead the way with 18.3 points per game. He was held to 12 points against Illinois after scoring 20 points or more in each of his previous three starts.

Betting Trends

-- The Terrapins are 4-6 SU and an even 5-5 ATS over their last 10 road games. Yet, they have covered in their last four games on the road. The total has gone OVER in the last three road games.

-- The Spartans have covered in seven of their last eight home games with the total staying UNDER in their last four games at home.

-- Michigan State has won six of the last seven meetings SU with the 4-2-1 edge ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in six of those past seven matchups.

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