College Basketball Picks

This is a huge total at 164.5 but KenPom is projecting 170 points with Bart Torvik at 171.The Razorbacks are sixth in the country in adjusted offense while the Longhorns rank seventh. The Razorbacks are second-last in SEC play in opponent 2PT% (56.8%) and Texas excels at scoring inside with Dailyn Swain (17.7 ppg, 55.4 FG%) and Matas Vokietaitis (15.6 ppg, 64.3 FG%). That said, the Longhorns rank 14th in conference play in opponent 3PT% (36.4%) and will get torched from the perimeter by an up-tempo Arkansas squad led by Darius Acuff (22.0 ppg, 6.2 apg).

Projections for Malik Reneau sit between 19.2 and 22 points versus a scoring prop that’s tempered by a quiet outing against Boston College. If Wednesday’s spread is any indication, SMU puts up more of a fight and Reneau will register his regular workload and offensive activity. He scores at the rim while also collecting bonus buckets on offensive rebounds – two of the Mustangs’ bigger defensive blemishes. Reneau’s scored 19 or more in six of the last 10 contests.

The Golden Eagles forced 17 turnovers in that matchup, panning out to 27 points for MU. Providence has problems controlling the ball, leading the conference with 12.1 turnovers and 15.4 POTOV allowed. The Friars play a quicker tempo which fits Shaka Smart’s “Havoc Defense” just fine and will spark the Golden Eagles’ fast break, led by super frosh Nigel James Jr., who scored 38 points against Providence in January.

This looks like a possible letdown spot for OSU after beating Purdue, but PSU is also in a letdown spot after upsetting Iowa. I simply can't trust the Nittany Lions who have the worst defense among high-major schools. Meanwhile, their offense is shooting just 29.6% from deep since the start of February while ranking 16th in the conference in TO rate. Those turnover issues could be even worse tonight with lead guard Kayden Mingo (13.7 ppg, 4.3 apg) questionable. The Buckeyes beat PSU 84-78 in January despite missing center Christoph Tilly and squandering an 18-point lead. They'll win by a bigger margin tonight, especially since PSU should regress at the arc after shooting 40% in the first meeting.

Notre Dame won an ugly 47-40 game when these teams previously clashed on December 30. That makes this a revenge spot for Stanford who is coming off back-to-back wins, including a 20-point victory against SMU. The Cardinal are 5-2 ATS in their last seven and Ebuka Okorie (22.7 ppg, 3.5 apg) will be the best player on the floor. The Irish are fresh off an overtime win against NC State but that just their third win in their last 15 games. They struggle with turnovers and free throw accuracy (68.8 FT%) which will be crucial in a game with a line this close.

Houston’s hopes of a top seed died with that three-game skid, leaving Sampson to take a hard look at his team. His top priority is adding punch to the UH attack, playing faster and more active. The result was 102 points on 60% shooting versus Colorado. The Cougars can replicate those results against a Baylor Bears defense ranked among the worst in the conference.

USC has gone below its team total in 12 of its last 16 games while Washington has gone Under its team total in eight of its last 10 contests at home. USC has struggled since losing lead guard Rodney Rice (20.3 ppg, 6.0 apg) to a season-ending injury before conference play, and Chad Baker-Mazara (18.5 ppg) was dismissed from the team three days ago. Meanwhile, the Huskies are heavily reliant on Hannes Steinbach and Zoom Diallo, with injuries to Desmon Claude, and JJ Mandaquit, and poor efficiency from Wesley Yates and Quimari Peterson sinking their offense. They've scored 73 points or less in six straight games while the Trojans have failed to score more than 70 points in their last four.