Jayden Daniels vs Caleb Williams
Jay Felicio
It’s conference play in college basketball, so for a lot of teams it’s time to position themselves for the upcoming tournaments in March. Remember, most of the stadiums will still be without students so road teams have a better shot to pull off upsets the next week or so.
All odds are per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Evansville at Indiana State
7 p.m. ET
Indiana State -15
The Sycamores have one of the best offenses in the country. They are shooting 60.5% from two-point land and 41.3% from long range. The team played pretty well in an 87-75 loss at Michigan State last Saturday. They’ve scored 90 or more in three of their four home games against D1 opponents. Evansville also plays with some pace and has a defense that gave up 90 at Missouri State and 96 at BYU already this season. Last year a worse Purple Aces team gave up 91 at Indiana State. This year’s version is a lot better and may make this a game which means FT shooting late comes into play and the home team shoots 75.4% as a unit from there.
The Pick
Indiana State over 86.5 pts (-120)
Furman at UNC Greensboro
7 p.m. ET
Greensboro -2.5
Furman has used 10 different starting lineups through 13 games so far this season as they have been ravaged by injuries. Leading scorer Marcus Foster suffered a knee injury and is out till mid-January, while JP Pegues missed their last game after sustaining a sprained ankle. Without them, they lost to D2 Anderson 79-74 last Saturday. The team’s defense has been absolutely brutal, and it’s been a problem as their offense has been solid but can’t keep up on the scoreboard. UNC Greensboro has lost three of their last four, but all of those came on the road. They are back home where they’ve gone 5-0 so far this season. The Spartans excel at not turning the ball over on offense and shooting the three. To me, I think they are a solid bet at home to bounce back and continue to add to the Paladins recent miseries.
The Pick
Greensboro ML -145
Northern Iowa at Missouri State
9 p.m. ET
Missouri State -2.5
The Bears are back home after an impressive road win at St. Mary’s Dec. 23. This offense has been very good at home this season, scoring 84, 92, 90, 69 and 79 points. They have balanced scoring with three double-digit scorers currently in the lineup and a fourth (Matthew Lee) dealing with an injury. Northern Iowa is 6-7 and currently on a three-game win streak. Their defense is not good at all checking in 338th in 3pt% allowing teams to shoot 37.5% from long range. On the road they’ve given up 83, 74, 91, 84 and 63 points this season. Last year this series saw both teams win on the other’s court with Missouri State taking the early meeting 79-67 while losing the home game 69-66. I can see plenty of points from the home team in this one.
The Pick
Missouri State over 72.5 points (-120)
