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Welcome back! In this article every week, we'll be giving you some of the top college basketball games and betting picks for Wednesday, February 3, 2021.
Last week's slate of games brought a minor setback in the way of a winless slate. BYU lost straight up to Pepperdine, Incarnate Word's offense looked hapless in a dismal loss to Houston Baptist, Louisville could not keep up in a road ACC loss to Clemson, and Central Arkansas fell to Southeastern Louisiana. The 0-4 week drops the season-long record to 18-14.
Here are some of the top college basketball betting picks. Let me know your thoughts, and follow along with the action on Twitter @fredetterline. All game times below are Eastern Standard Time. Season record to date: 18-14.
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Elon @ James Madison - 4:00 PM
The Elon Phoenix are led by head coach Mike Schrage, a long time assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and Bobby Knight at Indiana. Schrage used last year's 13-21 record to help recruit the top recruit in Elon history, former four-star recruit guard JaDun Michael from nearby Burlington, North Carolina. The young team, which only has two seniors on the roster, is led in scoring by sophomore guard Hunter McIntosh (18.0 ppg) and junior wing Jerald Gillens-Butler (15.7 ppg), a former Butler University transfer. While the talent is starting to come in, the team is still young, as is evidenced in the current five-game losing streak. The road tilt with the Dukes will be the fifth straight road game for the Phoenix in a grueling Colonial Athletic Assocation schedule.
The James Madison Dukes finish off a three-game homestand with a late-afternoon conference tilt against Elon. The Dukes have got off to a strong 9-5 start behind their star guard Matt Lewis, who is averaging 20.9 points per game (ppg), while shooting a blistering 41.3% from beyond the arc. Lewis is joined in the backcourt by newcomer Vado Morse, a transfer point guard from nearby Mount St. Mary's. Morse is chipping in 14 ppg, and seeing the floor well as the field general. Head coach Mark Byington's first season in Harrisonburg is a success, coming to town after a seven-year stint in charge of Georgia Southern. In the frontcourt, freshman forward Justin Amadi is emerging with the looks of a future star in the post. The Dukes have won six of their last seven games, including signature wins over Towson and Northeastern.
Pick: James Madison -7
Villanova @ Saint John's - 9:00 PM
Villanova has enjoyed an incredible run of success since head coach Jay Wright was first hired to lead the Villanova program in 2001. With 2 National Titles (2016 and 2018), three Final Four appearances, seven Big East regular season titles, two National Naismith Coach of the Year awards, and having been named AP Coach of the Decade for the 2010s, Wright has solidified his standing as a Hall of Fame coach and one of the greatest of all-time. The 2020-2021 Wildcats' team stands at 11-1, with the only blemish being an early season overtime loss to an underrated Virginia Tech squad. Villanova earned ranked wins over Arizona State and Texas, but has only played three times since the calendar turned into 2021 due to COVID-19 cancellations. Point guard Collin Gillespie, a native of nearby Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, leads the team in scoring at 15.5 ppg and a sterling 4.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. The balanced attack of Gillespie, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (15.5 ppg), Justin Moore (13.5 ppg), Caleb Daniels (11.0 ppg), and Jermaine Samuels (9.8 ppg), is enviable to nearly every team in the country and will give Villanova a formidable chance to compete for another championship.
Sophomore forward Julian Champagnie, whose brother Justin is having an all-ACC type of season as the standard bearer for the Pitt Panthers, is off to a hot start as well with 19.8 ppg and 6.8 boards per game. Coach Mike Anderson's team enters the key conference matchup at 11-7, and in the midst of some of its best basketball. Point guard Posh Alexander is possibly the top freshman in the Big East conference, and forward Josh Roberts is delivering the rebounding prowess that was sorely needed in the early season. For Saint John's to compete, they will need to find a way to force Villanova into mistakes, which rarely happens. Villanova averages only 8.3 turnovers per game, which is the best mark in the nation.
Pick: Villanova -8.5
Western Michigan @ Bowling Green - 7:00 PM
The Western Michigan Broncos are in the middle of a disastrous seven-game losing streak. The team's problem has largely been its offense, as the team only scores 62.5 ppg (331st of the 347 teams playing Division I basketball this year). Sophomore guard Bartis Artis-White is the leading scorer at 13.4 ppg, and is lethal from downtown. His fellow sophomore, center Titus Wright from Thomasville, Georgia, has been far more efficient of late, but has been plagued by foul trouble. Kalamazoo is a tough place to win, as head coach Clayton Bates is having a hard time figuring out, with a 2-11 start to the year and only one conference win.
Bowling Green entered the year with high expectations, and after a 9-2 start these expectations seemed justified. Since January 10, the Falcons are 1-5, with four of those losses by double digits. Returning to the Stroh Center might not even make much of a difference, as the team is only 3-4 at home on the year. Senior guard Justin Turner, who considered entering the 2020 draft before returning to school, is in the middle of a high-banner season with 19.9 ppg. His supporting cast of fellow senior guards Daeqwon Plowden (12.4 ppg) and Trey Diggs (11.4 ppg) offers late-game experience and length on the wing, with both measuring 6-foot-6. Coach Michael Huger's team's defense, however, has struggled dismally, with 76.4 ppg allowed (295th in the country), and is continually out-rebounded.
Pick: Western Michigan +13
Virginia Military @ Wofford - 7:00 PM
Coach Dan Earl's VMI Keydets are enjoying their best statistical season under his six year tenure. The offense (80.4 ppg) has been sharp as usual, but the defense ranks 290th, partly out of playing style and partly due to ineptitude. As a team, the Keydets attempt over 28 three-point field goals per game at a highly efficient 39.1% (19th in the nation). Senior Greg Parham is a third-year starter whose usage has skyrocketed, with an increase from 9.4 ppg last year to 19.1 ppg this year. The 6-foot-4 Richmond, Virginia native is making over 3 three-point field goals per game, but is not alone. Center Jake Stephens, and guards Kamdyn Curfman, and Sean Conway each attempt over 3 three-pointers per game - each at 40% or better. If the looks are there, the Keydets will keep the barrage of three-point baskets coming.
The Wofford Terriers are extremely reliant on star point guard Storm Murphy, whose 19.1 ppg paces the team. Murphy, a four-year starter and former veteran of the Wofford team that gave Kentucky a scare in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, is readying a young nucleus to take over the reins after his graduation. Freshman guard Morgan Safford and Max Klesmit are sharp-shooting youngsters that fit the mold the Coach Jay McAuley has been recruiting for years, dating back to his time as an assistant on former Coach Mike Young's staff. Meanwhile, junior forward Messiah Jones is a dangerous pound-for-pound rebounder at a mere 6-foot-6 stature. With the 7th best 2-point field goal percentage (59.6%), Wofford would be well served to seek out more opportunities for Jones and his fellow starting forward BJ Mack underneath.
Pick: Over 149
Thanks for reading, and remember to gamble responsibly.
