There are a lot of college basketball games tonight and a lot of them caught our eye. Too many. So we’re going to tell you who we like and you can pair up the two that you like.
UMBC @ HARTFORD -7 7 pm
The Retrievers (9-7) have come back to Earth after last year’s historic Big Dance upset. Hartford (7-8) has won its last four at home at just upset Boston College on the road.
Pick: HARTFORD -2 over UMBC.
Vermont @ MAINE +14 7 pm
Vermont (11-4), as usual, is pretty good. Maine (2-14) is having a tough season. This game shouldn’t be close.
Pick: Vermont -9 over MAINE.
Fordham @ DUQUESNE -7 8 pm
Duquesne (9-5) has lost two in a row and should be primed for their home league opener. Fordham (9-5) is very young and hasn’t played well on the road.
Pick: DUQUESNE -2 over Fordham.
La Salle @ VCU -14.5 7 pm
The Explorers (3-10) have won three in a row after dropping their first ten, but the competition gets a lot tougher tonight in Richmond. We think VCU (10-4) will win by double digits.
Pick: VCU -9.5 over La Salle
Dayton -8 @ GEORGE WASHINGTON 7 PM
Amazingly, Dayton (9-5) has played only one true away game so far this year - a 10-point loss at Auburn. GW (5-9) ain’t Auburn.
Pick: Dayton -3 over GW
Ohio St. -6 @ RUTGERS
The Buckeyes (12-2) have four Top 100 wins and their only losses are to Syracuse and undefeated Michigan . Rutgers (7-6) played Maryland tough at home but lost by 9 so giving 5 points to OSU seems like a good deal.
Pick: Ohio St. -1 over Rutgers
Lastly, we’re not adding this to our list of teasers but Houston -1.5 @ TEMPLE is intriguing. The Cougars are 15-0 and Temple is 11-3 so when you factor in a few points for the Owls’ homecourt advantage, the line still says this should be close. Last year, Temple upset then 17-4 Wichita St. at home, the year before they beat Top 10 West Virginia at the Barclays Center. In 2016, they upset SMU (then 18-0). This is Fran Dunphy’s last year coaching at Temple. Just throwing it out there.