If the NCAA tournament was played at Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas would be the overwhelming favorite to win the title. The Jayhawks have been so unbeatable in their building that even defending champion and likely top seed Connecticut couldn’t handle them there.
Cincinnati hasn’t found the Fertitta Center any more welcoming than any other Big 12 visitors. The Bearcats are used to coming to Houston, as the teams used to be American Athletic Conference rivals, but that only means that the Cougars have won nine of 10 from Cincinnati and six straight in Houston. Cincinnati hasn’t won in the Space City since 2017, the final year before Houston built the Fertitta Center.
The Boilers know they’ll be a top seed again. But they need the intimidation factor, and they need to make a statement to make that happen. Showing the Ohio State game was a fluke would make a strong statement that Purdue intends to be a force in March.
St. John’s hasn’t beaten any of the Big East’s best. And that’s why this is their last chance. The Red Storm’s final three games before the Big East tournament are Butler, DePaul and Georgetown. Beating the Bulldogs won’t move the needle, and the Blue Demons and Hoyas are pure land mines.
The Flyers’ problem with the Rangers goes back much further than Tortorella’s arrival in Philadelphia. New York has won eight of nine from the Flyers, with more than half of the wins coming by more than one goal. And the Rangers enter this game on fire, having won nine in a row and coming off a 5-1 rout of New Jersey.
Unlike a lot of teams, Washington State has held its own on the road. Since dropping their first two league games, the Cougars are 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS in Pac-12 play away from Pullman. The one loss wasn’t great considering it came at California, but it was in overtime. The Cougars have also depended on their defense as of late, holding four straight opponents to 65 points or less.
Florida Atlantic went 4-1 in those games, which more than offset its pratfalls against Florida Gulf Coast and Bryant. And that has the Owls on the right side of the bubble and the Mustangs needing to run the table to have a chance. SMU at least has an opportunity to get a Quad 1 win here (and potentially another one at South Florida on Sunday), but most people aren’t thinking about them as a bubble squad.
The basketball version of the Egg Bowl held a little more juice before Ole Miss dropped three of its past four games. The Rebels are still holding hope of sneaking into the NCAA tournament, but they’re running out of chances.
One of the best phrases to any baseball fan is this: “Pitchers and catchers reporting”. Once that happens, the new baseball season is just over a month away, and that makes February the time to jump in on futures bets.