College Basketball Picks - February 25, 2009

We went 1-0 with our lone CBB pick last night when LSU won outright against Florida.  Over the last six weeks our CBB picks are 72-57.  Today we feature five premium plays including one 4 unit selection.

Today's NCAA Basketball Picks:

Game: Arkansas at Alabama (8:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 4 units on Alabama -174 (moneyline) (risk 4 to win 2.3)

Arkansas is another one of those young teams that has talent, but it is so difficult for them to learn how to win on the road where they have managed just one win all season. That came very early and the Razorbacks have played tough, but have not recorded a road win in SEC play. The Tide has dropped two games at home in conference play but to teams at the top of the conference. Alabama will also be out to revenge a road loss at Arkansas. The Razorbacks are simply not a team to trust on the road and the Tide gets it done here. I'll play them to win the game on the moneyline.

The last six games on the road have not been very productive for the Cougars as they have logged just two wins, one of them vs conference doormat SMU. The Golden Hurricane, on the otherhand, has lost in Conference play just once and that was by a single point vs Memphis. Their only home losses are to Memphis, Oklahoma and BYU, all teams that are far better than what Houston can bring to this one. Golden Hurricane have been 11-3 ATS when favored by 6.5 or less, which simply means they win this type of game and their stellar track record at home says they win this one too, I'll grab them on the moneyline.

Maryland is a young team and young teams have a tendency to underachieve on the road and overachieve at home. They have just three road wins all season but 14-2 at home, none bigger that their big win against North Carolina their last time out. They have also beaten a very good Virginia Tech team at home by ten and another good team, Miami, Fla. at home, so this team is brimming with confidence. They also know a win vs Duke puts them in the NCAA Tournament talk. The Blue Devils, after running off ten straight wins, have not played very well of late. They have dropped their last three in the ACC and almost blew up against a St. John's team that isn't very good. Maryland lost to Duke by 41 on the road and they may have a surprise for Duke in this one, I expect them to be in this one to the end and will back them with the points.

We are approaching the end of the NCAAB regular season and it has been a lost one for the Mustangs, especially on the road, where they have yet to break through and sit at 0-10. That is often where you'll catch some distorted pointspreads that are offering value on the negative team, afterall, who wants money on a team that is 0-10. That is where the money is made as we aren't asking a team getting a bundle of points to win the game, we are asking them to stay within the number something SMU has done very well, especially on the road. The Mustangs may be 0-10 on the road, but they are 6-1 ATS in their last seven as a dog of 10-19.5. The Miners may be a no-show for this one as they layed it all on the line in their last game against Memphis and may not have the passion here to cover. I'll go with SMU in this one.

It's been a tough and trying season for the Buffaloes who have really had trouble finding the win column in the Big-12. They stand at 1-11 and have now dropped seven straight and the confidence has to be decaying with each passing game. The Cowboys have put themselves back on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament at 17-9 and three straight wins, so a strong finish is vital to their Tourney hopes. Offensively, this team has too much firepower for the Buffaloes to hang around. The Cowboys have topped the 80 point mark in seven of their last 11 Big-12 tilts. The Buffaloes have not topped the 76 point mark yet in conference play and one good run by the Cowboys puts them away in this one. I'll back Oklahoma State and lay the points on the road.

Results: 4-1

NCAA Basketball Picks Resources:

• Don't forget to read our 2008 NCAA basketball handicapping preview here.
• Here we show our NCAA basketball sportsbooks.
• Here we show our 2008 NCAA basketball prior picks.
• View our updated how to bet college basketball.
• Here we show our NCAA basketball Game-of-Day-Preview.
• Don't forget to visit our college basketball picks blog.
• Take a look at our free college basketball picks here.
• Check out our updated NCAA basketball odds and lines.
• Don't forget to visit our march madness bracket.
• Don't forget to read our college basketball ATS standings here.
• View ncaa march madness picks here.
• Here we show our NCAA basketball record.

Check out the last five NCAA Basketball Picks Newsletters:

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-24-2009
The Bayou Bengals have been almost impossible to take down at home this year, as they bring in an 18-1 mark. The lone setback came against a red-hot Xavier team that was in the midst of an 11-0 run. N...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-23-2009
Tennessee Chattanooga has really been rolling with the start of conference play as they are now 11-3 overall in their last 14 games. Their only home loss was at the hands of Davidson, who has beaten j...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-22-2009
Two ACC heavyweights collide at Cameron Indoor tonight as Duke looks to get back some respect they have lost recently. Wake has put together back-to-back victories and a third here would really boost ...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-21-2009
Murray State has put seven of their last eight in the win column. This is a BracketBuster game that typically gets played like an NCAA Tournament game, and the dogs are usually barking loud. The Racer...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-February-20-2009
The Redbirds were a hot team to open the season with a perfect 14-0 mark, but then stumbled to go 5-5. It wasn't as bad as it looked however, as two of the losses came in OT, and none of the other...