| With conference tournament action heating up, here are four picks for Friday from The Linemakers on Sporting News: Purdue (-5.5, 133) vs. Penn State, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN: A lot has changed since these teams met on Jan. 17, an 84-77 Purdue (+1) win in overtime at Penn State. The Boilermakers were a squad trying to find its identity after bad losses to North Florida and Gardner Webb, and they accomplished that against Penn State. Then, they continued a strong Big-10 run that afforded them a couple of byes as a No. 4 seed in the Big-10 Tournament. They're on a 10-2 ATS run, and as everyone in the conference found out, the two alternating 7-footers Purdue puts out there for the entire 40-minutes makes them a difficult team to attack. Penn State will have trouble again against the Boilermakers. Purdue -5.5 is the play. Indiana vs. Maryland (-2, 143) 6:30 p.m. ET, BTN: Maryland has been the better team throughout the season and is in better current form. Having lost to Indiana once this season and narrowly escaping with a win at home, the Terps won't be taking the Hoosiers lightly today. They're also fresh of a bye, while Indiana has to come back with less than 24 hours rest. Feels like a good spot for Maryland, so we'll lay the bucket here. Picks on a few more early games are right here. North Carolina vs. Virginia (-4.5, 122.5), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN: Virginia is so good at controlling the pace of its games, but the Cavaliers will have trouble forcing it upon UNC, a team that averages 78 ppg. In their lone meeting during the regular season, Virginia (-1) won 75-64 at Chapel Hill, sending the game OVER 129. Virginia may win the game, but Carolina will dictate the pace. The play is on the OVER. UCLA vs. Arizona (-11, 139), 9:10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network: Arizona -11 looks a little rich, but the number that really looks high is the total. UCLA has put up some big numbers in recent games where its opponents couldn't control the pace -- such as USC twice, Washington State and Washington -- but Arizona is a different story. The Wildcats play a great brand of defense. When these teams met Feb. 21 at Arizona, the Wildcats won 57-47. The UNDER here looks like one of the better plays of the day. Get more picks on the evening games here. Win a seat at the SuperContest: Register for Satellite Series |
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