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NCAA Basketball Wednesday Best Bets: Wednesday, February 15th
Our resident college hoops expert Ej has picked out a pair of games starting at the stroke of midnight in the UK. There is a high-profile SEC match in Rocky Top as the Vols are slightly favoured at home as they play host to the Crimson Tide Another Atlantic-10 affair has made Ejs board, and that is a conference he has had a ton of success with this campaign. Let’s see how it all shapes up because it’s time to hit the court!
In this article:
- Tennessee Volunteers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Preview
- Tennessee Volunteers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Best Bet
- La Salle Explorers vs Richmond Spiders Preview
- La Salle Explorers vs Richmond Spiders Best Bet
Tennessee Volunteers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Preview
February 16, 00:00 (UK time)
The Tennessee Volunteers are favoured by a point or two depending on your book, and it is my opinion that it is a setup for disaster for the home team. I don’t even understand what the line setters are trying to do here unless they can convince people that Tennessee can win this game at home.
They can’t! They won’t!
Tennessee has lost 3 of their last 4 games against programs such as Florida and Vanderbilt, and the loss to Mizzou last time on the court sure doesn’t convince me that the Vols have their stuff together right now. (If my editors would let me curse I would replace the word stuff with, well, you get it, HA)
I didn’t know it at the time because I never know what games I will be covering each day, but I watched both the Auburn vs Alabama game and the Vols vs Tigers game this past weekend. They were both fantastic games to take in, as the Tide knocked out rival Auburn on their home court but don’t let that final score fool you. It may appear as an easy 8-point win, 77 – 69, but Auburn gave the Tide all they could handle right down to the final minutes of the game. It was a four-point game with less than a minute to play, and I am not going to look back but I can’t recall Alabama having a lead by more than 4 or 5 points the entire game until they pulled away in the final minute to win by 8 points.
Wendell Green Jr. was a stud for Auburn grabbing a game-high 24 points, but the Tide defense held the Tigers to a miserable 20 of 62 from the field I think that loss to Oklahoma ended up being a good thing, because now Alabama is riding a 4-game win streak since then and have only been defeated 3 times the entire campaign.
Meanwhile, that Missouri loss by the Vols came down to the wire, and a shootout ensued with 171 points being scored in an 86 – 85 game. Tennessee left 8 points at the free throw line which made the difference, as they average 73.2% from the charity stripe as a unit for the campaign. Leaving those points off the board will kill the Vols tonight, and being at home doesn’t suit them any better.
Tennessee Volunteers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Best Bet
I got your favourites right here! The Crimson Tide is not going to lose to Tennessee on Wednesday night, end of the story! The last thing a struggling Vols team needs to see in town is a team that is potentially headed to the NCAA Tournament as a 1-seed in whatever region they land in.
- Selection: Alabama Moneyline
- Best odds: 2.15 (Betway)
- Stakes 4/10
More Tennessee Volunteers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Tips
La Salle Explorers vs Richmond Spiders Preview
February 16, 00:00 (UK time)
Well, this is certainly not a high-profile contest being that neither program will be participating in any post-season tournaments. The Spiders finally reached the .500 mark for the campaign with their last win over Loyola-Ill, and the Explorers are still a game under the even mark at 12 – 13.
I am turning to this total because I think 137.5 is easily obtainable the way they are both playing right now. Before the 74 – 71 win over Loyola, Richmond broke the century mark in the overtime loss against George Washington, but they also allowed triple-digits while their defense has cost them win all year.
This is why the rankings are pointless. I try to sneak in stats because people think numbers determine the outcome of games, but they don’t. Richmond stinks, and their defense is garbage, so this total is going to get devoured.
La Salle’s offense ranks 309th in the country making 42% of their shots from the field, but over the last 5 games leading into this contest, they are scoring quite easily. Over the Explorers’ current 4-game win streak they are averaging 77.5 points a game. For the year the Explorers average 69.6 points per game, so obviously, that number keeps rising as the games go by.
I am an ‘in the now’ kind of guy, and until I see La Salle slow down combined with a rubbish Spiders squad on defense, this game should easily break into the 70s. I don’t think 144 will be enough and all the line setters are asking us for is 138 points to cash the ticket on the total.
Khalil Brantley has a run of 7 games with double-digits for the Explorers, and he stuffed the stat sheet against UMass in their last game. Brantley had 4 steals, a block, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds while adding 17 points in 33 minutes of action in the win 86 – 72 win over the Minutemen. I expect him to be fired up to go up against Richmond and I will go on a limb and say that he will at least match his 29-point season-high effort against Rhode Island.
I also think Richmond being favoured to win this game is just as hysterical because the home team is going to win this game tonight.
La Salle Explorers vs Richmond Spiders Best Bet
La Salle is going to win this game 76 – 70, so the total will be ours and you should make an additional play on the Explorers to win the game at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night.
Shocker! Ej has a pair of underdogs on the board! Yeah, you’re used to that by now so go make it rain and I will see you on Saturday again for more hoops action!
- Selection: Over 137.5
- Best odds: 1.91 (Pinnacle)
- Stakes 4/10
Bonus Tip: La Salle Moneyline (2.08)
Odds as of 9:00 am, February 15, 2023. Odds may now differ.
More La Salle Explorers vs Richmond Spiders Tips
