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College Basketball Weekend: Key Games and Predictions
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00:00Spread lines on a Friday. The information you need to know for tonight, this weekend's action and rolling into it
00:06and seeing exactly why maybe some of these lines are moving.
00:08Let's get started in college basketball tonight, Joe. I just don't have any NBA action here. College it is. Michigan
00:14State and Wisconsin.
00:15By the way, Joe, it wasn't too long ago where maybe the NCAA on a Friday night gave us a
00:19couple games out of the Ivy League and that was it.
00:21But now we're actually getting some bangers on Friday nights to start your weekends out and we'd love to see
00:25it.
00:25Michigan State opened up as a favorite, Joe. Minus one and a half over Wisconsin, despite being the road team
00:30here in the Big Ten.
00:32Today, where does it sit this morning? Still at minus one and a half and a total of 145 and
00:36a half.
00:36The one thing we know about Michigan State, they love defense. The most efficient defense in Big Ten play takes
00:41their defense on the road to take on Wisconsin and the Badgers.
00:45Joe, what's your spread line tonight for a Friday?
00:47You know, Donnie, Wisconsin just upsetting everybody going on the road against Illinois, getting it done in overtime.
00:55They did it to Michigan. Well, I don't know. Now, is this the spot where they come home feeling all
01:02fat and sassy?
01:03Is this the time where Michigan State comes in and smacks them?
01:07Well, I guess it all depends on how many people Jeremy fears actually trips or hits in the groin here
01:13for Michigan State.
01:14You gotta love this kid, Donnie, because they all, everybody loves a villain, right?
01:18And he is the villain in college basketball this year.
01:22Now that Charles Betiaco, of course, will not be seeing the court anymore.
01:26We saw one, one, it has not moved here. It's not a great spot for Wisconsin.
01:32Again, a big road upset over time. Now they gotta come home.
01:35It's a good opportunity for Michigan State to get another one in the books here.
01:40Some more college basketball tonight, Joe. May the better George win.
01:44George Mason on the road to take on George Washington.
01:47Line overnight opened up at around two and a half. Still sits there this morning at minus two and a
01:51half in a total of 148 and a half.
01:54George Washington comes in this game as the third most efficient offense in conference play.
01:58George Mason's defense, number two in conference play at efficiency here.
02:02They don't foul that much. They defend the three-point line and pretty stingy inside the arc, Joe.
02:06George Mason, George Washington. What's the spread line?
02:09Yeah, the battle of the Georgias, right? Second go at this.
02:13The first one was a heck of a battle here. But GW is an interesting team.
02:18They're like, I mean, bipolar. They were great early on.
02:22Then they got to the Atlantic 10 conference.
02:25They're three and seven over their last 10 games, which sounds terrible, Donnie.
02:29But can I tell you something? The metrics tell us they are playing like a top 80, 90 team in
02:35the country right now.
02:36They've just had some awful luck in a number of games, which means they get this one tonight.
02:42They are going to be extremely dangerous come tournament time there in the A-10.
02:47So this is going to be an interesting battle.
02:50I know a lot of people early on looking at George Mason.
02:53I would not sleep on George Washington in this spot.
02:56I think they can get it done.
02:58Billikens in the A-10.
02:59If you're not paying attention, one loss this season, Joe, by one point to the Stanford Cardinal here.
03:06They come into this game versus Loyola Chicago.
03:07It's 18 and a half point favorites here and a total of 155 and a half.
03:12If you look at the metrics, the number one team by far in efficiency in conference play, it's St. Louis.
03:17That's offense.
03:18How about defense?
03:19The number one defense in efficiency in conference play, it's St. Louis.
03:22And how about this?
03:24Loyola Chicago's offense, Joe, dead last in efficiency in conference play.
03:28So you're telling me the best defense is playing the worst offense.
03:31That's why you get an 18 and a half point line here on a Friday morning.
03:35Joe, what's that spread line?
03:36St. Louis, Loyola, Chicago.
03:38You know, if you have not watched St. Louis and the Billikens play, it is quietly becoming a fun story.
03:46We've told you about Miami of Ohio, right, and their undefeated run.
03:50We'll get to them in a minute.
03:52But the Billikens, unbelievable what they have done running the table and how they play basketball.
03:59It is absolutely fantastic.
04:02And now they're taking on a Loyola Chicago team who, let's hope they just don't have one of those games
04:08where they actually look somewhat functional because they have not been functional at all this year.
04:14This is an 18 and a half point line for a reason.
04:17But there are a lot of people, Donnie, that believe the Billikens are going to be that Cinderella team come
04:24March.
04:25They are a legit top 20 team, and they're going to show it again here tonight against Loyola on the
04:31major net.
04:32They're going to get big network treatment tonight here, Donnie, the Billikens.
04:36Yep.
04:37How about Ohio versus Miami of Ohio tonight in the MAAC?
04:41Seven games left in the MAAC schedule here for Miami of Ohio.
04:44Why is that important?
04:45They are undefeated.
04:47The only team left in collegiate basketball right now.
04:49They're double-digit favorites, Joe.
04:51They opened up last night, minus nine and a half.
04:52Now they sit minus ten and a half as we check across the board today.
04:56163 and a half points is the total.
04:58Love to see that.
04:59Why?
04:59Miami's offense, number one in efficiency, number one in effective field goal percentage,
05:03and they are number one inside the arc, Joe.
05:0666% as a team when not shooting the three-point shot.
05:09This team gets down to business, Joe.
05:12Number one, do they win tonight in advance as still being the undefeated team?
05:16And number two, what's that spread loan on covering the minus ten and a half?
05:19Listen, out of you and I, Baldwin, we've been talking about this.
05:22They win for how long now?
05:25And as far as I'm concerned, they will be on every spread line right till the end of the regular
05:32season.
05:32We told you over a month ago, this was a team that had a legit shot at going undefeated.
05:39It came down to, you know, it was Nebraska, Arizona, Miami of Ohio.
05:43Well, Nebraska and Arizona have now lost.
05:46Miami of Ohio is the last team standing.
05:48Ten and a half point favorite at home.
05:50Listen, they did not have a problem against Ohio earlier this year.
05:54I doubt very much they're going to have a problem here.
05:57But, Donnie, at the same time, as much as they say there's no pressure,
06:03you know, they know they're the last undefeated team standing here
06:06with nothing really standing in the way but them.
06:09I think they get it done.
06:11But believe it or not, I wouldn't be running to the window
06:13to lay the ten and a half, eleven points with them.
06:16A lot of pressure even at home here tonight.
06:19Kentucky versus Florida.
06:21This game is going to take place on a Saturday.
06:22If you didn't know by now in the SEC, the most efficient offense,
06:26that is the Florida Gators.
06:27The most efficient defense in conference play, that is also the Florida Gators.
06:31Now, I do see it.
06:32Do we have a graphic coming up for this one?
06:33Because I'm showing DraftKings at minus eleven and a half,
06:36but in the notes it says four and a half.
06:37Do we have an official spread out yet for this?
06:39There we go, eleven and a half.
06:40It is.
06:41Yep, eleven and a half.
06:42Heavy favorite for the Gators, Joe, at home.
06:43And what's that spread line there?
06:45And they should be.
06:46I mean, listen, Kentucky, kudos to Mark Pope for turning it around here.
06:51It was not looking good, especially early on in SEC play.
06:55But you are walking into an absolute dungeon here in Gainesville
07:01with the way the University of Florida is playing.
07:03The confidence, the guard play is back to where it is.
07:07Yeah, good luck, Kentucky.
07:09Good to get your season back on track.
07:12But I think those good feelings end tomorrow against Florida.
07:15Sometimes I don't like I don't want to sound like a hater,
07:18even though sometimes I enjoy being a hater at this point.
07:20But sometimes we have to just have like common sense actually work through things
07:24where it's like, OK, well, your eligibility is up.
07:28Oh, I got to move on to the pros or, you know,
07:30I graduate college with my degree and I go get a job or wherever I work.
07:33And that's fine.
07:33Now it turned into what the NCAA we don't think is that toothless here.
07:37I have no eligibility left.
07:39Let's just sue and say I should be able to play another year of college football,
07:43even though my eligibility is out.
07:44That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
07:46Not in today's landscape.
07:47And also understand how we got to this concept here,
07:50where it was always where once you got to college post high school,
07:54you had four years, you had five years to complete four,
07:56because they did built in a red shirt for you.
07:58If you went two years to JUCO, that's two years here.
08:01Well, then you got two years to play it.
08:02Let's just say Division II or Division I football.
08:04Or if you took a red shirt here, we understood the game and the numbers
08:07that were involved at this point.
08:08But then it turns into, you know what?
08:11Let's try to game the system.
08:12I'm out of eligibility, but I'm going to make up a story from like my freshman
08:16and sophomore year at Division II, where I had trouble breathing.
08:20And that's why I got an extra medical red shirt,
08:23even though there's no documentation on it.
08:25Let's just see if it flies in court.
08:26And when that doesn't work, you just change up and go to another outlet,
08:29another court system and try a different path.
08:32And here we are today.
08:33Hey, Chambliss will be coming back to Ole Miss because a Mississippi judge said
08:36he should be able to play and grant an injunction here.
08:40Only for the NCAA, they're like, that's cool.
08:42We'll appeal it again.
08:44Joe, nothing makes any sense.
08:45And just imagine when we were laughing just a few days ago with Bidiaco,
08:49why don't you just keep changing courts until he plays his next year?
08:51And then by the time you don't have an answer,
08:53he's already done his seventh, eighth, or ninth year in college.
08:57And it's such an easy fix, Donnie, too, right?
09:00I mean, you just put together a collective agreement that, listen, you get five years,
09:06do whatever you want to do in those five years of eligibility.
09:10And, you know, knock on wood, if something drastic happens, you get five years.
09:14That's it.
09:15Anything beyond five years is absolutely absurd.
09:18And that's exactly what we've got here, Donnie.
09:21We've got a situation where a kid is going to be 24 years old.
09:24The only reason this is even a thing now is because of the multi-millions of dollars
09:31in the NIL collective that he's going to get here to come back.
09:34Otherwise, he would have done what generations prior to him did, Donnie.
09:38You know what it is?
09:39Go to the NFL draft and begin your career.
09:41And it's that simple.
09:42But too much money at stake now.
09:44And I don't blame the kids for going to do it.
09:46I really don't.
09:47And by the way, Joe, if you are a lawyer and you're watching this program right now,
09:52you know, it looks for those big class action lawsuits like, you know what?
09:54I'm first on this asbestos thing or this, you know, bad water in this town here.
09:58I'm going to jump on this and we're going to sue.
10:00If you're a lawyer right now, here's what you need to do over the next couple of years.
10:04Wait for a player who's a freshman in college to get injured by a player that's 24 or 25 years
10:09old
10:10that was supposed to be out of eligibility, that was allowed to play.
10:12That's your next billion dollar lawsuit against the NCAA and the football rights at this point.
10:17We've gotten way out of hand at this point, but I always iterate this and say this once
10:21again, Joe, the people after that thought players should be getting paid.
10:25You should absolutely love this stuff.
10:27You should love 35 year old kids eventually plug kids.
10:30Because they're still in college playing against 17 year olds.
10:33Yeah, an 18 year difference there at that point.
10:35Don't worry, it's coming.
10:36You want them to get paid and they absolutely did.
10:38And how about this?
10:39This is our favorite part about it.
10:41He could say like, if he would have took this approach, you know what?
10:44Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to play football in college.
10:47I wanted to be a professional quarterback, which I really wanted to do.
10:50I wanted to be a doctor and there's no way I can play football and try to be a doctor.
10:54But now I'm in pre-med at this point.
10:56So if I can stay playing football and still stay at school, I can get my doctorate at
11:00the same time.
11:00That would have flipped it on its head.
11:02But at this time, Joe, we had a tweet come out from NIL, not NLI.
11:05Trinidad Chambliss is currently detailing all the benefits he will receive with another
11:09year of eligibility at Ole Miss, never mentioning academics.
11:14Yeah, because, you know, it was like Carson Beck last year.
11:18I think one of the interviewers asked him, you know, so what's it like managing your class
11:23schedule and getting ready for the national championship?
11:26And he's like, class, I graduated two years ago.
11:29I don't have class.
11:31There is no schedule.
11:32And that is what you have now in college football.
11:35And now that you have one favorable ruling, it's going to open up the floodgates across
11:43the board.
11:43So anybody who feels that they have an extra year coming to them, that and by the way,
11:48the only people who feel this are 23, 24, and 25 years old, Doug.
11:53And by the way, let's start gaming the system because we usually take a look at, Joe, the
11:57upper echelon of talent.
11:59Like, I'm going to get paid $6 million if I come back.
12:01If you are the third string right guard, go ahead and get your sixth year here because
12:06you can still use that universe.
12:07As you said, be pre-med.
12:09Get a double major.
12:10Get your master's.
12:11Get multiple master's degrees on the NCAA before you graduate.
12:15You might never go pro, and a lot of these people don't.
12:17But that is like, hey, I'm trying to graduate.
12:19Played five.
12:20No, no, no.
12:21Every single player on every single roster, whether you're a great player or not, sue
12:25for extra years.
12:26Stay in school.
12:27Get it paid for.
12:28Get your majors and move on, Joe.
12:30It's a great business practice now.
12:32Yeah, and that's exactly what you're going to get.
12:34But, you know, much like we've talked about with college basketball, when you get guys
12:38like Charles Betiaco going and others here, basically you're creating, instead of the actual
12:45G League, that's what college athletics is now.
12:48It's the minor leagues, and that's what you're creating.
12:52And there's no reason.
12:53I mean, listen, Indiana just won a national championship with the, I believe, the highest
12:59starting age of all their starters on both sides of the ball are, what, 23, 24 years old,
13:05the majority.
13:05We're talking about fifth-year guys across the board.
13:09You know, that's the new, and kudos to them for figuring it out early, but it's not going
13:15to get any better, not now, not until somebody steps in and says, wait a minute, we got to
13:20put some guidelines here.
13:21And right now, it's still the wild, wild west.
13:24And also, like, flipping it around, Joe, and keeping it in college football, how do we
13:29not have kids that just aren't allowed to go from high school to the pros at this point?
13:31How does that injunction even stand up if we're getting six and seven years and eight
13:35years for college kids at this point?
13:37You tell me right now, freshmen like Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State, shouldn't just be able
13:41to assume, be like, I've played one year.
13:42I'm the best player in college football.
13:44You're telling me I have to play for two more years before I go pro?
13:46How does that even stand up?
13:48I don't know, but I'm sure some judges waiting around the corner to upend that as well.
13:51It's a mess in collegiate sports.
13:53It's the way it is growing up.
13:54And it's not, again, old man yelling at clouds.
13:57A lot of the fun of college sports, Joe, was watching college basketball and college football
14:01and having the team grow while you watch.
14:03Like, man, this kid's a freshman.
14:04I'm going to watch him for four more years.
14:05Like those mid-major teams in the 80s and 90s going into the college tournament.
14:09Hey, these two kids, these five starters are all 22 years old.
14:12They played with each other for five years, including a red shirt, and now they're ready
14:15to do some damage.
14:16The minute that kid is really good at a mid-major, he's gone to be a seventh man, let's
14:20you say, at Baylor or at a big school at this point.
14:22Just the way it is at this point and it's happening.
14:24But at least we do get to talk about some college, excuse me, college basketball on a Friday.
14:29Michigan State and Wisconsin, Joe, we got some movement.
14:32We were telling you one and a half at the start of the show between Michigan State and Wisconsin.
14:35I'm now seeing two and a halfs coming to town here for Michigan State as the road favorite
14:39against Wisconsin now.
14:42Yeah.
14:42And again, I think the spot dictates it, right?
14:45Knowing that Wisconsin just came off a monster up, another monster upset win, come from behind
14:52against Illinois on the road.
14:55And they did that earlier against Michigan, right?
14:59I mean, they did the unthinkable, the only team that's been able to get them into the L column.
15:05It's not going to be an easy game.
15:06These are two teams that are going to be very, very physical.
15:09But keep an eye here with Wisconsin.
15:12I'm wondering, Donnie, early in the morning as we see this line being pumped up, is it eventually
15:18going to be sold as we get closer to the game?
15:21Are we trying to get Wisconsin at a better number right now?
15:25Because that's a big jump from overnight here, Donnie.
15:28A lot of Michigan State money.
15:30And we all know it's going to be hit or miss based upon what Fierce does with this team.
15:34That just appears to be what Izzo has.
15:37If that kid goes, Michigan State goes.
15:40If he doesn't, that's a tough scene there for Michigan State.
15:45We always like to have a lot of fun, too, with Michigan at home tomorrow against UCLA.
15:50Minus 16 and a half is the opening number for Michigan here.
15:53What are the odds?
15:53Forget about minus 16 and a half.
15:55Odds that McCronin has an issue with UCLA has to travel to Michigan.
15:58And it's not fair because Michigan's too good and he gets upset.
16:01Already.
16:02We're already hearing it.
16:03Donnie, stop it.
16:04We already know that.
16:05Yeah, we already know that's happening here.
16:07And he's already going to scream and yell here.
16:09But listen, there's levels to this, right?
16:11And it's not like it can't be done.
16:14It's not like teams from the West that travel East or East to West have not won some games.
16:19I mean, it's absolutely possible.
16:21But Mick Cronin's been screaming about this since they entered the Big Ten.
16:24And it's not getting any better for him.
16:29No basketball tonight, Joe, in the NBA, which is, I think I know where you're going.
16:33Tell the people.
16:35It means we're going college hoops in the game of the night, Donnie.
16:39Michigan State taking on Wisconsin in Wisconsin.
16:43And the crazy part about this is the last time that we saw Wisconsin, they won a game
16:49on the road against Illinois in overtime on Tuesday.
16:52Ironically enough, the last time we saw Michigan State play, it was Saturday.
16:56They were winning a game in overtime against Illinois as well.
17:01So they both come in off overtime wins against Illinois.
17:05Only Michigan State is the more rested team here.
17:09Not to mention, they're the better team.
17:11I mean, Wisconsin with the upset win there on the road.
17:15Now they got to come home and take on the better defensive team with the best player on the court
17:21with fears tonight.
17:23Short favorite here for Michigan State.
17:25With a couple extra days of rest, it matters.
17:28It's going to matter here tonight.
17:30Jeremy Fears Jr., again, best player on the court.
17:34He's going to elevate this team to a win tonight.
17:37I think it's going to be rather easy.
17:40Team total tonight for me.
17:42And I'm going to head to college basketball.
17:43St. Louis taking on Loyola Chicago.
17:45Joe, we previewed this game early in the show.
17:47St. Louis' defense, the best in conference play,
17:50which includes the best three-point shooting percentage against
17:53and also two-point shooting percentage against.
17:55You take a look at Loyola's offense, we pointed out to you, the worst in conference play.
17:59And also, they turn the basketball over 22% of the time,
18:03which basically means one out of every four times up the court, Joe.
18:06They don't even get a shot off.
18:07They're going to get their doors blown off tonight.
18:09But we're not betting the spread.
18:10We're betting a team total.
18:11And we're not going over, Joe.
18:13We're going under 68.5 points for Loyola Chicago tonight.
18:16Defense, defense, defense for the Billikens tonight.
18:19For me, Joe, that's how we get down.
18:21You have two games tonight.
18:22It's a Friday.
18:24It's Valentine's Day tomorrow.
18:25You know what?
18:26We do it bright and early once we get back in again on Monday.
18:29For Joe and Donnie, we'll see you then.
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