Baylor heads to Utah for a key Big 12 clash with BYU, while Big East and West Coast leaders Connecticut and Saint Mary’s are also in action on Tuesday’s college basketball betting card.
Picks Summary
- Connecticut-Creighton Under 145 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
- Baylor Bears vs. BYU Under 155½ (-110) at Bet365
- San Francisco-Saint Mary’s Under 133 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
Connecticut Huskies vs. Creighton Bluejays
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – 08:30 PM ET at CHI Health Center Omaha
It was just about this time last season that Dan Hurley had UConn hitting its stride on the way to an impressive run through the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the Huskies’ final two losses a year ago were road tilts at Marquette and Creighton.
The Huskies are already in postseason form now with 14 consecutive wins, and can exact a little revenge for that loss to the Bluejays Tuesday night in Omaha.
Huskies Have Never Won in Omaha
A Huskies win would also deal the decisive blow in the Big East regular season race, and NCAAB odds boards have the Huskies favored by 3 with 145 for the total.
This is still a very young rivalry and one that Creighton has dominated by winning six of the eight matchups as Big East foes. Connecticut has won two of the last three, claiming a 62-48 win in Storrs about a month ago.
Scheierman on Double-Double Rampage
It was a close game for the first 10 minutes before UConn broke clear of Marquette last Saturday. An 18-18 tie at that point was left in the Huskies’ dust as they closed the first half on a 24-6 spurt to easily cover the 7½ that sharp sportsbooks had for their closing line.
Creighton and Butler locked horns in Indianapolis for the first half, but the Bluejays came out of the locker room to roll past the Bulldogs 79-57 behind Baylor Scheierman’s sixth consecutive double-double (27 pts, 10 reb).
The Pick
This has been an ‘under’ bettor’s paradise with the last six matchups coming up short, and there’s no reason to suspect that will change Tuesday.
NCAAB Pick: Under 145 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook (check our Caesars Sportsbook Review)
Baylor Bears vs. BYU Cougars
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – 09:00 PM ET at Marriot Center
Protecting home court is crucial in every conference, but it’s especially important in the Big 12 where the BYU Cougars are anxious to rebound from a loss when the Baylor Bears come to Provo on Tuesday.
Bears Can Sweep Season Series
Brigham Young visited Waco very early on the conference fixture and will be looking to avenge an 81-72 loss to Baylor that left the Cougars 0-2 in the league standings. The Cougars led by 9 early in the second half before going cold.
The Bears got a little more intimate with their defensive coverage to force 14 BYU turnovers and turn those into a 14-point advantage off turnovers to rally and cover as 4½-point chalk.
That was the first time Baylor and BYU met since the semifinals of the 2013 NIT, a game the Bears won on their way to the title. Baylor leads the all-time rivalry, 6-5.
The Pick
Bet365 has BYU -4 with 155½ for the total in this rematch, and that extra hook on the scoreboard target that other shops don’t have might come in handy for bettors playing the final to fall ‘under’ the mark.
NCAAB Pick: Under 155½ (-110) at Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
San Francisco Dons vs. Saint Mary’s Gaels
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – 11:00 PM ET at University Credit Union Pavilion
When the schedule shows the top two teams in the West Coast Conference getting together, it’s always easy to assume that one of those teams is Gonzaga, and that would be the wrong assumption for Tuesday night.
Bennett’s Bunch Off Blowout Win
Saint Mary’s is enjoying the top perch in the league, and the Gaels own a 2-game cushion over the San Francisco Dons, who are tied with the perennial WCC bullies at Gonzaga. Saint Mary’s and San Francisco are each looking to extend long win streaks.
After losing back-to-back to the Gaels and Bulldogs last month, the Dons have won 6-straight following Saturday’s 81-59 rout at Loyola Marymount, more than enough to cover the 8½-point road chalk.
The Gaels have been off since last Thursday when they pounded Pepperdine, 103-59. A 19-0 run in the second half turned what was already a rout into a laugher, and Saint Mary’s practically couldn’t miss the bucket hitting 61.8% from the field (12-19, 63% from 3-point range).
The Pick
It was close to a laugher when the teams met on January 20 in San Francisco. The Gaels led wire-to-wire after jumping out to a 6-0 lead, while the Dons were pathetic outside the arch with just 2 successful shots in 17 tries in the 77-60 final.
That victory was the ninth in a row for Saint Mary’s, and the Gaels covered all but one of those triumphs while the ‘over’ has cashed five of the last six. Our college basketball pick will go contrary to that trend with yet another play on the ‘under’.
NCAAB Pick: Under 133 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
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