Ncaa Predictions - February 19, 2009

We split our two college picks last night, coming out on the plus side. Over the last six weeks our college basketball plays are hitting at 56%, 62-48 for +11.9 units. Today we roll with five college hoops plays.

Today's NCAA Basketball Picks:

Game: St. Bonaventure at George Washington (9:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on St. Bonaventure +3.5 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)

I am hard pressed to understand why the Colonials rate as the choice here. They jumped out to a 6-2 start with some real creampuffs, but have been humbled since going 1-12, with the lone win coming against three-win Fordham. The Bonnies have rebounded from disastrous 1-6 stretch to win two of three and cover four straight and five of their last six. They hung tough on the road against Rhode Island and Duquesne, and won at Richmond. The resistance in this one tonight will not be nearly the same, so I like the Bonnies to get it done on the road against a very poor Colonials’ team.

The Badgers had fallen to 12-9 on the season, putting their NCAA Tourney hopes on life support. They have responded with four straight wins to move to 16-9 and back on the bubble. They certainly can't cough up this one tonight. I expect that the momentum of the four wins and the need for a win against a very bad Indiana team will bring them to Bloomington focused. This is one of the worst Indiana teams of all time and they have managed just one Big-10 win on the season. Weak teams often pick-off a team sleep walking through a game thinking they have an easy win and just have to show up. That won't be the case with the Badgers tonight as a loss and poor performance will pretty much have them saying good-bye to the tourney. We will see a focused effort and Badgers’ win and cover.

The Beavers are light years away from where they were when they dropped all 18 Pac-10 games. They ended the streak at 23 with a huge win at home against a good USC team and are now 5-3 in the conference in their last eight. This team has proven it can hang in conference play, and has lost by three points to ‘Zona at home, beat USC, as mentioned above, and took Washington State to OT - not to mention winning at Stanford by 15, and California by four. The wrong team is favored here, as the Cardinal is winless in the Pac-10 on the road. The stigma may still be with the oddsmakers on this Oregon State team, but the results have definately changed. Oregon State gets this one.

The Bruins’ trip to Arizona was humbling as they dropped both games. The amazing thing is that this team has had teeth at home as they have won 12 of their last 13 by double digits and after losing on the road, they will bring it tonight. They also have a payback here off an 11-point, forgettable performance at Washington earlier. The Huskies have not been living the good life on the road against the very good teams, dropping games to Kansas, Florida, California, and Arizona. The Huskies know one way to play and that's fast, but UCLA has had the recipe to stop the pace at Pauley, limiting the Huskies to 66 points per game the last three trips there. I like UCLA on the moneyline and to slow the Huskies down as they always have, so I will play this one UNDER as well.

Results: 3-2

NCAA Basketball Picks Resources:

• Take a look at our 2008 NCAA basketball preview here.
• View NCAA basketball sportsbook reviews here.
• Read our 2008 college basketball prior picks season results here.
• Don't forget to read our NCAA basketball betting approach here.
• Check out our updated NCAA basketball Game-of-Day Analysis.
• Here we show our blog college basketball.
• Don't forget to visit our free NCAA basketball picks.
• Check out our updated NCAA basketball odds lines and spreads.
• View our updated ncaa tournament picks.
• Check out our updated NCAA basketball ATS records.
• Don't forget to read our march madness pick here.
• View our updated NCAA basketball record.

Check out the last five NCAA Basketball Picks Newsletters:

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-18-2009
N. Illinois has managed just one road win all season and that was at Alaska Anchorage. They are starting to play better as they are coming off a win and two straight covers for the first time since mi...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-17-2009
While Eastern Carolina has played tough at home, the road has not been their friend. They have managed just a 3-7 mark on the road, but when you look at the three wins, none have come against anything...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-16-2009
A huge heavyweight battle between the Pitt Panthers and the UConn Huskies takes shape tonight in Connecticut. This game definitely has No. 1 seeding ramifications for the NCAA Tournament attached to i...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-15-2009
Number 22 Illinois squares off vs. Indiana on CBS in this early game. I like the road team to win big. The Illini have covered five of the last six games played against Indiana including a 76-45 drubb...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-14-2009
There comes a time when the value on a team is extended beyond the reasonable, and such is the case here. The last time Fordham was posted as a 20+ dog they almost won outright at Dayton, losing by on...