College Basketball Picks: February 12th 2011
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Pick: Ohio State +1
I’ll gladly take the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes as an underdog to the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday. Sure, Ohio State has lost eight straight at the Kohl Center, but this is a new year and a new team. The Buckeyes have not lost all season, and I fully expect them to put an end to this losing streak in Madison Saturday. They simply have a more talented team across the board. Ohio State has four players who score in double-figures, while the Badgers only has two who average double-digits. The Buckeyes are not only winning on the road, they are blowing teams out by an average of 9.7 PPG. Ohio State is shooting 49.8% on the road this season which is up from what they shoot at home. The Buckeyes have won 12 straight conference road games dating back to last season. They are 9-3 ATS in those 12 road contests. They Buckeyes are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600. Furthermore, Ohio State is 17-8 ATS in their last 25 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Take the Buckeyes Saturday at a great price. -Jack Jones

Pick: Villanova -3
Beating Nova on its home court is no easy task. That task becomes even more difficult when taking the floor without a key player. That’s what Pitt is up against this evening with star guard Ashton Gibbs sidelined. The Wildcats will be lacking no motivation here. They will be out to avenge an upset loss to Pitt last season, and an upset loss to Rutgers this week will add even more fuel to the fire. Nova is 13-1 at home this season, where it is holding its opponents to just 61.0 ppg. Home court is very important in this matchup considering the home squad has covered the number in 10 of the last 14 meetings. The Wildcats have played their best ball against the best teams they have faced. In fact, Villanova is an impressive 6-0 ATS versus top caliber teams that are outscoring their opponents by 12-plus points per game this season. The Wildcats are defeating these teams by an average score of 76.3 to 67.3. Looking back, Nova is an impressive 11-3 ATS in home games (15 or more games into the season) when playing against top level teams with winning percentages above 80% under coach Jay Wright. We’ll lay the points with Nova tonight. -Jimmy Boyd

Pick: Tulsa +3.5
UCF started the season at 14-0. They are now 14-8. The Knights have lost 8 in a row SU and have failed to cover their L10, including their L6 home contests. Even the son of Michael Jordan (UCF Guard, Marcus) can not help Central Florida get out of their funk. They must now face a well-rested Tulsa team (last game February 5th) that has won their L3 games. Guard Justin Hurtt leads the Golden Hurricanes with 20.2 PPG. Idlet, Haralson, and Clarkson are all adding DDs each game. Centers Idlet and Maduka are sharing time and will dominate the glass along with Forward Joe Richard. The squad leads the Conference with +8 RPG. The Knights are 0-8 ATS their L8 as a favorite, 0-6 ATS their L6 at home, and 0-9 ATS their L9 vs. teams with a winning record. The Golden Hurricanes are 4-1 ATS their L5 as a ‘dog of .5 – 6 ½ points, 3-0-1 ATS their L4 following an ATS loss, and 3-1-1 ATS their L5 games played on Saturday. Take Tulsa. Thank you. -Joseph D’Amico (Handicapperspicks.com)