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Expert College Basketball Handicapping Roundup for 1/24/2025

by Ryan Cobbett - 1/24/2025

Expert college basketball handicapping roundup Chucky Hepburn Louisville Cardinals

With seven weeks left in the college basketball regular season, and time running out for some teams, let’s take a look at two bubble teams as they hope they can build a good enough resume to assure their position within the bracket. In addition to analyzing the bubble, we will also take a look at two regular season conference win totals that could add some money to your wallet. Here are some betting number to track over the remainder of the season.

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Regular Season Conference Wins

As we get deeper and deeper into conference play, let’s take a look at two surprise schools and see which side of the regular season conference win total they will be on as we are now just weeks away from tournament time.

Memphis Tigers 5-1 / O/U: 15.5

As it stands, the Memphis Tigers are 5-1 in the American and are in a three-way tie for first place with North Texas and UAB. With 12 games remaining in conference play, the Tigers would need to go 11-1 to hit the over on the conference regular season win total. They have already knocked off North Texas at home, but their conference schedule still includes road trips to North Texas, UAB, and Tulane, all of whom have winning records in conference play. In addition to traveling to UAB, they also have to host the Blazers. Memphis gave us a lot to get excited about during nonconference play, as they took down then No. 2 UConn, No. 16 Clemson at Clemson, and No. 16 Ole Miss. And while this is an impressive resume, they have also had some close calls. They got beat by 13 against Arkansas State while also losing on the road to Temple. Some of their wins include just a four-point home win over North Texas, another four point home win against East Carolina, and close games against UNLV and Viriginia in nonconference play. They have struggled offensively since AAC play began, as they are averaging just 75.2 PPG. In addition to their offensive struggles, their defense ranks just fifth in the conference in allowed PPG, and they are giving up nearly 13 offensive RPG, which is the most in their conference. With all the close calls, Memphis is bound to lose at least two games before the season is over.

Pick: Under 15.5, -152

Louisville Cardinals 8-1 / O/U: 16.5

The Cardinals have now given the ACC another ranked team this season. Louisville has won their last eight conference games, their last nine games overall, and has a rather easy go of it to end the season. At 8-1 in conference play, and needing nine wins to hit the over on the conference regular season win total, Louisville has 11 games remaining. That gives the Cardinals two mulligans with an easy schedule remaining. They have to travel to Georgia Tech, Boston College, NC State, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech, but those teams are a combined 11-28 in conference play. They rank in the Top Six in the conference in both scoring and scoring defense. They are holding opponents to less than 70 PPG, and their offense has been on an absolute tear over their last four games. Since January 11th, the Cardinals are averaging 86.5 PPG, and three of those four games were on the road. Chucky Hepburn has been a big difference-maker for Louisville, as he is leading the team in PPG (15.1), APG (6.4), and SPG (2.5) while also shooting 84.4% from the charity stripe. Louisville may not lose another ACC game this season, and they should be positioned nicely in the ACC Tournament.

Pick: Over 16.5, -114

Bubble Update

With just a few weeks left in the regular season, let’s do a deep dive on a couple of Big 10 teams who are fighting for a spot in March Madness.

Ohio State Buckeyes 11-8 (3-5) / To Make the Tournament: -160

As it stands now, the Ohio State Buckeyes are one of the Last Four In despite posting a mere 11-8 record and a losing record in conference play. Their nonconference performance gave them resume-boosting wins against then No. 4 Kentucky and No. 19 Texas. However, overall, the Buckeyes are just 3-5 against ranked teams this season and are just 1-3 against ranked Big 10 teams. It did help that they just knocked off No. 11 Purdue on the road, but the Buckeyes don’t have a lot of room for error over the remainder of the season. The biggest part of the Buckeyes is their perimeter play. They are shooting 37.8% from beyond the arc while suffocating opponents to just a 29.2% success rate from deep. Their +8.6% 3P% differential is the best in the conference and the sixth best mark in the nation. This needs to continue, while their offense as a whole needs to improve, as they are averaging just 72 PPG over their last four games. They have Iowa on deck, and the Hawkeyes play the worst defense in the conference. Therefore, this could be a good opportunity for the offense to get going. The Buckeyes also have road games against Indiana, No. 17 Illinois, USC, and Nebraska, which could all pad the resume. However, I don’t think the Buckeyes will do enough on their regular season resume and in the conference tournament, I do not see them making any moves against the top seeds.

Pick: The Buckeyes will not make the tournament, +120

Nebraska Cornhuskers 12-7 (2-6) / To Make the Tournament: +185

The Cornhuskers are currently the first team out of the tournament field as they have struggled in conference play and have lost their last five games. Their defense has been lost, as the Cornhuskers are allowing 86.6 PPG over their losing streak, which is way up from their 70.4 PPG allowed season average. While they did pick up a big nonconference win over then No. 14 Creighton, the rest of the resume is short, with only wins over then No. 15 UCLA and Indiana. However, their schedule is about to heat up, which could either save their season or end it. They will take their losing streak into a three-game stretch against ranked opponents, two of which are on the road. Their next game is at No. 18 Wisconsin, followed by No. 17 Illinois, and then a road trip out to Eugene to take on No. 15 Oregon. They may need a winning record over this three-game stretch to have an impressive enough resume to crack the tournament field, but that is highly unlikely and then there are another nine conference games waiting in the wings. Nebraska’s impressive start to the season was all for naught, as they swing and miss when it matters most.

Pick: The Cornhuskers will not make the tournament, -250

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