Richmond is a potential contender to win the Atlantic 10 Conference title, but the Spiders’ chances of the regular-season crown took a monster hit last week when leading scorer Blake Francis was ruled out 4-6 weeks with a fractured sternum. The junior transfer was averaging 17.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Here’s a look at two intriguing early-week College Basketball Betting matchups around the country. Check back for Mybookie NCAAB odds and rankings may change in Monday’s new AP Top 25.
Top College Basketball Betting Picks of the Week – January 20th Edition
Kansas State vs No. 3 Kansas
- When: Tuesday, 7 PM ET
- TV: ESPN 2
This is perhaps the most lopsided “rivalry” – called the Sunflower Showdown — in college basketball. KU leads the overall series with Kansas State, 197-94, including a 90-35 record in meetings in Lawrence (48-18 in Allen Fieldhouse). Since Feb. 12, 1994, Kansas has won 58 of the last 64 meetings with K-State. Kansas’ 197 wins against Kansas State are the most for any team against an opponent in NCAA DI history. Starting in 2007, Kansas has won the last 13 meetings with Kansas State in Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas State has not swept a season series from the Jayhawks since the 1983 season, and the Wildcats have not won back-to-back games against Kansas since 1993-94. Last year they split, but Kansas won its 13th in a row at home in the series and 19th in the past 20 at Allen Fieldhouse, 64-49. The Wildcats shot just 32 percent from the field and struggled with turnovers at key junctures.
K-State (8-9) comes off an 84-68 home win over No. 12 West Virginia on Saturday. The Wildcats connected on 59.2 percent (29-of-49) of their field goals, including 60.9 percent (14-of-23) in the second half, to snap its longest skid (four games) to start league play since 2008-09. It was the highest point total and field goal percentage against a Big 12 opponent since scoring 85 points on 61.5 percent shooting (32-of-52) vs. Oklahoma State on Feb. 23, 2019.
Junior Cartier Diarra led all scorers with a career-tying 25 points on 8-of-14 field goals, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and a 5-of-7 effort from the free throw line to go with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in a career-best 38 minutes. It marked his fourth career 20-point game.
What about Kansas?
Kansas beat Texas 66-57 on Saturday. Trailing by five points at halftime, the Jayhawks outscored Texas 40-26 over the final 20 minutes. Sophomore Devon Dotson scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half, while senior Udoka Azubuike added 17 points and nine rebounds. After Texas tied the game at 54-54 with 4:50 to play, Kansas closed the contest on a 12-3 run. Marcus Garrett and Dotson scored all 12 points during the closing stretch. The win improved KU to 4-1 or better in Big 12 play for the 13th-straight season and 16th time in the Bill Self era.KU connected on just two 3-pointers on the day, the second-fewest for the Jayhawks this season and the fourth time they have been held to 3 or fewer triples. KU is 3-1 in those games.
South Carolina at No. 4 Auburn
- When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET
- TV: ESPNU
Auburn was the last power conference team to suffer a loss, falling 83-64 last Wednesday at blood-rival Alabama. The Tigers had started 15-0 but they gave up a season high in points while scoring a season low. It was the Tide’s first win over a Top 5 team since a 79-57 home defeat of then-No. 5 Texas A&M on Dec. 30, 2017. Auburn’s leading scorer, Samir Doughty, failed to score for nearly the first 23 minutes and wound up fouling out.
The Tigers then lost again in one-sided fashion Saturday, 69-47 at Florida. It was Florida’s first victory against a top-five team since beating then-No. 2 Michigan State in 2009. It was the 14th time this season that an unranked team knocked off a top-five opponent. So, needless to say Auburn is going to drop in the new polls.
What about South Carolina?
Last Wednesday was a very memorable night for South Carolina, meanwhile, as the Gamecocks upset No. 10 Kentucky 81-78. Freshman Jermaine Couisnard had a career-high 26 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. He rushed up the left side of the court and sent up a shot that banked off the backboard and went through. It was USC’s second win over a Top-10 team this season as it beat Virginia on Dec. 22.South Carolina won its second in a row Saturday, 81-67 at Texas A&M. The Gamecocks tied a school record making 16-of-30 (53.3%) shots from behind the 3-point line. Carolina was 10-of-18 (55.6%) from deep in the second half alone. The Gamecocks made 16 3s in an 84-77 win at home over the Aggies last season on Feb. 16, 2019 and 16 triples in a 92-52 home win against Campbell on Nov. 28, 2007.
It’s the only scheduled meeting of the season between South Carolina and Auburn. Last year they played twice and split – the most recent meeting was in the SEC Tournament and Auburn won 73-64 behind 27 points from Jared Harper. Bryce Brown had 19 points and Samir Doughty added 10 for Auburn. Chris Silva led South Carolina with 27 points and 11 rebounds. USC outscored Auburn by seven points when Silva was on the floor. The Cocks beat Auburn 80-77 in the 2018-19 regular season thanks to a career-high 32 points from Silva.
