A Pair of Plays in the Jimmy V Classic

College basketball season is ramping up as college football season winds down with the Bowl games approaching. Now we are getting into some of the tournaments in basketball and approaching the holiday tournaments. There really is no clear cut great team in the sport so that leaves a lot of doors open. Let's take a look at a few games for tonight's slate.

Illinois vs. Texas, 7:00 ET

Once again, I can't put this on an actual legal book in Illinois because they have one of the dumbest rules in all of sports betting - you can't bet on an Illinois's college game in Illinois. Anyway, I wouldn't be betting on them anyway, I'd be betting on Texas. Why? Mostly for one reason - defense. I like the way that Texas has started this season defensively. Aside from their last game, they haven't even been really challenged. Against Gonzaga, one of the better teams in the country, they beat them by almost 20 points. Even though they aren't the Gonzaga team from last year, they still have some talent. Illinois has been solid this season as well. They do have two losses on the season including a loss to Maryland in their last game. In order for them to win this game they'll need to be aggressive and not settle for jump shots. They have a legitimate shot if they can get Texas in foul trouble. However, for Texas, if they play their typical game, they should be able to escape with a win. This game is on national television and at Madison Square Garden. It could come down to which coach prepares his team better. In this case I think that is Chris Beard. I'm playing Texas -2.5 in the game.

Iowa vs. Duke, 9:30 ET

Duke gets a lot of hype about their prospects and the players that are on the roster that will advance to the pro level. However, Iowa has some talent that should advance to the next level as well, namely Kris Murray. Murray's brother is already in the NBA playing for the Kings. Tonight, he gets to be the showcase in a Jimmy V Classic game. These two teams actually match up rather well and Iowa can move the ball rather effectively. Duke is still trying to figure out how to play together a bit and will likely need a couple more games in order to get there. Both teams are in rather good form having won four of their past five games. I expect this game to see a faster pace and with players on both side looking to make a name for themselves under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden and on national television, I'm taking the over 146.5.

A few other smaller plays I like tonight... Butler and Yale square off in a matchup that sees them combine for 154.7 points of offense per game. Defensively though, they have been very stingy. Combined on that side they are at 118.2 points. I think the books have adjusted the line a bit too low and we should see closer to 140 in this one. Play the over. One other game I like is Idaho to cover the -4 against North Dakota. Neither of these teams are very good but Idaho seems to have figured a bit out and North Dakota is slipping right now. I'm taking Idaho to win the game and cover the spread at home.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024