Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
The 2022-23 college basketball season is in midseason form, and we get some exciting matchups as conference play begins and 2022 comes to an end. Below are my favorite bets for Wednesday’s slate. Let’s have some fun.
Rutgers vs. Northwestern
(Line: Rutgers -1, DraftKings Sportsbook)
In what should be an absolute rock fight, Rutgers travels to Evanston to take on a hot Northwestern team coming off two straight Big Ten wins. Both teams profile similarly, focused on their elite defenses anchored by outstanding rim protection, with Rutgers third nationally and Northwestern 10th in defensive efficiency. Yet, I am a little skeptical of the Northwestern defense continuing its high-level play throughout Big Ten play as last year’s team (with a very similar roster) ended the season 73rd in defensive efficiency. The Wildcat defense is extremely packed in, forcing you to beat them over the top from three. Rutgers isn’t exactly a high level three-point shooting team by any means, but they should have the offensive creativity behind Paul Mulcahy and Cam Spencer to generate enough offense in this grinder of a matchup. On the offensive side of the ball, Northwestern relies heavily on their dual guards Chase Audige and Boo Buie to create their offense, but Rutgers’ elite on ball defense denies any dribble penetration, which should really stifle the Wildcat offense. We’ve seen times where Buie and Audige resort to poor shot selection and we could see that a lot with the conference defensive player of the year Caleb McConnell in their shorts the entire game. In what profiles to be a defensive struggle, Rutgers should be able to have a bit more success offensively and I trust coach Pikiell to be able to pull out this road victory against a Northwestern squad under Chris Collins that is known to fizzle out during conference play.
The Pick
Rutgers -1
