March 13 CBB Lines

The January 12 CBB lines are live on BetRivers.com, and with college football in the rearview mirror, it’s finally time for college basketball to take center stage.

The Tuesday, January 12 CBB lines provide a little bit of everything, including a road favorite and two ranked matchups.

Find the latest College Basketball odds with BetRivers. Online sports betting is easy and safe when you choose the right online betting site.

Rob Dauster, a longtime national college basketball writer, and co-founder of the Field of 68 Podcast Network, took a gander at the January 12 CBB lines and breaks down the numbers that matter.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL ODDS: JANUARY 12 CBB ODDS

#9 WISCONSIN (10-2. 4-1) at MICHIGAN (10-0, 5-0), 7:00 p.m.
MONEYLINE: Michigan -167. Wisconsin +140
SPREAD: Michigan -3.5
OVER/UNDER: 134.5 points
Click here for the full list of Wisconsin-Michigan odds.

Now this is where it really starts to feel like college basketball season.

The national title game in football happens on a Monday. On a Tuesday, we get a battle for first place in the ACC, the SEC and, in the case of this particular matchup, the Big Ten.

Michigan has been one of the most surprising teams in college basketball this season. A borderline top 25 team the Wolverines have looked every bit the part of a Big Ten title contender through the first six weeks of the season, but this will be their first real test of the season. It’s the first time they’ll face a team that ranks in the top 30 on KenPom. It’s the first time they’ll face a team that has a top 45 defense. It’s the first time that one of the best freshmen in America, Hunter Dickinson, will go up against a frontline as big, as old, and as talented as this.

For my money, in a season where home-court advantage can be somewhat minimized, four points is too many points in this spot.

Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers have the size inside. Wisconsin has enough big wings to be able to matchup with Isaiah Livers, Franz Wagner and Chaundee Brown. And if there is one place where Michigan struggles, it’s running teams off of the three-point line, where Wisconsin shoots 41.4 percent.

#19 DUKE (5-2, 3-0) at #20 VIRGINIA TECH (9-2, 3-1), 7:00 p.m.
MONEYLINE:  Duke -124, Virginia Tech +104
SPREAD: Duke -1.5
OVER/UNDER: 141.5

Click here for the full list of Duke-Virginia Tech Odds.

After a slow start to the season, losing to both Michigan State and Illinois at home, Duke has turned things around in ACC play. They are 3-0 and sitting in first place in the league standings with wins at Notre Dame and, in the last six days, home wins over Boston College and Wake Forest.

But here’s the problem: Those are three of the teams that are going to finish near the bottom of the league. Virginia Tech? They’re good. They’ve beaten Villanova. They’ve beaten Clemson. They’ve covered in four of their last five home games and their only two losses this season have come on the road. Duke, on the other hand, is 1-6 against the spread this season.

To be honest, I actually think that Duke is starting to get better. Matthew Hurt is playing some really, really efficient basketball, Jeremy Roach looks like he’s figuring things out and there was a flash of Wendell Moore looking like a player at one point last week.

But I’m still riding the #FadeDuke bandwagon, especially as a road favorite against an undervalued Virginia Tech team.

That +112 moneyline looks great to me.

SYRACUSE (7-2, 1-1) at NORTH CAROLINA (7-4, 1-2), 9 p.m. 
MONEYLINE: North Carolina -177, Syracuse +148
SPREAD: North Carolina -4
OVER/UNDER: 145 points
Click here for the full list of North Carolina-Syracuse odds.

This is such a weird matchup to tout.

On the one hand, Syracuse is one of the best teams in the country at forcing opponents to shoot contested threes, and if there is one thing that we have learned about North Carolina this season, it’s that they cannot shoot.

So that’s a plus for the Orange.

The problem?

The Tar Heels have the biggest and strongest front line in the country. They go four-deep. The Preseason ACC Player of the Year is now coming off of the bench. They obliterate the offensive glass, and the Orange cannot rebound out of that zone even when Bourama Sidibe is healthy.

So I’ll be on the Tar Heels here.