That is the perfect Saturday of faculty basketball this season by a rustic mile. Three top-10 matchups litter the cardboard and a handful of mid-major battles stand out, as well.
Listed here are two which have my attention:
No. 4 Houston at No. 8 Kansas
If Kansas being installed as a house underdog made you do a double-take, you’re not alone.
Over the past 34 years, Kansas has closed as an underdog on its home court just twice — in February 1989 as a brief ’dog to top-ranked Oklahoma, and in February 2021 as a 4.5-point underdog to second-ranked Baylor.
They split those two games, losing in extra time to OU’s dynamic duo of Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King while upsetting Baylor by 13 at Phog Allen.
So why are the Jayhawks an underdog on this spot? Injuries and defense.
The Jayhawks have turn out to be a three-man team previously month, relying heavily on Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar Jr. and freshman Johnny Furphy. But now McCullar has a bone bruise on his knee.
The Jayhawks’ wing is averaging nearly 20/6/5 this season on 47 percent shooting from the sphere. Indications from coach Bill Self are that McCullar will play Saturday, but he won’t be one hundred pc getting back from that painful injury.
Kansas has fallen off defensively because the start of the brand new yr. In line with Bart Torvik’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric, KU is ranked sixty fifth nationally since Jan. 1. In the primary two months of the season, KU resided in the highest 20. That’s excellent news for a Houston offense that’s vulnerable to scoring lulls.
When Kansas is attempting to crack Houston’s defense, all I can say is “good luck.” The Cougars have the highest-rated defense within the country by a giant margin. They lead the nation in effective field goal percentage defense, turn opponents over on 22 percent of their possessions (third) and rank third in three-point shooting defense (28.3 percent).
If you desire to find a good comp, it’s good to have a look at 2019 Texas Tech, which nearly won the national championship, or the 38-1 Kentucky Wildcats from 2015. That’s the rarefied air of this Houston defense.
Evan Miya’s rating of the highest 25 most impactful defenders within the nation features 4 Cougars, including the highest two within the nation (Jamal Shead, Ja’Vier Francis).
And at last, for those who’re going handy KU a loss on its home floor, you’re going to want to quiet the gang, and Houston has a special weapon in that department.
The Cougars lead the nation in kill shots, that are runs of 10-0 or higher. Thus far they’ve produced 27 of them this season while only conceding 4. That’s the perfect margin of any team within the country and helps Kelvin Sampson’s teams destroy opponents’ will to win.
Advice: Houston -2.
Binghamton at Vermont
The Catamounts have long been the category of the America East, and because the conference bully, they’ve continually picked on Binghamton. Of their last 10 wins over this rival, Vermont has won by a mean of 24 points per game.
Betting on College Basketball?
This season, after a sleepy start, the Cats have come alive with six straight wins, including three in a row on the road. Coach John Becker has credited his team’s depth for its turnaround.
This season, the conference pivoted to a Thursday/Saturday conference schedule, so depth has mattered greater than usual. Nine Catamounts play 14-plus minutes per game for Becker and eight players have led UVM in scoring previously nine games.
I might play this as much as UVM -16.5.
Advice: Vermont -14.