Happy Valentine’s Day. Hope everyone enjoys their plans. The rest of us have a date with College Basketball. Don’t pull out your phones at dinner to check on these plays. Serious, minus EV move. Let’s hope this two-pack of games can pay for the tab. Here are the College Basketball Picks for February 14th.
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College Basketball Picks February 14th
Miami at Clemson (-7.5) (O/U 151.5)
Clemson dropped their first matchup against Miami and started a three-game slide for them. Clemson was 11-1 prior to that game and thriving. Then came some shot-making regression. They couldn’t put two wins together since then until their most recent road trip. Now they have back-to-back wins at UNC and at Syracuse, returning home for a revenge game.
Meanwhile, Miami is going in the other direction. They played UNC tough but ultimately lost. That’s two losses in a row and a heartbreak three-point loss to the Tar Heels to start a road trip. It doesn’t get easier for the Hurricanes when they return home in a week, as Duke will wait for then them in Miami.
Clemson led the first matchup by eight before dropping the game. They can get cold as quickly as they can get hot. Miami will have to keep PJ Hall in check and also play tight defense, guarding the three-point line. Miami’s defense isn’t capable of doing both and scoring effectively to keep pace when they don’t.
The Pick: Clemson -7.5
Iowa at Maryland (-5) (O/U 145.5)
Maryland gets a lot of credit for holding serve at home. They have dropped just three games this year in College Park. That’s an impressive mark when watching the Terps play offense. It’s a wonder how they win any games. Then they play defense, and it all makes sense. They are self-aware enough to drop the tempo of the game.
This is a huge contrast in styles. Iowa wants to run because they don’t play defense well, and the Terps want to slow it down as turtles tend to do. Both Maryland and Iowa will look to get most of their scoring inside the arc.
Don’t discount the Terp’s ability to get to the FT line. Iowa is 18th in the country in percentage of points coming from two-point range. Maryland counters that with the 8th-ranked defense inside that area and the 5th-ranked defense overall.
Iowa is 2-6 on the road this season straight up. They can’t hit their threes. They have defensive struggles and let their opponent hit the offensive glass. This will be an ugly game. Side with the under in this one, and I hope it doesn’t come down to fouling at the end.
The Pick: Under 145.5
