It’s Super Tuesday on the hardwood, and we have a very solid slate of games to bet. Here are my college basketball picks for February 4.
Marquette at St. John’s (6:30pm ET)
This is this biggest home game St. John’s has had in ages, as two teams atop the Big East will meet on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm are a perfect 14-0 at home this season, winning by an average of more than 16 points. Of course, Marquette will represent the toughest opponent yet, and is coming off a bad home loss as a 6.5-point home favorite to UConn on Saturday night. While the Golden Eagles are 6-2 on the road, they’ve generally been priced as the favorite — they are 1-1 so far as a road dog, winning at Maryland and losing at Dayton. This will also be Marquette’s toughest road test to date.
While Marquette has dominated this matchup in recent seasons, that was generally during down years for the Jonnies, who were priced as home dogs. Marquette is 2-6 ATS in its last eight road games at St. John’s, and has been overpriced recently, going 5-10 ATS over the last 15 games. Rick Pitino’s squad comes in winners of eight in a row, and while they’re playing their best basketball of the season overall, they did struggle to squeak by Providence on Saturday. So while this is a bounce-back game off a loss for Marquette, Pitino should also be able to motivate his team off a poor showing in their last game. These are two pretty even teams on the whole, and we’re set for a tremendous point guard matchup between Kam Jones and Kadary Richmond. But the Red Storm have been playing better basketball of late, and I expect home court at MSG to play a large role in this one.
College Basketball Pick: St. John’s -3 (-110) 1.5-units
USC at Northwestern (9:00pm ET)
USC has been really improving lately, and got their best win of the season at home on Saturday night, taking down a top-10 team in Michigan State. Now they have to go on a quick turnaround for a long road trip out to Northwestern, who’s desperately in need of a win. The Wildcats have lost three in a row, including their last two at home. USC has actually been tremendous on the road this season, going 3-1 ATS, priced as a dog in each game. That said, the Trojans have let their guard down after victories this season, going 4-8 ATS following wins. While Northwestern has really had its struggles in road games and games priced as an underdog, its still 10-3 at home and 10-2 when priced at the favorite. Coming off their biggest win of the season, the Trojans will be in for a tough road game against a team that should be at their best looking to get back on track in the win column.
College Basketball Pick: Northwestern ML (-120) 1-unit
Arizona at BYU (11:00pm ET)
After a tough start to the season, Arizona has found its stride, winning 11 of its last 12. The Wildcats are also a solid 4-2 SU/ATS on the road so far, riding high into a matchup in Provo. BYU had a tough 1-4 start to the month of January, but played some strong competition and had a lot of road games bunched together. The Cougars have always had an elite home court advantage, and are 11-1 SU/8-4 ATS at home this season. While Arizona should be able to take this momentum and finish the season strong, there are bound to be road slip ups along the way. I like BYU to stay hot here and pull out a crucial home victory for its resume.
College Basketball Pick: BYU ML (-122) 1-unit
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment.
