College Basketball Betting – Big Ten And Big East Share Top-25 Spotlight On Wednesday

On Wednesday night, we’ll see if two struggling programs can go on the road and pull off college basketball betting upsets to ignite a spark as the month of February approaches. It’s getting to be that time of year.

Northwestern Wildcats @ Minnesota Golden Gophers
Wednesday, 8:35 PM ET

It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Northwestern Wildcats will once again miss out on the NCAA Tournament, keeping the Evanston (Ill.)-based program out of the Big Dance for the 73rd time since the event started in 1939.

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Northwestern is the only school from a power conference (meaning the top six conferences in the country, also referred to as “BCS conferences”) to not make the tournament, and after suffering a 78-46 loss on home hardwood to Wisconsin this past Sunday, it seems as though Northwestern’s NCAA chances are not just on life support, but dead.

If the Wildcats want to do anything to change that perception, they simply must win at Minnesota, where the Golden Gophers are tough to beat. It does need to be said that Minnesota won at home against mediocre teams – Iowa and Indiana – by relatively small margins, but the long and short of it is that unless Minnesota plays really poor basketball, Northwestern is going to have a very tough time winning this game. Minnesota owns size and length in the paint, and that’s going to be very hard for Northwestern to counter. The Wildcats have to shoot extremely well in this game, because that’s the only way a rebounding disadvantage can be effectively minimized. Take Minnesota at home; this game really shouldn’t be too close in the final five minutes.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Minnesota -5.5

St. John’s Red Storm @ Georgetown Hoyas
Wednesday, 7:05 PM ET

St. John’s knocked off Georgetown the last time these teams played, but that game was in New York City. This time, the Johnnies must go to Washington, D.C. What’s also noteworthy about this game is that St. John’s – once 3-1 in the Big East – has cooled off considerably over the past two weeks and has fallen to the middle of the pack. A devastating 53-51 loss this past Saturday to Cincinnati – caused by an old-fashioned three-point play from the Bearcats in the final seconds – has already put St. John’s and first-year head coach Steve Lavin on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. SJU lacks power and size near the basket, and that’s getting exposed in Big East competition. Georgetown doesn’t have a whole lot of size, either, but the Hoyas really looked disinterested when St. John’s beat them at Madison Square Garden on January 3. This time, Georgetown – also struggling in the Big East but owning huge non-conference wins at Missouri and Memphis – should be able to find answers on the floor. The Hoyas are still a likely NCAA Tournament team, but a loss to St. John’s would put their status in jeopardy. One should expect a high level of urgency from Georgetown in a comfortable Hoya triumph.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Georgetown -8.5

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