Kansas (22-5 straight up, 13-14 against the spread) trailed by as many as 17 points Saturday in the first half at home vs. Baylor. The Bears went to halftime with a 45-32 lead as 5.5-point road underdogs, but the Jayhawks outscored them 55-26 in the second half on their way to an 87-71 win.
Jalen Wilson was the catalyst for KU, producing 21 points and 13 rebounds. Dajuan Harris Jr. added 14 points, two steals and nine assists compared to just one turnover, while KJ Adams Jr. finished with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Bill Self’s team improved to 13-5 against Quad-1 opponents. Kansas is now sixth in the NET rankings and seventh at KenPom. The Jayhawks have won four games in a row both SU and ATS, and they’re 6-1 both SU and ATS in their last seven contests. KU plays at TCU tonight as a short underdog.
Speaking of the Horned Frogs, they returned to form Saturday thanks to the return of Mike Miles Jr., who had been out with a hyperextended knee since Jan. 28. In his return, Miles logged 35 minutes of playing time in Saturday’s 100-75 win over Oklahoma St. as 6.5-point home favorites.
Miles had 15 points, two assists, one rebound, one steal and one blocked shot. He made 4-of-8 field-goal attempts and 6-of-9 free throws. Emanuel Miller led six Horned Frogs in double figures with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists compared to only one turnover.
TCU (18-9 SU, 14-12-1 ATS) is 12-3 SU and 9-5-1 ATS in 15 home games, while Kansas is 6-3 both SU and ATS in nine road assignments. Jamie Dixon’s team lost five of six games without Miles, including the overtime loss in Starkville on the day he injured his knee less than four minutes into the game.
The win over the Cowboys ended a four-game losing streak both SU and ATS. With Miles, TCU is 17-4 SU. When TCU went to Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 21 as a seven-point road underdog, it dealt out woodshed treatment in the form of an 83-60 pimpslap.
Shahada Wells, who has scored in double figures in five of TCU’s last seven games, scored a season-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, four steals and two assists in the win at KU. Wells drained 7-of-8 FGAs and 3-of-4 launches from 3-point range in Lawrence.
Miami (22-5 SU, 17-10 ATS) remained hot with its sixth straight win Saturday, beating Wake Forest 96-87 as a six-point home favorite. The 183 combined points soared ‘over’ the 160.5-point total to improve to 13-2-1 in the Demon Deacons’ last 16 outings.
Isaiah Wong scored a game-high 27 points, while Nijel Pack added 24 points, four steals, four assists and three boards for the Hurricanes, who are now No. 31 in both the NET rankings and at KenPom.
They damn sure look more like a Top-15 team to me. UM is 6-4 against Quad-1 opponents, 3-0 versus Quad-2 foes and its only shameful loss is a 76-70 setback at Ga. Tech on Jan. 4.
Since Nov. 21, Jim Larranaga’s squad has lost only three other games and those defeats came by seven combined points. The ‘Canes allowed a 68-60 lead with 2:05 remaining to get away at Pittsburgh when the Panthers scored the last 11 points of the game in a 71-68 comeback win.
On Jan. 14, Miami hooked up its backers as a three-point road underdog in an 83-81 overtime loss at NC St.
When UM went to Duke on Jan. 21, Wong played with a sinus infection that rendered him ineffective (only seven points on 2-of-8 FGAs in just 25 minutes of playing time) and the Blue Devils won a 68-66 decision. Sixteen days later, Miami blasted the Blue Devils 81-59 as a three-point home favorite.
In a tweet last week and in interviews on several radio shows in Omaha, Tampa, Little Rock and Clemson, I recommended a future play on Miami at 50/1 odds. I also expressed interest in other future tickets on UConn at 30/1 and Providence at 100/1. As of Monday morning at FanDuel, all three of those numbers were still available.
Miami plays at Va. Tech tomorrow night before finishing the regular season with back-to-back home games vs. FSU and Pitt. The ‘Canes are 13-3 in ACC action, leaving them one-half game behind Virginia in the league standings. They’re one-half game in front of Pitt.
The Panthers went to Blacksburg on Saturday sporting a 9-0 ATS record with seven outright wins in nine road assignments this year. They were also on a 9-0 ATS run with seven outright victories in their last nine games as underdogs. Both of those streaks ended in a 79-72 loss to the Hokies as five or 5.5-point road ‘dogs at most spots.
In other ACC action on Saturday, Clemson most likely saw any hopes of garnering an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament ended by losing 83-73 at Louisville. The Tigers fell to No. 81 in both the NET and at K-Pom. They have a Quad-3 loss and three losses to Quad-4 foes (at U of L, at Boston College and vs. Loyola-Chicago in Atlanta).
Another ACC team that saw its bubble hopes take a major hit over the weekend was last year’s runner-up in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. North Carolina (16-11 SU, 8-18-1 ATS) lost 77-69 at NC St. as a two-point road underdog yesterday.
In Joe Lunardi’s latest edition of ‘Bracketology’ released on Friday for ESPN, UNC was a part of his ‘Last Four In’ along with Kentucky, Wisconsin and Clemson. Along with Clemson and UNC, the Badgers also lost Saturday. They dropped a 58-57 decision to Rutgers in Madison.
John Calipari’s Kentucky squad completed a season sweep of Tennessee (No. 5 at K-Pom and No. 3 in the NET) with Saturday’s 66-54 win as a 1.5-point home underdog. The Wildcats raced out to a 39-19 halftime lead. Although the Volunteers trimmed the deficit to eight multiple times in the second half, that’s as close as they could get.
Freshman Cason Wallace was the difference for the ‘Cats. He contributed 16 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Oscar Tshiebwe added 16 points, seven boards and three steals.
UK plays at Florida on Wednesday before returning to Rupp Arena for back-to-back home games vs. Auburn and Vanderbilt. Cal’s club closes the regular season at Bud Walton Arena against Arkansas.
In front of those four aforementioned schools were Nevada, Boise St., Memphis and West Virginia in the ‘Last Four Byes.’ Nevada lost 75-66 at Utah St. on Saturday, while Texas Tech went into Morgantown and won 78-72 as a 6.5-point road underdog, hooking up money-line supporters with a +225 return at BetMGM.
Memphis covered the spread as a double-digit underdog in a competitive 82-74 loss Sunday at Houston. The Tigers were playing without their best player Kendric Davis, who sat out with an ankle injury. Davis averages 21.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game.
Boise St. failed to cover the number last night vs. UNLV, but it held on for a 73-69 home win. Leon Rice’s club is 21-6 overall and 11-3 in the Mountain West, leaving it one game behind San Diego St. at the top of the league standings.
BSU has won 11 of its last 13 games, with one of those losses coming at New Mexico in overtime (81-79). The only other defeat came on Feb. 3 at San Diego St. (72-52) when the Broncos were without their best player, Marcus Shaver, due to an ankle injury.
They get to host the Aztecs on Feb. 28 and can also get revenge at home on Wednesday when the Lobos come to Boise. BSU closes its regular season March 4 at Utah St.
Richard Pitino’s Lobos were a part of Lunardi’s ‘Next Four Out’ on Friday. The three other schools in this group were Seton Hall, Utah St. and Wake Forest.
New Mexico had lost four games in a row and five of its last six going into San Jose St. as a 2.5-point road underdog Friday night. The Lobos produced one of their best performances of the season, spanking the Spartans 96-68 thanks to a game-high 31 points from Morris Udeze.
I already mentioned Saturday’s results for Wake Forest and Utah St. As for the Pirates, they lost 64-55 at UConn.
Lunardi’s ‘First Four Out’ going into the weekend were Mississippi St., USC, Oregon and Charleston. The Bulldogs dodged potential disaster in Oxford, where they rallied to force overtime against Ole Miss. Chris Jans’s club outscored the Rebels 13-5 in the extra session to cover as a four-point road favorite in a 69-61 victory.
Mississippi St. (18-9 SU, 14-12-1 ATS) has won six of its last seven games and has compiled a 7-1 spread record in its last eight contests.
USC (19-8 SU, 15-12 ATS) suffered a terrible loss two Saturdays ago at Oregon St., falling 61-58 to the Beavers as nine-point road ‘chalk.’ However, the Trojans bounced back on Thursday in a 97-60 home win over California. Then on Saturday at home, they dropped Stanford 85-75 as six-point favorites.
Oregon has dropped three in a row both SU and ATS, including Wednesday’s 72-71 OT loss at Washington and Sunday’s 68-65 setback at Washington St. The Ducks are now No. 49 in the NET and No. 45 at K-Pom. They won’t get a chance to add another quality win until the Pac-12 Tournament. Their last three regular-season games are at Oregon St. (No. 207 K-Pom), vs. Cal (No. 262) and vs. Stanford (No. 95).
Charleston (26-3 SU, 16-11-1 ATS) won its fifth straight game by at least 13 points in Saturday’s 88-66 win at Elon. The Cougars close the regular season at home vs. Towson and Stony Brook. They’re currently No. 65 at K-Pom and No. 52 in the NET.
In the latest ‘Bracketology’ installment released this morning by Dave at Bracketville, he has Oklahoma St., Nevada, Boise St. and Memphis in his ‘Last Four Byes.’ His ‘Last Four In’ include Mississippi St., USC, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Dave’s ‘First Four Out’ are Utah St., Penn St., Charleston and New Mexico. His ‘Next Four Out’ are UNC, North Texas, Arizona St. and Michigan. His No. 1 seeds are Alabama, Houston, Purdue and Kansas.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
—Texas A&M (20-7 SU, 18-9 ATS) is up to No. 28 in the NET and No. 30 at K-Pom, as the Aggies are going to their first NCAA Tournament in Year 4 of Buzz Williams’s tenure. They’ve won five games in a row both SU and ATS, including Saturday’s 69-60 win at Missouri as 2.5-point road underdogs. Since Dec. 27, A&M has won 14 of its last 16 games. The Aggies are on an 11-4 ATS roll in their last 15 games. Their success is helping a pair of bubble teams in Boise St. and Memphis, who both collected key wins over A&M during non-conference play.
—Northwestern (20-7 SU, 17-10 ATS) remained hot as a firecracker with Sunday’s 80-60 win over Iowa as a 2.5-point home underdog. Boo Buie sparked the Wildcats to their fifth consecutive win both SU and ATS by scoring 23 points, dishing out eight assists compared to merely one turnover, grabbing four rebounds and making one steal. Chris Collins’s club is on an 8-2 run both SU and ATS in its last 10 games. During this stretch, Buie is averaging 20.3 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Northwestern is up to No. 39 in the NET with a 7-4 record against Quad-1 opponents and a 3-3 mark vs. Quad-2 foes.
–The ‘under’ has cashed in six straight Northwestern games to improve to 17-10 overall. The Wildcats are ranked 19th in the nation in scoring defense (61.9 PPG).
—Vanderbilt won its fifth straight game Saturday night with a 67-65 win over Auburn as a 2.5-point home underdog. Liam Robbins was the hero once again with 24 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot. The 7-foot center drained 17-of-20 attempts from the FT line. During Vandy’s five-game winning streak, Robbins is averaging 22.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per game. The Commodores lost three of their four games when he missed 2.5 weeks with an injured foot. Since his return, Vandy is 5-1 with its lone defeat coming at Alabama.
—Tulsa (5-21 SU, 3-21-2 ATS) remains an unmitigated disaster. Even though Temple was without its leading scorer Khalif Battle (17.9 PPG) due to personal reasons on Sunday, the Owls still smashed the Golden Hurricane 76-53 as 14-point home favorites. Tulsa fell to 0-11 SU and 1-10 ATS in 11 road assignments this year. The Golden Hurricane have lost eight games in a row by margins of 27, 44, 38, 11, 26, 12, 10 and 23 points.
–The teams right behind Tulsa as the country’s worst ATS teams include Georgia St. (6-17-2 ATS), Green Bay (8-21), Ohio St. (8-19), Notre Dame (8-19), Coppin St. (8-18-1), North Carolina (8-18-1) and Loyola-Chicago (8-18).
–The nation’s best ATS teams are Pitt (19-7-1), Fullerton (18-7-1), Kent St. (18-7), Utah Valley (17-7), Maryland-Eastern Shore (14-6-1), Stetson (16-7-1), James Madison (18-8), Youngstown St. (18-9), Cincinnati (18-9), Texas A&M (18-9) and St. Thomas (MN.) (18-9).
—FAU has the next-best ATS record at 16-8-1. The Owls, who are a No. 11 seed at Bracketville currently and would face sixth-seeded TCU, are mired in a 0-3 ATS slump after losing outright at Middle Tennessee (74-70) as 3.5-point road favorites on Thursday.
—Grand Canyon is the nation’s best ‘over’ team (20-6). Other top teams in terms of cashing ‘over’ tickets include South Florida (20-7), UAB (20-7), Rice (18-6), San Diego (19-7), Stetson (17-6-1), Youngstown St. (19-8), Denver (19-8-1), SMU (19-9) and Illinois St. (19-9).
–Five of the country’s Top-15 ‘under’ squads hail from the Northeast Conference. These teams include St. Francis (BK.) (18-6-1), Wagner (16-6), Stonehill (21-8), Merrimack (19-8) and Stony Brook (18-9). Speaking of the Warriors, they had a string of 16 consecutive ‘unders’ from Nov. 17 to Jan. 16. Since then, however, the ‘over’ had cashed at a 7-2 clip in Merrimack’s nine previous games until Saturday. That’s when the Warriors won 67-55 at Sacred Heart with the 122 combined points falling ‘under’ the 133-point tally.
–Other top ‘under’ teams include Kent St. (17-7-1), Saint Peter’s (17-7), Oregon St. (19-8), Butler (18-8-2) and Maryland (18-9).
–The ‘over’ has cashed in five straight Florida (14-13 SU, 13-14 ATS) games. With star center Colin Castleton out injured, the Gators were dominated on the boards (40-25) in an 84-65 loss at Arkansas. At this point, UF is simply hoping it can make the NIT.
–The ‘under’ is on a 9-3-1 for Duke it its last 13 games. The Blue Devils host Louisville tonight with a total of 137.5 points. Louisville, an 18-point road underdog, has produced a 5-1 spread record in its last six contests.
–In the past week, I followed @madeformarch on Twitter. He pumps out quality college hoops content constantly, so I recommend giving him a follow.
–Here’s one of his tweets from last night on some of the notable movers and shakers in the NET rankings:
–If you don’t already follow me on twitter, you can do so if you wish right here, and you can also follow our @majorwageruno account, too.