Looking back at it now, the No. 3 Missouri Tigers may have been the most underrated team in the country heading in to conference play. With the Baylor Bears absolutely on fire following 17 straight wins to open their season, and the Kansas Jayhawks once again ranking among the top teams despite a couple of tough losses early on to Kentucky and Duke in non-conference play, the Tigers were somewhat overlooked in the Big 12. Fast-forward to the final couple of weeks of conference play and Missouri is now considered one of the pay head favorites to take home the Big 12 title, with just one major obstacle left standing in its way.

Missouri hosted the Kansas State Wildcats on Tuesday night in another tough conference battle, and considering that one of their two losses came on the road against Rodney McGruder and company there was no looking past the purple, even with their biggest game of the year coming up next. That game will be played this Saturday when the Tigers travel to Kansas to face the 10th-ranked Jayhawks in what amounts to a tiebreak for first place in the Big 12. Despite Missouri owning the better sports betting record overall, both teams are tied at 12-2 in conference play, with the Tigers taking the first meeting between these two programs 74-71 at home. Missouri finishes its Big 12 schedule at home against Iowa State and then with a trip to last-place Texas Tech, so the pressure is on for this upcoming battle against Kansas.

Led by senior guard Marcus Denmon, the Tigers rank seventh in the nation in scoring. Denmon is averaging a team-high 17.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds, while fellow senior Kim English has helped out on offense with an average of 14.2 points. Missouri is second in field goal percentage with a .503 mark, and one of the biggest per head reasons why they have been so successful from the field is their ability to move the ball around and create for one another. Surprisingly, Kansas has suffered three of its four losses this season at home, so they could very well be vulnerable at the Phog Allen Fieldhouse this Saturday even after a dominant win over Texas Tech.

The final couple of weeks in conference play could be hard to project for college basketball betting experts, as a lot can change before the Madness begins. Missouri is playing basketball at a really high level, and if they can overcome the impact that the crowd in Kansas will make on a game that is considered to be very close, they should have a good chance to come through and win. The Tigers were overlooked this year by many with Baylor and Kansas expected to be the favorites to take home the Big 12 title, but in the end it is Missouri with a perfect opportunity to close out strong and bring home a conference championship.

The Long Beach State 49ers and the Creighton Bluejays can both use a quality win to shore up their NCAA Tournament resumes. They meet each other with a lot on the line this weekend.

Long Beach State 49ers @ Creighton Bluejays – Saturday, February 18

Sports betting line: No line

Why Long Beach State Will Win

When you do your homework and assess your sports bet on this game, it’s clear that Creighton is headed in the wrong direction. The Bluejays were rolling along at 21-2, cruising to an easy NCAA Tournament berth, but they abruptly lost their last three games, folding the tent this past Saturday in an ugly and embarrassing 89-68 loss to Missouri Valley Conference rival Wichita State. Creighton coach Greg McDermott openly yelled at son Doug McDermott, the leading scorer on the Jays’ roster, during the Wichita State train wreck. A coach yelling at a player isn’t newsworthy, but there seemed to be an extra degree of anger in the father’s words toward his star player. Creighton is clearly feeling the pressure of the moment and hitting the wall that many college basketball teams encounter in the middle of February.

Long Beach State is not hitting that wall. Coach Dan Monson’s team has separated itself not just from the rest of the Big West Conference, but from much of the realm of Division I basketball, with its body of achievement in league play.

Mississippi Valley State (Southwestern Athletic Conference), Bucknell (Patriot League), and Kentucky (Southeastern Conference) are three teams in bid-eligible conferences who have not yet lost a league game in 2012. Long Beach State is the fourth team to wear such a banner of pride. Yes, while several teams (LIU-Brooklyn, Syracuse, Akron, Murray State, Saint Mary’s, Middle Tennessee, Nevada, UNC-Asheville, Harvard, Weber State, Montana, and Oral Roberts) have lost just one conference game this season, Long Beach State is one of only four to own an unblemished loss column through February 12. The Niners fended off Pacific in a tough Thursday night throwdown before easing past UC Davis on Saturday to move to 12-0 in the Big West, three and a half games ahead of second-place trailers Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara. Long Beach State is peaking while Creighton is slipping. This was always going to be a tough game for the 49ers, but they have to like their chances as game time approaches.

Why Creighton Will Win

The college basketball betting experts who follow the Missouri Valley Conference know that Creighton is immersed in a tailspin. Long Beach State is breathing confidence as it heads to Omaha. However, seasons are long and winding affairs. There are usually course corrections, regressions to the mean, and ample plot twists in a 30- to 35-game schedule. Creighton knows that even though it is playing horribly at the moment, it really needs this game to save its NCAA Tournament ticket, a ticket that looked like a sure thing two weeks ago. The Bluejays might not play a picture-perfect game, but they should display the energy and toughness that have been missing in recent weeks. That might be enough to disrupt Long Beach State’s offense and create a close contest that the Jays can capture in the final minutes.

Who Will Win

It’s true that Creighton is playing at home, but Long Beach State has already made road trips to North Carolina and Kansas this season, losing by narrow margins. The visiting 49ers will not be intimidated by the environment in Omaha, Nebraska. That’s probably the biggest reason why Long Beach State will probably be able to find a way to win this contest.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Long Beach State

When it comes to the college basketball betting season, it can be hard to point out the specific points in time that really made the difference at the end of a long season. Based solely on the prospect of making predictions, this Saturday could be one of those weekends where key conference matchups have a huge impact on the overall outcome of the season. A busy Saturday in college basketball will feature a Big 12 showdown between the No. 6 Baylor Bears and No. 4 Missouri Tigers, with a Big Ten showdown between the No. 12 Michigan State Spartans and No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes coming later on in the night. These two matchups represent absolutely crucial points in the seasons of each of the four teams, and the overall outcome of both the Big 12 and Big Ten conferences.

The per head option team with the most on the line of any this Saturday is Baylor, which despite being ranked second in the Big 12 and sixth in the country is in a “must-win” situation when they visit Missouri. The Bears have been one of the surprise contenders in the top-10 this season, but any chance at challenging for a conference title will come down to beating the Tigers in their second meeting of the season. Baylor dropped a 89-88 decision at home the first time these teams met, a loss that came on the heels of a blowout defeat at Kansas, and after losing their first two games against their top competition there is no way they can afford to lose any more. The fact that they play Kansas and Missouri back-to-back again doesn’t help, but that doesn’t mean they have an excuse not to execute. Meanwhile, the Tigers have already beaten both the Bears and Jayhawks and are all alone on top of the Big 12, so another win against a conference rival will go a long way in clinching that title.

Over in the Big Ten, Jared Sullinger and the Buckeyes are preparing for their toughest remaining test in the first of two games against the Spartans. Michigan State is just one game behind them in the Big Ten standings, and Ohio State cannot afford to drop this crucial home contest with a trip to the Jack Breslin looming at the beginning of March. Sullinger continues to be a dominant force both in terms of scoring and on the boards, and with another big performance should be able to help keep the Spartans down with the Buckeyes listed as the obvious pay head bookie favorites.

The sites listed on the sportsbook reviews will have the odds for both of these games, and they should both be very entertaining, but just be sure to consider how big of an impact both of these games will have on the Big 12 and Big Ten this season before placing a bet. There is no such thing as a guarantee in college basketball, and when the stakes are the highest, that is usually when the most unpredictable things can happen.

The line of NBA players that have come out of Connecticut and Georgetown read like a who’s who…names like Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, Richard Hamilton, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and many others. You never know if you’re watching a future great when these two programs get together, and there is usually a lot at stake; in this case, UConn is out to snap a three-game skid where they’ve lost all three by a combined eight points.

UConn Georgetown Odds – Wednesday, 7:00 PM ET

The Huskies (14-6, 4-4 Big East) were knocked out of the rankings by a 50-48 loss to Notre Dame in Hartford, and some think that UConn’s preseason chances were some sort of BetOnline scam, but the defending national champions are just catching some tough breaks. Jeremy Lamb dropped 16 points, while Andre Drummond added 15 points, 11 boards and four blocks for the Huskies, who shot a miserable 3-of-13 from three-point land. Players that work with price per head bookie software should still have a little faith in UConn, who have a lot of top-end talent led by Lamb and Drummond, but the latter hasn’t lived up to the hype bestowed on him as a freshman, although some still think he could be the No.1 pick in the draft should he decide to leave.

The No.14 Hoyas (16-4, 6-3 Big East) fell 72-60 at Pittsburgh, but even though the Panthers are 2-7 in the Big East, they’re a much better team than that record and Georgetown ran into a team that is finally starting to get healthy. Superbowl betting players would tell you that one bad half can kill you in football, and the same holds true for basketball as the Hoyas were outscored 33-22 in the first half. Otto Porter came off the bench with 14 points and six boards, while Hollis Thompson netted 11 points for the Hoyas, who had a -11 deficit on the boards, they shot 7-of-12 at the foul line and allowed Pitt to shoot 52.1% from the floor, which is a recipe for disaster.

Look for Georgetown to be the home favorites in the nation’s capital, and even though the Hoyas are 3-2 SU in their last five meetings at home with UConn, they’re also 1-4 ATS, with the last three going over the posted total. The Huskies need a win to avoid falling further down the pecking order in the Big East, but they need Drummond to dominate the post as UConn is vulnerable down low. He is coming off a solid game against Notre Dame, and he’ll be the difference on Wednesday as the Huskies score a NCAA basketball betting upset on the road.

Even NHL fans had to run across the scoreline for North Carolina’s last hoops game, as the Tar Heels were not only beaten at Florida State, but they were utterly embarrassed and it continues a disturbing trend on the road. North Carolina will get a chance to redeem themselves as they head to Virginia Tech on Thursday night.

North Carolina Virginia Tech Odds – Thursday, 9:00 PM ET

The No.8 Tar Heels (15-3, 2-1 ACC) were blasted 90-57 in Tallahassee, and even 5Dimes players had to be surprised at how thoroughly North Carolina was handled by Florida State, especially in a second half where they were outscored 54-29. Harrison Barnes was the high man with 15 points, while Tyler Zeller was next with 14 points and 14 boards for the Tar Heels, who shot a miserable 37.3% from the field (including 4-of-21 from three-point land), they were 9-of-20 at the foul line and the Tar Heels turned the ball over; Kendall Marshall had an uncharacteristic seven, and it was an all-around rough day at the office for a team that many think will win the national champion. Those betting on Super Bowl odds can attest to this as they watched Green Bay get ousted, and North Carolina has to improve away from the “Dean Dome”.

The Hokies (11-6, 0-3 ACC) are still looking for their first win in conference play after a 61-59 loss at Boston College, shooting just 36.2% from the field and posting six assists on their 17 field goals. Victor Davila hit 14 points, while Dorenzo Hudson netted 13 points for the Hokies, who got a pair of poor games from freshmen Dorian Finney-Smith (no points, eight boards, 0-of-4 from the field) and Marquis Rankin (0-of-8, four points, four assists). Players that work with price per head sports odds will tell you that freshmen are a risky wager because they can be inconsistent, and Virginia Tech’s starting frosh definitely struggled on the road.

North Carolina should still be the favorites on the road despite their woes, although they’re just 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS in their last five at Virginia Tech, with three of five games going under the posted total. The Tar Heels have now lost in a game that was basically a home affair for UNLV, they lost at Kentucky and then the fiasco at Florida State. They have to prove that they can win away from home and the Tar Heels should have little problem with a Virginia Tech team that doesn’t match up with them anywhere on the floor. It may be close for the first half, but look for North Carolina to pull away and eventually cover the NCAA basketball betting spread.

After watching the Alabama Crimson Tide clinch the BCS Championship with a win over the LSU Tigers on Monday night, there is no doubt which conference is the most dominant in college football. The SEC has dominated the sport at the college level for the better part of the last decade, but while they have flexed their muscle on a consistent basis on the gridiron, the Kentucky Wildcats appear to be all alone at the top of the chart as the conference’s only hope in college basketball. There is not a single conference that has been as dominant on the hard court as the SEC has been on the gridiron, but if we are going to have a sports betting debate about which grouping is the strongest, it makes sense to start with the Big East.

One year after sending more teams to the NCAA national title tournament than any other conference, the Big East looks to be just as strong again this year. Any talk about that group begins and ends with the top-ranked Syracuse Orange, which have somehow managed to overcome all of the controversy surrounding the program in order to open the year with 17 straight wins. Syracuse has executed at both ends of the floor, and even in cases where they have been pushed to the limit this season, the Orange have come through with big wins under Jim Boeheim.

While they may not have the same overall strength and depth that the Orange boast the No. 11 Georgetown Hoyas have managed to keep pace behind Syracuse at the top of the conference. The Hoyas were exposed at their own end of the floor in consecutive losses to West Virginia Mountaineers and Cincinnati, but if they can stop their slide and get back on track as betonline favorites against Saint John’s they should be fine. Consistency and keeping a level outlook will be among the biggest factors in the outcome of Georgetown’s season, and if they are going to have any chance at making this season one to remember they will need to be able to win in tough environments.

While the Mountaineers’ win over the Hoyas exposed their opposition, it also strengthened their outlook in the Big East. West Virginia followed that win up with a tough loss at Connecticut, but that will be part of navigating through such a tough conference. Home games against Rutgers and Marshall should help the Mountaineers get back on track regardless of their status according to the pay head bookies.

Rounding out the contenders from the Big East, one of the most interesting stories has to be Seton Hall, as the Pirates have won three straight since their loss to Syracuse. Seton Hall has the type of underdog feel that can make them serious threats when it counts the most, and unlike last year where the Big East was so dominant during the regular season, this year it seems as though they have teams that are better built for when the college basketball betting madness begins in March, beginning at the top with the Orange.

Even NHL fans know how powerful the Big East is when it comes to the college basketball landscape with five teams in the AP top 25, including four in the top 11. One of those teams is Georgetown, who wasn’t in the preseason rankings, while Marquette has fallen down the list and these two will get it on the nation’s capital on Wednesday night.

Marquette Georgetown Odds – Wednesday, 7:00 PM ET

The No.20 Golden Eagles (12-2, 1-0 Big East) bounced back from a disappointing blowout at home to Vanderbilt (another team that has fallen far down the Bet Online ranks) by holding on for an 81-77 win at home over Villanova on New Year’s Day. Darius Johnson-Odom poured in 24 points and grabbed six boards, while Davonte Gardner came off the bench with 13 points, 10 boards and three steals for the Golden Eagles, who forced 16 turnovers on the day. Marquette is one of the best in the country at creating turnovers (22nd in steals), and players that use a price per head service know that will keep you in games, especially in the hard-nosed Big East. After losses at LSU and to Vanderbilt, the Golden Eagles need to get back on track.

The No.9 Hoyas (12-1, 2-0 Big East) have now won 10 in a row after a scrappy 49-40 win over Providence at home on New Year’s Eve, and even though they shot a miserable 30.5% from the field, they held Providence to 25.3%. Jason Clark showed his veteran leadership by stepping up when the rest of the team was struggling, notching 16 points and eight boards, while Henry Sims added 11 points, seven boards and four swats for the Hoyas, who were also added by Providence shooting 11-of-20 from the foul line. A number of players that uses pay head services didn’t have Georgetown in their top 25 at the beginning the season, but the Hoyas have lost only to Kansas (on a neutral court), they beat Memphis and have won at Alabama and Louisville. This is a team to watch in the Big East.

Look for Georgetown to be the home favorites in this contest as they’re 2-1 SU and ATS in their last three in Washington, D.C. against the Golden Eagles, with two games going over the posted total. This will be a matchup of tempo and the Golden Eagles will want to get it up and down the floor, while the Hoyas will want to slow it down and that is where Clark comes into play. The Hoyas also have to win the battle on the boards because Marquette hits the glass as a team, but Georgetown will have enough in the tank to post an NCAA basketball betting victory.

While the college basketball season has just got underway, there may be enough already that we can get a small sample size of what is to come going forward this year. While the North Carolina Tar Heels, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Kentucky Wildcats have all faltered early on, there remains one undefeated team at the top of the national rankings that few would have projected would be there this far in. The Syracuse Orange have opened their season with 13 straight wins, and there is little doubt that they deserve to be the top seed at this time with the NCAA football bowl season already underway.

Faced with their first true road test of the season as they visited the North Carolina State Wolfpack this past Saturday, the Orange rallied as a team to fight through some early adversity before pulling away for another big win by the time that it was over. Head coach Jim Boeheim has to appreciate how well that his team has performed in the midst of the controversy surrounding the program, and while North Carolina State isn’t the toughest test they will face this season, you cannot depreciate a team based on a relatively weak schedule this early on. Winning on the road is something that isn’t easy to do as a couple of other teams in the top-10 have already shown, and Syracuse deserves credit for being at the top of the college basketball betting pyramid.

Perhaps the toughest team behind Syracuse right now is Ohio State, as their loss does have an asterisk beside it considering it came with superstar Jared Sullinger out of the lineup. While the Buckeyes do have other star players in the form of William Buford and Aaron Craft, Sullinger’s presence in the lineup is crucial to the space and time that both of those players need to be successful, which they proved with three straight wins once he returned to the lineup this past week. Unlike in Kentucky where there best player is a freshman, Sullinger has a ton of experience and will not be rattled in high pressure situations. The Wildcats were exactly that when they lost to Indiana last Saturday, and even though they breezed through a relatively weak schedule this week they have not proved that they can stand the pressure of big games and playing on the road. Kentucky will get another tough test when they face the Louisville Cardinals on New Year’s Eve, and if they can handle the pressure of that game then we will back off of our sports betting position that they are not ready to be a top-five team.

The rest of the current top-five in the rankings is rounded out by the North Carolina Tar Heels and Baylor Bears, and while the latter deserves to be there based on their perfect record, we are more impressed with the Tar Heels. North Carolina has a wealth of talent and a strong balance of both veterans and freshman, and after watching them breeze past Texas this past week, they could have the best chance at pushing Syracuse for that No. 1 spot as the favorites according to the pay head bookies.

NCAA football fans will be preoccupied with the bowl season, hoops fans should turn their attention to North Carolina on Wednesday as the Tar Heels get ready to host Texas in a matchup of two teams that can fill the net with anyone in the country. But who will get the final stop?

Texas North Carolina Odds – Wednesday, 7:00 PM ET

The Longhorns (9-2) aren’t among the top teams in the country in terms of Bet Online odds for the national title, but Texas has enough talent to give them all trouble and they’re coming off a 77-65 win at home over Temple, pulling away with a 15-point edge in the second half. J’Covan Brown poured in 23 points, while Myck Kabongo hit 18 points for the Longhorns, who had a massive 46-20 edge on the boards and went 23-of-35 from the foul line, while Temple hit half of their 20 free-throw attempts. This is a Texas team that has been more efficient than recent teams, they are athletic and can be a handful to keep off the glass. Don’t be surprised to see the Longhorns earn some respect among those that use price per head services.

The No.6 Tar Heels (10-2) went to 7-0 at home with a 99-49 romp over Nicholls State, but North Carolina should have won by even more and that may be worrying for the team that is favored to win it all by those who put bookie software to use, and “experts” of the game. Dexter Strickland and James McAdoo had 14 points each for North Carolina, who outrebounded their small opponents 69-33 (including 30-9 on the offensive glass), but they shot just 43.5% from the field and hit 21 of their 41 free-throw attempts. Head coach Roy Williams also wasn’t happy about a lack of defensive intensity and benched his starters for a spell in the second half. If the Tar Heels don’t learn that their offense can’t carry them throughout the season, they’re going to wind up with an embarrassingly early exit in the NCAA Tournament.

North Carolina should be the favorites at home in this non-conference affair, but Texas has owned this series as of late, going 4-0 SU and ATS against the Tar Heels since 1995, and three of those meetings have taken place since 2004. North Carolina ranks third in the country in points scored, while Texas is ranked 18th, so there will be no shortage of points, but the Tar Heels have to impose themselves defensively on this game, which is something they should be able to do with John Henson and Tyler Zeller inside. We just don’t know if they can do that, which is why North Carolina is a good play for an outright win, but the online betting spread is risky.

Alright so while the Madness of March is still months away, we have to admit that this past weekend in college hoops was a lot of fun, from the brawl between Xavier and Cincinnati, to a couple of top teams getting knocked off at the top of the national rankings, there was no shortage of action and upsets according to the sports betting lines. So let’s take a quick look at where we are right now as we reach the midway mark of the month of December.

As far as Xavier and Cincinnati go, Athletic 10 coordinator of officials Reggie Greenwood has endorsed the way that the referees held the game, even though both coaches have argued that technical fouls for trash-talking could have prevented the fallout from what happened. However, with the animosity that had already built up between these two programs before the game even got underway, there were those that felt that this was an inevitable next step, with one blogger that covers the two teams even projecting that the heated rivalry would ignite to blows with the light of a single match. That match was lit with Xavier leading 76-53 with the time clock ticking down late in the fourth, and the fact of the matter is that it could be seen coming from a mile away. The behavior by the players involved, particularly the one that landed that pathetic cheap shot on the guy trying to break up the fight, was absolutely appalling and should merit suspension. The fact that it has gotten to this level with these players calling themselves “gangsters” is an absolute joke and embarrassment to both programs, and it was refreshing to see the coaches address it the way they did after the game. From the perspective of the pay head bookies, this will change a few things in the outlook for both teams following the suspensions, and the truth is that Xavier and Cincinnati should be avoided if possible based on the fact that it is hard to project how both teams will react.

Meanwhile, there were fans that were shocked this past weekend when both the No. 1 and 2 teams listed at the top of the college basketball betting rankings both lost, with the Kentucky Wildcats dropping its first loss to fall two spots to No. 3, while the Ohio State Buckeyes remained at No. 2 despite a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. While some were surprised, it’s easy to forget that it is still early on in the year, and really anything can happen when you think about how easily the momentum of a game can sway under the right circumstances. Look for both Ohio State and Kentucky to bounce back with big wins in their next games as both should be listed as big favorites, and looking to prove that this past weekend’s loss was simply an aberration as basketball begins to steal the spotlight before going back under the radar this NCAA football bowl season.