::Wednesday:: 2/4 (201-203-0 -37.5 units)

1* 157-155

2* 29-31

3* 7-8

4* 1-1

5* 1-1

@STLTarHeels

 Integrity.   I like the way you itemize your various *star* rated picks - win or lose.

However,  probability would suggest you will reverse your fortunes for the second half!

BoL  going forward, including today!  

The heading on this is wrong.  My math got fucked up somewhere, but it'll be right tomorrow.  I'm 195-196-0 down 30 units.  Not sure where the wires got crossed but don't feel like taking the time to find out. 

1* Villanova Wildcats -7.5

Seton Hall came out the gates hot in conference play starting 4-1, but it was against the bottom of the conference.  When they took a step up on competition, they lost 4 straight before the relief of Xavier and Marquette could get back on the schedule.  But now it's back to top of the pack talent, and this is where the Pirates fade away.  Nova won @ SH by 8 earlier in the year, and I'd call for a revenge spot, but I don't know where Seton Halls offense comes from.  Brennan should dominate the boards for the Cats and they win by double digits. 

1* Minnesota Golden Gophers +8.5

What a god awful spot for Sparty.  They just lost at home to rival Michigan, and have top 5 Illinois coming to East Lansing next.  Stuck right in the middle is a Minnesota team that is coming off it's worse loss of the year @ Penn St.  They've been extremely chippy at home, outside of a 19 point loss to then undefeated Nebraska.  The weird sight lines in the Barn, along with the elevated court, make this place tough to play in.  Sparty will get the Gophers best shot tonight. 

1* Saint Josephs Hawks -1.5

GW didn't have Raphael Castro in their last game @ home against Fordham, and they lost by 14.  He is their guy.  He's their inside presence on both ends of the floor, and is an extremely good rebounder.  He will not be playing again this evening from what I can tell, and what the line is.  I don't know how the Revs compete on the glass with the Hawks.  They were outrebounded 46-28 by Fordham (they are the best OR team in the conference).  But Castro is a first team all conference talent, and trying to win without him on the road is a tall order.

1* Florida Atlantic Owls +1.5

The Owls have lost three straight, the last one being a embarrassing one, as double digit favs @ home to ECU and losing by a point.  That, and Tulsa being the top dog in the conference, should be all the motivation needed tonight.  Tulsa has won 6 straight, but they have yet to play in an environment like they will see tonight.  They also have South Florida up next on this trip, with that one being the bigger game from a Tulsa standpoint as they will look to avenge a double digit loss, so could be a look ahead spot for the Canes. 

1* Louisiana Monroe Warhawks +12.5

ODU has 6 DI wins this year.  One of them has been by double digits, and that was vs Morgan St.  Monroe isn't good, by any means, but asking the Monarchs to win a game by a bakers dozen, just seems like a terrible idea.  ULM has lost their last two, to similar competition, by a combine 7 points.  I guess they could always get blown out, but ODU doesn't do anything well enough for me to have any confidence that they can handle this number.

1* American Eagles -8.5

Bad luck for the Bison as they have to go to DC and play this American team, after they lost two bad ones over the last week.  The last one being @ home to Lafayette.  Yuck.  Good news is, Bucknell just ended a four game losing streak with a double OT win vs BU.  The Eagles defense is one of the best in the Patriot League, and Bucknell really struggles to score the ball at times. American Eagles by a dozen.

1* Delaware Blue Hens +12.5

The Flamers at Liberty have run off 12 straight wins. One of them was just on Jan 24th @ home vs this Hens team.  They won by 16.  That was the first game of a three game road trip for Delaware, but they now return home from that trip, with a decent memory of what happend two weeks ago.  It's so much easier for the lesser talented team to hang around in the second meeting.  You have an idea of what you're up against, and what they are trying to do.  This is the best home game Delaware is going to have, so hopefully a couple people show up. 

1* UTSA Roadrunners +25.5

South Florida has Tulsa next, and Wichita St after that.  They may not even know they have a game tonight.  Could they roll out of bed and win this game by 20?  Probably. But UTSA has only lost the last two by a combined 16, so 26 is too many for me to pass up.  Keep in mind, UTSA has lost multiple games this year by 30+.  Just a sleepy spot for USF.

1* Cleveland St Vikings +6.5

The Vikings are winners of four straight, and still can't get any love.  The last three were on the road, with one being at Wright St who leads the conference. So the ability is there, and maybe now it's all starting to gel??  These two met back at the beginning of Jan, and Oakland won handily by 23.  They also shot 17 more free throws in that game than the Vikings did, and Cleveland St shot an outstanding 15% from 3.  I don't think any of those things happen again. I'll be playing this ML.

1*Butler/Providence Under 169.5

Two up tempos offenses will set the number high, but being the second meeting, I expect both coaches to make defensive adjustments to try and slow down the other, and make them uncomfortable on that end of the floor.  Butler has lost two straight, so that should help with the defensive focus, and Providence has lost four straight, so hoping both coaches got into their guys pretty good over the last couple of days, and we see max effort tonight. 

1* Creighton Blue Jays +1.5

This feels trappy but I'm biting.  The Hoyas have won 3 straight for the first time since before Thanksgiving, two of them on the road.  I'd call that overachieving.  This is a revenge spot for the Hoyas as they nearly pulled off the win in Omaha just shy of a month ago.  However, Creighton just got their doors blown off by UCONN, after getting their ass' absolutely handed to them by a really bad Marquette team.  I'm also sure that Coach McDermott hasn't let his guys forget about the 24 points ass kickin they took here at Gtown last year.  

1* Colorado/Baylor Under 158.5

Neither team goes at a blazing pace, neither shoots a ton of threes, and Baylors offense is really not good at all.  This Nnaji kid they brought back from the G League isn't any good, he's just tall.  They protect the rim very well, so points in the paint shouldn't be easy to come by, and that is where the Buffs would prefer to get buckets.  Two defenses that take away the strengths of the opposing offense.

1* BYU Cougars -6.5

BYU just lost a heart breaker at home to #1 Arizona, then went to Phog Allen and lost by 8.  It's time for a break for them, and going to Stillwater is no walk in the park, but compared to those two, and Houston who BYU has next, are on a different level.  Okie St has the number 1 Arizona Wildcats on deck too, so despite the Dybantsa hype train coming to town, the next one probably means more.  Ever since conference play started OSU has struggled against the top of the conference talent, and i think that gets exposed again tonight. 

1* Utah St Aggies +1.5

Looks as though money is flowing in on the Lobos to the tune of almost 80% according to Action Network, and the line dropped a point.  That's good news if you are backing the Aggies.  They just beat SDSU to come within a game of the conference lead, they certainly don't want to immediately give that back.  The Aggies offense is once again, super efficient, and deep.  They do a great job of getting on the offensive glass, and have a very experienced team, so The Pit shouldn't do the damage that it does to so many others that haven't played in an environment like this before. 

1* Iowa Hawkeyes -2.5

Washington is the team that is traveling here.  They are coming back from Chicago, while Iowa has been on the west coast since Saturday.  I'll take the better offense, defense, coach, and spot.

Good luck STL 

Delaware all the way.

Tailing ATS and ML