St. John’s vs UConn
The #25 UConn Huskies (7-1; 4-1 Conf.) will search for their fifth straight win Monday. Also, they will try to improve their recent record against St. John’s after going 1-3 straight up and 0-3-1 ATS in the last four meetings with the Red Storm.
The visitors have dropped three of their previous four games and are coming off a narrow 73-71 home loss to Marquette. The Red Storm fell to 7-7 on the season and 2-6 in the Big East Conference play, while they rank 121st in the NCAA NET Rankings.
Great scheduling news: Monday’s game between @StJohnsBBall and @UConnMBB will now tip off at 2:30 PM ET and air on FOX. The game was previously scheduled for 5 PM ET on FS1. #BIGEASThoops pic.twitter.com/zDR3oHpPAZ
— #BIGEASThoops (@BIGEASTMBB) January 16, 2021
The Huskies have the 17th-best defensive rating in the nation, surrendering 91.3 points per 100 possessions. They love to play at a slow pace, tallying just 64.7 possessions per 40 minutes, so the Huskies will try their best to slow down things against the Red Storm who tally 74.3 possessions per 40 minutes.
St. John’s has struggled defensively thus far, yielding 99.2 points per 100 possessions (126th in the country). The Red Storm heavily lean on sophomore guard Julian Champagnie (20.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG), but they lack depth and will have huge problems slowing down the Huskies’ offense.
College basketball pick – UConn by 10.
Florida State vs Louisville
The #16 Louisville Cardinals lost three straight games to Florida State and are 1-4 SU and ATS in their previous five matchups with the Seminoles. They will seek revenge Monday at home, and the Cardinals will also want to bounce back from a disappointing 78-72 defeat at Miami this past Saturday.
Louisville is now 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference play. On the other side, Florida State is 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC play following an 82-75 home win over North Carolina on Saturday. The Seminoles have won three of their last four games overall and are 2-2 ATS in that span.
Battle: Won! pic.twitter.com/yDQkd9XcDu
— Florida State Men’s Basketball (@FSUHoops) January 17, 2021
We should see a tremendous duel at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville and the hosts opened as slight 1.5-point favorites. Three of the Cardinals’ last five games were decided by six or fewer points, while four of the previous seven encounters between Louisville and Florida State were decided by five or fewer points.
Monday’s clash could easily go either way. The teams rank in the top 50 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, so if you want to take the risk, bet on any team to win by five or fewer points around +170 odds. We’re backing the Cardinals to record their 15th straight victory on the home court.
College basketball pick – Louisville by 2.
Kansas vs Baylor
The #2 Baylor Bears are 12-0 on the season and 5-0 in the Big 12 Conference play after an excellent 68-60 victory over the #15 Texas Tech Red Raiders this past Saturday.
They played tough defense to shut down the Raiders early, allowing just 18 first-half points. The Raiders came back in the second ready to fight, but the Bears had the right answer down the stretch.
On the other side, the #6 Kansas Jayhawks (10-3; 4-2 Conf.) have had a lot of ups and downs over the last few weeks. After an embarrassing 84-59 home loss to #8 Texas, the Jayhawks beat TCU 93-64 and Oklahoma 63-59, but they fell apart last time out and suffered a 75-70 defeat at Oklahoma State.
Breaking down some of Baylor’s offensive actions. Multiple handlers and options. @baylormbb @espn @collegegameday pic.twitter.com/F4FdiAiBfn
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) January 17, 2021
The Bears have the best defensive rating in the nation, allowing only 86.5 points per 100 possessions, while their offense ranks fourth with 119.0 points per 100 possessions. Baylor is 9-3 ATS this season, but covering a 10-point spread against the Jayhawks could be a problem.
Kansas has been unpredictable recently, but the Jayhawks are still 10th in defensive efficiency (90.4) and 24th in offensive efficiency (112.8). They should have enough firepower to keep it close against the mighty Bears, and Kansas is 14-2 straight up and 10-5-1 ATS in its last 16 encounters with Baylor.
College basketball pick – Kansas by 10.
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*Odds correct at time of writing.
