Posted on 3/4/2008 5:31:25 PM

College Basketball Betting Preview

By Mike Rose

Purdue Boilermakers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

Big 10 action heats back up Tuesday evening when Matt Painter’s (23-6) Purdue Boilermakers square off against Thad Matta’s (17-12) Ohio State Buckeyes. What a difference a year makes, as it was the Buckeyes looking to secure the B10 Championship a year ago when they last hosted their West Lafayette rivals. Purdue currently sits tied atop the Big 10 standings alongside Wisconsin with a 14-2 conference mark. The 15th-ranked Boilermakers will try to take a half game lead atop the league standings tonight when they try to snap a seven-game road losing streak to the Buckeyes.

The Boilers put forth a solid effort its last time out when they knocked off the Northwestern Wildcats by a 68-43 final count. The 25-point victory saw them easily cover the 15-point spread, and the combined 111 points fell comfortably Under the closing ‘Total’ of 129. That victory wrapped up a perfect mark at home in Big 10 play that saw them win all nine of their games. Their lone blemish in their L/10 games came at Indiana a few weeks back, and they’ve followed that torrid SU streak with a solid 8-2 ATS mark as well. If both Wisconsin and Purdue were to win their final two B10 games this week, the Boilermakers would earn the No. 1 seed for next week's conference tournament because they swept the Badgers this season. However, a win here coupled with a win at Michigan Sunday is a must. The Boilermakers haven't won a Big Ten title since the 1995-96 season under Head Coach Gene Keady.

Though Purdue has struggled at Ohio State (17-12, 8-8), the Boilermakers face a Buckeyes team that has lost four in a row and is on the verge of missing the NCAA tournament after reaching the national championship game in last season. They’re coming off back-to-back road losses at Minnesota and Indiana, and they haven’t won on their home floor since they got the best of Michigan almost exactly a month ago.

The Buckeyes currently sit as 2.5-point home chalks with the ‘Total’ set at 125.5. You can wager on both the side and Total for this crucial Big 10 match-up at BetUS.com right now!!! Purdue is a woeful 2-5 ATS the L/7 meetings in Columbus, and they’re 3-11 ATS the L/14 overall match-ups. OSU is also a fantastic 8-2 ATS their L/10 against +.500 teams. However, Purdue is 5-1 ATS their L/6 on the road vs. teams with a winning home mark, and 21-5 ATS their L/26 against the Big 10.

It doesn’t get much bigger than this folks, so tune your HDTV sets to ESPN at 7:00 ET to see if Purdue can keep its hopes for winning its first Big 10 Title in 12 years by disposing of last years champion on its home floor.

Florida State Seminoles vs. North Carolina Tarheels

The (27-2) North Carolina Tarheels look to protect their brand new #1 ranking in the country Tuesday night when they welcome in the (17-12) Florida State Seminoles. They just catapulted back to the top of the pack after Tennessee lost to Vanderbilt last week. This will be their final home game of the season that’s seen them win 13 of their 15 overall games to date. When asked about recapturing the #1 ranking, Head Coach Roy Williams stated, "I like it better later in the year," coach Roy Williams said, "because it shows you have accomplished something." However, they’ll be tested mightily against a Florida State team tonight that took them to overtime in their earlier meeting in Tallahassee and comes in winners of three in a row.

Florida State comes into tonight’s match-up sporting a 5-8 SU and ATS mark on the road this season. However, they’ve gone into NC State and Miami and secured wins while playing tough at Maryland and Virginia Tech in their L/4 road contests. They’ll enter the “Dean Dome” on a three game winning streak after beating up on Boston College and Clemson at home before going into Raleigh and upending the Wolfpack by 10. The road team has gone 5-2 ATS the L/7 in this series, but the Seminoles are a woeful 0-4 ATS the L/4 meetings.

As for the Tarheels, they survived a scare their last time out against Boston College where they trailed 54-40 at the half. However, they came out extremely motivated in the second half and cruised to the 90-80 road win after outscoring the Eagles 50-26 in the second half. The 10-point win fell a half point short of the cover, so it snapped the Tarheels three game winning streak ATS. UNC has covered 4 of its L/5 at home with an average spread of 12 PPG. They’re 9-1 SU and 6-4 ATS the L/10 times they’ve squared off against the Seminoles, and that mark includes their 84-73 OT win at FSU as 9.5-point road chalks.

UNC is tied with Duke atop the ACC standings with 12-2 conference marks. Since the Dookies have won 9 of the L/10 against the Cavaliers, it’s a pretty safe bet that they’ll secure a victory in Charlottesville tomorrow night. That said, UNC will want to keep pace so these two powerhouse clubs are deadlocked when they meet Saturday night at Cameron Indoor.

Oddsmakers opened the Tarheels up as lofty 18-point home chalk with the ‘Total’ set at 158.5. Overnight bettors have since bought into the Seminoles plus the points lowering it to its current position of 16, and bet the ‘Total’ down to its current placement of 156. Log into BetUS.com and get down at these prices right now!!!!

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