Top-25 NCAAM Games Tonight 🍿

A couple of conference matchups highlight tonight's slate of college hoops. Mizzou visits Arkansas, while Baylor plays host to TCU. Who will come out on top? 🏀 (3 min read)

Author

Will Gendron
January 04, 2023

Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images

NCAAM Check-In

Perhaps the biggest surprise to the beginning of the 2022-23 men's college basketball season is the resurgence of former powerhouse UConn. A program that managed to cut down the nets four times in just 15 years (1999-2014) has been relatively quiet since their last title during the 2013-14 season. However, over the past five weeks, UConn has been ranked in the Top-5, and even as high as No. 2 before suffering their first loss to Xavier 👇

In other news, reigning champion Kansas wields a formidable backcourt in Dajuan Harris and Gradey Dick, the latter who is currently shooting lights out — 49% from deep. Arizona might be the most exciting team to watch in the NCAA...aside from boasting good talent and coaching, the Wildcats rank first in adjusted offensive efficiency thanks in part due to their ball movement, which results in nearly 89 PPG (4th best in the country) 🔥

  • Elite recruiting classes don't always translate to immediate success — take a look at Kentucky, who have fallen out of the Top-25 after getting beat handily by Mizzou

Meanwhile Duke, a team that has shown flashes, has yet to get top-tier production out of Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II, the number one and two ranked prospects heading into this season. In a relatively weak ACC conference this year, Duke is now the favorite after a shocking UVA loss to Pitt last night, and could be worth a bet if you think the Freshman will improve their play 👀

  • Duke: +230 (bet $100, win $230)

  • Miami: +260

  • Virginia: +260

  • UNC: +500

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Early Conference Play

As a new year begins, so does conference play. Amidst a packed college hoops schedule tonight here is a little preview for two of the most exciting games 🍿

📍 No. 20 Missouri @ No. 13 Arkansas

Arkansas is reeling right now after getting off to an 11-1 start — Nick Smith Jr, the Razorbacks' star guard, has not been able to get on the court for extended periods of time, and remains on the injury report indefinitely

  • After losing to LSU last week, Arkansas' lack of shooting was highlighted, and the zone used by the Tigers stifled the Razorbacks all night

  • Mizzou on the other hand is coming together, and has made their AP ranking debut following a massive win against Kentucky

  • Spread: Arkansas -7.5

  • Moneyline: Arkansas -315, Mizzou +250

  • Over/Under: 154.5

  • When: 8:30PM EST on SEC Network

📍 No. 17 TCU @ No. 19 Baylor

Baylor has gotten away from their usual defensive identity — they rank 45th in the country on that side of the ball, their lowest measure since 2019. TCU's Mike Miles Jr. is a bonafide college star, putting up 18.6 PPG, 3.2 APG and 1.4 SPG

The Horned Frogs also have showed resilience, rallying from a 13-point deficit to beat Texas Tech on the same day their football team had a pretty important game against Michigan 🐸

  • Spread: Baylor -4.5

  • Moneyline: Baylor -240, TCU +190

  • Over/Under: 142.5

  • When: 9PM on ESPN2

Trivia Question: When was the last time UConn ranked at least third in the AP poll?

Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

For My Parlay Gurus

I think Arkansas has become overrated and LSU's zone exposed a big weakness in their offense, so I'm choosing Mizzou to cover the spread. Meanwhile, I think Baylor and TCU will come down to the wire, potentially ending in a hard fought two or three point win, which is why taking the Horned Frogs to cover as well. Good games tonight, check it out 👇

  • Mizzou +7.5 @ Arkansas: -110

  • TCU +4.5 @ Baylor: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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Trivia Answer: During the 2008-09 season, the Huskies managed to reach the No. 3 spot in the rankings, which was over a decade ago

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