Bettin' Is A Habit - 1/31

We here at B.I.A.H don't fancy ourselves gamblers, but we do know a lot of people with crippling addictions to gambling. So why not help enable them, right? Semi-regularly, we will provide you a couple of picks and one lead-pipe-lock that you can take to the bank. But if you take our advice and don't win any money, you aren't allowed to come bash are knee-caps in.

Its a light night for college hoops, but there are a couple of lines that I like.

8:30 pm: Northern Colorado (11-8, 7-1) @ Northern Arizona (11-8, 3-4)

Northern Colorado has been the best team in the Big Sky since conference season kicked off. In fact, if it wasn't for a 40 footer at the buzzer over the weekend at Weber State, the Bears would be undefeated in the league at the midway point of the season. Northern Arizona has struggled to close out some close games this season, including a 68-67 loss to Weber State at home two weeks ago. The Lumberjacks do have a star in Cameron Jones, but UNC has done a pretty good job this season against big time back court players -- Demetri McCamey had just 11 points against the Bears while Santa Clara's Kevin Foster finished below his season average with 19 points. Oh, and UNC is getting 3.5 points. I like it.

The Pick: Northern Colorado +3.5


9:00 pm: No. 3 Texas @ No. 16 Texas A&M

The line in this game is Texas -1.5. I don't love it, and my gut tells me to stay away from it. That said, it looks great on paper. Texas A&M is a tough team at home, I'll admit that, but the Longhorns have been awesome of late, especially on the road. They came back from 15 down to beat Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse and then beat Oklahoma State by 15 in Gallagher-Iba Arena on the same night that the Cowboys were celebrating the ten year anniversary of the plane crash that killed ten members of their program. Throw that in with the beatdowns they handed Missouri this same Texas A&M team in the past 12 days, and there may not be a team playing better basketball than Texas right now, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

The Pick: Texas -1.5