darrell,

Tell A Friend about this newsletter!

3-3 yesterday. 32-18 last 50 picks. Four picks today.

Good luck , darrell!

**Texas Tech +14.5 over TEXAS (12:30 Eastern)

We were on Syracuse yesterday as 12 point dogs to UCONN and they won the game outright. We were also on Tulane as a big dog to Memphis and got that one too. See a pattern here? Today we look to another big dog facing an elite team. When you think of Texas the thoughts that may come to mind are "blow out." They have been dominating a number of teams but the thing you must remember is that these games were all at home. Texas Tech is coming off an upset win over Kansas State and has played great basketball away from home. They aren't scoring much less away (62ppg) and are shooting about the same from the floor. On the other hand, Texas is scoring about 10ppg less when away (67ppg) and that is directly related to their decrease in shot percentage when away. Bobby Knight is one of the best coaches in basketball and he knows two things going into the game tonight. First, he cannot run the floor with Texas and get into a shoot out. And secondly, his bench is deeper and he must use that to his advantage. Look for Coach Knight to play strong defense getting everyone on the floor tired and using the bench to his advantage. Also expect this game to be lower scoring and kept within reach as Coach Knight knows he just wants to see the light at the end of the tunnel meaning he wants it within a few shots as the game comes to an end and it lets him put the plays in motion to give his ball club a chance to win. With a strong defensive and lower scoring game, this is far too many points for a team like Texas to give. This one will stay close and as a result, I'm backing Tech for two stars.

**Kent State -2.5 over Ohio U (7:00 Eastern)

Both teams come in on a bit of a role but if you look at the overall records here, you can see that Kent is the better team. Kent is 23-8 vs. Ohio's 19-10 mark. Away from home this year, Ohio is 5-8 ATS while Kent is 8-6. In the two prior matchups this year, Kent won easily. They beat Ohio in Ohio by 13 and smacked them down at home by 20 points! Yet, they lay a measly 2.5 here. Remember the teams' records mentioned above? Kent has won 74% of their games while Ohio 66%. Well, Ohio is 1-7 ATS this season on the road vs. teams with a 60%+ SU mark. Meanwhile, Kent is 11-2 ATS vs. that type of competition. Two stars on Kent here.

***San Diego State -5 over UNLV (9:00 Eastern)

SDSU isn't getting much respect for the season they had. They won their conference and beat UNLV twice this season, once by 11 points and the other time by 16 points! They are 5-1 ATS vs. UNLV over the past three seasons and yet find themselves as just a 4 point favorite here. Let me restate that won the two prior matchups by an average score of 13.5 points! SDSU is 9-5 ATS on the road while UNLV is just 7-6. San Diego State is 12-4 this year against conference opponents vs. UNLV's more mediocre 9-7 mark. Lay the points on SDSU for three stars.

**Akron -3.5 over Toledo (9:20 Eastern)

I went against Akron yesterday and it cost us. They beat up Western Michigan by 15 points. I am wiling to admit my mistakes. Akron is for real. Similar to a couple of games above, Akron has shown they can beat their opponent already. When these two teams met on January 7th, Akron won by 17 points. Now, again, they lay a very small number. Toledo is just 4-8 ATS on the road this season where they have managed 63.5 PPG. Akronis 17-5 ATS as a favorite this year! Two stars on Akron.