Top College Basketball Picks Wednesday, February 10th (2021)
There have been hundreds of games canceled or postponed this college basketball season for various reasons related to COVID-19. However, this week a game was called off for reasons not yet seen this year. As Jeff Goodman explains, a video leaked on social media caused an ACC game between North Carolina and Miami to be postponed. Just when you think you have seen it all…
Here are three picks for Wednesday.
YTD: 91-81-2
All odds via BettingPros consensus
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Wake Forest (-1) at Boston College: 7:00 PM ET
After starting 0-6 in conference play, Wake Forest has won two of their last four games. The Demon Deacons have an excellent opportunity to make it three wins in five games as they take on a potentially undermanned Boston College squad.
In their last game, Boston College only had six scholarship players available due to COVID-19 contact tracing. At one point, the Eagles allowed a 37-3 run in the first half against NC State before losing by 16 points. Five walk-ons appeared in the game for Boston College, with Andrew Kenny leading the walk-ons with 18 minutes played.
After the game, sophomore CJ Felder and juniors Wynston Tabbs and Makai Ashton-Langford were seen on the court getting some shots up while wearing masks. At this point, their availability is unclear, so this line may have a lot of volatility if the trio is ultimately ruled out once again. In the meantime, take advantage of Wake Forest getting points in this matchup as the Eagles playing with just six scholarship players once again would severely limit their chances of winning.
Georgia at Tennessee (-13): 8:00 PM ET
Last week, we suggested fading Tennessee on the road at Mississippi as we deemed that game to be a trap spot in between their games against Kansas and Kentucky. The Volunteers are in a similarly peculiar spot against a Georgia team under .500 in conference play. Tennessee is coming off a big road win at Rupp Arena on Saturday and has a trip to LSU looming this Saturday in a battle for what could be for second place in the conference. Thus, Georgia is getting too many points in a game where they may not have Tennessee’s full attention.
After an 0-4 start in conference play, Georgia has played much better of late. They have won five of their last seven games, including three straight against Ole Miss, Auburn, and Vanderbilt. While Tennessee presents a much more difficult challenge, the Bulldogs come in confident, having won two of their last three road games outright.
Tennessee is not particularly built to take advantage of Georgia’s weaknesses. While the Bulldogs rank last in the conference in allowing the highest percentage of offensive rebounds to their opponents, Tennessee is the SEC’s worst offensive rebounding team. Also, Georgia ranks 12th in effective field goal percentage allowed, but Tennessee ranks just 11th in that category on the offensive end.
Despite being one of the better teams in the conference, the Volunteers are just 4-6 ATS in league play. The Bulldogs are a respectable 6-4 ATS after a win and 3-2 ATS as road underdogs. Tennessee should win, but not by as much as the oddsmakers predict.
Indiana (-3) at Northwestern: 9:00 PM ET
There is perhaps no team in a major conference in more of a freefall than Northwestern. The Wildcats have lost nine straight games by an average of 13.8 PPG. Their last three losses have come by an average of 5.3 PPG, so some would suggest they are due to break through for a big win. However, it is likely increasingly difficult for Northwestern to get motivated in the middle of a pandemic as each loss piles up. Besides, an Indiana squad comes to town looking for payback for a 74-67 home loss to Northwestern on December 23rd.
Indiana has won their last two road games and is coming off a two-point home upset of Iowa. The Hoosiers are one of the conference’s youngest teams, with just one senior earning meaningful minutes. This young group has grown up throughout the season and is ready to atone for their surprising December loss to Northwestern. Indiana is one of the conference’s best three-point shooting teams and ranks in the top half of the Big Ten in league play in adjusted offensive efficiency and turnover percentage.
Outside of Trayce Jackson-Davis, who went 9-for-12 for 22 points in the first meeting, the rest of the Hoosiers shot just 16-for-40 (40%) from the field. Look for a supporting cast of Armaan Franklin, Al Durham, and Race Thompson, who all average in double figures on the season to have much better games this time around.
Indiana is 4-1 ATS on the road, while Northwestern is just 2-3 ATS as a home underdog and 5-7 ATS as an underdog overall. While we usually prefer to be on the contrarian side, I do not see the Wildcats getting motivated enough this late in the season to be a real threat to the Hoosiers.
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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.