Don’t fret hoops fans! The NBA may still be on its break but there’s still plenty of college basketball action in store for your viewing and betting pleasure this Tuesday night. And as always, we’ve selected two key matchups that’ll surely turn that frown upside down.
Our first game features a colossal encounter between two Big 12 heavyweights, as the No. 10 West Virginia Mountaineers pay the No. 24 Texas Longhorns a visit at the Frank Erwin Center. And over at the Mackey Arena, the Northwestern Wildcats and No. 17 Purdue Boilermakers go head-to-head for the first time this season.
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West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Texas Longhorns (7:00 PM ET)
Line: West Virginia Mountaineers (+2) vs. Texas Longhorns (-2) – view all NCAAB lines
Payback will definitely be on the minds of the West Virginia Mountaineers as they head into this matchup with the Texas Longhorns, who defeated them in their first meeting this season.
Needless to say, expect Williams and the rest of the Mountaineers to try to pile up the points again opposite a Texas defense that’s allowing almost 70 points per game.
As for the Longhorns, they’ll be hoping that a trip back home can help them stop the bleeding. Texas walks into this bout as losers of its previous two games versus Oklahoma and Iowa State. Isaiah Taylor, the team’s top point-getter (15.2), will need to step it up and lead their attack more efficiently. He was limited to just nine points on 3-for-14 shooting against the Cyclones.
Texas is 9-1 SU and 6-4 ATS in its last 10 home games.
Click here for our comprehensive preview of this clash.
Writer’s Prediction
Texas (-2) wins, 74-70.
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Purdue Boilermakers (7:00 PM ET)
Line: Northwestern Wildcats (+12) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (-12) – view all NCAAB lines
The Northwestern Wildcats currently hold the 10th spot in the Big Ten and will be marching into this battle having won two of their previous three contests. The latest one came at the expense of Illinois on Saturday, wherein the pair of Tre Demps and Scottie Lindsey tallied 18 points apiece to give them the thrilling 58-56 victory. But a replication of this performance might be harder to come by against a Purdue Boilermakers defense that’s yielding only 63.6 points this season.
Nevertheless, Demps and co. will not be intimidated by this at all as they certainly have enough firepower to pull off an upset. Besides Demps, there’s still Bryan McIntosh, who is the second-leading scorer of the team with 14.3 points per contest and the duo of Alex Olah (10.6 PPG) and Aaron Falzon (8.6 PPG) to provide some trouble to the opposing defense.
Meanwhile, the Boilermakers, who are in a three-way tie for sixth-place in the conference, will be aiming to bounce back after falling short against Michigan, 61-56. A.J. Hammons was held to just 10 points and four boards which snapped his streak of three consecutive double-doubles. He should be able to quickly rebound from this as he’s set to take on an inconsistent Northwestern defense that’s giving up 71.0 points in its past seven outings.
Purdue is 8-2 SU and 6-4 ATS in its last 10 games at home.
Writer’s Prediction
Purdue (-12) wins by double-digits.
Create a betting account now, and don’t miss to bet on these two high-quality matchups.
Best Games to Bet on Today: West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Texas Longhorns and Northwestern Wildcats vs. Purdue Boilermakers – February 16, 2016
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