Picks for 2/18/26
College Basketball
6:30 PM EST
Rotation # 672
Georgetown -6.5 over Butler (loss)
Butler is having a rough time in the BIG East this season and has struggled on the road. Georgetown has shown improvement this year, but Ed Cooley has a long way to go before his Hoyas are competitive in the conference again. Georgetown took care of the Bulldogs in Indianapolis three weeks back, even without the services of Julius Halaifonua. Halaifonua gives the Hoyas more size, along with Vince Iwuchukwu, who is a beast in the paint. Bulldogs Evan Haywood and Jamie Kaiser are on the injury list tonight, with their status in question, while Stink Robinson remains out. The Hoyas did what they wanted offensively in the prior matchup and should be even more efficient on their home floor. Take Georgetown.
6:30 PM EST
Rotation # 672
Georgetown -6.5 over Butler (loss)
Butler is having a rough time in the BIG East this season and has struggled on the road. Georgetown has shown improvement this year, but Ed Cooley has a long way to go before his Hoyas are competitive in the conference again. Georgetown took care of the Bulldogs in Indianapolis three weeks back, even without the services of Julius Halaifonua. Halaifonua gives the Hoyas more size, along with Vince Iwuchukwu, who is a beast in the paint. Bulldogs Evan Haywood and Jamie Kaiser are on the injury list tonight, with their status in question, while Stink Robinson remains out. The Hoyas did what they wanted offensively in the prior matchup and should be even more efficient on their home floor. Take Georgetown.
College Basketball
7:00 PM EST
Rotation # 688
UConn -15.5 over Creighton (loss)
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott is in uncharted territory, having been outstanding in the conference for the last decade. The Bluejays don’t have the talent they once had. McDermott has coached extremely well against UConn over the last few seasons, even knocking them out of the Big East Tournament a year ago. The bad news is that Creighton lost the bulk of its extremely talented athletes to graduation last year. The Huskies demolished the Blue Jays on the road three weeks ago, and I don’t see anything that has changed enough for them to be competitive at the Gampel Pavilion. Tarris Reed is too big and strong on the glass, and Solo Ball and Silas Demary are too talented at the guard position to be stopped. The Huskies are the more experienced and talented team and should eventually pull away. Take UConn.
7:00 PM EST
Rotation # 688
UConn -15.5 over Creighton (loss)
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott is in uncharted territory, having been outstanding in the conference for the last decade. The Bluejays don’t have the talent they once had. McDermott has coached extremely well against UConn over the last few seasons, even knocking them out of the Big East Tournament a year ago. The bad news is that Creighton lost the bulk of its extremely talented athletes to graduation last year. The Huskies demolished the Blue Jays on the road three weeks ago, and I don’t see anything that has changed enough for them to be competitive at the Gampel Pavilion. Tarris Reed is too big and strong on the glass, and Solo Ball and Silas Demary are too talented at the guard position to be stopped. The Huskies are the more experienced and talented team and should eventually pull away. Take UConn.
College Basketball
7:00 PM EST
Rotation # 707
Oklahoma +11.5 over Tennessee (loss)
Oklahoma is coming off two big wins against Georgia and Vanderbilt and is playing with momentum. The Vols are 13-1 at home, but they sometimes play bored and play down to lesser competition. Tennessee let a bad, battered LSU team outplay them for most of the game after taking an early lead, deciding to put it on autopilot and do enough to get by. It’s looking like the Vols will be without JP Estrella tonight, which takes a decent scorer and offensive rebounder out of the mix. Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack are two transfer guards playing with confidence, and the Sooners’ experienced roster should keep them in the game. Take Oklahoma.
7:00 PM EST
Rotation # 707
Oklahoma +11.5 over Tennessee (loss)
Oklahoma is coming off two big wins against Georgia and Vanderbilt and is playing with momentum. The Vols are 13-1 at home, but they sometimes play bored and play down to lesser competition. Tennessee let a bad, battered LSU team outplay them for most of the game after taking an early lead, deciding to put it on autopilot and do enough to get by. It’s looking like the Vols will be without JP Estrella tonight, which takes a decent scorer and offensive rebounder out of the mix. Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack are two transfer guards playing with confidence, and the Sooners’ experienced roster should keep them in the game. Take Oklahoma.