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.
Welcome to today’s edition of Crash the Board for some college basketball betting advice to make us all rich. We start off with something I have a major problem with.
Where in the absolute hell is the daytime college hoops today?
For the first time since I was 4 years old, I have the entire week to consume college basketball during Championship Week, something I’ve dreamed about since my 5th birthday party. I was ready to wake up, crank out an episode of Deceptive Speed LIVE and dive in to whoever is in action for some afternoon buckets.
As I look at Monday’s slate, the earliest game starts at 5:00 CST. What a travesty. Daytime hoops are about the greatest thing that can happen on the sports calendar, and I’m lost without it.
Somehow I will overcome this, but it may take a while. Let’s dive in to the conference tournament action for Monday afternoon night.
Wofford vs. East Tennessee State
ETSU -7
O/U 133
ESPN, 6:00 CST
We have one conference championship tonight, and it’s coming in the Southern Conference. East Tennessee State is currently looking at an 11 seed in the latest Deceptive Speed Bracketology, so the Buccaneers are living a dangerous life on the bubble. One issue the smaller schools face is any loss is massive because they’re playing opponents that aren’t very good.
A single loss would be a major issue for ETSU, and they know that. It’s all on the line for both teams, and we’re going with the team that’s 29-4 riding an 11-game winning streak against the team that is a 7 seed in the Southern Conference. Make some money on the Buccaneers.
UIC vs. Wright State
WRSU -6
O/U 149
ESPNU, 6:00
The Horizon League tournament is a weird one. As a 1 seed, Wright State earned a bye all the way to tonight’s semifinal round, so the Raiders had 10 days off after their regular season ended. This has led to bad things for good teams recently with the top seed not winning the Horizon League in each of the past four seasons.
Could an upset be brewing here? UIC is 10-4-1 against the spread in its last 15 games. More importantly, the Flames have the same record against the spread in games away from home, and this will be at a neutral site in Indianapolis. I like UIC to cover and if you’re feeling a little naughty on a Monday night, dive in on the moneyline because we may be looking at an upset special.
San Francisco vs. #2 Gonzaga
ZAGS -13
O/U 151.5
ESPN2, 8:00 CST
It’s Gonzaga against a West Coast Conference team. The Bulldogs won 13 of their 16 games against conference opponents by 10 or more points. Don’t overthink it. Gonzaga by a million.
Green Bay vs. Northern Kentucky
NKU -5
O/U 151
ESPN2, 8:30 CST
I’m going with the same logic I did earlier with Wright State. A week and a half off from playing college basketball games is not a good thing, and Northern Kentucky will be the second victim of a flawed conference tournament system. I’ve got Green Bay covering, winning the game and taking home the damn Horizon League title just like I predicted before it started.
St. Mary’s vs. #14 BYU
BYU -4
O/U 147
ESPN2, 10:30 CST
The second semifinal game of the West Coast Conference tournament truly puts your college basketball fandom to the test. Are you staying up till past midnight to watch a couple NCAA tournament teams battle it out? I honestly have not made my decision yet, but the answer is likely no because I’m 26 years old, which is 52 in blogging years and I need my sleep.
More on this game in a little bit…
Monday Payday
A little bit has passed.
We’re investing in BYU -4 vs. St. Mary’s. I’m slowly developing a Utah football-level love for this BYU team, which is wild considering the two fan bases absolutely hate each other. The Cougars are on a roll right now with nine straight wins including a double-digit victory over Gonzaga and have not lost since January 25.
I don’t know if you track the NET rankings, but BYU is ranked #9 in the NET. What does the NET mean? I have no idea, but being #9 in the NET seems pretty good. Part of me wants BYU to lose this game to keep the Cougars out of the public eye because this is my sleeper Sweet 16 team. If they can do it as a 6 or 7 seed, I’ll look smart for the first time in my life.
Go BYU. Nothing like a late night surrounded by Cougars, am I right fellas?
Note: I picked BYU strictly to use that joke.
Keep the conversation going by reaching out to Erik Buchinger on Twitter or email erik@deceptivespeed.com.