A winning Monday has our handicapper back on the trail seeking the best value on Tuesday’s college basketball odds board, and traversing the Lower 48 to come up with a trio of free picks.
Picks Summary
- Xavier +8½ (-110) at Bet365
- Michigan-Purdue Under 152½ (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
- Houston-BYU Under 136½ (-110) at Bet365
Xavier Musketeers vs. Creighton Bluejays
Tuesday, January 23, 2024 – 08:30 PM ET at CHI Health Center Omaha
Defending champ UConn is atop the Big East, but there are plenty of hungry crews eager to knock the Huskies off their perch, including Xavier and Creighton. Those two meet on Tuesday when top sportsbooks favor the Bluejays by 8½ on their home floor.
‘Jays Off Triple-OT Triumph at Seton Hall
Xavier missed a chance to upset the Huskies a couple of weeks back, but has since reeled off 3-straight wins to stay in the race. The latest was a struggle last Friday in Cincinnati where the Musketeers rallied from a 14-point deficit to get past Georgetown, 92-91.
Creighton also missed on its first shot against UConn last week when turnovers and glass work cost the Bluejays in a 62-48 loss at Gampel Pavilion. The Bluejays went cold over a 13-minute span of the two halves, scoring just 4 points on 2-16 shooting with 6 turnovers.
The Bluejays recovered from that with a 97-94 triple-overtime win at Seton Hall on Saturday, arguably the most exciting game of the season. Creighton outscored the Pirates 39-15 from beyond the arc to make up for being beaten 50-36 in the paint.
Musketeers 5-1 SU, 4-2 ATS Last 6 Meetings
Since the Big East went through a major shuffle 10 years ago, the Musketeers and Bluejays have developed one of the better rivalries, and definitely one of the closest with Xavier up 12-11 as conference foes.
They split two regular season collisions a year ago, each winning at home before Xavier upset Creighton in the Big East semis. The last three matchups in Omaha fell short of the totals on NCAAB odds boards.
Creighton gets the dubya, but oddsmakers have set the spread a bit too wide. X-Men for the win.
NCAAB Pick: Xavier +8½ (-110) at Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
Michigan Wolverines vs. Purdue Boilermakers
Tuesday, January 23, 2024 – 09:00 PM ET at Mackey Arena
It has been a 1-step forward, 2-steps back kind of season for Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines. A win Tuesday at Purdue would definitely be a giant step forward considering the Boilermakers are favored by 17½ at Caesars.
Wolverines Have Won 14 of Last 22
This is the first of two meetings, with the Boilermakers making the trip to Ann Arbor in late-February. Purdue won the only clash last season, a 75-70 decision at Crisler Center that pushed a 5-point total and easily jumped a 135½-point total.
Purdue is up 91-76 following last year’s win, which came on the heels of the Wolverines winning six of the previous seven. Totals have gone 3-1-1 O/U/P the last five in West Lafayette.
Edey Off 3rd-Straight Double-Double
Michigan broke out a Fab Five reunion last Monday to end a 5-game losing streak with an impressive 73-65 win and cover against rival Ohio State. The Wolverines then slid back into sloppy play in an 88-73 loss to Illinois on Saturday as a small home underdog.
Zach Edey and his buddies spent last week on the road, returning to Purdue with wins over Indiana and Iowa. Edey went double-double in both games to help secure the covers, and is working on a strong of three consecutive 30-point contests.
Once again, the spread looks a little high, but then, so does the total. Let’s go ‘under.’
NCAAB Pick: Under 152½ (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook (check our Caesars Sportsbook Review)
Houston Cougars vs. BYU Cougars
Tuesday, January 23, 2024 – 09:00 PM ET at Marriot Center
‘Round and ‘round and ‘round she goes, how the Big 12 plays out, nobody knows. With 11 legitimate dancers in the conference, crucial matchups like Houston visiting BYU are the norm, not the exception.
UH Leads Nation Allowing 51 PPG
Houston bounced back from a couple of road losses by winning both home games last week. Kelvin Sampson’s squad split covers in the wins over UCF and Texas Tech, both as double-digit chalk, holding the Knights to just 7-44 shooting from the field last Saturday.
J’Wan Roberts was limited to 18 minutes due to a knee injury he suffered in the win over Texas State back in December. The senior forward is listed as questionable for Tuesday.
Mark Pope watched his BYU bunch blow a 16-point halftime lead in Lubbock on Saturday, eventually falling to Texas Tech, 85-78. The Red Raiders didn’t take their first lead until 13 minutes into the second half, and BYU committed 8 turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
1st Meeting as Conference Foes
There isn’t much history between the programs. The Cougars and Cougars have met eight times previously, most recently during a home-&-home during the 2018 and 2019 campaigns. The schools traded road wins and covers, with the totals splitting as well.
Houston is a slight favorite and hasn’t covered a road game yet, but the focus of my college basketball pick is on these two defenses and another ‘under’ play.
NCAAB Pick: Under 136½ (-110) at Bet365
*The line and/or odds referenced in this article might have changed since the content was published. For the latest information on line movements, visit OddsTrader’s free betting odds tool.
