The Bum's Top 25 College Basketball Previews For 01/21/17 !

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Gamecocks (15-3) at Wildcats (16-2)
Date: January 21, 2017 6:00 PM EDT

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Only two undefeated teams remain in the Southeastern Conference and they meet Saturday when No. 5 Kentucky (16-2, 6-0) welcomes No. 24 South Carolina (15-3, 5-0) to Rupp Arena.

For Kentucky coach John Calipari, it's a chance to work against one of his favorite people, South Carolina coach Frank Martin.

"I've always liked Frank, and he knows that," Calipari said. "I've always respected him as a coach and I know how he doesn't baby kids; he's coaching them.

"You watch him, I need our fans to watch him closely because he's harder on his guys than I am on our guys. But I respect that. That means he had a great relationship with the guys.

"What he's been able to do down there to build it, year to year, to lose their whole front line, they lost good players, to come back and be able to do? To be undefeated in the league and win games on the road, like at Georgia, which is an impossible place to win a game and they won it handily.

"They do it rebounding, they do it giving you a tough shot, they do it full rotations, they'll bring four guys at the ball. You drive, they're coming three, four deep at you."

Given the history, fireworks are almost guaranteed. Last season in Columbia, Calipari lasted just over two minutes before being ejected for arguing the veracity of South Carolina's offensive rebounding. The coach received two technicals while being physically restrained by players Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray.

With assistant Kenny Payne at the helm, Kentucky obliterated South Carolina, leading by as many as 34 points en route to the 89-62 win.

Ejections are unlikely this time around, but that won't dampen the intensity when facing a Frank Martin-coached team.

"I've been in the ring and I've boxed," Martin said Thursday. "If we were boxing, we're not going in there to dance and run around. We're going in there and see if you're willing to knock me out."

Martin's intense defense has drawn criticism for being too physical. Last year, Payne said South Carolina "wanted to physically intimidate us, wanted to beat us up." Just don't expect the hard-nosed coach to change his ways.

"We don't beat anybody up," Martin said. "We just don't give up on a single play. We play basketball.

"I want us to play the right way for 40 minutes. Not just let people walk around and be who they want to be. We want to make people uncomfortable."

Kentucky averages 93.3 points per game, second best in the nation. South Carolina limits opponents to 59.4, which ranks fourth nationally.

South Carolina comes in riding a five-game win streak, including a 57-53 upset of No. 19 Florida on Wednesday. The Gamecocks rallied from a 28-21 halftime deficit to win by four points.

Sindarius Thornwell, who scored 20 points in the win over Florida, leads the Gamecocks at 18.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. P.J Dozier, at 14.6 points, is the only other player averaging in double figures.

"He's one of those guys that score baskets, he can rebound, they play him at four at times when they go small," Calipari said of Thornwell. "Now they've got four guards and he's a pick-and-pop guy or they just run their action and give him the ball and just say drive it. He's really good, he's tough, he's physical. I mean, this is another team that's gonna be scrappy. Auburn played that way, Mississippi State played that way."

Kentucky, winners of six straight and nine of 10 overall, is led by freshman guard Malik Monk at 21.4 points per game. Freshman guard De'Aaron Fox is averaging 16.7, sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe 15.2 and freshman forward Bam Adebayo 12.8. Adebayo also averages 7.2 rebounds per game.

There are two common opponents. Kentucky defeated Texas A&M 100-58 and South Carolina topped the Aggies 79-68. UK routed Ole Miss 99-76 and Carolina won 67-56. All games were on the winner's home court except for Kentucky's win in Oxford, Miss.

"They're gonna play -- they're not backing down," Calipari said. "They're coming in with an expectation. It's gonna be a hard game for us."

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Cardinal (11-8) at Ducks (17-2)
Date: January 21, 2017 6:00 PM EDT

EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon has experience playing without Dillon Brooks.

The 11th-ranked Ducks hope they won't have to be without their preseason All-American yet again.

The 6-foot-7 junior is questionable for Saturday's home game against Stanford after leaving Thursday's 86-63 win over California with a "left lower leg injury", according to the school. Brooks appeared to injure his left foot late in the first half of the win and did not return.

Brooks missed the first three games of the season following offseason foot surgery and Oregon went 2-1 during those games. He was ejected in the first half of Oregon's 85-66 win over Washington State on Jan. 7 and missed the second half of the win over the Bears.

"It's the next man up," Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey said. "People have to step up. We didn't have him earlier this season so we have to get ready not knowing what will happen with him."

Brooks led the Ducks in scoring with 16.7 points per game last year and is pacing the team with 13.4 points in 16 games this season. Oregon coach Dana Altman said his offense did not change with Brooks out of the line-up.

"We ran the same stuff," he said. "Guys stepped up and did some good things."

Two Ducks had career highs in points to help Oregon (17-2, 6-0 Pac-12) beat the Bears and tie the school record with its 15th straight win.

Junior forward Jordan Bell had 26 points on 11-for-12 shooting, including a 7-for-7 performance in the second half while scoring 18 points. Bell more than doubled his season average of 11 points.

"When we got it to him, he scored every time," Dorsey said of Bell. "He has great post moves and mid-range jumpers. He finishes and is very athletic."

Junior guard Casey Benson made all five three-pointers to match his career high of 15 points.

"Casey went 5-for-5, so one of those nights," Altman said. "Casey was really great."

If Brooks cannot play against Stanford, he will likely be replaced in the starting line-up by senior center Chris Boucher, who started the first 11 games before missing two games with a sprained ankle and coming off the bench the past six contests. The 6-10 Boucher is averaging 13 points per game.

Stanford (11-8, 3-4) opened conference play with four straight losses before winning its last three games. The Cardinal beat Washington State, Washington, and Oregon State by an average of 17.3 points.

Junior forward Reid Travis leads the Cardinal with 16.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, but has missed three of the last four games with a shoulder injury. Junior guard Dorian Pickens is averaging 13.1 points.

Senior guard Marcus Allen moved back into the starting line-up for the past five games and scored 15 and 12 points in his last two.

"Marcus Allen's been great, he's been a consistent defender for us all year and offensively he's continuing to make the right reads, knowing when to penetrate and when to shoot," Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. "He's certainly been a stabilizing for us."

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Bears (17-1) at Horned Frogs (14-4)
Date: January 21, 2017 8:00 PM EDT

TCU needs a signature win, while Baylor needs to keep winning to stay within striking distance of perennial Big 12-leader Kansas.

Those are the stakes as the sixth-ranked Bears travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for a 7 p.m. CT tip on Saturday at Schollmaier Arena.

And the stakes make it the most intriguing basketball game between the two schools in decades. The Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 at the start 2012-13 season and won just eight conference games in four campaigns before this one.

Even before joining the Big 12, though, TCU didn't have much of a college basketball footprint. The Horned Frogs last made the NCAA Tournament in 1998 and have just two March Madness appearances since the tourney expanded to 64 teams.

Meanwhile, Baylor only recently become a postseason regular as six of its 10 all-time NCAA Tournament berths have come since 2008. It's even more rare for Baylor to be in contention for a conference championship. The Bears haven't won one of those since 1950.

But here we are.

Baylor (17-1, 5-1 Big 12) briefly held the nation's No. 1 ranking last week and is a game back of Kansas in the Big 12 standings with two games versus the Jayhawks still on the schedule.

TCU (14-4, 3-3) received votes in the Associated Press poll this week despite having no wins against top 25 opponents this season. The Horned Frogs lost at Texas Tech on Wednesday, so they're in jeopardy of losing momentum if they can't knock off or at least stay close to Baylor.

Both Baylor and TCU have All-Big 12-level stars that lend credibility to their impressive records.

Horned Frogs forward Vladimir Brodziansky, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, is averaging 13.2 points and has upped that stat recently. He is averaging 22 points in the last three contests.

"He's got good length and great size," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of Brodziansky. "He hasn't been bothered by other bigs. He's a matchup problem and that's why he's a successful player."

But the Bears can counter with forward Johnathan Motley, who already had a monster game this week versus Texas. Motely scored 32 points and pulled down 20 boards in the Bears' victory over the Longhorns.

The difference between TCU's frontcourt and Baylor's is that the Bears have more depth.

While Motley is Baylor's best offensive player on the interior, 7-foot forward Jo Lual-Acuil provides an even more intimidating defensive presence.

Drew complimented TCU's backcourt play so far this season, but the Horned Frogs still can't match Baylor's talent at the guard position.

Point guard Manu Lecomte and shooting guard Al Freeman are the Bears' second- and third-leading scorers at 11.9 and 11.2 points per game, respectively.

The Horned Frogs are potentially making a case for their first NCAA Tournament berth in 19 years and they still have plenty of chances for resume-building victories. But to remain in the conversation, TCU needs to win some games when they face a talent and/or experience deficit like they will on Saturday.

To do that, the Horned Frogs probably need to turn that kind of game into a grind, or at least that's what Drew expects.

"They play more that old Big East style, defensive oriented, physical and tough," Drew said. "Like everybody, they'll take transition baskets, but they operate well in the half court offensive and defensively."

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Pilots (9-9) at Bulldogs (18-0)
Date: January 21, 2017 8:00 PM EDT

No. 4 Gonzaga and Portland will get to know each other well in a three-day stretch, as the teams play in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday and then in Portland two nights later.

The regularly scheduled game will be followed two days later at Portland because the teams' scheduled Jan. 7 meeting was postponed because of inclement weather. The West Coast Conference rescheduled the game for Monday.

"I don't think it's ever good to play Gonzaga back to back, especially with the team they have," said Portland first-year coach Terry Porter, a former NBA player and head coach.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few called the postponement and rescheduling "a pain in the rear" for his team because of the extra travel.

"We wanted to play (in Portland on Jan. 7), we should have played," Few said. "(The postponement) caused a major headache because they overreacted to some pretty puny weather."

Gonzaga hopes after the quick turnaround on the road that it remains the nation's only unbeaten team. The Bulldogs are 18-0 overall and 6-0 in the West Coast Conference following Thursday night's 88-57 win at Santa Clara.

Portland is 9-9 and 2-4 after losing four consecutive games following wins over Pacific and Pepperdine to start the season. The Pilots lost 75-50 at San Francisco on Thursday.

Going from Portland to San Francisco to Spokane to Portland playing three games in five days has Porter concentrating on utilizing his players wisely to guard against fatigue.

"We've got to keep our guys as fresh as possible," Porter said. "We can't run them a lot (in practice)."

He explained that more time will be spent watching video.

Few's team goes eight deep with reserves who are significant contributors -- Zach Collins (64.6 percent shooting from the field in WCC games), Silas Melson (47.4 percent from 3-point range in WCC games) and Killian Tillie (fourth on team with 17 steals).

The Bulldogs' rotation is potent offensively, led by point guard Nigel Williams-Goss (15 points and 4.8 assists per game), guard Josh Perkins (46.5 percent from 3-point range), wing player Jordan Mathews (41.8 percent from beyond the arc), power forward Johnathan Williams (60.2 percent from the field) and center Przemek Karnowski (59.5 percent shooter in the paint).

"They're deep," Porter said. "They're tall. They're athletic. That team checks all the boxes.

"They're a great perimeter shooting team. They're great in the low post. They're great rim protectors and great perimeter defenders."

Gonzaga faces the task of contending with one of the WCC's best backcourts with Portland's Alec Wintering (19.5 points and 5.6 assists a game) and Jazz Johnson (16.9 points a game).

Wintering's scoring and assists totals rank in the top three in the conference in each category.

Much like its focus against Santa Clara with prolific scorer Jared Brownridge on Thursday, Gonzaga will try to shut down all the pieces around Wintering and Johnson.

Brownridge scored 23 points and KJ Feagin finished with 13, but no other Santa Clara had more than five points.

"I'm really happy about our defensive performance," Karnowski said. "It's good ... I don't want to go too far, but it's good."

Portland's defensive challenge is more complex with how Gonzaga can spread a team to the perimeter and be strong in the paint.

"When you play a team like that, you can't turn it over, and you have to make them work for everything they get," Porter said. "And you have to be very efficient offensively. You have to make shots and you have to keep their guys off-balance."

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Hurricanes (12-5) at Blue Devils (14-4)
Date: January 21, 2017 8:15 PM EDT

DURHAM, N.C. -- Maybe a week off will have been good for No. 18 Duke.

The Blue Devils, who have been in the spotlight during the past month despite a decline in the national rankings, are back in action for Saturday night's game against visiting Miami.

Duke had a week between games and that's valuable time, interim coach Jeff Capel said.

"Anytime when you have time when you can practice is a good thing, especially when we're dealing with some of the things we're dealing with," he said. "Our approach has to be right."

Capel will be in his fourth game since taking over as interim coach following Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski's back surgery Jan. 6.

Since then, for all except some of the first half of the Boston College game the next day, the Blue Devils (14-4, 2-3 ACC) have played without senior forward Amile Jefferson because of his bruised foot. Though there hasn't been an announcement about Jefferson's availability for this weekend, he wasn't cleared for practice at the start of the week.

Duke lost its last two games at nationally ranked Florida State and Louisville. The change of scenery could be a boost for the Blue Devils.

"We're coming off two straight losses against two very good teams on the road in hostile environments," Capel said. "I think we've done some things to get better. It hasn't equated to wins. We have to do a lot more."

Particularly without Jefferson, Duke is fielding a youthful lineup. Freshmen Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles had abbreviated non-conference tune-ups because of injuries, so getting them up to speed has been a process.

Now, big-time games are coming rapidly. Duke will have two games in three nights, with North Carolina State visiting Monday night.

"You have to be sharp and on top of your game every game," Capel said. "If not, it's going to be very difficult to win. I think the league has shown that."

This will be Miami's third consecutive road game after winning at Pittsburgh and losing to Wake Forest.

Miami's 72-46 romp at Pittsburgh marked the largest road margin of victory in an ACC game since the Hurricanes joined the conference in 2004-05.

Then the 96-79 loss at Wake Forest on Wednesday night matched the most points allowed by Miami in six seasons under coach Jim Larranaga.

"We have to figure out solutions to those problems," Larranaga said.

For the most part, the Hurricanes (12-5, 2-3) have been strong defensively. Even with the most recent game, Miami ranks second in the ACC by allowing only 61.5 points per game.

Larranaga said it's crucial for the Hurricanes that seniors Kamari Murphy and Davon Reed have bought in defensively.

"When you have your two senior leaders, not only talking like defense is important but turning words into action, the young players believe it," Larranaga said.

Reed is usually assigned to the opponent's best perimeter player.

"He has really elevated his defensive game," Larranaga said.

The Hurricanes also have a pair of freshmen in the starting lineup, so guard Bruce Brown and forward Dewan Huell will make their debuts at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

In Miami's last visit to Duke, the Hurricanes posted a stunning blowout two seasons ago, though the Blue Devils eventually recovered and won the national championship. Miami also beat Duke last season at home.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Waves (5-14) at Gaels (16-2)
Date: January 21, 2017 11:00 PM EDT

The Pepperdine team that showed promise in preseason is not the Pepperdine team No. 23 Saint Mary's will face Saturday night at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.

The Waves were picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference preseason poll, but several injuries have robbed them of the personnel to compete in the 10-team WCC. While Saint Mary's (16-2, 6-1 WCC) is in second place, behind Gonzaga, Pepperdine (5-14, 1-6) sunk to last place.

The Waves handed the Gaels their only home loss of the season last year, but will have trouble duplicating that feat this time around.

Pepperdine senior point guard Amadi Udenyi is out with an Achilles tendon injury and forward Kameron Edwards, a member of the WCC all-freshman team a year ago, suffered a broken jaw in practice before the season began and has not played at all. Those are the most significant injuries that have left the Waves with nine scholarship players.

"Night and day, we're different," Pepperdine coach Marty Wilson told the Spokane Spokesman Review before conference play began. "We had Amadi (for six games) and we were playing well and felt comfortable, and we were looking forward to having Kam back. Losing them was tough."

Pepperdine started the season 4-1 with Udenyi in the lineup. Since then, the Waves have lost 13 of 14 games -- the only victory in that span coming on a one-point home win over Loyola Marymount when Chris Reyes scored on a put-back with two seconds left.

The Waves' 99-70 loss at BYU on Thursday was their fourth straight defeat and dropped their record to 0-8 in games on their opponent's home court. The high point of that game came in the first half, when Jeremy Major set the Pepperdine record for career assists.

Pepperdine led that game with 9:34 left in the first half, but trailed by 16 at halftime.

"The second 10 minutes of the first half is where it got away from us," Wilson said. "We gave them easy baskets, easy runouts. We had some blown assignments defensively, and we couldn't recover after that."

The Waves have had success against Saint Mary's recently, however. They won three of their past four meetings with Saint Mary's and handed the Gaels two of their three conference losses last season.

The other thing Pepperdine has going for it is the play of Lamond Murray Jr. He is averaging 20.3 points and scored at least 23 points in each of his last four games.

Maintaining that scoring average will be difficult on Saturday, because the Gaels rank second in the nation in scoring defense. They allow an average of 57.4 points per game following Thursday's 62-50 victory over Pacific.

Coach Randy Bennett was lukewarm on his team's play in that game, calling the overall performance, "OK."

"We took care of the ball," he said. "I can't think of anything we did really well, but I can't think of anything we did poorly either."

Saint Mary's opponents have been doubling 6-foot-11 center Jock Landale in the post recently, and his scoring has decreased as a result. He averaged 18.3 points through the first 15 games, but failed to score more than 10 points in any of the last three.

It has forced the Gaels to shoot more 3-pointers, and they made 13 of them against the Tigers.

"We did a great job of moving the ball around, kicking out and finding the open made," said Gaels forward Calvin Hermanson, who had a game-high 17 points and hit four 3-pointers. "When we do that, we feel like we get in a great rhythm and shots go down."

Saint Mary's relies on its patience and precise execution to get good shots.

"Saint Mary's is like Floyd Mayweather," Pacific coach Damon Stoudamire said. "They're like a counter-puncher. They run their stuff and they wait 'til somebody makes a mistake and then they capitalize."

[StarDust Bum]

Saturday’s games

Georgia is 4-2 in SEC, losing to So Carolina by 6, in OT at Florida by 4- they won two of three SEC road tilts, winning at Auburn/Ole Miss. Dawgs are best SEC at getting to foul line and they make 73.9% once they get there. Texas A&M is 1-5 in SEC with home losses to Tennessee/Arkansas- they blew 12-point second half lead to Hogs in last game. Georgia won four of its last five games with A&M, winning by 7-9 points in last two visits here- Aggies won 79-45 in Athens LY. SEC home favorites of 3 or less points are 2-9 vs spread this season.

Louisville won its last four games, hammering Clemson by 32 in first game without injured PG Snider on Thursday. Cardinals are 1-1 in true road games, losing by 7 at Notre Dame, winning by 15 at Ga Tech. Florida State won 13 of last 14 games; they’re 5-1 in ACC, 4-0 at home, with three wins by 15+ points. ACC foes are shooting 46.1% outside arc vs FSU, just 42.9% inside arc. Louisville won by 22-19 points in its to ACC games with Florida State; teams were rivals in old Metro Conference years ago. ACC home favorites of 5 or less points are 8-4 vs spread.

Oklahoma State is 0-6 in Big X after a 10-2 pre-conference mark; Cowboys’ three Big 12 road losses are by 3-4-7 points. OSU is in bottom three of league in all nine Big X defensive metrics. Texas Tech won its last three games with Oklahoma State, by 1-2-10 points; State lost its last three visits to Lubbock, by 4-1-2 points. Tech is 3-0 at home (0-3 on road) in Big X, with wins by 1-1-6 points- they’re #8 experience team in country, starting three juniors, two seniors. Big X home favorites of 6 or less points are 5-5 vs spread this season.

Creighton is without PG Watson test of the way, a big blow. Bluejays are 5-1 in Big East, with only loss to Villanova- they won home games over Seton Hall by 14, Butler by 11. Creighton is 4-2 vs Marquette in Big East play, winning two of three here— Marquette pulled 66-61 (+7.5) upset here LY. Golden Eagles are 0-3 on Big East road, losing by 3-12-8 points- they won their other road game, by 10 at Georgia. Big East home favorites of 7+ points are 11-0-1 vs spread this season. Impossible to measure Creighton without Watson; they have no real backup PG.

South Carolina is 12-0 with Thornwell in lineup; they were 3-3 while he was gone. Gamecocks are 5-0 in SEC, with road wins at Georgia/Tennessee. Kentucky won its last six games, is 6-0 in SEC, with home wins by 42-26-20 points- they did lose at home to UCLA on Dec 3. Wildcats scored 93.8 pts/game in their last six games. Kentucky won eight of last nine games with South Carolina, winning last three by 15-34-27 points. Gamecocks lost their last 11 visits here, last five all by 15+ points. Double digit favorites are 5-9 vs spread in SEC games this year.

UCLA won its last six games; they’re 3-0 at home in Pac-12, winning by 10-14-22 points while scoring 90.7 pts/game. Arizona won its last 11 games, is also 6-0 in Pac-12, winning road tilts by 5-39-7 points while allowing 60 pts/game. Arizona won four of last six games with UCLA but lost four of last five games in Pauley Pavilion, last three of which were all decided by 5 or less points. Arizona is #324 experience team, UCLA #278; lot of talent on both sides, not much depth. Pac-12 home favorites of 6 or less points are 5-3 against the spread. Allonzo Trier is finally eligible to play; greatly helps Arizona’s depth, not sure if he is rusty, but he’s been practicing.

Wisconsin won 11 of last 12 games, is 2-2 in true road games, losing at Creighton/Purdue; Badgers are 4-1 in Big 14, allowing 63.2 pts/game- they’re forcing turnovers 23.1% of time in Big 14 games. Minnesota lost its last two games, scoring 48.5 pts/game, after a 15-2 start; Gophers are shooting 41% on arc, 44.8% inside arc in league play. 4 of 6 Minnesota Big 14 games were decided by 4 or less points or in OT. Wisconsin won its last five games with Minnesota, winning by 13-13 points in last two visits here. Big 14 road favorites are 4-6.

West Virginia is 4-2 in Big X, with both losses in OT; they’re 2-1 on Big X road, winning by 17 at OSU, 2 at Texas. Mountaineers force turnovers 24.9% of time in Big X games. K-State is 2-3 in its last five games, losing by 2-1-9 points- Big X teams are making 45.9% on arc against them. Wildcats get to foul line a lot, have best eFG% in conference. West Virginia won its last five games with Kansas State, winning by 6-4 points in its last two visits to the Little Apple- they won here in double OT LY. Big X road favorites are 4-4 vs spread this season.

Fresno State won five of last six games with Nevada; they beat Wolf Pack 77-76 in first meeting Dec 31, rallying back from down 10 in 2nd half (Fresno was 13-27 on line). Bulldogs won three of last four visits to Reno, but lost 77-72 in OT here LY. Fresno is 0-3 on Mountain West road, losing by 5-7-9 points; they are forcing turnovers 20.3% of time in MW play. Nevada played only six guys last game; they struggled guarding bulky Edo in first meeting— Oliver got in foul trouble, played only 22:00. MW home favorites of 7+ points are 5-2 vs spread this season.

Mississippi State was 51-77 (20-52 in SEC) the last four years (since Stansbury was fired); they are 12-5 this year, 3-2 in SEC, with 2nd-youngest team in country. Bulldogs are 3-2 in SEC, 2-0 on road, winning at LSU/Arkansas. Tennessee won five of its last six games with Mississippi State; road team won last four series games. Bulldogs won two of last three visits to Knoxville. Vols lost four of last five games; they’re 0-2 at home in SEC, losing to Arkansas/South Carolina. SEC home favorites of 5 or less points are 2-12 against the spread this season.

Indiana has injury issues with Anunoby/Morgan hurt; Hoosiers won three of last four games- they’re 1-2 in Big 14 home games, losing by 4-7 points to Nebraska/Wisconsin. Michigan State is 4-2 in big 14, losing last two road games, by 9 at Penn State, 5 at Ohio State. Spartans won their last five games with Indiana, winning by 17-2 points in last two visits here. State is turning ball over 20.1% of time in league; they’re #313 experience team- Indiana is #309. Big 14 home favorites of 6 or less points are 10-7 against the spread.

Baylor is 17-1 with only loss at West Va; they’re 5-1 in Big X, with three wins by 9+ points- they rebound 44% of their own misses, but also turn ball over 24% of time in Big X games. Bears are 2-1 on road, winning at Oklahoma/K-State, losing at WVU. TCU is 3-3 in Big X, 2-1 at home- they lost by 6 to Kansas, beat Oklahoma/Iowa State. Baylor is 9-0 vs TCU in Big X games, winning by 26-33-7-15 points here. 5 of TCU’s 6 Big X games were decided by 7 or less points. Road teams are 5-4 vs spread in Big X games with spread of 3 or less points this season.

Duke is 1-2 since Coach K left, beating BC by 11 in only home game; they lost last two games by 16-9 points, giving up 83 pts/game- they miss injured C Jefferson. Blue Devils were just 12-36 on arc last two games; they need more from Allen. Miami lost three of last four games, losing 96-79 at Wake Forest Wednesday. Hurricanes is shooting just 58.7% on foul line in ACC tilts. Miami won four of last six games with Duke, winning last two by 16-11 points- they won two of last three visits to Durham. Single digit home favorites are 13-8 in ACC games this season.