Top NCAAB Pick: Wake Forest-UNC Over 155½ (-110) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
It might be a short college basketball betting card on Monday, but it’s a long trek from east to west to catch the action with winning plays for matchups in the ACC, Big 12, and Big Sky.
Let’s dive into tonight’s action with our NCAAB odds in hand and see how to profit at our main sportsbooks.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Monday, January 22, 2024 – 07:00 PM ET at Dean E. Smith Center
A jaunt down Tobacco Road begins our cross-country trip. We find an upset-minded Wake Forest squad looking to end North Carolina’s unbeaten start in the ACC. Most sharp sportsbooks favor the Tar Heels by 8 with a total that has climbed as high as 156.
Deacons 1-3 ATS on the Road
Steve Forbes and the Demon Deacons are making a quick turnaround after a 90-65 trouncing of Louisville this past Saturday. They will have plenty of time to rest up after this game with nine days off before heading to Pittsburgh on the final day of the month.
Favored by 16 against the Cardinals, a trouncing by Wake Forest was expected. It was the sixth Demon Deacons cover in the last nine games, seventh for those bettors who got in on them at -3½ against Miami earlier this month.
Winning and covering are two things the Tar Heels have been good at for the last month or so, the club picking up its 8th-straight victory at Boston College on Saturday, and their seventh cover in that span.
The defense has been a big part of the 7-0 start to the ACC slate, with just two opponents reaching the 70-point mark. The offense has been there all season. Led by RJ Davis’ 20.2 PPG, the Tar Heels rank 13th in the country scoring 83.4 per game.
‘Over’ Cashes Last 5 Meetings
This is the only scheduled matchup this season and the 234th in the rivalry. The teams split last year, each picking up home wins and continuing a string of 5-straight matchups to go ‘over’ the odds.
A Wake Forest win would mark the first time since 2009 for the Demon Deacons to beat the Tar Heels twice in a row. The streak in the totals column for this series is the right play on Monday.
NCAAB Pick: Wake Forest-UNC Over 155½ (-110) at Heritage Sports
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Kansas Jayhawks
Monday, January 22, 2024 – 09:00 PM ET at Allen Fieldhouse
It’s never easy to beat Kansas in Lawrence. But the Cincinnati Bearcats have picked an even tougher time to do so since the Jayhawks are in a tizzy following an upset loss last weekend.
New Conference Rivals with Little History
What little history between the programs took place well in the past. The most recent meeting came in Chicago at the 1996 Great Eight, a 72-65 Kansas win thanks to a big second half for the Jayhawks by Paul Pierce.
Cincinnati has a 4-3 lead in the series, one of those four victories coming in the 1960 Midwest Regional Finals when the Bearcats were led by Oscar Robertson’s 43 points.
Can ‘Cats End Struggles?
Cincinnati opened Big 12 play with a sweet upset at BYU, but things have gone downhill for Wes Miller’s group with three setbacks in the last four contests. Kansas suffered its second league loss last Saturday at West Virginia where the Jayhawks were favored by 10 and failed to put up much of a fight defensively.
Kansas opened -7 before the number grew to -9 following overnight action. The Jayhawks win their 15th-straight at The Phog, but the Bearcats stay just inside the number.
NCAAB Pick: Cincinnati +9 (-106) at Heritage Sports
Weber State Wildcats vs. Montana Grizzlies
Monday, January 22, 2024 – 09:00 PM ET at Dahlberg Arena
Duke-North Carolina, Louisville-Kentucky, Purdue-Indiana and … Weber State-Montana? The Wildcats and Grizzlies might look out of place on that list, but it’s an important rivalry to them, and their matchup is important to the Big Sky as the two try to keep pace with Eastern Washington.
Hot-Shooting Griz 5-1 ATS Last 6
Weber State halted a 3-game skid last Saturday at home with an 88-65 romp past Idaho. The game was tied with about 13 minutes to go before Blaise Threat and the Wildcats hit the afterburners.
Montana returns home after an 87-77 win at rival Montana State, using balanced scoring from five players in double-digits and hitting 61% from the field.
Programs Meet for the 140th Time
These two opened the Big Sky slate against one another in Utah on December 28, and the Wildcats cruised to a 93-63 win as 4½-point home chalk. Weber State was 9-12 from beyond the arc, and it marked the fifth consecutive win for the home side in the series.
Montana is giving up 2 for the rematch, and the Grizzlies should find the nets at home in Missoula to their liking to close out these college basketball picks.
NCAAB Pick: Montana -2 (-105) at Heritage Sports
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
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