San Francisco’s good enough to provide a tough out, but not good enough where a loss wouldn’t damage the profile. These are the games Gonzaga didn’t have to worry about for decades, but not this year.
St. John’s handled Villanova with ease in the first meeting, in large part because of their 3-point defense. If the Red Storm can throw the Wildcats off again, they’ve got a good chance to come out with a win.
Alabama’s going to have to win one of these games eventually. While the Tide have played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, they also haven’t been collecting wins. Auburn’s got to prove itself as well, despite its gaudy record.
Even though Wake’s tied for second in the ACC, not many people are taking them seriously to this point. A strong showing at North Carolina would change a lot of opinions.
This game’s going to come down to how well the Tampa defense can match up with Detroit’s passing game. If the Bucs win in the trenches, they’ll pull the upset. But if Jared Goff gets time to throw, this won’t be close.
Arizona’s been invincible at McKale Center. It hasn’t mattered who the opposition has been; the Wildcats have run them over. In eight games at home, the closest anyone has come to beating the Wildcats was last time out — a 19-point win for Arizona against Utah.
The teams have met seven times since UConn rejoined the Big East, and all of them have been decided by single digits. Out of the past five, only one was decided by more than four points, and these have almost exclusively been defensive affairs.
Kansas has won 23 straight against Oklahoma in Lawrence and hasn’t lost to the Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse since 1993. Good Oklahoma teams, great Oklahoma teams, even a Final Four Oklahoma team have all come to Lawrence over the past 30 years. They’ve all had one thing in common: they left with a loss to the Jayhawks.
The Bucs might have played a soft schedule, but they’ve done a fine job of playing to their expectations. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has not covered a spread since Nov. 20 at Kansas City, failing on seven straight occasions.