Welcome to Cap’n Kielar’s Best Bets! We are all about helping you make money here. In this series, I will be giving you my favorite picks for the day’s college basketball games, as well as some NBA and MLB bets eventually. For this one, you will be getting my top bets for tonight’s college basketball slate. Let’s dive into it!
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Maryland vs. Ohio State (-3.5)
The Buckeyes (15-4) are coming off a big 89-85 win over Luka Garza and the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday. They have also won four straight games going into this matchup at Xfinity Center College Park in Maryland. Maryland (10-9) has gone 1-2 in their last three and come off a loss to Penn State. This is my “lock” pick of the day, as Maryland has looked flat, shooting at just a 35.4 percent clip versus the Nittany Lions. Meanwhile, Ohio State has scored 74 or more points in each of the last four games. The line is very light and they should easily cover. E.J. Liddell leads the Buckeyes with 15.4 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Kansas vs. Oklahoma State (+6.0)
Oklahoma State travels to Allen Fieldhouse coming off a 75-67 double-overtime win over Texas on Saturday. The Cowboys have won three of the last four and look to sweep Kansas for the season. Back on January 12, they took down the Jayhawks 75-70 on 18 points and seven rebounds by Cade Cunningham. Cunningham leads the team in scoring with 18.3 PPG, while Isaac Likekele leads them in rebounds (7.1) per game and assists (3.8) per game. Oklahoma State has scored an average of 78.6 PPG on 46.2 percent shooting from the field and 34.3 percent from behind the arc. Look for them to keep this close and cover the spread, even if they can’t win.
Bonus bet: Point total, Over 140 (-110)
Both these teams have combined for 145 PPG in their last five games and also combined for 145 points in the first meeting. They are high-scoring teams and should smash the over.
BYU (+10.5) vs. Gonzaga
This is a tough one to bite on, as Gonzaga is clearly the better team and beat the Cougars by 17 in the first matchup back in January. But since that matchup, BYU has won six of their last seven games, albeit facing lesser competition. BYU is a much-improved team and has had an average of 17.8 point winning margin in their last five wins. They have shot 50.8 percent from the field and 39.5 percent behind the arc over that time. Alex Barcello is scoring 16.9 PPG and 4.6 RPG. If BYU continues the pace this will be a high-scoring game and they could keep the game within single digits.
Minnesota (-10.0) vs. Nebraska
Nebraska comes in 4-9 and has lost six in a row, including a loss to Michigan State. Minnesota is also coming in on a cold streak, losing three in a row. Neither team has looked great through Big Ten play, but the Cornhuskers have been held below 70 points in four of the last six and have given up 80 or more points in four of the last five. They have two double-digit scorers, in Marcus Carr (19.9 PPG) and Liam Robbins (13.6 PPG), while Robbins also leads the team with 7.1 RPG. The Gophers have enough offensive talent to cover the 10-point spread.
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