This article is part of our College Basketball Picks series.
Happy Sunday, everyone! During last week's Sunday/Monday turn, I went 4-2, extending my run in this space to 9-3 since December 19th and 21-16/+5 overall. Let's stay hot with today's small but high-powered scheduled.
Xavier vs 
Marquette
As predicted, Shaka Smart is doing some serious work back in his home state. Marquette is well ahead of schedule, and his Golden Eagles have the second-most efficient offense in the country. Today, however, marks Marquette's toughest task since a November 15th trip to Purdue where the Boilermakers won by five. Xavier has won 10 straight since their narrow loss to Gonzaga in Portland on Nov 27 as Sean Miller continues his resurrection tour. Both teams have been cover machines, but with the soft spot in their schedule coming up, I expect Xavier to be fully focused on defending its home court. The hook scares me a little, but Xavier should have enough to cover this one.
College Basketball Best Bet: Xavier -3.5 (universal)
Memphis at 
Temple
Regularly, I would not advise Memphis as a road favorite, but the Tigers need a solid win and have feasted on lesser teams all year. Against teams ranked in the KenPom 100s, Memphis is 3-0 this year with wins by eight, seven and 10. Memphis is, by far, the best team Temple has hosted so far this year, and the Tigers have owned this series the last couple of years. They have been favorites in the last three contests and are 3-0 SU and ATS in them. I don't see that changing for any reason today. How about a nice 9-point victory to fill in the sequence above?
College Basketball Best Bet: Memphis -5.5 (@ DraftKings)
Iowa vs 
Maryland
Iowa is clearly a different team with stud Kris Murray fully back in the fold, and the Hawkeyes have to feel rather invincible at the moment after their improbable win and cover vs. Michigan on Thursday. Maryland is a solid team, but the Terps have yet to win a game of any consequence on the road. In fact, the Terps have been obliterated in their last two with a 35-point loss at Michigan and a 14-point loss at Rutgers in January. The Hawkeyes have won the last three in this series in convincing fashion and, once again, I see nothing that shows a change in that trend. Iowa wins comfortably.
College Basketball Best Bet: Iowa -5 (@ PointsBet)
Sunday College Basketball Best Bets:
Here's a recap of my best college basketball bets for Sunday, January 15:
- Xavier -3.5 (universal)
- Memphis -5.5 (@ DraftKings)
- Iowa -5 (@ PointsBet)
For up-to-date information on the latest college basketball odds and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the College Basketball odds page on RotoWire.
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