Welcome to another edition of Cap’n Kielar’s Best Bets! Happy Saturday and let’s add to the bankroll today with a big slate of college basketball games! It is the March to March.
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Overall record: 21-24
Indiana vs. Michigan (-8.5)
The Wolverines are coming in with two major wins over Ohio State and the Luka Garza-led Iowa Hawkeyes. Michigan pulled away in the second half of the latter, thanks to holding the nation’s top offense to 28 second-half points and destroyed Iowa 79-57. The defense kept Garza to just 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting.
The Hoosiers, on the other hand, have looked out-of-whack during two straight losses to Rutgers and Michigan State. They had leads in both games (including a 15-point lead versus Rutgers) but just couldn’t close them out. Sophomore wing Franz Wagner was sensational for the Wolverines on Thursday, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and adding four assists.
Cap’n Kielar’s bet: Michigan -8.5
Texas Tech vs. Texas (+3)
The Texas Longhorns overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to defeat Kansas 75-72 in overtime on Tuesday. Junior guard Courtney Ramey led Texas in scoring with 15 points and hit two key free throws late in overtime. Junior guard Andrew Jones leads Texas in scoring on the season with 15.4 PPG and is coming off a double-double.
Tech is coming off their own overtime matchup, a loss to Oklahoma State after they held an 11-point lead in the second half. They were a 3.5-point favorite in that game and have now gone 0-5 ATS in the last five and 1-7 in the last eight. Texas Tech defeated Texas earlier in the year. The Longhorns will look to avenge that loss and come into this one as the hotter team.
Cap’n Kielar’s bet: Texas Longhorns +3
Wisconsin vs. Illinois (+3.5)
The only reason the Badgers are the favorite in this one is that Illinois is down junior guard Ayo Dosunmu. He suffered a broken nose in the Fighting Illini’s loss to Michigan State on Tuesday and will miss his second-straight game. Even without Dosunmu on Thursday, Illinois defeated Nebraska by 16 for their eighth win in nine games. Sophomore center Kofi Cockburn is still in the lineup and he scored 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and the foul line. He has averaged 17.7 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 67.5% on the season while putting up 15 double-doubles. Illinois looks to sweep the season series and win their third in a row against Wisconsin.
Cap’n Kielar’s bet: Illinois +3.5
Oklahoma (-5) vs. Oklahoma State
The Sooners come off their worst loss of the season, a 62-57 defeat by the hands of Kansas State, as 10 point favorites. Oklahoma had the lead late but couldn’t finish.
The Cowboys defeated Texas Tech in overtime on Monday, adding to their wins over Texas and #20 Arkansas in recent games. Oklahoma has an even more impressive resume over the past month, with wins over #6 Alabama, #10 West Virginia, #14 Texas, and #17 Kansas. These conference foes are meeting for the first time this season, but the Sooners are 3-1 in the previous two seasons. They will look to bounce back at home from a bad loss.
Cap’n Kielar’s bet: Oklahoma Sooners -5
Kansas (+5) vs. Baylor
Baylor played for the first time in three weeks on Tuesday and did not look like themselves, to put it lightly. They stayed perfect, but they barely squeaked out a win over Iowa State. The Cyclones, a team that is 2-17 on the season against Baylor being 24-point favorites.
It’s tough to tell if the Bears rubbed off all the rust in that game, but Kansas has won five of six games. The Jayhawks come off their only loss in those six games, the overtime loss to Texas. They look like the better team right now. Kansas may not win, but this game should remain close.
Cap’n Kielar’s bet: Kansas +5
Good luck on Saturday!
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