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Tonight’s Schedule
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Florida at Auburn | 7:00 PM | SEC Network/WatchESPN |
| Tennessee at Kentucky | 7:00 PM | ESPN/WatchESPN |
| Mississippi State at Georgia | 9:00 PM | ESPNU/WatchESPN |
| LSU at Ole Miss | 9:00 PM | SEC Network/WatchESPN |
I’ve always been curious why cable networks that carry college basketball games insist on setting the schedule for the entire season before the season even starts. In October, you really don’t know which games are going to be the most important by the time February rolls around; unlike college football, where networks cover themselves by waiting until a week or two before the games are played to set the schedules, college basketball will sometimes wind up with a rather meaningless or otherwise bad February game will get major play. For instance, last Tuesday night ESPN was for some reason televising an awful LSU team playing at Kentucky while the four-overtime affair between South Carolina and Alabama was relegated to the SEC Network.
And yet, sometimes these guys look like geniuses. In October, putting Tennessee at Kentucky in a prime-time slot on ESPN looked curious, but Kentucky is looking for revenge against the surprising Vols in what’s suddenly a game with lots of potential bubble implications. Of course -- the SEC Network game between Florida and Auburn is kind of interesting, too!
As for the late games, I wrote yesterday about how Georgia and Ole Miss are on the fringes of the bubble and neither one can afford a home loss to the likes of Mississippi State or LSU.
Odds and Picks
Season to Date: 93-114-1 ATS
- Tennessee (+14) at Kentucky: In recent weeks, picking against Kentucky has been pretty profitable: the Wildcats only covered against Alabama on Saturday because Alabama shot 9-of-26 at the foul line. Yeah, I think Kentucky will win this by about 12 points...
- Florida at Auburn (+10): Even as well as Florida’s been playing of late, this number seems like too much to ask against an improving Auburn team on the road.
- Mississippi State at Georgia (-8): Georgia finally won one of those close ones last time out, and I think they’ll carry over the momentum from that win to take care of Mississippi State.
- LSU at Ole Miss (-11.5): LSU is still bad at basketball.