Colby Dant, Sports Gambling Podcast Network’s (SGPN) college basketball expert, debuted with a 4-2 mark against the spread on his predictions here last week, so back to provide learned insights and selections on big games in the Philly region for Super Bowl Weekend. (Point spreads are estimated as of Thursday and dates and times are as published at Thursday’s deadline.)
Seton Hall @ Villanova (Nova -10.5) – Saturday, 1 PM ET
The Wildcats are 9-1 at home with their lone loss being to Marquette. Seton Hall is 4-3 on the road but the Pirates have won 3 in a row. Villanova is 39th in the nation at 3 point percentage and they seem to have dodged a bullet with Collin Gillespie’s injury. Villanova will win this game, but Seton Hall covers the big spread.
Harvard @ Penn (Penn -3) – Saturday, 2 PM ET
This is a rematch of a game just played on January 28 when Penn won by 4 at Harvard. Now the Crimson have a chance at revenge. Penn is 5-2 at home and have won 4 straight while Harvard is 5-5 in their last 10 games and have lost two in a row. Harvard is 64th in the nation at hitting the 3 but they are going to need more than that to take down a red hot Penn team. Give me Penn minus the points.
Hofstra @ Delaware (Hof -1) – Saturday, 6:30 PM ET
Former NBA champion Speedy Claxton has done a great job in year one as the head basketball coach of Hofstra. The Pride are in 3rd place in the CAA and are led by a great team of guards in Aaron Estrada, Zach Cooks and Jalen Ray, who combine for 46 points per game. Delaware is 265th in defensive rating, so let’s ride with Hofstra to grab the road win and stay in the CAA regular season championship race.
Temple @ Tulane (Tulane -8) – Saturday, 2 PM ET
Aaron McKie and Temple seemed to be rolling before a tough trip to Tampa and an awful loss to a bad South Florida basketball team. Now, the Owls hit the road to New Orleans to take on a much improved Tulane Green Wave squad coached by Ron Hunter. If Temple is to win this game, they need to shoot better from deep and the free throw line. Currently, the Owls are 335th in 3 point shooting and 298th in the nation from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Tulane is 35th in the nation from deep and 92nd in free throw shooting. Tulane rolls and covers in New Orleans.
Rutgers @ Wisconsin (Wisconsin -9.5) – Saturday, 2 PM ET
The Scarlet Knights have been an absolutely awful road team (2-7 in 21-22) over the past couple years and Madison, Wisconsin, is a place that can get crazy. Wisconsin is 10-2 at home on the season The Badgers have a nice advantage there, but they narrowly escaped recent home battles against Penn State and Minnesota. Rutgers is playing for their postseason lives, so give me Ron Harper Jr. and Rutgers to cover the big number.
Penn State @ Minnesota (Minn -2) – Saturday, 8:30 PM ET
Micah Shrewsberry is doing a decent job in year one as the head coach of Penn State. They almost knocked off Michigan earlier in the week and now take on a Minnesota team that seems to have lost its luster. Minnesota forward Jamison Battle leads the team in scoring but he’ll have his work cut out for him facing off against Seth Lundy, who averages just shy of 13 points and 6 boards a game. Give me Penn State on the road to cover and actually win outright.
(Colby Dant is SGPN’s [Sports Gambling Podcast Network] college basketball expert. He picks every Division 1 game against the spread at www.SportsGamblingPodcast.com
and provides in-depth analysis on The College Basketball Experience podcast multiple times per week. All SGPN content is free here.)