Top NCAAB Betting Picks of the Weekend – February 2nd Edition

With each passing week, we’re getting closer and closer to March Madness in men’s college basketball, and now we’re in the thick of conference play. Michigan State just lost star Josh Langford for the year with a foot injury — can they contend in one of the tougher conferences in the nation? Kansas has lost two in a row in Big 12 play — is this the season when someone finally removes the Jayhawks’ hammerlock on the conference? Houston keeps winning in the American — are they a contender on a national level? We’ll see when Temple comes to town on Thursday. We’ve put together a special NCAAB betting edition of college basketball picks for this coming weekend.

Top NCAAB Betting Picks of the Weekend – February 2nd Edition

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Saturday, February 2

North Carolina at Louisville (2:00pm ET, ESPN)

The ninth-ranked Tar Heels head to Kentucky to take on the fifteenth-ranked Cardinals in this ACC thriller. The Cardinals won the first meeting between these two teams in Chapel Hill, delivering a shocking 83-62 beating. Since then, North Carolina has beaten Notre Dame, Miami, then-#10 Virginia Tech (by 21) and Georgia Tech. In that win over Georgia Tech, Cameron Johnson led the way with 22 points, including the first eight points of the second half, and Coby White added 19. Johnson and White combined for nine three-point baskets as the team went 13 for 27 from downtown. The Tar Heels went on 20-5 and 34-11 runs over the course of the game. Louisville also has not lost since beating North Carolina, so one might wonder why they remain below the Tar Heels in the rankings. They have gone on to defeat Boston College, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech and Pitt since the first meeting with the Tar Heels. In that win over Pitt, the Cardinals were not shooting all that well, but they rallied for a 15-point win behind 17 points from Jordan Nwora. Pitt led by one with 15:37 remaining, but then they did not score for the next 6:04 of the game. I see the Tar Heels playing closer — but the Cardinals taking the win at home. NCAAB Betting Prediction: Louisville 78, North Carolina 74

Texas Tech at Kansas (4:00pm ET, CBS)

Kansas has slid to #11 in the Top 25 rankings as they prepare to host Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon. They have now lost three of four, falling at West Virginia, Kentucky and Texas, with a win in the middle over Iowa State. In that loss to Texas on Tuesday, the Jayhawks’ leading scorer, Dedric Lawson, did not score in the first half. Freshman Ochai Agbaji made his first career start and put up a career-best 24 points. Texas’ decision to harass Kansas’ guards on the perimeter kept them from driving, and the Jayhawks only had 23 first-half points. They turned the ball over 13 times in the loss. Now come the Red Raiders, who had lost three in a row before eking out a one-point win over Arkansas on Saturday and then beating TCU by 19 on Monday. Jarrett Culver scored 18 points, 12 in the first half, and the Red Raiders led by as many as 20 late in the second half. Matt Mooney scored 18 for Texas Tech, and Tariq Owens had 17. That sort of balance will help Texas Tech — but can they get a big win at Kansas? NCAAB Betting Prediction: Kansas 78, Texas Tech 76

Indiana at Michigan State (6:00pm ET, ESPN)

Indiana has gone into serious free fall, losing seven in a row, including a 23-point home loss at the hands of Michigan and, Wednesday night, an eight-point loss at Rutgers that saw the Scarlet Knights go on a 22-0 run. Indiana did not score from the 3:48 mark of the first half until the 14:29 mark of the second half, and a Hoosiers team that was once #21 in the nation is now in their worst losing streak since 2010-11, when they dropped nine straight. They have not won since they took down Illinois on January 3. Michigan State had been unbeaten in Big Ten play until a 73-63 loss at Purdue on Sunday. The Spartans did not play with the same commitment to defense and rebounding that they had been, and Purdue made them pay. Cassius Winston led Michigan State with 23 points, seven boards and eight assists, and Matt McQuaid chipped in a dozen. I see the Spartans taking out some frustration against the Hoosiers on Saturday night. NCAAB Betting Prediction: Michigan State 88, Indiana 70