Wednesday marks day one of the 2010 Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Big 12 has been strong this year and features seven 20-win teams. The first round of conference play begins with some intriguing matchups and a group of likely blowouts.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-17, 2-14 in Big 12) @ Missouri Tigers (22-9, 10-6 in Big 12)

NCAA Basketball Betting (*note lines are approximations as they have not been posted at the time of writing)

Spread: Missouri -8

Over/Under: 130

Money Line: Missouri -380, Nebraska +270

The good news for the Cornhuskers was that they were 12-3 out of conference this year. The bad news, well they were the whipping boy of the Big 12 going 2-14. Nebraska is nothing more than a pesky team with no shot against the powerhouses of the conference.

Missouri is led by sophomore guard Kim English in scoring with over 14 points a game. Missouri spreads the ball around well and has a strong eight man rotation with senior leadership and talented underclassmen.

Prediction: Missouri won the season’s first two meetings by 17 and 15, expect more of the same.

Final: Missouri 69 – Nebraska 53. Take the Tigers in a rout.

Oklahoma Sooners: (13-17, 4-12 in Big 12) @ Oklahoma State Cowboys (21-9, 9-7 in Big 12)

Bookmaker Review: (*lines approximated)

Spread: Oklahoma State -7.5

Over/Under: 149

Money Line: Oklahoma State: -350, Oklahoma +225

Oklahoma has struggled through a tough season a year after All-American power forward, Blake Griffin left for the NBA. G Willie Warren has had a disastrous sophomore campaign and has dropped from being a lottery pick to most likely needing to come back for another year of college if he wants to be anything but a second round pick at best.

Oklahoma State has had an up and down end of their season as shown by their 9-7 conference record. On February 27^th, the Cowboys knocked off the number one team in the country, Kansas and had destroyed Oklahoma by 21 a couple of weeks prior to that. Junior guard James Anderson is third in the NCAA in scoring with 22.9 points per game to go with six rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Prediction: Look for another Sooner blowout with Anderson leading the way for the Cowboys.

Final: Oklahoma State 82 – Oklahoma 66. Take OK State and the under.

Iowa State Cyclones (15-16, 4-12 in Big 12) @ Texas Longhorns (23-8, 9-7 in Big 12)

Odds on NCAA Basketball (*lines approximated)

Spread: Texas -7

Over/Under: 142

Money Line: Texas -280, Iowa State +200

After a short time of being the number one team in the country, the Texas Longhorns have fallen off significantly. Losing both of their starting ball handlers (Varez Ward, Dougas Balbay) to injury early and late in the season respectively, the Longhorns have sputtered down the stretch going 5-5. Big man Dexter Pittman can be a force on the boards and F Damion James is one of the best power forwards in the country. Texas however, doesn’t have a point guard to run an efficient offense.

Iowa State knocked off Kansas State last week likely thwarting their effort to gain a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones had a terrible season otherwise, but can get into postseason play with a win against the Longhorns. A .500 record would qualify them for lesser postseason events as wins against Kansas State and Texas and playing in a power conference would likely give them some kind of berth.

Prediction: Texas should be able to handle Iowa State on neutral court as they are a vastly inferior team and the K-State game was likely a fluke.

Final: Texas 81- Iowa State 57. Take Texas and the under.

Also in Action: Texas Tech vs. Colorado.

All NCAA basketball betting players can respect the place that Louisville’s Freedom Hall has when it comes to the great college basketball arenas in the country, but it’s preparing to close its doors for the final time this weekend. The Cardinals will get to host the No.1 team in the country, Syracuse, who has nothing left to play for this weekend, and Louisville would love nothing better than to get a famous victory on closing night at Freedom Hall.

Syracuse vs Louisville odds – Saturday, March 6, 2:00 PM ET

The No.1 Orangemen (28-2, 15-2) extended their winning streak to four with an 85-66 rout of St. John’s on the road, and Arinze Oruaku had game highs of 21 points and eight rebounds. Oruaku has stepped up his game with the offensive struggles of Wes Johnson, who notched 13 points against the Red Storm. Johnson has had a tough time shooting the basketball lately, but he’s still contributing in other ways, and he had three blocks at St. John’s. The Orangemen shot 51.7% from the floor, and they’re already in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament as the No.1 seed.

The Cardinals (19-11, 10-7) have lost two of their last three after falling 69-48 at Marquette, but due to their win at Syracuse, a sweep of UConn and wins over teams like Notre Dame and Cincinnati, they should be in the big dance. Still, it’s never good to play like this late in the season, and Edgar Sosa was their high man with nine points as the Cardinals shot 37% from the field, and they went to the free-throw line just two times, making one of their shots.

Odds in your sportsbook (beted reviews) should have the Cardinals as the favorites at home, where they are 14-4 this year. The Orangemen are winless in four trips to Freedom Hall since 2000, and three of the four losses were in double figures. The Cardinals pulled out a 66-60 upset of the Orangemen at Syracuse on Valentine’s Day, getting 12 points from Sosa and Mike Marra, but Louisville held the potent Syracuse offense to 41.4% from the floor.  Even though they were just 9-of-17 from the foul line, they made them down the stretch. This game will be massive, as it’s the last game at Freedom Hall, it’s senior night for Sosa, Reginald Delk, Chris Brickley and Jerry Smith, and it’s the No.1 team in the nation. Syracuse just has revenge left to play for, but this will be Louisville’s night. The Orangemen may get another shot at them in the Big East tournament, but until then, the Cardinals have their number.

College basketball odds pick: Louisville

This Wednesday three are two matchups that pit the top two teams of major conferences square off. In the ACC, The Duke Blue Devils will try to clinch the regular season title when they travel to Maryland to take on the Terrapins. In the Big 12, Kansas and Kansas State will renew their rivalry as K-State makes a late season push for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Duke Blue Devils (25-4, 12-2 1^st in ACC) @ Maryland Terrapins (21-7, 11-3 2^nd in ACC)

NCAA Basketball Odds: (*note lines are approximations as they have not been posted at the time of writing.)

Spread: Duke -1.5

Over/Under: 131

Money Line: Duke -135, Maryland + 110

Duke ran the Terrapins out of Cameron Indoor Arena on February 13^th 77-56. Coach K’s kids held the Terps to 37% shooting from the field including 2-13 from three point land. Maryland can’t afford to shoot that bad again if they want to come away with a win at home.

Maryland is led by senior guard Grevis Vasquez who averages 19.5 points, 6.4 assists and 4.8 rebounds a game. The Terps go as Vasquez goes. Freshman PF Jordan Williams has impressed (9.1 points, 8.4 rebounds) but was shutdown the last times these teams met.

Duke has three players averaging over 17 points a game. Senior guard Jon Scheyer leads the way for the Blue Devils with 18.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists a game. Juniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler are the other high-scoring Blue Devils and all are three point sharpshooters. Senior center Brian Zoubek had an incredible 16 points and 17 rebounds in the last meeting and will have to use his 7’1” size to his advantage again if Duke is to dominate.

Look for the Blue Devils to come away with the win as they are the class of the ACC in a down year for the league.

Final: Duke 78 – Maryland 71. Take Duke and the over.

Kansas Jayhawks (27-2, 13-1 1^st in Big 12) @ Kansas State Wildcats (24-4, 11-3 2^nd in Big 12)

Sportsbook Review : (*lines approximated)

Spread: Kansas -1

Over/Under: 148

Money Line: Off

The last time these two teams met it was a home game for the Jayhawks. Kansas needed overtime to finally put away the Wildcats 81-79 on January 30^th. This game has a lot of bearing on whether or not Kansas State will receive a #1 seed come tournament time. Currently they are on the outside looking in; however a win over Kansas would greatly improve their chances.

Kansas State is led by junior guard Jacob Pullen who is averaging 18.5 points and 3.8 assists a game. Pullen has 11 20+ point efforts this year. Senior guard Denis Clemente is a Puerto Rican import to the heartland of the United States and the former transfer student from the University of Miami is averaging 15.8 points and 4.1 assists a game. Red-shirt sophomore Jamar Samuels and UConn transfer Curtis Kelly are both averaging over 11 points and 5 rebounds a game (6 for Kelly). Kansas State has won seven straight since that OT loss at Kansas.

The Kansas Jayhawks are coming off a loss at Oklahoma State 85-77. It was Kansas first loss since January 10^th against Tennessee. Kansas is led by junior center Cole Aldrich (11.4 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks a game) and senior guard Sherron Collins (15.3 points, 4.3 assists). Freshman guard Xavier Henry has showed why he was the number one ranked freshman coming into the NCAA ranks this year with his 14 points and 4.2 rebounds a game not telling the whole story. Henry is a 6-6 athletic guard with great range and 40% 3PT shooting. Henry doesn’t turn the ball over a whole lot (2 per game) and has scored in double figures the last six games.

Expect to see another battle in this in state rivalry. Kansas needs to right the ship after losing to Oklahoma City and Kansas State is looking to make a statement and improve their seeding. I like K-State to get some revenge.

Final: Kansas State 78 – Kansas 73

Bet College Basketball:  Take K-State and the over.

The SEC is known as a football conference but a lot of college basketball pundits are paying very close attention to it on the hardwood this year as well. It’s not so much of a surprise now that Kentucky is back.

The glory has been restored for the Wildcats program and all it took was finding the right head coach. Coach John Calipari came over from Memphis and there was literally no growing pains involved. Calipari and his squad hit the ground running right away and they have been tearing up not only the SEC but also the nation overall.

The Wildcats are ranked No. 2 overall and have lost just one contest all year long. Forgive them for losing on the road in South Carolina. But outside of that, the Wildcats have been a very tough customer. They are young but they are talented as it gets and they have won 27 of 28 games this season.

In SEC play, the Wildcats are 12-1 and one of those 12 wins was a victory over Tennessee earlier in the year. On Saturday, they’ll try to get the season sweep at Rocky Top.

No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats @ No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers

5Dimes Odds (5Dimes Reviews): Kentucky -2

The college basketball betting community will have their eyes squarely on their TV sets when Kentucky and Tennessee clash on CBS this Saturday.

Kentucky has been tearing up the SEC and one more win gets them the regular season title, although that’s just a formality. They’ll get it whether it happens on Saturday or not.

The Wildcats topped Tennessee 73-62 earlier this month but a change in venue might produce a change in result.  In normal circumstances, that might be the cases but Tennessee just isn’t fully healthy right now.

Star forward Wayne Chism was visibly in pain in the team’s last contest.

Overall, the Vols have been fading a little bit of late and that’s not a good sign when hosting a team like Kentucky. They have lost three of their last five games, although all of those losses came on the road.

The Wildcats are just hot right now and the Vols are at the other end of the spectrum. While home court advantage is on their side, they just aren’t playing well enough to upend Kentucky this Saturday.

NCAA Basketball Odds Pick: Kentucky -2

Online betting players have no idea how to handicap the Big East, which is by far the toughest conference in the country and should have at least two No.1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament after three last season. A recent hot streak has Pitt in the thick of the battle for the conference title, but they have to be careful when they head to explosive Notre Dame on Wednesday.

Pitt vs Notre Dame odds – Wednesday, February 24, 7:00 PM ET

The No.12 Panthers (21-6, 10-4) made some clutch free throws late in a 70-65 win over Villanova to tighten the race atop the Big East, and they lived at the charity stripe, going 26-of-34 from the foul line while the Wildcats were just 11-of-16. Ashton Gibbs led the way with 21 points and was 9-of-12 from the line, while Gilbert Brown came off the bench to add 16 points. Jermaine Dixon had a tough 3-of-15 day from the floor, but he added six boards, three assists, three steals and three blocks, and summed up this year’s Pitt team perfectly: they are willing to do the dirty things a team needs to do to win.

The Fighting Irish (17-10, 6-8) is one the teams that proves that the Big East is like a super casino, as they’re one of eight teams in the conference between five and eight wins. Notre Dame came up just short in a 91-89 double-overtime thriller at Louisville, and they played their second straight game with preseason All-American forward Luke Harangody, who is out with a knee bruise. Tim Abromaitis tried to pick up the slack with 29 points, while Ben Hansbrough added 21 points for the Fighting Irish, who were 10-of-24 from beyond the arc, but they made 12 fewer free throws than the Cardinals, which was the difference in a very tight game.

Notre Dame should be the sportsbook favorites at home, as they’re 15-3 at the Joyce Center. The Panthers have won six of their last seven against the Fighting Irish, and Notre Dame just isn’t the same with  Harangody in the lineup. His presence in the post gives the perimeter shooters more time to get prepared for their shots, and they were playing a defensively undisciplined team in Louisville. There will be no such luck against the Panthers, who are one of the best teams in the nation at that end of the floor, and the trio of Gibbs, Brown and Dixon will smother the Notre Dame shooters without Harangody in the lineup. Look for the Panthers to slow the pace of the contest and make it a game of minimal possessions to swing it in their favor.

College basketball betting pick: Pitt



As the regular season winds down in college basketball this year, there are a few key matchups that will decide conference titles as well as seeding for conference tournaments coming up. Most importantly, we will get to see which teams will be contenders and which will be pretenders when the NCAA tournament starts. This Saturday the top two teams in the SEC square off with the regular season crown up for grabs.

Kentucky Wildcats (25-1, 10-1 1^st in SEC) @ Vanderbilt Commodores (20-5, 9-2 2^nd in SEC)

Bookmaker Review: (*note lines are approximations as lines have not been posted at the time of writing)

NCAA Basketball Odds

Spread: Kentucky -2

Total: 141

Money Line: Kentucky -140, Vanderbilt +115

Why Kentucky will win

The Wildcats have shown extreme resilience this season when faced with a challenge. Winning in every way imaginable and losing only once all season, Kentucky has become one of the favorites for the NCAA title. PG John Wall has emerged from the pack of players and is the likely number one pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Wall is averaging 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6.5 assists a game for the SEC leading Wildcats.  His speed, athleticism and finishing ability is far and above that of guards in the college game this year. Wall often finds a welcome home to his slick passes in the hands of fellow Freshman DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins is a 6-10 man-child with post moves and a nose for the basketball averaging over 16 points and 10 rebounds a game. Rounding out the talented crew is G Eric Bledsoe, another solid guard with speed and scoring ability (10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists a game) and junior F Patrick Patterson (14.8 points, 7.4 rebounds per game). First year Coach John Calipari will try to take his third team to the final four and has the most stacked, talent-wise, roster in NCAA hoops this year.

Why Vanderbilt will win

The Commodores have not lost a home game since early December, and that was a tournament game in early December that wasn’t on their home court. Led by senior guard Jermaine Beal and junior center A.J. Ogilvy, the Commodores have beaten all of the competition in the SEC this season save for one team, the Kentucky Wildcats. Vanderbilt has some legitimate talent in their young players with sophomore G/F Jeffery Taylor having four 20+ point efforts and freshman G John Jenkins has shot 45% from three point land this year while averaging over 10 points a game. The Commodores will have their best shot at revenge for a loss at Kentucky last month Saturday night in front of the Commodore faithful.

Prediction

This is a key game to keep an eye on for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is important to see how the young Wildcats can handle a hostile environment late in the year. Secondly, if Vanderbilt is for real this season, they will have to either win this game or knock off Kentucky in the SEC tournament.

Sports betting tip: This looks like a team that can win a couple of the games in the tournament, but not much more. A good showing against Kentucky is the only thing that can change my opinion. Kentucky will show Vanderbilt why they are the class of the SEC in this game as Vanderbilt will fall to the Wildcats in a close one.

Final: Kentucky 76 – Vanderbilt 72. Take Kentucky and the over.

The Purdue Boilermakers started out their Big Ten campaign with just two wins in their first five conference games. Since then, they have been significantly better, though, racking up a crisp and clean seven-game winning streak.

In that time, Purdue has topped a few quality outfits, including a recent two-point win at the Breslin Center over a Top 25 team in Michigan State.

While Purdue’s shooting seems to come and go, mostly depending on whether they are at home or on the road, one thing that remains constant is their defense. In their most recent two games against Michigan State and Iowa, the Boilermakers held their competition to just 31% shooting from the field and just 12-of-43 from three-point range.

While the Boilermakers have been hot, they will still be looking to avenge a previous loss from earlier this year on Wednesday. The Boilermakers lost 70-66 at home to Ohio State earlier in the year, which dropped them to 2-2 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers blew a 13-point lead with seven minutes remaining only to lose by four.

Blowing big leads has been an issue for Purdue and they’ll have to play much better to beat Ohio State on the road.

Purdue Boilermakers @ Ohio State Buckeyes

BetPhoenix Odds (BetPhoenix Reviews): Ohio State -2

Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue all have just three losses in the Big Ten but both Ohio State and Michigan State have one more win than Purdue. Sports handicapping players know that the Boilermakers can get a leg up if they win on Wednesday because they’ll hold the tiebreaker with Michigan State and they’ll have an extra win over Ohio State.

This will be a very tall order for Purdue, which has not won in Columbus, Ohio in 12 years.

The good news is that the Boilermakers have recently ended two other long road losing streaks in Indiana and Michigan State.

The Buckeyes are in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten and they are coming off a huge win over Illinois. They crushed the Illini 72-53 on Valentine’s Day and are very confident right now.

Purdue may be the better team overall but they are on the road and it will be tough for them to scratch out another win. Look for Ohio State to get bye and put themselves in good shape for a Big Ten title.

Bet College Basketball Pick: Ohio State -2

This weekend marks one of the biggest two-day spans in NCAA college basketball. With each league closing in on the playoffs and March Madness rapidly approaching, People who bet on sports odds know that March Madness is the upcoming focus of the basketball world. On Saturday, the number 2 ranked Kentucky Wildcats battle the number 12 ranked Tennessee Volunteers in what promises to be one of the premier games of the year.

Tennessee Volunteers @ Kentucky Wildcats

Saturday, February 13, 9PM (ET)

College Basketball Betting Odds: NO LINE YET

Saturday marks a meeting between two of college basketball’s biggest rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky, currently ranked #2 in the nation is sitting first overall in the SEC with an 8-1 conference record and a 23-1 record overall. Tennessee who is sitting two games back of the Wildcats in the SEC are 6-3 in conference play and 18-5 overall. This game does have upset potential for the 12^th ranked Tennessee Volunteers, although the Kentucky Wildcats look poised to be March Madness contenders in the NCAA tourney.

What the Tennessee Volunteers need to do to win

Shut down John Wall and Demarcus Cousins

Both Demarcus Cousins and John Wall are slated as potential top 10 drafts picks in the upcoming NBA draft, with Wall the likely first overall selection. If Tennessee even has a hope of beating the Kentucky Wildcats, they must effectively minimize the impact of these players. Cousins and Wall offer an unparalleled 1-2 punch in the NCAA this season. Cousins has been pulling down more than 10 rebounds per game and over 16 points per game. Wall similarly has been hitting nearly 17 points per game from guard and is also one of the nations best passers. What makes these stats even more impressive is that both players are only freshman. Tennessee must play solid defence, steal rebounds from Cousins and keep pressure on Wall if they hope to have success. If the Volunteers can accomplish these goals, this game could be one of the season’s biggest upsets.

Stay focused on the road: There is no home crowd in college basketball that is more intimidating to play in front of than the crowd in Kentucky. The Wildcats are a perfect 16-0 at home this season and seem to be fuelled by their home crowd. Tennessee must remain calm and stick to head coach Bruce Pearl’s game plan even if the Wildcats come out with an early lead.

What the Kentucky Wildcats need to do to win

Simply put, the Kentucky Wildcats are favoured to win this game. Demarcus Cousins and John Wall have been dominating games this season. Tennessee however, also features a two-pack of talented players that the Wildcats can’t ignore. Wayne Chism and Scotty Hopson are both averaging over 13 points per game and play solid defensive games.

Kentucky will likely rely on their firepower to control this game, but the Tennessee Volunteers present a balanced attack that can’t be ignored.

For those interested in College Basketball Betting , this weekends match up between Tennessee and Kentucky is a can’t miss game. With two of the top teams in the nation clashing, this game could either be a one sided route, or an upset for the ages.