Northwestern on road, Texas A&M at home accent Letdown Tuesday
Didn't get enough college hoops action on Big Monday? A couple of key contests just off the public's radar might interest you then on Letdown Tuesday.
Think of it as a leftovers from a holiday dinner. That world leader in sports channel is trying to force the leftover yams that Aunt Edna burned and that disgusting fruitcake the neighbor dropped off down your throats with its primetime games – Tennessee at Alabama and Clemson at Georgia Tech.
I'm not about to argue those contests won't eventually mean something in the SEC, ACC and the March dance between three currently-ranked teams.
But two other games catch my eye for Tuesday night from the Big Ten and Big 12, with only one of the four teams involved presently a poll sitter. Naturally, one involves my guys over in College Station, Texas.
Northwestern at No. 21/25 Ohio State (-10½, 129)
7 p.m. (ET) - Value City Arena
This game will go a long way to showing whether the Buckeyes will be true Big Ten contenders or if the Wildcats are going to play the role of the proverbial fly in the ointment. At 13-5 overall, Ohio State has clawed back to get to 3-3 in the conference with wins at Purdue and home against Wisconsin. Northwestern also dropped Purdue last Saturday in Evanston and topped Michigan on the road to quietly sit 13-4 overall, 2-3 in the Big Ten.
This series has been all Buckeyes recently, their only straight-up loss in the last 10 meetings on the road in Evanston last February, 72-69 with NW the -1 home chalk. At the same time the Wildcats have been the winners against the spread, 6-4 the last 10 and four of the last five.
As dominant as Ohio State has been on the scoreboard in this series, the 'under' has also dominated by cashing eight of the last nine meetings. The total in that span ranged from 117-127.
This series has also been all Buckeyes historically with a 106-45 edge. The last time Northwestern won outright in Columbus? Try 1977, Elvis Presley died, the original Star Wars movie, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, 60¢ gas, Jimmy Carter, oh I could go on forever.
Lots of pretty even numbers coming into this one; deciding factor both straight up and against the spread could very well be which Evan Turner shows up for OSU and whether his tender back continues to hold up.
In the end, the two stats I like are NW's ATS marks in true road games this season (3-0) and their winning ways overall in the series at the window. Wildcats +10 ½ it is.
Oklahoma at Texas A&M (+8, 140)
8 p.m. (ET) - Reed Arena
Speaking of 1977, I was spending a lot of time at the Dixie Chicken just across the street from the northwest corner of the A&M campus in College Station. In fact, I was often spending more time in that beer joint than I should have.
But that doesn't mean squat for this basketball game. It's a must-win at this stage for my beloved Aggies. They had their butts handed to them in Manhattan last Tuesday in a 23-point loss as 8 ½-point underdogs and then lost a tough one in Austin on Saturday taking No. 1 Texas to overtime, 72-67, with the Longhorns 14 ½-point favorites.
The Sooners are coming off consecutive home wins, and covers, over Oklahoma State and Missouri that followed a 91-60 loss at Baylor.
Oklahoma won here at Reed almost exactly a year ago, covering as 3 ½-point chalk with a 69-63 win. The cash has been split down the middle between the two the last 10 meetings, and it's not like A&M covers well at home this season at 3-3 ATS inside Reed with OU just 1-3 at the window in true road games.
I don't really trust either team in this one. The Aggies would be at least two losses lighter if they could hit free throws at a reasonable rate. Forget the Derrick Rollins injury, as huge as that was. Oklahoma has not shown me one bit of consistency this season.
Still, I do like A&M plus the eight points as a homer. I'll probably get killed taking two dogs like the Wildcats and Aggies, but that's ok since there's always Wakeup Wednesday on the college hardwood.
Didn't get enough college hoops action on Big Monday? A couple of key contests just off the public's radar might interest you then on Letdown Tuesday.
Think of it as a leftovers from a holiday dinner. That world leader in sports channel is trying to force the leftover yams that Aunt Edna burned and that disgusting fruitcake the neighbor dropped off down your throats with its primetime games – Tennessee at Alabama and Clemson at Georgia Tech.
I'm not about to argue those contests won't eventually mean something in the SEC, ACC and the March dance between three currently-ranked teams.
But two other games catch my eye for Tuesday night from the Big Ten and Big 12, with only one of the four teams involved presently a poll sitter. Naturally, one involves my guys over in College Station, Texas.
Northwestern at No. 21/25 Ohio State (-10½, 129)
7 p.m. (ET) - Value City Arena
This game will go a long way to showing whether the Buckeyes will be true Big Ten contenders or if the Wildcats are going to play the role of the proverbial fly in the ointment. At 13-5 overall, Ohio State has clawed back to get to 3-3 in the conference with wins at Purdue and home against Wisconsin. Northwestern also dropped Purdue last Saturday in Evanston and topped Michigan on the road to quietly sit 13-4 overall, 2-3 in the Big Ten.
This series has been all Buckeyes recently, their only straight-up loss in the last 10 meetings on the road in Evanston last February, 72-69 with NW the -1 home chalk. At the same time the Wildcats have been the winners against the spread, 6-4 the last 10 and four of the last five.
As dominant as Ohio State has been on the scoreboard in this series, the 'under' has also dominated by cashing eight of the last nine meetings. The total in that span ranged from 117-127.
This series has also been all Buckeyes historically with a 106-45 edge. The last time Northwestern won outright in Columbus? Try 1977, Elvis Presley died, the original Star Wars movie, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, 60¢ gas, Jimmy Carter, oh I could go on forever.
Lots of pretty even numbers coming into this one; deciding factor both straight up and against the spread could very well be which Evan Turner shows up for OSU and whether his tender back continues to hold up.
In the end, the two stats I like are NW's ATS marks in true road games this season (3-0) and their winning ways overall in the series at the window. Wildcats +10 ½ it is.
Oklahoma at Texas A&M (+8, 140)
8 p.m. (ET) - Reed Arena
Speaking of 1977, I was spending a lot of time at the Dixie Chicken just across the street from the northwest corner of the A&M campus in College Station. In fact, I was often spending more time in that beer joint than I should have.
But that doesn't mean squat for this basketball game. It's a must-win at this stage for my beloved Aggies. They had their butts handed to them in Manhattan last Tuesday in a 23-point loss as 8 ½-point underdogs and then lost a tough one in Austin on Saturday taking No. 1 Texas to overtime, 72-67, with the Longhorns 14 ½-point favorites.
The Sooners are coming off consecutive home wins, and covers, over Oklahoma State and Missouri that followed a 91-60 loss at Baylor.
Oklahoma won here at Reed almost exactly a year ago, covering as 3 ½-point chalk with a 69-63 win. The cash has been split down the middle between the two the last 10 meetings, and it's not like A&M covers well at home this season at 3-3 ATS inside Reed with OU just 1-3 at the window in true road games.
I don't really trust either team in this one. The Aggies would be at least two losses lighter if they could hit free throws at a reasonable rate. Forget the Derrick Rollins injury, as huge as that was. Oklahoma has not shown me one bit of consistency this season.
Still, I do like A&M plus the eight points as a homer. I'll probably get killed taking two dogs like the Wildcats and Aggies, but that's ok since there's always Wakeup Wednesday on the college hardwood.
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