Sportsline

Can the Buckeyes get a much needed Quad 1 win? ...

Hotty Toddy! ...

Can the Broncos avenge the Jan. 8 loss at Spokane? ...

Will the Volunteers continue to score in bunches on their home court?

How will Arizona bounce back at home vs. a good Texas Tech team?

The Over is 8-5 in Arizona home games this season. ...

LSU is coming off back-to-back losses by a combined 41 points...

Beach as top scorer frosh G Gavin Sykes (17.5 ppg) did return to active duty on Thursday vs. Fullerton after missing the previous four games with a bad ankle, and didn't look altogether rusty (scoring 12) in 32 minutes of floor time. Note, too, that three of the losses in the current six-game skid, including two nights ago vs. CSF, were by four points or fewer, and no margin exceeded 10. Meanwhile, right when we were about to get on the Ags bandwagon, they come up flat at UCSD, never having a look in a 68-51 loss, and that's now two games in a row (including the preceding tilt vs. Cal Poly) where UCD hasn't hit better than 36% from the floor. Play Beach

Tim Miles is extracting some much better efforts out of his SJSU in three straight handy covers against capable Mountain West opposition (New Mexico, Colorado State, and UNLV). Admittedly, this is partly in contrast to previous Spartans efforts, but regional observers are suggesting more is at work here, mostly the acknowledged ability of Miles to get another of his teams punching above their weight. Longwood transfer Colby Garland (18.6 ppg) has been on fire, scoring 21+ in these last three games, establishing himself as one of the hottest current commodities in the MW. Let's see how GCU deal with the atmosphere-free "vacuum" at the Event Center. Play San Jose State

A very sad state of affairs these days at Air Force, as the Falcs remain winless in Mountain West play and HC Joe Scott still on suspension. Too much outflow and not enough inflow from the portal are endemic to the service academies and making it very hard to compete ina league like the Mountain West. The Falcons are simply outmanned and their best players (such as G Jake Heidbreder, now on the other Fresno side this afternoon) have left the program. Measured vote here for Fresno, which can likely extend the margin as have others in the MW vs. the Force, but in truth this is an anti-Falcons pick. Play Fresno State

Purdue got right after experiencing a lull in the season with an 80-77 win at Nebraska Tuesday night. They only had 11 turnovers in the game, which was their biggest problem, and they won the rebounding battle 52-33. That pretty much made up for the fact that Fletcher Loyer shot 5 of 20 from the field and Braden Smith shot 5 of 15. Purdue only shot 37% from the field, and they won against a ranked team on the road. I think they roll in with a renewed confidence over Iowa, whom they beat the last five meetings.

I totally understand why this gaudy total might give some pause, but there are so many different outcomes for this game that all include Louisville getting up into the upper 80s. If Baylor does push the Cards and threaten for the upset, it would likely come in a higher-scoring game where the Bears offense continues to build on some recent success even in losses. But if Louisville wins big, it likely does so putting up another big number. The Cards have scored 85 points or more in five of their last seven games, and it looks good for that to happen once again on Saturday.

Georgia's only win in its last five games came against lowly LSU. The Sooners are better than their record and are fully rested after knocking off Vanderbilt 92-91 in Nashville last Saturday. Bulldogs guard Jeremiah Wilkinson (17.1 ppg) missed the loss to Florida and continues to deal with shoulder soreness. He is not certain to return Saturday.

This might be the strangest pick I make all year in college basketball (which says something). Eastern Michigan has lost seven straight games outright and got walloped by Western Michigan by 17 on the road in January. But the Eagles have been a wagon covering the spread, having done so in 7 of their last 8 games, while their opponent has failed to cover in 5 of 7. So give me the home team to break the losing streak, by at least seven points, and move to 9-1 ATS at home.

Pitt always gets up for UNC under Jeff Capel, as evidenced by his six wins (three on the road) in 10 games, nearly all as an underdog. And while this year’s Pitt team is down bad, currently riding a 2-10 record in conference play coming out of a 16-point loss to Duke, the Panthers do face the Tar Heels in the immediate shell-shock spot of losing star freshman Caleb Wilson to injury. Wilson’s absence will be felt across the board as he’s the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, but from a betting angle I think it shows up as defensive regression. The Tar Heels will have to out-score teams, and that will trend to some overs until the market makes its post-Caleb adjustment.