Ben Burns

I'm playing on BC/Rhode Island UNDER the total. Both these teams really battled yesterday. However, both were matched up against superior opponents. So, now they find themselves in the consolation game. Having both just "left it all on the floor" in yesterday's losses, we may see some tired legs today. That shouldn't affect the defense; both these teams want this one and are going to battle hard defensively. However, it may cause a few shots to come up short. Both teams lost quite a bit from last year and the new pieces are still going to take a little time to gel. Look for it to all add up to this game proving lower-scoring than most will be expecting. 

I'm playing VILLANOVA on the money-line. Both these teams are going to be really good this season. However, I believe that Villanova has the considerably higher ranking for good reason. The Wildcats have a bad taste in their mouths, the taste of unfinished business, after the pandemic robbed them of their posteason. This is a deep, talented, experienced and obviously very well-coached Villanova team. While the Sun Devils will give them a fight, expect the Wildcats to ultimately prove to be too much for them. 

Auburn is talented but every inexperienced. St. Joseph's is more experienced. Knowing that they have Kansas and Villanova on deck, the Hawks would really like to win this one. Look for them to give the young Tigers all they can handle. Consider grabbing the points. 

Nobody is happier to have college hoops back than Ben Burns! Regulars know that Ben's top-rated college hoops plays are on a long-term heater which has generated an INSANE $62.6K IN PROFIT. Off OPENING DAY WINNER with Alabama, all top-rated basketball, pro & college, on a LEGENDARY $99K PROFIT RAMPAGE. Next one goes EARLY this afternoon. Be there!

I'm playing on Kansas/Gonzaga UNDER the total. Kansas could have potentially won it all last season. The Jayhawks were loaded and playing great. They're still ultra-talented, as per usual. However, they did lose a lot from last year's team. Gonzaga, like Kansas, is always loaded. The Bulldogs had an outside shot last season and look even stronger this season. That said, they lost some scoring, too. I believe that points are going to be fairly hard to come by and feel that this O/U line is generously high. Kansas isn't in the underdog role all that often. However, when it is, the UNDER has gone a profitable 51-25-2 over the years. Expect those stats to improve this afternoon. 

I'm playing on ILLINOIS. Its hard for them to make this line high enough. The Illini, talented and experienced, have matchup advantages all over the court. The Cougars, 0-5 ATS the past five times that they were road underdogs of 30 or more points, have a very difficult non-conference slate, starting here. While it should toughen them up for league play, its not going to be fun for them. Yesterday saw the Cougars lose by 23 to Ohio. With all due respect to the Bobcats, this is a much tougher opponent and now the Cougars are on the road. This one gets ugly. Illinois flexes its muscles and wins by more than 40. 

I'm playing on DALLAS. Funny as it may seem, with both teams winning last week and the Eagles losing, this is a huge game in the NFC East. I believe that the Cowboys will be the team which carries the positive momentum forward into Thursday's showdown. I like that they showed they haven't quit for McCarthy. I also like that the Dallas offense got healthy last week. Dalton threw for three TD's. Elliott ran for more than 100 yards, for the first time all season. While they still gave up quite a few yards, the defense improved by holding a dangerous Minnesota to 28 points. Washington's offense isn't nearly as good as Minnesota's.  The Football Team won when these teams met at Washington. However, this game is at Dallas and Washington has yet to win a road game this season. The Cowboys are quietly 5-0-1 ATS (6-0 SU) their last six, when facing a sub-500 team in the second half of the season. I say they get some payback here.

I'm playing on BALTIMORE. While the Steelers have been "unbeatable" this season, I believe that the Ravens are the team capable of beating them. In fact, I believe that they will. Not only are the Ravens 8-2 ATS their last 10 as underdogs, but they've won seven of those games outright. This year's team has won four of five on the road, the lone loss coming when they were playing the second of b2b road games, which is not the situation here. Going back further finds Baltimore at 7-1 SU/ATS its last eight road games with an O/U line in the 45 to 49 range. While the Steelers eked out a 4-point win in this season's earlier meeting, the Ravens had won the previous two in the series, including a 3-point win here last season. Note that each of Pittsburgh's last three wins against Baltimore have been by seven or less. In fact, Baltimore has won its past two visits here and the last time that Pittsburgh beat the Ravens here, it was by a single point. In a game that could well be decided on the final play, I'm grabbing the points with the desperate, revenge-minded Ravens. 

I'm playing on Washington/Dallas OVER the total. The Dallas offense got healthy last week. Dalton threw for three TD's. Elliott ran for more than 100 yards, for the first time all season. The Dallas defense still gave up 450 total yards though. The 31.8 ppg that the Cowboys allow is still the highest in the league. Washington has scored 20 or more points in four straight games, none of those games coming against teams which allow as many points as Dallas. They scored 25 in the earlier game against the Cowboys. They should get 20 or more once again, only this time, expect the Cowboys to contribute A LOT more of their own, sending the final combined score above the number.

I'm playing on UTAH STATE. Not exactly the best matchup, as both teams are 0-4. That doesn't mean we can't find ourselves excellent value though. Utah State isn't used to starting 0-4. It hasn't done so since 2007. The Aggies are going to be extremely motivated to get a win for their new coach. Last week's postponed game wasn't what they wanted, obviously, but may well benefit them this week. New Mexico didn't score a single point last game, getting blanked 28-0. Yet, the Lobos find themselves laying points on the road. Note that the Lobos are 4-10 ATS over the years, when listed as road favorites in the -3.5 to -7 range. The Aggies are still 39-13 SU their last 52 home games. They've beaten the Lobos five of seven times since joining the MWC. They won at Albuquerque last year and they crushed the Lobos 61-19 here at Logan in 2018. Grab the points. 

I'm playing on Houston/Detroit UNDER the total. Given the current form of these offenses, I believe this number is generously high. The Lions didn't score a single point last time out, getting blanked 20-0 at Carolina. Not too good, considering that those same Panthers had been lit up for 46 points the previous week. The Lions would manage a mere 185 total yards. The Lions are now averaging 22.7 ppg. The Texans can relate. They, too, are averaging just 22.7 ppg. Last time on the road, they scored just seven. On the other side, the Houston defense has made some strides of late; they've allowed an average of 15 ppg the past two games. While I won with the 'over' in last year's Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit, we're working with a much higher number here. I say that it proves to be too high.