Monday nearly turned into a wreck thanks to George Mason blowing a 10-point lead in the final 4:30 against George Washington and Kansas City failing to show up completely in a home loss to a Denver team that was winless on the road, but luckily, the NFL threw us a gift in the form of getting to bet against Kliff Kingsbury in the playoffs. That was all it took to make Monday another winning day, as the Rams cruised past the Cardinals to score an easy cash on both the spread and my alt spready play. Didn’t hurt that I also had a moneyline parlay of the Rams, the Islanders and Weber State, all of which were comfortable cashes.
Tuesday might not be quite as easy, but we’re going to try again anyway. Here are my plays for January 18.
IOWA STATE TTU 59.5, -110
Iowa State’s offense isn’t good under the best of circumstances. Going to Lubbock to play Texas Tech is not the best of circumstances. The Red Raiders have held three of their past four visitors to United Supermarkets Arena in the 50s or worse, and the one exception was Kansas. The teams already met in Ames and played out a 51-47 rock fight, and this looks like it could have a similar outcome.
KANSAS-OKLAHOMA U145, -110
For whatever reason, the Jayhawks really don’t seem comfortable when playing at Oklahoma. Kansas has failed to break 70 points in three straight trips to Norman, and if the Jayhawks aren’t breaking 70, the Sooners probably aren’t going to get there either. The Big 12 is a defense-heavy league, and defense is likely to win the day in this one.
MISSISSIPPI TTO 71, -110
Mississippi has hit 71 or more in four straight games at the Pavilion. Missouri has allowed five of its past six opponents away from Columbia to score 80 points or more, including an 87-43 loss at Arkansas last week. You can see where this one is probably going. Until further notice, Missouri is an auto-fade whenever the Tigers play away from Mizzou Arena. Both the Rebels’ total and the spread of -9.5 are attractive plays here.
WESTERN MICHIGAN TTU 61, -110
Slow tempo, weak offense and a talented opponent on the road all add up to a likely ugly night for the Broncos. Akron is only giving up an average of 62 points per game, and the Zips have had to face off with a few reasonably talented offenses. Western Michigan is not in that category. The Broncos’ football team scored 52 points in its bowl game; their basketball team will likely be around that number in this game.
JACKSONVILLE-LIBERTY U122.5, -110
There was a time when Jacksonville’s defense left a lot to be desired, but the Dolphins have slowly rebuilt their program and are now one of the nastiest defenses at the mid-major level. Liberty plays just as strong on defense, so both teams should lock each other down in this one. Jacksonville’s most recent game with North Florida saw just 103 points scored, and this one shouldn’t be much different.
