Our college hoops picks are on fire, as they've gone 7-1 the last 2 days! We're starting to see the cream slowly rise to the top, and we're fired up to keep building the bankroll before March Madness.
Kentucky, Clemson, and Wisconsin all covered their points spreads with relative ease for us last night. Our only loser was on North Carolina, who beat Notre Dame but failed to cover the -6.5.
Here are 4 College Basketball Best Bets for Thursday, February 23. Good luck with all of your wagers. Let's stay hot!
Memphis Tigers @ Wichita State Shockers
At 20-7 overall and 10-4 in the conference, the Tigers find themselves in 3rd place in the American Conference. They have won 8 of their last 10 but are coming off a loss to #1 Houston on the road on Sunday. They did defeat the Shockers in their previous meeting this season by 10 points at home.
Deandre Williams had his best game of the season in that one. He finished with 29 points and 15 boards in the win. As a team, the Tigers shot 52.4% from long range and won the rebounding tilt by 9 in the last meeting.
Wichita is barely above .500 on the season but is primed to get their 1st win streak of the season here at home. They are coming off back-to-back wins over SMU and Temple.
James Rojas was the leading Shocker in the last meeting with Memphis. He was 8-10 from the line and 5-9 from the field for 19 points. As a team, they struggled shooting from distance, which has been a theme for them all season as they are near the bottom in the country in 3-point shooting.
Best Bet: Wichita State +2.5
Memphis could be without leading scorer Kendric Davis as he is questionable with an ankle injury. He sat out against Houston on Sunday, and the Tigers played decent without him.
The Tigers are 12th in the country in the pace of play, but that could cause issues here on the road if they go too fast. We like the Shockers in the revenge spot here, and if Davis sits out, that is just more of a bonus for us.
Here are some of the key betting trends for this AAC Showdown:
- Memphis is 2-9-1 ATS in their last 12 games vs. a team with a winning straight-up record.
- Memphis is 4-10-2 ATS in their last 16 games overall.
- Wichita St is 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games.
- Wichita St is 17-3 SU in their last 20 games played on a Thursday when playing at home.
Michigan Wolverines @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Michigan has been a disappointment all season. At 15-12, they find themselves on the outside looking in for the NCAA tournament. They avoided a 3-game skid on Saturday, where they defeated Michigan State at home 84-72.
Despite the subpar record, the Wolverines have been strong with the ball on offense. They are only averaging 9.7 turnovers per game which are 12th in the country.
Hunter Dickinson and Jett Howard have been the majority of the offense thus far, while Kobe Bufkin has been providing an added punch as of late.
Rutgers was 16-7 prior to their last 4 games. Losses to Indiana, Illinois, and Nebraska put them on a losing streak that they were desperate to snap. They went to Madison on Saturday and snuck out with a 58-57 defensive struggle win.
Cliff Omoruyi is averaging nearly a double-double (13.4 & 9.8) on the season. Cam Spencer was the main man last game as he went for 22 on 6-10 shooting from range in the win over Wisconsin.
Best Bet: Rutgers -6
Michigan’s ball handling will truly be tested at the RAC on Thursday. The Scarlet Knights are 25th in the country in forcing turnovers and have the 4th-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.
We love playing Rutgers at home, and this game seems like a must-win in order to keep their tourney big alive before heading out on a 2 game road trip.
Here are some of the key betting trends for this Big 10 battle:
- Michigan is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games.
- Michigan is 9-23 ATS in their last 32 games following an ATS win.
- Rutgers is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games.
- Rutgers is 13-7 ATS in their last 20 games.
Northwestern Wildcats @ Illinois Fighting Illini
What a turnaround it has been for Northwestern and Chris Collins. He has his Cats sitting in 2nd place in the Big 10 and #21 overall in the country.
They have won 8 of their last 10, including 5 straight wins. They already defeated this Illinois team at home back in early January 73-60.
Chase Audige was 4-9 from long distance and finished with 21 points, and 4 steals in that previous victory over the Illini. They were able to force 15 turnovers which helped them overcome their poor shooting from the field (32.1%).
Illinois is hanging on to the top ¼ of the standings in the Big 10. At 18-9, they will likely end up in the tourney come March, but their seeding could go as high as double digits if their recent play continues. They have lost 2 of their last 3 and 3 of their last 5.
They did defeat a weak Minnesota team on Monday but will be tested here in the rematch with Northwestern. Matthew Mayer was a high man in the loss last time as he finished with 17 points.
Best Bet: Northwestern +6
While Illinois is likely to be extra motivated with a chance to knock off a ranked opponent at home, we believe the Wildcats are too strong for this Illini team.
We expect Northwestern to continue to play tough defense and force double-digit turnovers from the Illini to get this road win. The points are a bonus at this point, as we believe they will take this one straight up.
Here are some of the key betting trends for this Big 10 battle:
- Northwestern is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Road team is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
- Illinois is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
- Favorite is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 meetings.
Washington State Cougars @ Stanford Cardinal
Washington State is riding a 3-game win streak as they head into Stanford this Thursday. This was after they had lost 5 of their previous 6.
However, they are just 1-8 on the road to this point in the season. Oddly enough, that one road win came over then #5 Arizona in what is their biggest win of the season.
They met the Cardinal previously this season at home and squeaked out a 60-59 win. They overcame a 3-point deficit at the half and rode Andrej Jakimovski and DJ Rodman, who combined for 32 points and were the only Cougars in double figures.
Stanford had lost 9 of 11 games during the middle part of their season, which basically eliminated them from the NCAA tourney. They then rattled off 5 straight wins but followed them up with a 1-4 mark over their last 5 games.
Despite grabbing 13 offensive rebounds, the Cardinal was unable to use them to capitalize and pick up the road win against these Cougars in the previous meeting.
Best Bet: Stanford -1.5
Stanford has the revenge factor here, and after losing the previous one in the fashion that they did, we expect a high-level effort from the Cardinal.
If they can hit the offensive glass like they did last meeting, we believe they will use them to convert and put the Cougars away late in the 2nd half.
Here are some of the key betting trends for this PAC 12 battle:
- Wazzu is 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a losing straight-up record.
- Wazzu is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Stanford is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a losing straight-up record.
- Stanford is 8-1 SU in their last 9 games when playing at home against Washington State.
