College Basketball Picks

The one real chance that Vanderbilt has against Tennessee is the fact that rivalry games tend to produce some strange outcomes. Sometimes, a team that has done nothing all season, like Vanderbilt, plays the game of its year and pushes its rival to the brink of disaster. Sometimes, it goes the other way and the favorite delivers a beat down that embarrasses its rival and forces a long, hard look in the mirror for the defeated. Do we expect a dramatic result here? DJ has your college hoops play and prediction!

Do the Blue Devils have enough gas left in the tank for the Panthers? This is a classic trap game for the Blue Devils. They’ve only had 72 hours to come down from the high of beating Virginia, and two of their five starters played all 40 minutes against Virginia. Given Duke’s style of running the floor as often as it can, fatigue could become a real factor for the Blue Devils in this contest. Is that reason to look at the dog and a whopping 12.5 points here? DJ has your college hoops pick!

The Cavaliers play at the slowest pace of any Division I school, but they’re efficient when they do have the ball, scoring an average of six points on every five trips down the floor. Kyle Guy has been the main catalyst for the Wahoos by upping his shooting percentage to 47.2 percent, and he’s hit double figures in 10 consecutive games. Does a recipe of pace and efficiency mean a +2 cover for Virginia bettors? DJ has your basketball pick.

The Musketeers may cover if they can take away one of Nova’s two main offensive weapons. Villanova’s lack of a third scorer makes beating it a simple, straightforward task — if you have the necessary personnel to pull it off. Paschall and Booth are both matchup nightmares for opposing defenses: quick, quality shooters with the confidence to take the open look whenever it comes. However, when things go wrong for one or both of them, as was the case in Villanova’s blowout loss to Michigan, the Wildcats can be easily beaten. The sportsbooks opened the Musketeers +10.5. Do they have the ability to defend their way to a cover against the spread?

Pinnacle Bank Arena has become a fortress for Nebraska, as the Huskers have won 20 straight games in Lincoln, dating back to a one-point loss to Kansas on Dec. 16, 2017. The Spartans are in town and putting that streak in serious jeopardy. Can Nebraska defend their house as small underdogs? DJ has your college basketball pick.