Tuesday night’s marquee matchup comes in SEC play, where the Kentucky Wildcats will try and use their 3-point specialists to get back into the win column against their arch-rival Vols.
Meanwhile, in ACC play, expect North Carolina and freshman Ian Jackson to earn another conference victory as they travel to a Pittsburgh team that hasn’t looked like a threat all season long.
Elsewhere, Notre Dame takes on Georgia Tech in a battle between two lackluster ACC squads that will be won by the guard play of the Yellow Jackets.
Saturday, February 8 at 4:00 PM | Spread | Money | Total |
Pittsburgh Panthers | +6 (-120) | +205 | O 150.5 (-105) |
North Carolina Tar Heels | -6 (-118) | -220 | U 149 (-117) |
The North Carolina Tar Heels aren’t exactly living up to the hype thus far like their bitter rivals are. While the Duke Blue Devils sit at 18-2 (2nd in the nation), the rocky Tar Heels are just 6-3 in a weak ACC and 13-8 overall, their best win coming against a UCLA team that has lost a great amount of steam in the month of January.
With this being said, I’m looking for the backcourt of veteran R.J. Davis and freshman phenom Ian Jackson to rewrite the story for this season. Carolina is used to slow starts as of late, and with Jackson finding his form offensively and UNC allowing just 65.2 PPG over their last six games, Pittsburgh should be in for a tough game at home.
The Panthers' most recent win against a horrible Syracuse team doesn’t faze me, dropping four straight in ACC play before the victory. With Carolina coming off a big OT win, look for this momentum to carry into Tuesday night’s matchup.
Saturday, February 8 at 5:30 PM | Spread | Money | Total |
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | +2.5 (-115) | +120 | O 128.5 (-108) |
Virginia Cavaliers | -2.5 (-110) | -140 | U 128.5 (-112) |
It’s no secret. Notre Dame and Georgia Tech are NCAA Tournament teams. Furthermore, they are both bottom-feeders in the ACC this season. GT is coming off a big win against Virginia Tech to finally get back into the win column, with their two best players Duncan Powell and Naithan George putting together 34 combined points, 8 combined assists, and 10 combined rebounds.
I’m looking for Damon Stoudamire’s squad to continue their solid offensive play against a Notre Dame offense opposite them that ranks 289th in the country in assists per game.
Both offenses are truly struggling at an extremely alarming rate, but Georgia Tech’s playmaking outduels Notre Dame’s just enough in this matchup for them to cover the spread at a large 8.5.
The game of the night is Kentucky at Tennessee. This matchup between two of the top teams in the SEC will draw a large crowd to Knoxville, where the 17-3 Vols will try to get back into the win column after dropping one to Auburn, where they only scored 51 points.
On the other side, Kentucky have lost their last two to Alabama while scoring 97 points and then scored just 69 points against a sleeper Vanderbilt team that could make noise come March. Kentucky and Tennessee will meet for the first time in the new era for both teams, making this matchup one that could involve some high-volume scoring on both ends.
With the Wildcats’ depth that runs 9 men deep, I believe they will get out to a quick start with their 3-point shooting from Jaxon Robinson and Koby Brea. Robinson has shot 18 of 35 from three over his last four games, while Brea is a true 3-point threat off Mark Pope’s bench.
Look for Kentucky to use their pace and efficiency to score in bunches against Tennessee. UK ranks 7th in offensive efficiency this season while Tennessee ranks 55th.
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Jaden Vann is a Sport Management and Creative Writing student at Syracuse University. Originally from Los Angeles, he brings a deep passion and understanding of basketball and football to his articles while exploring the evolution of sports through some of his personal works.