Bryan Power

10* Buffalo (6:05 ET): The Sabres were the talk of the league for awhile as they won 10 straight games back in November. But as I said in my analysis Friday, they've been nothing but mediocre otherwise. Take that one win streaak away and they're just 18-22-7 SU overall. Now I was still able to punch a winning ticket in their last game as I had the Over in a 6-2 loss to the Rangers. Note that had been a competitive game before a late barrage from the Rangers, who scored three times in the final four minutes. Desperation is really starting to grow for Buffalo as they are fifth in the Atlantic and five points out of the Wild Card. Fortunately for tonight, they find themselves in New Jersey where they'll take on the last place Devils. This is a critical two points for the Sabres and I think they grab them. 

I think it helps Buffalo here that NJ is off a win. As you might guess is the case w/ a last place team, the Devils don't win B2B games very often. Since starting the year 4-0, they have put together just three win streaks, two of them just the two game variety. It was a 5-4 win in Minnesota Friday, a game which went to overtime after the Devils rallied from a three-goal deficit. They trailed by two midway into the third period and didn't get the equalizer until only 2:45 was left in regulation. The Devils have still given up 17 goals the L3 games and are 9-20 SU after giving up 4+ in the last game. This isn't a good team and they lost 5-1 the last time they faced the Sabres. 

Of course, it hasn't helped the Devils' cause that they have been w/o MVP Taylor Hall. Goaltending has also been a real issue no matter who is between the pipes. Friday was Corey Schnieder's first win in 14 months! It's unclear who will get the start tonight, but none of the options are great. Buffalo has won three straight times off a SU loss and they are 10-4 SU this season following a loss by two or more goals. This is a really good price to go against a bad team like New Jersey. 10* Buffalo 

10* Creighton (3:00 ET): Revenge was a key theme to our success yday in College Hoops as two of our three winners had revenge for an earlier season loss. Creighton is in that same spot Sunday as they host Seton Hall. This is a pretty quick rematch as the teams just played last Saturday w/ the Pirates prevailing at home, 63-58, a game where neither side shot the ball well. Back in Omaha, Creighton should bounce back as it's getting to be desperation time for the Blue Jays, who have lost three in a row (all on the road). Once again, I'll lay the points w/ a revenge-minded short home favorite. 

Creighton was competitive in each of its three losses over the L2 weeks. They lost at Villanova by seven, Seton Hall by five and Xavier by three (in OT). Note that they didn't score more than 61 pts in any of those three games, which is atypical for a side that averages almost 80 PPG for the year. The last two games in particular saw poor shooting, the one vs. Seton Hall in particular where they finished just 30.3% from the field. It was their worst shooting night of the season. Anyway, expect a lot more offensively from the Blue Jays here as they return home where they average over 80 PPG (83.7 to be exact) on 51.6% shooting. Recent results are simply not indicative of what this team is capable of here. 

Seton Hall had lost five of six before beating Creighton eight days ago. After winning that first meeting, the Pirates were able to beat Georgetown earlier in the week, 90-75. That was also at home. The road has been unkind to Seton Hall in conference play as they've dropped five in a row away from home. Their last road win came at Xavier on 1/2. Now three of those five losses have been by four points or less. But I wouldn't trust them here as the Pirates are only 2-5 ATS this season after scoring 80+ points. Keep in mind that the majority of Creighton's Big East losses have been close games as well. Revenge and home court advantage are again key Sunday afternoon. 10* Creighton

8* Over Houston/Tulane (2:00 ET): As far as mismatches go, this just may be the biggest on the Sunday College Hoops card. Houston leads the American w/ an 11-1 SU conference record (24-1 SU overall) and has won nine straight games. Today, they're facing last place Tulane, who is 0-11 SU in conference play and 4-19 SU overall. Obviously, I'd love to play Houston here, but the spread is massive and I worry about a late game scenario where the underdog could pull out a backdoor cover. But there is the total, which was set too low as Houston should score "at will" here and Tulane should score enough to help push this one Over. 

Houston averages a healthy 75 PPG and should top that number today. The last time they faced a bottom-feeder from the conference was January 23rd vs. East Carolina and they scored 94 pts in that game. Now that was at home, but the Cougars' scoring doesn't drop off that much on the road. Plus, Tulane has allowed an average of 78.3 PPG in conference play. They just allowed 80 (here at home) on Thursday to Tulsa.

The lack of scoring from the Green Wave is a bit disconcerting, but it's not like they're going to shoot any worse here than they have in the last two games. They made only 27.6% of their FGA vs. Tulsa and only 36.7% at Wichita State last weekend. Houston is an excellent defensive team, but still, if this game were to get "out of hand" early (a distinct possibility!), then we probably won't be seeing the usual defensive intensity from the Cougars. Tulane's last four games have all stayed Under, but this number opened much lower than where those lines closed. Something like an 80-63 final certainly seems within the realm of possibility here and that would mean an Over. 8* Over Houston/Tulane