A bad season just got worse for Colorado State, which is near the cellar of the Mountain West Conference. Larry Eustachy might have coached his final game there as has been placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation into his conduct with players and other staff members. It marks the second time in four years that Colorado State officials have interviewed players and others about Eustachy’s behavior. A 2013-14 investigation alleged that he created a “culture of fear and intimidation” and emotionally abused his players. Here are two interesting NCAA hoops games this week. Check back for NCAA basketball betting lines. Rankings could change on Monday.
Top NCAA Basketball Betting Picks & Predictions – February 5th Edition
Week 13 #NCAAB Computer Ranks 1 #Nova 2 #UVA 3 #Purdue 4 #Xavier 5 #Bearcats 6 #MSU 7 #Auburn 8 #Duke 9 #KUBball 10 #TTU See all 351 teams ranked here: https://t.co/BPDC7fHz8H
— AllMySportsTeamsSuck (@AMSTS) February 5, 2018
No. 18 Tennessee at No. 21 Kentucky
When: Tuesday, ESPN The only school with a realistic chance of catching first-place Auburn in the SEC is the Tennessee, which is two games back of the Tigers. However, the two don’t play one another again in the regular season and Auburn holds the tiebreaker thanks to a 94-84 home win on Jan. 2. Tennessee has lost just once since then. UT should rise in Monday’s polls because it won a fifth straight game Saturday in impressive fashion, a 94-61 trouncing of visiting Ole Miss. UT scored 59 second-half points and shot 71.4 percent after intermission. Five Vols reached double-digits, led by Turner and Grant Williams with 17 points each. Admiral Schofield had 15 with 12 rebounds, Kyle Alexander added 14 points and Jordan Bowden scored 10. Tennessee tallied a season-high 27 assists on 33 made field goals and only had six turnovers – only one of which came in the dominant second half. Tennessee played shutdown defense Saturday, forcing 17 turnovers by the Rebels behind 11 steals and seven blocks. Ole Miss’s 61 points marked the seventh consecutive game in which UT has held its opponent to fewer than 65.How Well Has Kentucky Done?
Kentucky was upset by unranked Missouri on Saturday and it’s possible the Cats could fall out of the Top 25. Leading scorer Kevin Knox scored just five points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needed 16 shots to be the only UK player to reach double figures. The Cats made just two out of 20 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and shoot a season-low 31.2 percent overall. They went the final 5:55 of the first half without a single point and finish the game with a season-low 60. Kentucky led 9-6 early but went cold from the field, missing 13 straight field-goal attempts as Missouri went on a 10-0 run for a 16-9 lead. The Tigers led the remainder of the game. The 18 first-half points scored were UK’s fewest in a half in the Coach John Calipari era and the fewest for the Wildcats since scoring 16 vs. West Virginia on Nov. 29, 2008. UK shot 20 percent in the first half (6 of 30), UK’s worst shooting half of the season. It was UK’s lowest field-goal percentage in a half since 17.2 percent vs. South Carolina on March 1, 2014. Tennessee beat visiting Kentucky on Jan. 6, 76-65. Schofield had 20 points and nine rebounds and Tennessee rallied in the second half. It was UT’s third straight season beating the Cats in Knoxville. Kentucky leads the overall series 153-70, but no team has beaten the Wildcats as often as Tennessee.No. 2 Virginia at Florida State
When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET (ACC Network) The Cavaliers are running away with the ACC at 11-0 in conference, three games ahead of second-place Clemson. UVA’s only loss on the season was 68-61 at West Virginia back on Dec. 5. The Wahoos won their 14th straight games Saturday, 59-44 at Syracuse. The 44 points were the Orange’s fewest since the Carrier Dome opened in 1980. Syracuse finished 17 of 51 (33 percent) and 4 of 21 (19 percent) from beyond the arc. Virginia is by far the best defensive team in the country. It is off to its best start in conference play since the days of Ralph Sampson, who led the 1980-81 team to a 12-0 start. Devon Hall, battling an illness, went scoreless for the first time this season, but he contributed four rebounds and four assists. Kyle Guy was 5 for 15 from the floor and sophomore guard Ty Jerome was 2 for 8. But the rest of the Cavaliers who played — Wilkins, Salt, redshirt freshman forward De’Andre Hunter and redshirt sophomore forward Mamadi Diakite — were a combined 16 for 20. “Virginia is a tremendous team on both ends of the court,” Orange head coach Jim Boeheim said.
