Jim Feist

Georgia State Panthers are 2-1 S/U and 1-1 ATS entering tonight's play. The Panthers are coming off their first loss against Mercer, 69-86. They did beat non div 1 Toccoa Falls and also beat Georgia Tech. GA State has four starters back to a team that was 19-13 overall last year and 4th in the Sun Belt. HC Rob Lanier took over the team last year and had big shoes to fill as the team won the previous two Sun Belt titles. Back court will be their strength as they return all back court players from last year. It's the frontcourt that needs to step up this year and if that happens they should be good. Charlotte has just one game this season, a loss to East Carolina, 57-66. Charlotte has two starters returning to a team that was 16-13 last year. The 49ers did double their win total last season under Ron Sanchez's second year with the club. The backcourt will be the strength of the team, but they will have to improve their offense if they hope to compete in the Conf USA. The team has plenty of talent coming in and that should help. Sanchez seems to be heading this team in the right direction. Taking points at home here with Charlotte looks like the play for me tonight. Play Charlotte.

Wisconsin Badgers enter tonight 3-0 S/U and 1-2 ATS on the young season. The Badgers are coming off a blowout win against Wisconsin Green Bay, 82-42. It was their first cover in three contests. Wisconsin will be one of the favorites to win the Big 10 again this year after being tied for 1st last season with a 14-6 conference record and 21-10 overall mark. They return four starters to this team this season. This team has Final Four aspirations with six seniors and lots of experience returning. Today will be their toughest matchup against Marquette. The Golden Eagles are 2-1 S/U and ATS so far. Their lone loss coming last game against Oklahoma State, 62-70. Marquette has two starters returning to a team that was 18-12 last year and 6th in the Big East. This team is in a bit of a rebuilding mode this year. They will once again be great on the boards, but they need to find that long shooting threat. Today, Marquette gets points at home and that's worth a shot for me. I'll take the points with Marquette.

North Texas Mean Green is 1-1 S/U and ATS in their two games this season. They opened with a win over Mississippi Valley State, 116-62 and then lost to Arkansas, 54-69 as a 8-point dog. North Texas has three starters returning to a team that was 20-11 overall last year and 14-4 and tied for 1st in the Conference USA. They have four of six top scorers returning this year. They will have to work on turnovers that had them ranked 284th nationally last year. But this is a talented group of players who should do well this year. The Mississippi State Bulldogs are 1-2 S/U and ATS this year. They got their first win and cover last time out with a win over Texas State, 68-51. They had previous losses to Liberty and Clemson. North Texas getting some points here tonight is too much for me to pass on. Take North Texas.

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are 2-2 S/U and 3-1 ATS entering play here tonight. SD State is coming off a nice win over Iowa State, 71-68 as a 1.5-point dog. They returned all five of their starters from a team that went 22-10 last year and tied for 1st in the Summit league with a 13-5 record. They are favorites to win the league this year and they have the talent and experience to make the NCAA and do well. Bradley is 3-1 S/U and 1-1 ATS on the season. They have played two weak teams in Judson College and Oakland with wins in both. However, they failed to cover the 15.5 point favorite spread against Oakland. They lost to Xavier in a close game, 50-51 and beat Toledo, 61-59. The Braves only returned two starters to a team that was 23-11 last year and third in the Missouri Valley conference. They won't likely content for the conference crown this year with UNI and Loyola packing all the power. This will be a tough game for them today against this talented SD State team. I'll take State and lay the 1 point or so. Play South Dakota State.

Oregon has only one game played and that was a loss to Missouri, 75-83 as a 3-point favorite. The Ducks have just two starters back to their PAC-12 conference winning team from last year that finished 24-7 overall and 13-5 in the conference. Despite just two returns to the starting lineup, this will be a team with lots of combined experience and should be loaded once again. The fine tuning to get the right combinations will come early and thus their loss to Missouri. That might just happen again here tonight as they continue to find the winning adjustments. Seton Hall is 1-2 S/U and 2-1 ATS thus far. The Pirates covered their first two games against Iona and Louisville. They lost last time out and failed to cover the spread against Rhode Island, 63-76. Seton Hall has two starters back to a 21-9 team from last year. They tied for 1st in the Big East with a 13-5 record, first time doing this since 1993. Seton Hall has posted 20-win seasons the last five years. Seton Hall might not have the senior talent it had last year, but they have the pieces to be very good and get those 20 wins again this season. Tonight, I'm taking Seton Hall as Oregon still finding it's right combinations. Play Seton Hall.

This is a rematch of the last two Sun Belt Championship games. Louisiana will play for another belt while App State will miss out due to their loss to Coastal Carolina. The App State Mountaineers look to spoil the Top 25 ranking of Louisiana here tonight. Louisiana coming off a big blowout of UL Monroe last week, 70-20. Louisiana is 8-1 this year, their only loss coming to Coastal Carolina who they will meet in the championship game. App State also lost to Coastal Carolina a few weeks ago, 23-34. They also lost to Marshal earlier this year. App State won this game last year, 45-38 in a shootout despite Louisiana having 18 more plays. It was the three Louisiana turnover that made the difference. I look for a different outcome here tonight. I'll take the 2.5 or 3 points with the Ragin Cajuns in this one. Play Louisiana.

Doesn't get much better than No 1 against No 2 as Gonzaga and Baylor meetup here in the Jimmy V classic. Gonzaga Bulldogs are 3-0 S/U and 2-1 ATS to start the season. They only spread loss was last time out to West Virginia in a 87-82 win as a 8.5 point favorite. As for Baylor, they are 3-0 both S/U and ATS. This is going to be some game, but rather then get involved in a side I'm looking at the UNDER. Baylor returned four starters to a team that was 26-4 last year and 2nd in the Big 12. Gonzaga returns just two starters to it's 31-2 team from last year. The Zags had to replace their top four scorers from last season, which seems like a non-issue thus far. Both teams have offensive weapons, but for me I'm looking at this game as a defensive in nature. Baylor is always an excellent defensive team and with a couple of guards under Covid protocols on Gonzaga, I'll take the points here with Baylor.

Doesn't get much better than No 1 against No 2 as Gonzaga and Baylor meetup here in the Jimmy V classic. Gonzaga Bulldogs are 3-0 S/U and 2-1 ATS to start the season. They only spread loss was last time out to West Virginia in a 87-82 win as a 8.5 point favorite. As for Baylor, they are 3-0 both S/U and ATS. This is going to be some game, but rather then get involved in a side I'm looking at the UNDER. Baylor returned four starters to a team that was 26-4 last year and 2nd in the Big 12. Gonzaga returns just two starters to it's 31-2 team from last year. The Zags had to replace their top four scorers from last season, which seems like a non-issue thus far. Both teams have offensive weapons, but for me I'm looking at this game as a defensive in nature and my own numbers return a value that is quite a bit under the high 150's posted on this game. I'm taking a shot on the UNDER here today. Play UNDER.

Texas A&M plays its last scheduled game of the season here today. The Aggies defense has come alive the last two games, holding both LSU and South Carolina to a combined 10 points while scoring 68 themselves. A&M is now 6-1 S/U and 3-4 ATS on the season. Auburn also on its last scheduled game is coming off a beating at the hands of Alabama, 13-42. That loss broke a three-game win streak for the Tigers. Auburn is 5-3 S/U and 4-4 ATS on the season. A&M has the 47th ranked offense in the nation while Auburn comes in at 66th. A&M has a very good defense, ranked 20th overall with Auburn coming in at 65th. Auburn playing at home here today getting points is really a bargain for me. I believe they win this game outright, but I'll still take the points. Play Auburn.