College Hoops: Five Teams to Buy Low

It’s only seven weeks until Selection Sunday in college hoops. The college football season is over. There is only one NFL game remaining. The focus on college hoops is intense this time of the year. Let’s take a look at five teams I think you should consider buying low on the rest of the season.

Marquette (5-16-1 ATS) Unless you think Marquette has just quit for the season, they are likely a good buy low candidate. They are 5-16-1 ATS on the season. The team has lost a bunch of covers with poor play in the last two or three minutes of games. They rank 341st in luck factor at KenPom. They are at least better than they have shown. I’ll look for spots to grab them as an underdog.

Cincinnati (8-12 ATS) The Cincinnati Bearcats are 349th out of 365 teams in luck factor at KenPom. This is a really good defensive team. They are 11th in the nation in defensive efficiency. Bearcats fans are very unhappy with Coach Wes Miller, but I do still think he is a pretty good coach on the whole. The Bearcats play three of their next four games at home, and they are up against some of the weaker teams in the Big 12.

Western Carolina (5-12 ATS) Western Carolina is 5-12 ATS, but they are only -0.7 on an average ATS margin for the season. This team is better than they look against the spread. The Catamounts in a SoCon that is much weaker than it has been in recent years. They could easily go on a little run in this conference and it shouldn’t be a big surprise. 

Tennessee (7-12 ATS) This is a near term buy low potential for me. I don’t want to trust Rick Barnes in March, but the Volunteers have some advantageous spots coming in the next few weeks. This is still a team that plays really good defense and battles all the way to the end. If people want to completely throw them out, I’ll look for near term situational spots where I think they can cover.

Bradley (7-14 ATS) Coach Wardle has proven himself as an excellent head coach. The Braves are always going to be a tough out later in the season. This team has underachieved expectations, but I’m trusting the coaching staff to get them playing their best at the most important time of the season. The MVC has no dominant team, and Bradley could make a run.