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What Happened Last Night
- Arkansas 84, Houston 72: This was a closer game than the final makes it look; Arkansas led 65-62 with 5:37 left before using a late run to put away the Cougars. Daryl Macon and Dusty Hannahs -- the latter coming off the bench for the second game in a row — had 17 points each to lead the Razorbacks.
- Tennessee 90, Presbyterian 50: The Vols tied a school record with 16 three-pointers and notched their third win in a row, though before you read too much into it Presbyterian’s one of the worst teams in Division I. Freshman Lamonte Turner hit seven of those three-pointers and had a career-high 24 points; fellow freshman Jordan Bowden also set a career high with 21 and hit five three-pointers.
- Missouri 81, Miami (Ohio) 55: Missouri’s offense leaves a lot to be desired, but the Tigers’ defense could keep them in games... and, well, at least they can score on bad teams. In eight games this year, no team has even cracked a point per possession against Mizzou. Kevin Puryear had 19 points and 8 boards to lead the Tigers.
- Vanderbilt 90, High Point 63: High Point shot 12-of-15 from three... and lost by 27. That happened because (a) the Panthers shot 27 percent inside the arc, and (b) Vanderbilt made 19 three-pointers, a new school record. Vanderbilt had an eFG% of 77 percent, which is... not something you see every day. Matthew Fisher-Davis led the Commodores with 19 points; Riley LaChance had 14 points (on 4 field goal attempts!) and 7 assists.
- Duke 84, Florida 74: Florida hung tough but couldn’t quite catch up to Duke, who of course is one of the best teams in the country so there’s no shame in this one. KeVaughn Allen had 21 points for the Gators; John Egbunu had 12 boards and 3 blocks.
Today’s Schedule
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Valparaiso at Kentucky | 8:00 PM | SEC Network/WatchESPN |
| Denver at Texas A&M | 8:00 PM | SEC Network+/WatchESPN |
Scheduling both of tonight’s games to tip off at the same time seems like a weird oversight, though Texas A&M shouldn’t have much trouble with Denver (who’s currently 204th in KenPom.) Kentucky, on the other hand, welcomes a 7-1 Valparaiso team that features the nation’s second-leading scorer in Alec Peters, who’s averaging 25.4 ppg.
Odds and Picks
Yesterday: 3-0 ATS; Season to Date: 29-44-1 ATS
- Valparaiso at Kentucky (-19.5): Valpo has some nice wins, but they haven’t faced anyone remotely on Kentucky’s level (and if you think Oregon is, well, the Ducks beat Valpo by 22 points.) What’s more, Valpo gets an unusually large percentage of their scoring at the free throw line, and that’s probably not something you want to depend on going into Rupp Arena. Kentucky should win this one fairly easily.
- Denver (+21) at Texas A&M: The Aggies play pretty slow, and Denver can shoot the three. This won’t be particularly close, but this line still feels a few points too high. I think Denver loses this by 15 or so, so taking the points is the smarter play.