Friday Night College Hoops & Last Night’s Recap
The Nevada Wolf Pack host the Utah State Aggies in a late night Mountain West showdown.
Last night we went (1-4) and didn’t get the bounce of the ball we needed in some of the games. Michigan lead the entire game until the last second when Iowa tied and sent it to OT - we were doomed. Arizona blew the cover with under a minute to play. Colorado was also down 2 with less than a minute to go. That’s just the way it goes sometimes and puts us back under .500 (7-8). Let’s talk about what happened.
The Michigan Wolverines came out running and shooting the three ball. Something a little out of the ordinary for Michigan because that’s usually Iowa’s game. Except, freshman Jett Howard was unconscious shooting the ball finishing with a career high 34 points. Michigan eventually tired and began to make mistakes. Michigan was winning by 4 points with 20 seconds left when they fouled sophomore Payton Sandfort on a three point make and he buried the FT. Sandfort finished with 26 off the bench and dominated OT. Bad Michigan beat here. L.
The Arizona State Sun Devils came out guns a blazin’ and jumped all over the Oregon Ducks shooting the 3 ball. This was a blowout from tip off. ASU finished 13/29 45% from 3PT and over 50% from the field with 20 assists. I wish they were all this easy. W.
Gonzaga was in a back and forth battle with BYU. I underestimated the home court advantage of the Cougars. They didn’t stop the whole game mostly because BYU was 13-25 52% from 3PT. They basically doubled up the Zags from beyond the arc. This Gonzaga team is not as good as the ones in years past. I can’t see this team getting beyond the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. L with the Zags.
The Colorado Buffaloes had some difficulty starting this game out much too slow. They had double digit TOs in the first half and some scoring droughts. The Buffs dominated the boards out rebounding USC 44 to 29. But they could never limit their turnovers. This one definitely was a stinker and Colorado went ice cold with the game on the line. It cost them a very winnable game and our +3.5 ticket.
Arizona at one point had a 24 point lead and was getting to all their shots on offense. This Wildcat is a very finesse team and does not do well when another team wants to play physical with them. Arizona dominated this on the state sheet but only won by 12 points because they weren’t tough enough to put the game away. The little ol’ Beavers fought hard the whole game and didn’t quit until the final whistle. The Beavers effort last night is a glaring example of what a team with NBA players that plays hard for 40 minutes will do to the Wildcats come March. Can’t wait to see them play UCLA.
There’s not very many college basketball games today so it may get a bit putrid but let’s jump into it!
Eastern Michigan Eagles (+14) vs. Akron Zips; total 143 6:00pm ct
I like the EMU Eagles with Emoni Bates to keep this one close against the Zips. Akron is off to a strong start in conference play currently tied for 2nd. EMU has a solid offense that could keep this game close as they have done in years past. This is the highest the spread has been in this matchup in recent memory. I don’t expect to see much defense tonight so give me the high spread number.
Villanova Wildcats vs. Butler Bulldogs (+1); total 132.5 6:00pm ct
The Villanova Wildcats head to Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on the Butler Bulldogs. Both schools are in the Big East basement each on a 2 game losing streak. Only one will snap it tonight! I like Butler at home in an even game here. Nova has an NBA player in Cam Whitmore leading them tonight.. Both have a common opponent in DePaul. Butler took care of business against them and has a win vs. #7 Kansas State at home so I’ll take the Bulldogs to protect the home court.
Michigan State Spartans (+6.5) vs. Illinois Fightin’ Illini; total 136.5 8:00pm ct
Tom Izzo’s Spartans are coming off a great road win vs. Wisconsin earlier this week. This is a total number play for me here. MSU has had success against Illinois so I don’t understand the 6.5 here. You would think at least 3-4 points for home court advantage but on a neutral floor I’d say MSU would be favored so 6.5 is too many for me. We’ll find out tonight!
VCU Rams (+7.5) vs. Dayton Flyers; total 129.5 8:00pm ct
We have a great matchup in the Atlantic-10 tonight in Dayton. The last time these two teams met Dayton traveled to VCU and dominated the Rams 82-52. I remember watching that game and Dayton could not miss from 3PT range. I don’t think the Rams have forgot about that. The Flyers are in 1st place, Rams in 2nd so I don’t expect VCU to get ran over tonight. I’m taking the points tonight in what should be a hard fought defensive game.
Utah State Aggies vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (-2); total 143.5 10:00pm ct
In a late night Mountain West showdown the Wolf Pack host the Aggies in Reno. As we saw in the SDST game Nevada plays tough defense and will press, trap all night. Utah State’s game is shoot the 3. If the 3 doesn’t go down for them they usually don’t win. Nevada’s defense ranks 72nd in 3PT defense so it’s not terrible. But after watching SMU play Utah State - if you can press, trap and rush the Aggies they will struggle on offense. That plus the Reno homecourt, I’ll take Nevada here in a big Mountain West game at home.
Will be working on the card for Saturday so that should hopefully be up sometime late tonight. Waiting on Spread’s to be available but it should be up with plenty of time to read over on Saturday. Good luck to us tonight with this short card!
