Wednesday CBB Preview

It’s been a couple weeks since our college basketball midseason check-in, where we highlighted the UConn Huskies and Purdue Boilermakers as two of the most imposing forces in the country. And since then? Nothing but more dominance from the both of ‘em 😤

• The defending champs and the AP Poll top-ranked team, UConn has now rattled off eight straight wins over Big East foes…the most recent of which was quite the statement 👀

#2 Purdue is on a heater of their own, winning each of their last five since their upset loss at Nebraska. And they’ve hardly broken a sweat doing it…their average margin of victory over that span is 18.4 PPG 🤯

POTY favorite Zach Edey has only bolstered his case (-750) with five straight double-doubles, averaging an absurd 27 & 15 over that stretch. And the more unstoppable he looks, the better the Boilermakers title odds get; they’re now at +700 to cut down the nets 🏆

• UConn isn’t too far behind at +900, as one of just three teams with odds shorter than +1000. Fourth-ranked Houston is the other at +900 as well

No disrespect meant to Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars, but in my opinion, Purdue and Connecticut are in a tier of their own as the two best teams in the county. So it might be a bit surprising when I say that both could be on upset alert on their home courts tonight…especially as double-digit favorites against unranked opponents. But hear me out 🤷🏻‍♂️

• The Boilermakers are 12.5-point favorites (-900) over the Northwestern Wildcats, but an upset here is more believable than you might think. I mean, it already happened a couple months ago 👇

Sure, repeating that feat on the road will be a heck of a lot tougher. But at 15-5 with four Quad 1 wins already, the Wildcats have a legit resume. And fifth-year Boo Buie isn’t just one of the best names in college hoops; he can also be one the sport’s most electric scorers when everything is clicking. It was the last time these two teams met (31 points)...and in last week’s upset win over #10 Illinois ⬇️

The Huskies are 12.5-point favorites (-1100) themselves over the Providence Friars, and if sophomore center Donovan Clingan keeps returning to prime form, it’s hard not to be bullish on them in any matchup. The only UConn player to make a preseason All-Big East team, he’s had a tough time staying healthy this year, but few can impact a game as much as him 😳

But the Friars, led by first-year head coach Kim English, are dangerous. Winners of their last three, they’re comfortably a tournament team according to Joe Lunardi, and they’ve already taken down a top-6 team this season 🤔

I don’t think I’m bold enough to take either underdog on the moneyline, so to say UConn and Purdue are on true upset alert tonight may be a bit of a stretch. But I wouldn’t be shocked if these two matchups are closer than expected…and anything can happen. Just ask the two top-5 teams that went down last night 😏

Trivia Question: When did Northwestern reach their first NCAA tournament?

For My Parlay Gurus

UConn and Purdue feel like they’re getting a little too comfortable at the top of the rankings, am I right? Man, I’d love to see a big upset tonight… but those two teams have been just too good this season for me to burn money on the chance. Backing the favorites is lame though, so I’ll at least parlay the challengers to cover on the road. Check it out 👇

• Northwestern +12.5 vs. Purdue: -110

• Providence +12.5 vs. UConn: -102

$100 on this bet would win you $278 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win an Overtime hoodie*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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Trivia Answer: Surprisingly, Northwestern received their first ever NCAA tournament bid in 2017. They defeated Vanderbilt in the first round before falling in the Round of 32

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