That’s more like it. The college basketball world seemed to steady itself last night with all eight games being won by the favorite, or at least the higher seed. That’s not going to happen every night, and there were still some underdogs who covered but it’s comforting to see the associated press start to be a little more accurate with their top 25 rankings.

With just five games on tap tonight, and all of them featuring a heavily favored team it may be easy to look at Wednesday’s action and think the outcomes are going to repeat themselves. Just remember that these kids are just that, kids. Anything can happen once the ball is tipped and that’s why we’re here to see if we can give you and edge when it comes time to lay down a bet. Let’s get to it!

Missouri Tigers at #24 Florida Gators

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• Missouri (+22) at Florida (-22)

Missouri’s “mizz-erable” season continues on Thursday night as the Tigers enter Florida to take on the Gators. Missouri is just 5-15 on the season and 0-8 in conference play and have lost 12 straight games since December 6^th.  That number grows when you focus on just conference play where the Tigers have lost 13 straight in SEC competition.

Now they have to take on a Gators take that is coming off back to back road wins by an average of 33.5 points. Florida looked down and out after dropping two games to South Carolina and Vanderbilt but silenced the doubters with two massive road wins over LSU and Oklahoma.

With an even bigger game coming up against Kentucky on Saturday the Gators could make the mistake of looking past the Tigers and assuming a win is guaranteed. Kentucky is still going to be there no matter what, so the Gators need to zero in and take care of business at home against a struggling opponent.

Missouri’s struggles don’t just date to this season. A once prominent program a few years back the Tigers have now lost 30 straight home games stretching back to 2014 and have to yet to pick up a victory away from home under third year coach Kim Anderson.

The Tigers have some promising players in sophomore Kevin Puryear and Jordan Barnet who have combined for 23.1 points and 13.3 rebounds this season and senior Russell Woods appears to have started to take the losing personally. He put in a valiant effort against South Carolina with a career high 18 points but it still wasn’t enough.

The Gators counter with KeVaughn Allen who leads the team with 13.6 points per game and Canyon Barry and Devin Robinson who have both averaged double digit scoring to combine for 24.6 points.

Key Matchup

Terrence Phillips against Kasey Hill. If the Tigers have any chance of staying in this game Phillips is going to need to hit some threes. He leads the team with 30 made on 89 attempts for the season, but now he has to go up against Kasey Hill and his two steals a game. It might be tough to get his shot off.

Advice

Florida is just 11-8 against the spread this season and while they’re clearly the more talented basketball team, trying to win by more than 22 points is the last thing on their minds as they look ahead to Kentucky. Take Missouri on the spread and hope they take a little more pride on Thursday night.

#5 Arizona Wildcats at Oregon State Beavers

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• Arizona (-16.5) at Oregon State (+16.5)

Another huge mismatch appears on the schedule for Thursday night when the Wildcats head into Oregon to take on the Beavers. Arizona is 20-2 overall and undefeated in conference play with a sparkling 9-0 record this season. The Beavers record isn’t quite up to par. Oregon is just 4-18 on the season and yet to pick up a win in conference play with a brutal 0-9 record.

Making matters worse for Oregon is the loss of their sophomore stud Tres Tinkle who injured his wrist earlier in the year. He leads the team in points per game with 20.2 while also bringing down 8.3 rebounds and dishing out 2.3 assists a night.

The Wildcats are on the opposite end of the spectrum and went from good to great when they got Allonzo Trier back in the lineup after he missed the first 19 games for a suspension due to the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Trier is chipping in with 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds and has turned over the ball just twice compared to his 14 assists on the year. Trier is averaging that production coming off the bench, but if he continues to play at such a high level the coach’s hand may be forced to thrust him into the starting lineup.

The Wildcats have four other double digit scorers in Kadeem Allen, Kobi Simmons, Rawle Alkins and Dusan Ristic and are one of the deepest teams in the nation let alone the conference.

That’s bad news for the Beavers who are without Tinkle, but they still have one ace up their sleeve. Stephen Thomas III is coming off a monster game against Utah when he dropped a career best 30 points and brought his average up to 17.1 a game. That production will need to continue if the Beavers want any chance of snapping the Wildcats’ 14 game winning  streak.

Key Matchup

Stephen Thompson III against Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen wasn’t talked about much in the preview, but the eventual NBA lottery pick is having himself quite a year. He’s averaging 16.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists with 52.6 percent shooting from the field. He’s a stud, and unless Thompson can counter with another big game the Beavers are going to be in trouble.

Advice

The Wildcats are just 11-9-2 against the spread but taking on the worst team in the conference. The Beavers are just 4-7 at home and without their best player. Take Arizona to cover.

#1 Gonzaga Bulldogs at BYU Cougars

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• Gonzaga (-8.5) at BYU (+8.5)

The Bulldogs and Cougars clash at the Marriot Center in Utah on Thursday night and it will be arguably the biggest regular season game in school history for BYU. The Cougars have never beat a number one ranked team at home and the last time they beat a number 1 team was back in 2007 on the road in North Carolina.

It’s a big game for the Bulldogs as well. At 22-0 this season Gonzaga is trying to break the school record of 22 straight wins set in 2014. The Bulldogs are the only undefeated team left in the country but it won’t be easy to keep that up against a solid Cougars team.

BYU is 16-7 this season and a very respectable 7-3 in conference play, but it’s the atmosphere that will be the biggest factor against this Gonzaga club. The Marriot Center holds an enormous capacity crowd of 18,987 and every seat is expected to be full on Thursday night.

Gonzaga is known for playing team-first basketball, and that will come in handy when they have to try and shut out the noise on the road. The Bulldogs are led by a bunch of players all with at least three years of college experience and their balanced scoring attack is evidence of their teamwork. Junior guard Nigel Williams-Goss paces the Bulldogs in scoring with 14.8 points per game, but Jonathon Williams chips in with 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds of his own while Jordan Matthews averaged 10.5 points while shooting just under 40 percent from beyond the arc.

BYU trots out a bunch of young faces to surround veteran L.J. Rose. The other four players are made up of two sophomores and two freshmen including Nick Emery and T.J. Haws who have combined to average 27 points and six assists a night. That effort will need to be even more ramped up against the best team they’ve played this season.

Key Matchup

Nigel Williams-Goss against Eric Mika. Mika leads the Cougars in scoring with 20.8 points per game but hasn’t gone up against a defense quite like Williams-Goss and his Bulldogs teammates. Goss leads the team with 1.6 steals per game and cleans up on the board. Good luck Mika.

Advice

It’s going to be rocking in BYU and the Cougars are a solid club, but Gonzaga continues to prove to everyone that they’re for real this season. Take the Bulldogs to cover on the spread on the road.

Arizona Sun Devils at #13 Oregon Ducks

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• Arizona State (+16.5) at Oregon (-16.5)

Our second battle of Arizona and Oregon teams take place on Thursday night though the roles are very much reveres. Whereas Arizona is ranked #5 in the country their Arizona State counterparts enter having lost five of their six games within the conference and are coming off a brutal 91-83 loss to Washington State on their home court when they were outscored by 11 in the second half.

The Ducks meanwhile are ranked 13^th in the country and chasing the other Arizona squad for top spot in the Pac 12. They set the school record earlier this season with 17 straight wins before an uncharacteristic loss at Colorado.

They still sit at 19-3 on the season and 8-1 in conference play and will try to avoid a losing streak by getting Dillon Brooks back to his usual self. Brooks is coming off the worst game of his season when he scored just six points to watch his average drop to 13.4 on the season.

Chris Boucher moved to the bench to give Brooks more playing time but has arguably been the better player between the two and it will be interesting to see if he gets more run against Arizona state. Boucher is averaging 12.8 points and 6.9 rebounds to go along with an excellent 2.8 blocks a game despite not starting.

The Ducks will need both players to show up if they are going to handle business agianst the Sun Devils. If Arizona ever figures out how to stop their opponents from scoring, they may be able to rattle of a few wins. The Sun Devils are second in the conference at scoring with 81.7 points per game but let in a shocking 83.7 points get scored against them, a mark that ranks dead last in the conference.

Arizona is led by Torian Graham and Tra Holder who are averaging 18.7 and 17.7 points respectively, numbers that rank second and third overall in the conference. If they can get hot and the defense can show up than the Sun Devils may give themselves a fighting chance.

Key Matchup

Torian Graham against Chris Boucher. Boucher’s 2.8 blocks are enough to worry about as it is, but he’s also capable of scoring and by coming off the bench he enters the game each night with a different sort of energy. That will be tough for Graham to contend with while also trying to get buckets himself.

Advice

Getting 16.5 points on the road is nice, but not enough for how good the Ducks have been this season. The Sun Devils just don’t have the defense to stop Oregon, and their offense can’t carry them enough to cover those points. Take Oregon on the spread.

#16 Saint Mary’s Gaels at Pacific Tigers

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• Saint Mary’s (-15.5) at Pacific (+15.5)

It’s tough to call games “must-wins” this early on the season, but for the Gaels it truly might be. Saint Mary’s is trying to keep pace with Gonzaga to remain within striking distance of catching them for first place in the West Coast Conference and a win would go a long way in accomplishing that feat.

The Gaels have won four straight since dropping their last game to that aforementioned Gonzaga team and are off to their best start ever since 2011. They’re taking on a team heading in the opposite direction. Pacific has dropped five straight and eight of their last ten games.

Now they have to deal with the Gaels and Jock Londale who dropped his ninth double double of the season when he racked up 20 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Santa Clara. Jock and the rest of his teammates were also lights out form the field, shooting a wild 57.1 percent from the floor.

Saint Mary’s now has three straight games where they’ve shot at least 57 percent from the field, and that trend is expected to continue against the struggling Tigers. Pacific is coming off a n 81-60 loss to USF and shot under 40 percent in the defeat.

Pacific is a team that relies on the three ball and yet hasn’t been successful doing it in quite some time. If they find their shot isn’t falling early again they may have to start thinking about another strategy before the Gaels roll right over them.

Key Matchup

Ray Bowles against Joe Rahon. Bowles leads the team in three point shooting, and those need to continue to drop if Pacific has any hope of staying in the ballgame. Easier said than done against the Gaels’ defense and Joe Rahon who averages just under a steal a game. He also leads the team in minutes and runs the offense with 6.0 assists per contest, something Bowles will have to worry about defending against as well.

Advice

Covering 15.5 points on the road is tough for anyone, and as bad as Pacific has been all season we think they can knock down a couple threes to stay within striking distance. Take Pacific on the spread.