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Can No. 2 Villanova take down Big East rival No. 25 Xavier to stay on track against for a No. 1 seed come tourney time? Last but not least, can No. 4 Louisville avoid the home upset against dangerous Miami? Let’s find out the answers to all three questions right now as well as the college basketball odds.
Winning College Basketball Parlay Picks For The Weekend (Feb. 11th)
No. 13 Kentucky (19-5) at Alabama (14-9)
When: Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 1:00 PM ETWhere: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Analysis:
Kentucky bounced back from their 88-66 blowout loss against Florida last weekend to beat LSU 92-85 on Tuesday night though they never came close to covering the spread as a whopping 25-point home favorite. Alabama picked up a thrilling 90-86 overtime win over South Carolina on Tuesday to snap a two-game skid and improve to 3-3 over their last six games.
While Kentucky has lost three of their last five games and isn’t nearly as cohesive as some of their past teams, the Wildcats are the easy pick to take down an Alabama squad that has also struggled to find some semblance of consistency this season and just doesn’t have the same kind of talent the Wildcats do. Kentucky has won six straight in this series and are the easy pick to make it seven straight – even if I don’t like the Cats to cover what will likely be a near double-digit point spread.
The Wildcats are 0-4 ATS in their last four road games and 0-5 ATS in their last five games overall while Alabama has gone 4-0 ATS in their last four home games against a team with a winning percentage of greater than .600. The Wildcats win, but it will be closer than expected so back the Crimson Tide to cover.
Pick: Kentucky 84 Alabama 77
No. 2 Villanova (23-2) at No. 24 Xavier (18-6)
When: Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 2:30 PM ETWhere: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH
TV: FOX
Analysis:
No. 4 Villanova has won four straight including their 75-64 win over Georgetown on Tuesday night as National Player of the Year candidate Josh Hart scored a team-high 25 points. “He’s a stud,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said of Hart. “Certain guys, just physically, they can handle the minutes. Josh is one of those guys. He makes that shot at the end.”
Xavier has also won four straight, including their 72-61 win over DePaul on Tuesday night while getting a team-high 20 points from guard Trevon Bluiett and 14 points from
Rashid Gaston. No. 25 Xavier has also won three straight heading into the new week including their thrilling 82-80 road win over No. 22 Creighton on Saturday in which four players scored 15 points or more.
While the Musketeers are playing solid basketball and are coming off a big win, the fact of the matter is that Villanova has won eight of the last nine meetings against Xavier and pounded the Musketeers in their 79-54 road blowout on January 10. The Musketeers will go all-out to beat the defending national champs, but I think they come up just short because of Villanova’s outstanding defense and rock-steady play late in tight games.
The Wildcats are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 Saturday games and 13-5 ATS in their last 18 road games while the Musketeers have gone 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against their Big East rivals and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
Pick: Villanova 77 Xavier 74
Miami (16-7) at No. 4 Louisville (19-5)
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 11, 2017Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Analysis:
Miami has won two straight including their 74-68 win over Virginia Tech on Wednesday night. Davon Reed scored 18 points to lead four Hurricanes in double figures as Miami pulled away in the second half for the win. Louisville had their modest three-game winning streak snapped in their humbling 71-55 road loss at No. 13 Virginia on Monday night while falling to the Cavaliers for the second time this season.
With only seven scholarship players available, Louisville was forced to play short-handed after it was announced before the game that guard Deng Adel and forward Mangok Mathiang did not travel with the team after missing curfew.
“Don’t even mention their names to me,” Pitino said after the game about Adel and Mathiang.
For this matchup, I’m going to urge you to back the Miami Hurricanes to cover the spread – by getting for the outright win. Miami beat Louisville 73-65 the last time they met almost a year ago, but they won’t this time around, mostly because the Cards are desperate.
Louisville is 4-0 ATS in their last four games following a straight up loss and 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games overall while the Hurricanes have gone 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games against their ACC conference rivals and 7-20 ATS in their last 27 games overall. With the favorite in this rivalry going 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings, I say Louisville get the win, but the ATS cover goes to Miami.
Pick: Louisville 77 Miami 73
