Welcome to Crash the Board, our daily look at college basketball’s biggest games from a sports betting perspective with a guaranteed winner. Our daily goal is to make you rich, make your children love you and keep your wife from leaving you. That’s a Crash the Board guarantee.
Ladies and gentlemen, March is here. What does that mean? It means you’re going to eat a lot, you’re going to drink a lot and you’re not going to even consider exercise. It also means you’re going to lose quite a bit of money.
Let’s face it, no matter how much college basketball you’re eating up on a nightly basis, you’re not going to win your bracket pool. You probably never have and probably never will. March Madness is basically an annual tax for your sports fandom. It’s fun, which makes it okay.
Conference tournaments get started this week, but Monday’s slate is pretty weak. We try to hit 5 games on Crash the Board, but only two are receiving attention tonight. If you’re actively looking for a breakdown of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Jackson State, please evaluate your life and make some changes.
NC State @ #12 Duke
DUKE -12.5
O/U 152
6:00 CST, ESPN
Would ya look at that, Duke is on a two-game losing streak. If this is early February, no doubt Coach K takes his annual leave of absence when the Blue Devils struggle. Too late for that, and Duke is going up against NC State, which blew them out a few weeks ago. Duke is 2-6 against the spread in its last 8 games, while the Wolfpack’s win over Duke is their lone cover in their past 5 games.
Motivation factor is probably a draw. Duke needs two wins and at least one loss from Louisville and Florida State for a share of the ACC title. NC State is among 5 teams are tied for fifth place at 9-9 in the ACC as they battle for better position in the conference tournament.
More on this game in a little bit…
Texas Tech @ #4 Baylor
BU -7.5
O/U 130
8:00 CST, ESPN
What the hell happened here, boys? I had to bust some heads for Baylor when everybody was skeptical saying there were no great teams in college basketball. I declared Baylor a great team, and they go out and lose 2 games immediately after. As it would turn out, I’m an idiot because of them. You failed me, Baylor. You lost a lot of my respect. Shame. Shame. Shame.
Baylor is doing one hell of a job covering spreads this season at 18-10 against the number and sit at 13-1 straight up at home. These 2 teams played in early January for a 57-52 Baylor win in Lubbock. Baylor unders hit in 4 of its last 6 games, and Texas Tech overs hit in 4 of its last 5. SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE. I like the Bears coming back home to cover the 7.5-point spread.
Monday Payday
On a short night of hoops, let’s make it simple. You’re going to want to invest your money on Duke -12.5 vs. NC State. After two straight road losses, Duke is returning home and will not take the Wolfpack lightly after they crushed the hopes and dreams of Blue Devils a few weeks ago. After that loss, Duke returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium and beat the hell out of Virginia Tech. That’s what we’ll see on Monday night.
Yes, I’m cheering for Coach K tonight. I just threw up all over the keyboard immediately after typing that sentence.
Keep the conversation going by reaching out to Erik Buchinger on Twitter or email erik@deceptivespeed.com.