Art Aronson College Basketball Free Picks & Betting Advice

This is a 10* on PORTLAND

Portland didn’t cover the spread last night, but they certainly should have. They led the Knicks by 20 points at halftime only to let that large lead slip away. They won 116-113 as a 3.5-point favorite after scoring just 19 points in the fourth quarter. Tonight they face another bad team, Oklahoma City, who is also playing the second game of a back to back. The Thunder lost Sunday, 108-100 to the Clippers, to fall to 1-5 SU their last 6 games. The only win was by two points at Chicago. Though playing short-handed (no McCollum, Jurkic), we still give the advantage here to the Blazers. The Thunder aren’t a good team. They trailed by 17 on Sunday before making the game closer than it actually was. The same was true in their previous game vs. the Clippers. So it’s very much the opposite for Portland, who played much better last night than what the final score says. Play on PORTLAND

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This is an 8* on UNDER

Brooklyn has gone Over the total in 12 straight games! That is quite the streak and it’s not as if the totals for their games have been low. The average O/U line for Nets games this season is approaching 230.0! They just beat Miami 128-124 on Saturday for their first win since the James Harden trade. As high scoring as things have been here, we look for tonight’s rematch with the Heat to go Under. Miami is really short-handed right now. Friday night saw them able to only score 81 points in a loss to Toronto. So they are definitely capable of keeping this one Under “by themselves.” Bam Adebayo scored 41 by himself on Saturday, but considering that was a career-high, don’t go expecting him to match that performance this evening. There could be as many as five regular rotation players for the Heat out tonight. This is obviously a really high number, but even if the Nets were to score 120, the Heat won’t score enough to allow it to go Over. Play on UNDER

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This is a 10* on FURMAN

Furman has lost two straight, both on the road and as favorites. But now the Paladins return to Greenville where they are a perfect 7-0 on the season. Those seven wins have come by an average of nearly 30 points per game! So we will gladly lay a short number Monday night vs. a UNC Greensboro side that’s probably overvalued right now. The Spartans have won four in a row but that win streak has come at the expense of the bottom of the Southern Conference. They swept Samford, The Citadel and Chattanooga. Furman had won five in a row before going 0-2 last week. Those losses, one of which was by one point, saw them shoot the ball very poorly. That shouldn’t be an issue tonight considering they average 91.4 points/game at home where they shoot 54.7% for the season! Furman, who has won 35 of its last 39 home games, hasn’t been beaten here in over a year. UNC Greensboro was the last team to do it (Jan 11, 2020), so this is a huge revenge game. Play on FURMAN

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This is a 10* on MINNESOTA

Out in the NHL’s West Division, Minnesota has claimed eight points from its six games so far, winning four and losing two. Their season began in Los Angeles where they won twice, both times in OT by the same score of 4-3. The Kings have managed to go 2-2 since then, splitting at home with Colorado and on the road against St. Louis. They are off their best performance of the season, a six-goal effort where six different players scored. But we don’t expect much from this Kings team - tonight or this season. The Wild have developed a penchant for falling behind in games as they trailed LA 3-1 in the third period in both prior matchups. But look for that to become a thing of the past. We like the Wild’s penalty killing unit, which has been among the best in the league (90%) and it’s just a matter of time before the power play (just 2 of 27!) improves. The Kings have won just twice in their last eight trips to the Twin Cities. Play on MINNESOTA

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This is a 10* on AKRON

Akron comes in at 8-3 on the season. They are a perfect 6-0 at home. They’ve been red hot lately, winning and covering four straight. A 78.9 points per game scoring average is impressive and it gets even more impressive when you look at only home games as they are averaging 87.0 in those. Eastern Michigan’s resume is quite different. The Eagles have not won a game away from home this season. They are 1-6 ATS in conference play and have lost four in a row by an average of 20.25 points (0-4 ATS). In the previous four road games, you’re looking at an average of 86.5 points/game allowed. Shockingly, EMU won the first meeting between the teams, 71-59 as a 5.5-point dog. But that was obviously in Ypsilanti. So the revenge factor is strong here and we’ve got every reason to believe this Tuesday night matchup in the MAC turns into a blowout. Credit to Akron for allowing their previous opponents to shoot just 28.9% from three-point range this season. That number probably won’t go up after tonight as EMU is shooting just 28.3% from behind the arc, including a woeful 23.5% when on the road. Akron’s average margin of victory at home is 16.2 PPG. Could these teams be any more different heading into this one? Play on AKRON

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This is a 10* on UTAH 

Utah is the hottest team in the league right now. They are 8-0 straight up and against the spread in their last eight games. Do not expect any kind of letdown this evening as they are up against the last team to defeat them. Surprisingly, that team is New York. It was on January 6th that the Knicks upset the Jazz 112-100. They were eight-point underdogs at home for that matchup, which saw them trail by as much as 18 at one point. The shocking comeback saw the Knicks outscore the Jazz 68-44 in the second half. But that’s clearly not what you should expect here. Utah led by as many as 40 points Saturday vs. Golden State and won by 19. New York ended up only losing by three Sunday in Portland, but was behind by as many as 25 at one point before pulling off the “backdoor cover.” The Knicks have now lost 7 of 10 as they continue to be wildly inconsistent. We do not fear the possibility of a back door cover this time as the Jazz are out for revenge and have won by double digits in seven of the eight games during the active win streak. Play on UTAH

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