The overall No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils fell behind 16-seed Siena by double digits on Thursday, and while the Blue Devils came back towin 71-65, Duke was never within shouting distance of covering the 28.5-point spread. The Blue Devils will take on 9-seed TCU on Saturday, and opened as a double-digit favorite.
Underdogs went 10-6 against the spread on Thursday, including six outright wins, leading to some big spreads for Saturday's games.
Below you'll find the favorite wagers for Saturday's Round 2 games from our college basketball handicappers — Corbie Craig, Matt Jacob, Matt Russell and Frank Schwab.
Best bets for Saturday's Round 2 games
(9) TCU vs. (1) Duke (-11.5, 139.5)
Russell:How much more do we need to see? Duke isn't the same team without Patrick Ngongba and Caleb Foster.
What team would be able to play at the same super-high standard that the Blue Devils set for themselves, without two crucial starters?
We've got four data points of what Duke is without those two, and it's fundamentally an undersized, shallow, quality tournament team. The issue is that the Blue Devils are still rated in the betting market like one of the top-four teams in the country.
By comparison, TCU just played Kansas on a (debatably) neutral court in Kansas City and the line was -5.5, with the Horned Frogs covering the spread by the hook. Nothing in Duke's four games (1-3 ATS) without Ngongba and Foster should make us believe it's performing at Kansas' level, let alone 5.5 points higher.
So, using point spread math, there has to be value on a TCU team that will match up much better with Duke in the paint than Siena did.
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Bet:TCU +11.5
No. 11 Texas vs. No. 3 Gonzaga (-6.5, 147.5)
Russell:It feels like we see it every year, but rarely is the team in the role of "play-in problem" one that has the talent (and budget) of Texas. The Longhorns have taken advantage of a pair of porous defenses in NC State and BYU, and Gonzaga's top-10 defense (byKenPom) will be more suffocating. However, 7-footer Matas Vokietaitas has taken a more involved role in the offense and is a tough matchup for the Zags. Plus, Texas has the athleticism and length of Dailyn Swain and Tramon Mark that will match up well with Gonzaga's guards.
With a line at THE WINDOW projected tighter than this one, there's an easy case for why this game could come down to the wire, just so long as Texas has any legs left after a busy week with extensive travel.
Bet: Texas +6.5
No. 12 High Point vs. No. 4 Arkansas (-11.5, 168.5)
Russell:We were able to sniff out High Point's ability to hang with Wisconsin enough to stay within the number, but the Panthers took it up a notch by pulling off the patented 12-5 upset of the Badgers.
Starting inside-outside duo Terry Anderson and Rob Martin each had a double-double, and so did Cam'Ron Fletcher off the bench, playing his most minutes (33) since a late-season injury.
With those three at full speed, and Chase Johnston mixing in some of the wildest 3s you've ever seen in your life, the Panthers' power rating in the betting market isn't as high as it should be.
As expected, the Razorbacks overwhelmed Hawaii physically, and were never in danger of being upset. Arkansas did have occasional lapses, though, allowing the Rainbow Warriors to give us a scare late in relation to the point spread.
Athletically more comparable to Arkansas, High Point will make the Hogs pay for any defensive lulls, and with a line this high, there's plenty of room for the Panthers to scare Arkansas even without pulling off another stunner.
Bet: High Point +11.5