Tuesday’s nine-game slate in the ACC/SEC Challenge delivered on the promise — and then some! — with six upsets, including an OT thriller in South Carolina, and a down-to-the-wire Duke win (albeit, as a favorite) over reigning champion Florida in Durham. It’ll be hard to top Wednesday as the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge comes to an end.
But conditions are favorable for more chaos! Of the seven games on the schedule, three games have spreads by one possession or fewer — one of which involves No. 6 Louisville on the road facing a No. 25 Arkansas team.
The ACC has a 6-3 lead entering the second day of the event but that advantage is hardly safe. SEC teams are favored in six of the seven games on Wednesday to set up for a potential second-day comeback. And after the SEC won the event 14-2 last year, there’s a clean path to victory for a second consecutive season.
Kentucky basketball hits early season crossroads as Mark Pope’s honeymoon flames out in loss to North Carolina
David Cobb
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook | All times ET
No. 6 Louisville at No. 25 Arkansas
7 p.m. on ESPN, fuboTV (try for free): Arkansas lost four times at home last season under John Calipari so it’s hardly a lock it gets this done vs. a top-10 Cardinals team. But even in those games — where, I will just add for context, Arkansas was at a crisis of identity before finding its groove late in the season — the Razorbacks still managed to be competitive. That’s what I’m betting on here. Taking the 3.5 points on the home team. Pick: Arkansas +3.5 — Boone
7:15 p.m. on ESPNU, fuboTV (try for free): Alabama wins this one but Clemson keeps it close. Clemson’s a top-20 defensive unit guarding 3s by percentage — and Alabama wants to win by gashing you from distance. If the Tigers can run them off the 3-point line or, at the very least, force them into tough shots or to attack inside, then this one could be close. Pick: Clemson +10.5 — Boone
7:15 p.m. on ACC Network, fuboTV (try for free): LSU’s the better team with the better record and Boston College has losses, among others, to Davidson and Central Connecticut. Ouch. But 7.5 points is more than I’d be willing to lay on the favorite in this spot given LSU is playing away from home and B.C. — record aside — has largely been competitive. Pick: Boston College +8.5 — Boone
9:15 p.m. on ESPN, fuboTV (try for free): This is NC State’s first true road test of the Will Wade era. So far it is perfect at home but just 1-2 in neutral site games. Auburn, meanwhile, is perfect in true home games, though one of its two losses came in a de facto home game vs. Houston in Birmingham. I like the Pack to keep this one close. Darrion Williams is a tough cover and will give the Tigers matchup fits. Pick: NC State +8.5 — Boone
9:15 p.m. on ESPNU, fuboTV (try for free): Texas has some momentum rolling into this one after a big win over NC State during Thanksgiving week. Dailyn Swain and Jordan Pope’s scoring abilities match up well vs. a Virginia team that’s struggled defensively. Pick: Texas -2.5 — Boone
9:15 p.m. on SEC Network, fuboTV (try for free): This is a big number to lay — but I’m laying it. Why not? Vanderbilt is eighth nationally in scoring margin this season and burning teams up with its high-octane offense and tempo-driven scheme. It can score in bunches and bury you. Pick: Vanderbilt -10.5 — Boone
9:15 p.m. on ACC Network, fuboTV (try for free): Last but certainly not least on our picks menu: a dandy out at McCamish Pavilion between two evenly-matched teams. Mississippi State’s a 3.5-point favorite on the road facing a Georgia Tech team that has lost two-straight but is perfect on its home floor this season. This one might be a stay-away, to be frank, but if it’s a pick I’d lean laying the points with Mississippi State. Only one team has Jayden Epps and Josh Hubbard. That’s the better team and the side I’d prefer to be on. Pick: Mississippi State -3.5 — Boone
Who will win and cover in every college basketball game? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated spread picks the past six years.
Add Comment