Sportswagers
This game already is off, it is tied 57-57 with 15:23 remaining.
DePaul @ XAVIER
#522 XAVIER -12 -110 over DePaul
12:00 PM EST. DePaul defeated Xavier earlier this month on January 3 by three points. DePaul also defeated Creighton, Marquette, St. John’s and Seton Hall to run its Big-East record to 5-2. On Thursday, the Blue Demons went into Seton Hall as a 10½-point pooch and won outright, 64-60. That victory came after they defeated the Johnnies in OT. These Blue Demons have been a different team since conference play started. These 12 points that DePaul is being offered stick out like a sore thumb, especially after that eye-opening win over the Pirates. The tendency for most would be to scoop up the points but we’re strongly suggesting eating up the points.
Xavier has dropped three of its last four. The Musketeers are coming off an OT loss to Providence and their only win over their last four games occurred against Marquette by just four points. This line falls into the “too good to be true” category and that’s always something that should never be ignored. The oddsmakers have made a line that says that DePaul is going to have a huge letdown here and/or Xavier is going to punish them. Xavier is just 3-4 in the conference and just 12-7 overall so they had better start winning some games or they’ll be watching the NCAA’s in March from the rail. It’s one thing if they were not capable of winning against Big East competition but nothing could be further from the truth. The Musketeers are an extremely talented outfit that figures to go on a serious run the rest of the way. They can score with anyone in the Big East, which even includes Villanova. They’re playing a DePaul team that has some truly ugly losses (Loyola Marymount, Ohio, Illinois State, Lehigh, etc.) and the Blue Demons were torched by Oregon State by 31 points, by 21 points to Ohio, by 14 points to Colorado and by 13 points to George Washington. When the Blue Demons lose, they often lose big. What we have here is an extremely talented Xavier team in a very favorable spot. The Musketeers are hungry and need victories while DePaul’s hunger was satisfied greatly in its last game. Line says Xavier by 15 or more and we say it won’t even be that close.
Our Pick
#522 XAVIER -12 -110 (Risking 2.2 units - To Win: 2.00)
Arkansas @ MISSOURI
#554 MISSOURI +6 -110 over Arkansas
2:00 PM EST. The Hogs were ranked for the first six weeks of the season but fell out after dropping consecutive games to Iowa State and Clemson, not to mention losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss in two of their last three games. Arkansas is putting up scores that look like NBA finals as oppose to college finals. They are scoring a bevy of points almost every night and that has the general public putting a little too much faith in them. The Hogs pay little attention to defense, which makes them extremely prone to big runs against. Arkansas is a dangerous team for sure but their style is not one that excels on the road because if their offense runs cold, they're in big trouble.
Over and under-reactions don’t just happen in football. The Tigers lost 86-37 at Kentucky 11 days ago. They’ve lost four in a row straight up and against the spread. When bettors keep ripping up their ticket betting on a team, they’re not anxious to bet on them again anytime soon. It doesn’t end there either. Last Saturday at home against Tennessee, the Tigers were a -1 point favorite (they lost 59-51) and seven days later they are a 5½-point pooch to a team that is inferior to the Hogs. That’s the real overreaction we’re referring to and we also love the fact that Arkansas hosts Tennessee on Tuesday in a revenge seeking game that they have to be thinking about.
Our Pick
#554 MISSOURI +6 -110 (Risking 2.2 units - To Win: 2.00)
Old Dominion @ UAB
#594 UAB +147 over Old Dominion
5:30 PM EST. The Monarchs got off to a tremendous 13-1 start and even had a victory over VCU back in late November. That 13-1 start had Old Dominion in the rankings but they have since fallen out with a 2-2 record over its last four. The Monarchs have played just five road games this year. They are 3-2 in those games with victories over George Mason, Charlotte and Marshall. Combined, that trio is 18-35. In their last two road games, the Monarchs are 0-2 with losses to Western Kentucky and to Mid-Tennessee State. Old Dominion’s hot start combined with their recent rankings has them way overvalued. Old Dominion is a poor shooting team that goes into long scoring droughts almost every game. That’s not the type of team you want to back on the road laying weight.
In a stretch of four days in late November, the Blazers faced three ranked teams in Wisconsin, Florida and UCLA. They’ve also played North Carolina and LSU. The Blazers didn’t win any of those games but they stayed within range in three of them and it did serve them well heading into conference play where they started out 3-0 and are now 5-1. The Blazers are a strong rebounding team, led by forward C.J. Washington, who has returned for his senior campaign. Jerod Haase, the team's third-year coach, locked down possibly the best recruiting class in the history of the program. UAB’s only conference loss so far was against Louisiana Tech (5-1 in the conference and 14-5 overall) nine days ago. The Blazers were a 15-point dog against Tech and led most of the way before losing late by just three points. The Blazers are C-USA’s most underrated squad. They can go toe-to-toe with anyone in this conference and proved so against Louisiana Tech among others. The Blazers have a strong bench, they’re more battle tested and we’re going to call them to win this one outright. Take the 3 or 3½ points if you like but we’re taking the Blazers on the money line as a very live dog at home.
Our Pick
#594 UAB +147 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.94)
This game already is off, it is tied 57-57 with 15:23 remaining.
DePaul @ XAVIER
#522 XAVIER -12 -110 over DePaul
12:00 PM EST. DePaul defeated Xavier earlier this month on January 3 by three points. DePaul also defeated Creighton, Marquette, St. John’s and Seton Hall to run its Big-East record to 5-2. On Thursday, the Blue Demons went into Seton Hall as a 10½-point pooch and won outright, 64-60. That victory came after they defeated the Johnnies in OT. These Blue Demons have been a different team since conference play started. These 12 points that DePaul is being offered stick out like a sore thumb, especially after that eye-opening win over the Pirates. The tendency for most would be to scoop up the points but we’re strongly suggesting eating up the points.
Xavier has dropped three of its last four. The Musketeers are coming off an OT loss to Providence and their only win over their last four games occurred against Marquette by just four points. This line falls into the “too good to be true” category and that’s always something that should never be ignored. The oddsmakers have made a line that says that DePaul is going to have a huge letdown here and/or Xavier is going to punish them. Xavier is just 3-4 in the conference and just 12-7 overall so they had better start winning some games or they’ll be watching the NCAA’s in March from the rail. It’s one thing if they were not capable of winning against Big East competition but nothing could be further from the truth. The Musketeers are an extremely talented outfit that figures to go on a serious run the rest of the way. They can score with anyone in the Big East, which even includes Villanova. They’re playing a DePaul team that has some truly ugly losses (Loyola Marymount, Ohio, Illinois State, Lehigh, etc.) and the Blue Demons were torched by Oregon State by 31 points, by 21 points to Ohio, by 14 points to Colorado and by 13 points to George Washington. When the Blue Demons lose, they often lose big. What we have here is an extremely talented Xavier team in a very favorable spot. The Musketeers are hungry and need victories while DePaul’s hunger was satisfied greatly in its last game. Line says Xavier by 15 or more and we say it won’t even be that close.
Our Pick
#522 XAVIER -12 -110 (Risking 2.2 units - To Win: 2.00)
Arkansas @ MISSOURI
#554 MISSOURI +6 -110 over Arkansas
2:00 PM EST. The Hogs were ranked for the first six weeks of the season but fell out after dropping consecutive games to Iowa State and Clemson, not to mention losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss in two of their last three games. Arkansas is putting up scores that look like NBA finals as oppose to college finals. They are scoring a bevy of points almost every night and that has the general public putting a little too much faith in them. The Hogs pay little attention to defense, which makes them extremely prone to big runs against. Arkansas is a dangerous team for sure but their style is not one that excels on the road because if their offense runs cold, they're in big trouble.
Over and under-reactions don’t just happen in football. The Tigers lost 86-37 at Kentucky 11 days ago. They’ve lost four in a row straight up and against the spread. When bettors keep ripping up their ticket betting on a team, they’re not anxious to bet on them again anytime soon. It doesn’t end there either. Last Saturday at home against Tennessee, the Tigers were a -1 point favorite (they lost 59-51) and seven days later they are a 5½-point pooch to a team that is inferior to the Hogs. That’s the real overreaction we’re referring to and we also love the fact that Arkansas hosts Tennessee on Tuesday in a revenge seeking game that they have to be thinking about.
Our Pick
#554 MISSOURI +6 -110 (Risking 2.2 units - To Win: 2.00)
Old Dominion @ UAB
#594 UAB +147 over Old Dominion
5:30 PM EST. The Monarchs got off to a tremendous 13-1 start and even had a victory over VCU back in late November. That 13-1 start had Old Dominion in the rankings but they have since fallen out with a 2-2 record over its last four. The Monarchs have played just five road games this year. They are 3-2 in those games with victories over George Mason, Charlotte and Marshall. Combined, that trio is 18-35. In their last two road games, the Monarchs are 0-2 with losses to Western Kentucky and to Mid-Tennessee State. Old Dominion’s hot start combined with their recent rankings has them way overvalued. Old Dominion is a poor shooting team that goes into long scoring droughts almost every game. That’s not the type of team you want to back on the road laying weight.
In a stretch of four days in late November, the Blazers faced three ranked teams in Wisconsin, Florida and UCLA. They’ve also played North Carolina and LSU. The Blazers didn’t win any of those games but they stayed within range in three of them and it did serve them well heading into conference play where they started out 3-0 and are now 5-1. The Blazers are a strong rebounding team, led by forward C.J. Washington, who has returned for his senior campaign. Jerod Haase, the team's third-year coach, locked down possibly the best recruiting class in the history of the program. UAB’s only conference loss so far was against Louisiana Tech (5-1 in the conference and 14-5 overall) nine days ago. The Blazers were a 15-point dog against Tech and led most of the way before losing late by just three points. The Blazers are C-USA’s most underrated squad. They can go toe-to-toe with anyone in this conference and proved so against Louisiana Tech among others. The Blazers have a strong bench, they’re more battle tested and we’re going to call them to win this one outright. Take the 3 or 3½ points if you like but we’re taking the Blazers on the money line as a very live dog at home.
Our Pick
#594 UAB +147 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.94)
