Ncaa Basketball Tournament Predictions - January 30, 2010

We nailed last night's pick as Harvard covered easily. Today we bring our six-week CBB run in to today's action up +72 units. During that time we have gone 121-94 and are on the floor with 10 picks today including one 5-unit play as well as four 4-unit picks. Our 5-unit CBB picks are 30-17 on the season and we look to add to that winning mark today.

WUNDERDOG 2010 RECENT RESULTS ($100/bet)
SPORT	WINS-LOSSES	%	NET
NFL	45-29 last 74 picks	61%	+$3880
CFB	25-10 last 35 picks	71%	+$6040
MLB	265-219 last 484 picks	55%	+$8370
CBB	121-94 last 215 picks	56%	+$7210
NHL	239-156 last 395 picks	61%	+$18200
WNBA	121-90 last 211 picks	57%	+$5490
TOTAL			+$49190

Today's NCAA Basketball Picks:

Game: Indiana at Illinois (2:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Illinois -12 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)

The Indiana Hoosiers have made some strides, but this is a program that is far from their level of expectation. They are not on the level of the rigors of the Big-10 Conference, especially on the road. They own a win on the road vs. Penn State, but the Nittanys are without a conference win at 0-8. The Hoosiers were blown out in their other two conference roadies, suffering five huge blowout losses in conference play a year ago. Illinois is tough at home with a 10-1 mark, and have taken down the number in their last three Big-10 tilts as a double-digit chalk. Last year they won against the Hoosiers by 31 points, and the gap hasn't closed. I'll go with Illinois here.

Both of these teams have had their share of time at the bottom of the Horizon, but Cleveland State has stepped up, while the Penguins are still mired at the bottom. The Vikings went to Youngstown early in the season and won handily 70-48, and I wouldn't expect to see a different outcome here. The Penguins are just 4-12-2 ATS in their last 18 overall, and an even worse 2-9-2 ATS as a dog. The Penguins are not getting much done in this series at 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings and the gap is getting wider. I like Cleveland St. in this one.

It would be easy to dismiss this Vanderbilt team and give them a pass off a huge 9-point win at Tennessee. To think they will be flat playing Kentucky just isn't going to happen, and this Commodores squad is better than advertised. They have won 10 straight games, and when you can go on the road in the SEC to places like South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee and get wins, that is quite an accomplishment. Kentucky has a boat load of talent, but is still very young, but nonetheless they are19-1, but as this large a favorite here, simply points to an overlay. They have already had seven wins by less than 9 points and this Vandy squad can stay in this one. I'm going with Vanderbilt here.

The Tulsa Hurricanes find themselves amongst a small group in C-USA that is hopeful of transplanting Memphis from the top. The Hurricanes are off to a 16-4 start and have not lost to anyone they shouldn't have. The Golden Knights have a talented but very young and inconsistent team. They have yet to identify a leader, and boast no go-to player with the top scorer at just 10 per game. The Golden Hurricanes are 16-6-1 ATS in their last 23 as a favorite of under 7, while the Golden Knights haven't found the answer as a dog at just 1-5 ATS in their last six. Experience and talent point to a road win and cover for Tulsa.

The Bears have played much better of late and have won three of their last four. Anytime you can go to Southern Illinois and get a win, things are heading in the right direction. The Bears also played Northern Iowa, the top MVC team to a 2-point game on the road, and have now won their last three as a dog. Illinois State is very suspect here as they opened the season at 7-0 to a cupcake-laden schedule, then found the going much more difficult since the competition moved up to their level. They are just 7-7 over their last 14 games. The Braves have been a force in this series as they are 12-2 ATS in the last 14 meetings, including 4-0 ATS on the road. I like Bradley here.

Rutgers may have found answers on the Big East level in football, but stand a long way from being competitive in hoops. The Scarlet Knights are seeing red in Big East play with an 0-8 start, putting them at 3-33 in their last 36 Big East tilts. Ouch! The problem is that the margins are getting wider, not narrower as they have lost their last three by margins of 23, 25 and 26 points. They have not only lost all eight, they have yet to cover one at 0-8 ATS. This margin is way to low for a very good Notre Dame team that has an All-American that Rutgers has no answers for. I like Notre Dame by plenty in this one.

The Princeton Tigers have had a hiatus from atop the Ivy world as Cornell and now Harvard have put together some terrific teams. That may be brief as the Tigers are climbing above the rest of the Ivy, and a 17-point win on the road at Brown serves notice as a team that Yale lost at home to by 9. Princeton always had the system, just needed the athletes to plug into it, and the program is on its way back. The Tigers are spending most of their Saturday's in Ivy play, and the Saturday count is now 15-5-1 ATS where the Bulldogs are just 3-12-1 ATS. The favorite has ruled this series with the dog covering just one of the last six, and the Tigers’ distance is more than 3 points here. I'll grab Princeton in this one.

This may be a prelude to an NCAA bid, as both these teams are deserving, but regardless of the final record, only the Ivy winner is apt to get one. Cornell has owned the Ivy the last 4 years, but Harvard is on the same level, with a close call to Uconn on the road, a win vs William & Mary, and a win on the road at Boston College. Many are aware of Cornell's domination in the Ivy of late, but Harvard has snuck up fast and closed the gap to even. Harvard can matchup well with Cornell, and in a game that has post-season ramifications, this will be a battle late, and catching an 8 spot here is where the value is. I'll go with Harvard here.

I'm not sure there is a team off to a better start than BYU who is out of the gate at 20-2, and have been a much better team than expected. When the Cougars have had their great teams in the past, they are big winners ATS at home. This season they boast a 11-0 mark at home overall, and have won 10 of the 11 by 10 points or more. Utah is not having a good season by the standards set by past teams, and at 10-10 and 2-4 on the road, they have their hands full here. The Utes have brought better teams here in the past, but are still just 1-4 ATS in their last five here. This is a huge in-state rivalry, so no letdown for the Cougars and that means a big win and cover for BYU.

Texas Tech may look poor in Big-12 road play, but they have faced the top three teams in the conference, so you certainly have to give them a pass there. In spite of that, they are 9-4 ATS in their last 13, so they are definitely playing above the line. The Aggies are perfect at home after their annual cupcake tour early on. They have played the weakest home schedule in conference play, making the 11-0 home mark undeserving of a lofty number here. The Aggies play beneath the line at 3-8 ATS in their last 11, have a live dog here that is on their level, and the oddsmakers see this otherwise. I'll take the bounty of points and go with Tech here.

Results: 1-9

NCAA Basketball Picks Resources:

• Hop over to our free NCAA basketball picks here.
• Don't forget to read our college basketball prior predictions here.
• View our ncaa bracket picks here.
• View our how to bet college basketball here.
• Check out NCAA basketball lines here.
• Hop over to our NCAA basketball picks blog here.
• Updated today: sports betting NCAA basketball.
• Hop over to our NCAA basketball Game Analysis here.
• Check out our updated march madness pick.
• View our 2009 NCAA basketball pick season results here.
• View 2009 season NCAA basketball betting preview here.
• Updated today: NCAA basketball ATS standings.

Check out the last five NCAA Basketball Picks Newsletters:

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-29-2010
The Harvard Crimson has really stepped up and is not an Ivy League caliber team - they are much better. This is a team that had UConn on the ropes at Storrs before losing by just 6, and followed on th...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-28-2010
When you’re slated as a team that has the potential to cut down the nets at the end of the season, you’re going to have to pay the price to play on them. The Boilermakers are overpriced ju...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-27-2010
The Kentucky loss to South Carolina and the Texas loss to Uconn poises the Wildcats to proclaim the #1 spot, and rightfully so. The Wildcats are 18-1 on the season and perfect at home, winning their h...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-26-2010
The Terps are kicking butt and taking names. They dropped a 2-point decision at Wake Forest a couple of weeks ago but outside of that, they have won five games in January, averaging 87 points per game...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-25-2010
These are a pair of teams that are far from what they have been in the past. Penn, once the dominator in the Ivy with Princeton has fallen fast and hard, and Phil Martelli's St. Joe's team is ...