A lack of interconference connectivity in January and February can cause headaches for college basketball bettors wanting to prepare for March Madness. Current form only tells you how teams stack up against their regular rivals. You must guess how Dance-caliber teams in one major conference stack up against those in another.
Sure, pre-conference results help. But, late January form can be very different than November or December. Some teams (like Syracuse) have figured things out after slow starts. Others (too many to list) created illusions with soft early schedules that were exposed by quality competition.
That’s why Saturday’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge is such a godsend to bettors already thinking about March Madness. Analysts will learn very quickly how teams from two power conferences grade out head to head. Be sure you log opening point spreads, and important game-day line movement.
Below are capsules for the most interesting matchups, ranked in order of combined national rankings posted at kenpom.com.
- Baylor (5) at Florida (29), 8 p.m., ESPN: If you only watch one game, this should be it. Baylor knocked off Kansas in Lawrence, and would love to do the same to Florida in Gainesville. That surely would set the Bears on a more solid path to a No. 1 seed in the Dance. They’re No. 1 in the AP poll, but only No. 5 with Pomeroy. Clearly a “round-of-32” type matchup.
- Tennessee (49) at Kansas (1), 4 p.m., ESPN: Tennessee’s less likely to sparkle on the road after crushing Ole Miss in Knoxville earlier this week. But, Kansas could be unfocused after its recent end-game brawl with Kansas State. Might get interesting. Or, it might give you a reason to grab dinner before later tips.
- Kentucky (28) at Texas Tech (25), 6 p.m., ESPN: Not quite the dream pairing this would have been a year ago. Certainly two dangerous teams in the coming Dance. Both have been overpriced by oddsmakers this season. They’re each 8-10 ATS, and failed to cover Tuesday night.
- Mississippi State (41) at Oklahoma (44), 2 p.m., ESPN2: Great test. Both look to be on the right side of the bubble for now. Mississippi State has covered four straight games. Oklahoma just hung tough with Baylor, but is only 4-11 ATS in its past 15 games.
- Missouri (85) at West Virginia (6), noon, ESPN: West Virginia has covered six of its past seven after obliterating Texas, 97-59, on Monday night. If Mizzou can’t handle full-court pressure, another blowout could be at hand. You may be handicapping a lot of West Virginia games the next 10 weeks.
- Iowa State (65) at Auburn (27), noon, ESPNU: Erratic Auburn suffered blowout losses recently to Florida and Alabama. Maybe the Tigers were reading too many press clippings about how they were “for real.” Here’s a chance to make new headlines against a likely bubble team.
Betting smart in college basketball means trying to get the best of it day-by-day, while preparing for money-making opportunities in March. Get to work.
