We’re past the Super Bowl now, and that means we are just three weeks away from my favorite week of the sports calendar: conference tournaments. Yes, America loves the NCAA tournament and so do I, but the conference tournaments are even better for bettors because teams are playing each other for the second and third times, giving us a lot of insight into what might occur.
But we’ve got a couple weeks to go until we get to that point, and in the meantime, there’s plenty of action available. Here are my best plays for February 14.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION ML, -120
Am I about to dip into the English Championship for a play? Why yes, I am. West Brom has just one loss all year at The Hawthorns, and Blackburn Rovers are in frightening form at the moment. The Riversiders have been shut out in three straight matches, and they’re now without captain Darragh Lenihan, who was suspended after a red card last time out. Given the Baggies’ dominance of this fixture at The Hawthorns, this holds good value.
VIRGINIA ML, +170
Going against the better shooting team and doing it when they’re at home is not usually wise. But the Hokies don’t tend to score a lot of points, which means that they don’t get a lot of looks at the basket. When you don’t get looks on a normal day, you’re really going to struggle to find looks against Virginia’s defense. The Cavaliers must have this game to get in the bubble conversation, and I think they’ve got a good shot.
KANSAS STATE ML, -140
I’ve given up trying to figure out Kansas State, except for the fact that the Wildcats are actually showing signs of improvement. K-State has won three of four in February, with its only loss coming against Baylor. West Virginia is going in the opposite direction, and it’s not working particularly well for the Mountaineers. Other than a win against collapsing Iowa State, West Virginia is a mess right now. This is an opportunity for K-State and its strong 3-point defense.
CREIGHTON ML, -650
I’m going to play this on the spread, but I can’t ignore it for Monday: Georgetown appears to have completely given up. The Hoyas are 0-5 ATS in February and are showing no signs of getting any better. Patrick Ewing came up with a great run last year in New York at the Big East tournament, but this Georgetown team has shown no proficiency at building on that run. Creighton scares me, but even they should be fine here.
DAYTON ML, -120
The Flyers already escaped Rhode Island once, and the Rams come in as losers in three of their past four games in Kingston. Dayton has been inconsistent on the road, but the Flyers do have a 30-point win at VCU on the ledger and have won five of their past six contests. Dayton should be able to emerge with a win.
