College Basketball

Mississippi State (+160) at LSU: Mississippi State's been a competitve SEC team, splitting their last ten games of conference play. Except for a 12-point loss at Mississippi, the losses came in tight games against tough opponents (Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, and Kentucky). Plus, Mississippi State has some road momentum after winning by eight at Auburn last Saturday. Even though LSU's also played a lot of close games lately, the Tigers have lost two of their last three home games, and they've lost seven of eight overall.

UConn (+190) at Syracuse: After a rough five-game stretch, UConn's playing better lately, as the Huskies have won three of their last four games straight-up, including a 67-60 home win over Syracuse on Feb. 5. Also, UConn is a team that can only get better as the year progresses, as three freshmen and two sophomores get the majority of the minutes. Meanwhile, three seniors, a junior, and a sophomore comprise Syracuse' main lineup, which means that Syracuse has less room for improvement than UConn. Since you're getting some value from UConn's youth, they're a good pick at nearly 2-1.

Auburn (+475) at Georgia: My rationale for this recommendation is that because Auburn's been competitive against SEC opponents this season, they have a shot at winning this game -- thus, the +475 provides a lot of value. Even though Auburn's just 3-7 in their last ten games, the Tigers played close road games against LSU and Arkansas, and they won at South Carolina. Georgia's a good team, but they're not impervious to lapses, as demonstrated by separate losing streaks of three and four games.

Mississippi (+200) at Arkansas: Mississippi's riding a four-game winning streak, while Arkansas is coming off of two road losses.  Arkansas has also lost seven of their last ten games, which is a sign that they're in the middle of the SEC pack. Mississippi will try to show that they're legitimate SEC title contenders.

Iowa State (+500) at Kansas State: Kansas State will likely win this game, but the moneyline's too high to resist.  Iowa State is coming off a momentum-building home win over Oklahoma, and they played well in the second half at Texas in the previous game.  Meanwhile, Kansas State can lose on any given day, as shown by their loss at Nebraska last Tuesday.  

Memphis at Gonzaga (+190): Last Monday, Gonzaga lost on their home floor for the first time in 50 games.  They'll be amped to prevent that from happening twice in a row.  The fact that Memphis is a top-10 team will only further motivate the 'Zags and their fans.

Oregon (+125) at Stanford: Oregon has hit a bit of a rough patch lately, losing four of their last five, but three of those losses were by three points or less, and the other was an eight-point defeat at UCLA.  Oregon uses all four of their excellent guards (Aaron Brooks, Tajuan Porter, Bryce Taylor, and Malik Hairston), and this will cause matchup problems for Stanford, who rely too heavily on their big men, the talented but inconsistent Lopez twins.

Louisville (+200) at Marquette: In winning at Pittsburgh on Monday night, Rick Pitino's squad took a giant step forward, and they'll prove to be a factor in the Tournament.  With 6' 11" David Padgett and 6' 8" freshman Derrick Caracter, Louisville has a formidable front that can dominate the boards.  Marquette's 6' 10" Ousmane Barro will have his hands full trying to fight inside against Padgett and Caracter, as Barro doesn't get much help from his smaller Marquette teammates.  Marquette's also coming off two straight losses, while Louisville has won two in a row.

North Caolina at Boston College (+245): Even if freshman sensation Brandon Wright plays, he'll be handicapped by a recent shoulder injury.  But the public still loves UNC's scoring potential, so the Tar Heels remain heavy favorites.  Also, some handicappers have claimed that Boston College's 9-3 ACC record is a fluke, but in my opinion, it's hard to argue with the standings.  Boston College also handily defeated N.C. State and Virginia Tech, both of whom delivered upset blows on North Carolina.  North Carolina's good, but they're showing that they're not the invincible force that oddsmakers pegged them as a few weeks ago.  There seems to be a bit of lag before the public realizes that it received misinformation, so consider this moneyline a product of that lag.  Take advantage of it.