Pitt vs. West Virginia, Kansas vs. Colorado and Wichita State vs. Northern Iowa are the marquee games that sensational sportsbook Bodog is previewing .
In the first installment of the Backyard Brawl this season, the West Virginia Mountaineers hope the debut of freshman Deniz Kilicli will help them win their fifth game in a row and add to the troubles of the Pittsburgh Panthers, who will try to avoid losing for the fourth time in five games.
College basketball betting odds have the Mountaineers listed as 8.5-point favorites.
The Mountaineers have lost six of the last eight meetings with Pittsburgh, but things appear to be turning in West Virginia's favor.
The Mountaineers defeated the Panthers 74-60 in the quarterfinals of last season's Big East tournament after being swept in the regular season.
Pittsburgh has dropped three of four games after starting 5-0 in the Big East.
The Mountaineers are coming off Saturday's 77-74 win over Louisville, their fourth straight victory. Da'Sean Butler scored a season-high 27 points, including the go-ahead basket with 16 seconds remaining.
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he No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks have a good opportunity to remain perfect in conference play tonight with a road matchup against one of the Big 12's worst teams, the Colorado Buffaloes.
College basketball betting odds have the Jayhawks listed as 12.5-point road favorites.
Kansas has bounced back with six straight victories since its only loss at Tennessee on Jan. 10.
Marcus Morris has helped by scoring in double figures in all six conference wins, averaging 17.8 points on 62.1 percent shooting. It was Collins, the team's top scorer, who lifted the Jayhawks to their latest victory, 81-79 in overtime at Kansas State on Saturday night.
Tonight, the Jayhawks will try for their 14th straight win over the Buffaloes and seventh in a row in Boulder. Kansas has also won 52 of 55 meetings since 1984-85 and 26 of 27 since Big 12 play began in 1996-97.
Colorado is 10-1 at home this season and upset Baylor there on Jan. 12.
Want to see two of the best mid-major teams in the country this season? Then tune into Wednesday night's game (if you can find it) between Wichita State and Northern Iowa, with the host Panthers – who were recently featured in Sports Illustrated – a 6.5-point favorite on Bodog's NCAA Basketball Odds
Top expert pick on this game: Sunday, Jan. 31 it was South Florida outright as an underdog to Pitt winning as our Sunday Game of the Year. Jan. 26 South Carolina beating Kentucky outright was the SEC East Game of the Year. Jan. 25 it was Wofford as the Southern Conference Game of the Year. Jan. 19 Wichita State wins as the MVC Game of the Year. Jan 9 it was Missouri as the ESPN2 Game of the Year. Jan. 6 Marquette was the Big East Game of the Year. They all won.
Now the first Game of the Year since that long lit of winners. It's the Thursday Night West Coast Game of the Year in college basketball among nine winners. Click now to purchase Kansas-Colorado among the winners.
This is the first game in college basketball this year that matches two teams with 19 or more wins against each other. Now that's a stat!
With an RPI rating of No. 17, Northern Iowa (19-2, terrific 14-6 ATS) is pretty much a lock to reach the NCAA Tournament even if it doesn't win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Panthers hold a two-game lead in the MVC over Wichita State, but the Shockers won the first meeting a few weeks ago, 60-51, ending Northern Iowa's school-record 15-game winning streak. Wichita State took a 12-point halftime lead and held the Panthers to just 2-of-13 shooting from 3-point range and a season low in points. But Northern Iowa is unbeaten at home this year (7-2 ATS) and rarely has been challenged there.
Wichita State (19-4, 9-6-1 ATS) is definitely on the NCAA bubble in terms of an at-large bid, so another win over Northern Iowa would certainly help. The Shockers already have two victories over ranked teams, Texas Tech and UNI. But Wichita State is just 3-3 (2-3-1 ATS) in MVC road games. The MVC, by the way, last received multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2007.
When making your college basketball bet on this one at Bodog, UNI has won seven of the past 10 meetings with Wichita State (two in a row at home) and is No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense. However, the Panthers are struggling from behind the 3-point line – hitting just 26.2 percent in their past four. And that's what cost them in the first meeting. Plus Wichita State certainly "needs" this game more.
Top expert pick on this game: It is certainly the most impressive debut in sports handicapping history. The high rollers of ScoresOddsPicks just win. It's now up to 38-18 as the Big 10 Game of the Year was not even close. Get five NCAAB winners for tonight.
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