Posted at 3:30 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle +117 BET365 +115 Sportsinteraction +115 888Sport +115

Charlotte +117 over South Florida

Yuengling Center, Tampa, FL

Streaming: ESPN2

9:00 PM EST. On the surface, this might look even on paper, but a deeper dive shows that one of these two programs has been feasting on the fat. We’ll start with the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls, who have a sweet tooth as big as any you’ll find in Division I, as they have played a weak non-conference schedule that ranks just 318-of-362 graded schools at college basketball’s highest level.

The Bulls were not pegged to contend in the American Conference, as the preseason prognostications had Amir Abdur-Rahim struggling in his first season in Tampa to turn around a team that went just 14-18 last year and finished eighth in the conference. Instead, the Bulls posted a tidy 15-5 record, including an 8-1 mark, which leads the conference, but many of those wins came against weak competition like South Carolina State (322), Arkansas Pine-Bluff (330), UAlbany (268), Alabama State (292), Temple (245) twice, Rice (195), UT-San Antonio (283), and East Carolina (190).

Meanwhile, the 49ers of Charlotte are also atop the American with an 8-1 record, and they sit 14-7 overall, but unlike the Bulls, the ‘Niners have played the 111 toughest non-conference schedule in the nation. The 49ers have some notable wins, including one against current #20 Florida Atlantic, as well as others against George Mason (96), North Texas (83), UAB (131), and Tulane (113). The oddsmakers may have this one pegged as a near 50/50 proposition, but that could not be further from the truth. The 49ers are the superior side here, and they are in a tremendous position to win this game outright and send us skipping to the pay window.

Sherwood

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