Ncaa Bracket Picks - February 09, 2008

Just missed with our college hoops pick last night. Today we come back with seven plays. CBB picks are hitting 60% over the last six weeks for +55.2 units.

Today's NCAA Basketball Picks:

Game: Boston College at Duke (1:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Boston College +19.5 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)

Duke played a big-time game last time out going to Chapel Hill and coming away with an impressive win over North Carolina. Duke really has it going, but after such an emotionally charged win over its longtime rival, Duke will likely be a bit flat today, and that will make it hard to overcome a huge pointspread. The history shows the last three years after the Carolina game, Duke has not been Duke. They are just 3-3 SU, and 1-5 ATS, with the biggest margin of victory coming by just 12 points. The amazing thing about these six post North Carolina games is Duke and their opponents have scored exactly the same number of points. Boston College has had trouble on the road, but did win at Maryland, and although we don't expect them to win here, we do expect them to play inside this lofty number.

Kent State has been the class of the Mid-American Conference this season at 18-5. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois has certainly been pathetic on the road at 0-9. Kent State isn't getting any style points with its wins, as they have not won by more than 15 since all the way back on December 20. The Golden Flashes have subsequently had difficulty getting the ATS wins with the large pointspreads, as they are just 1-4 ATS as a double-digit chalk. They have not been playing well of late as they needed OT to put away Ball State at home as a 15-point favorite in their last game and lost to Toledo before that. Northern Illinois hasn't put too many in the win column, but haven't exactly been getting blown-out, as since December 1 the only team to beat them by as many points as they will be getting today is Notre Dame. We like the Huskies to stay within the number today.

After running off 9-of-10, the Mountaineers have started to struggle. They lost to a sub-par Charleston team at home in their last game, limped to a five- point win over lowly Western Carolina, barely got by a poor Elon team at home by four, and suffered a double-digit loss at Chattanooga. Before and after a series of eight-straight ATS wins, this team hasn't done much at all as they have surrounded that streak with a 2-9 ATS performance. The Citadel is riding their own streak, but it is in the wrong column as they have lost 10 straight. The good news is this team has played much better of late and although their last five games show 0-5, they are amazingly 5-0 ATS! They have made enough strides to stay in games, but not win them, and with the Mountaineers struggling this is too many points.

Michigan State comes into this game at 19-3, and is off an inexcusable loss to Penn State. The Spartans have played well enough to put games in the win column, but have been under-achieving ATS. The Spartans have not played up to the expectations given to them by the odds-makers, as they are 8-2 SU in their last 10, but just 3-7 ATS. Northwestern has done a good job hanging around lofty pointspreads against some of the top teams in the Big-10 as they lost on the road to Indiana by just 12, Wisconsin by 12, and Ohio State by 11. Michigan State has a big showdown with Purdue who is currently 9-1 in the Big-10 and they may not be completely focused for this one. We will ride the big dog here!

Drake will enter this game riding a 20-game winning streak, and has been the surprise of not only the MVC, but the country. They are off of a stretch of games that featured Creighton and Illinois State twice, and with wins in each of those games they pretty much closed out the MVC race. The Bulldogs have won consistently all year, but without fanfare - they are just getting it done. They have marched to a 12-0 mark in the MVC, and outside of Indiana State have not won any game by more than 11 points. It has been a struggle for the Purple Aces on the road as they are just 1-9, but they did play the Bulldogs to a three-point game at home, and we believe this will be another game where Drake comes away with a workman-like effort, but falls short of this lofty spread.

Kansas has been beating up on just about everyone that takes them on at home. They have won 19 straight here. Baylor has really played well this season and will come in with a 17-4 mark with just one road loss. Baylor is no fluke. They have already won at A&M and also beat Notre Dame, lost to Washington State by three, and Texas by eight. The loss on the road to Texas was the largest loss they have taken to date. Kansas hasn't lost at home, but when they have played teams the caliber of Baylor, the margins haven't been as impressive. They needed OT to get past Arizona, the only good team they have faced here, and on the road against solid teams have lost to Kansas State and won at USC by just four. These teams are much closer than this, so we will ride Baylor.

Illinois-Chicago has certainly had some success at home, but the road has told a different story. They have just one win in their last six tries including four losses by 12 points or more. One thing we have watched over the years is how this Loyola team seems to begin to come together late in the season, and with three straight wins we are seeing it again. They are 17-7 after January 28 over the last three years, and the 2-0 this year makes that 19-7, and they have now covered in five of their last six. They have the revenge factor working, as they dropped a tough OT loss at Illinois-Chicago earlier. Illinois-Chicago's road woes continue here, while the Ramblers continue their late-season surge.

Results: 6-1

NCAA Basketball Picks Resources:

• View our college basketball sports book reviews here.
• View our updated betting NCAA basketball.
• View ncaa tournament predictions here.
• Read our 2007 NCAA basketball betting preview here.
• Here we show our NCAA basketball Game-of-Day-Preview.
• View our 2007 college basketball picks here.
• Updated today: ncaa bracket picks.
• Don't forget to visit our college basketball ATS standings.
• View our updated blog NCAA basketball.
• Hop over to our free NCAA basketball pick here.
• Check out NCAA basketball prior picks here.
• Check out NCAA basketball odds and lines here.

Check out the last five NCAA Basketball Picks Newsletters:

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-08-2008
The changing of the guard in the Ivy is now complete. Both Penn and Princeton have officially become also-rans in the Ivy, while former doormat, Cornell takes center stage. Three consecutive road wins...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-07-2008
Clemson comes in off a stomping of Boston College (78-56) which is why we see them laying points to a decent Virginia team here. But let's not overreact to one blowout. The fact is that Clemson ha...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-06-2008
ODU is 8-4 at home but just 3-6 on the road. They have been known for defense this season but right now it's Northeastern who is playing tenacious D. The Huskies have held each of their last two o...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-05-2008
The Bulls have lost nine straight yet are somehow expected to keep this one close on the road, where they are 0-10 this season. We aren't buying it. They are off two straight OT losses which does ...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-04-2008
The Spartans have now gone 10-2 in their last 12 game and are playing with confidence. Kyle Hines has been a dominating player lately. He has averaged 22 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game and 2....