Jan. 6 Plays

We enjoyed our first clean sweep of the season last night, picking up 12 units. Let's keep it going with these 21 units in play:

Wisconsin at Michigan St. Under 134.5 4 Units
This matchup has become quite a rivalry since Bo Ryan took over at UW. He has Tom Izzo's number with an 11-4 record against the Spartans, and the losses have only come in East Lansing.
These games have perennially been defensive, physical battles with both teams grinding out points at the free throw line and scoring in the halfcourt. Expect it to be much of the same this year as Ryan has his team playing exceptionally disciplined defense and not turning the ball over much.
Sparty has had issues with turnovers this season, but Wisconsin tends to just play straight up on defense and not gamble too often for steals.
This will be another classic between these two teams, but not much in the way of playmaking. Take the under for 4 Units.

Charlotte (+12) at Tennessee
The Vols earned a statement win at Memphis last week, but the next day found out four of their players celebrated a little too much and have been suspended for this game against a hard-nosed Charlotte team.
It's difficult to say how Tennessee will respond with three key contributors, including Tyler Smith, out for this game, but the 49ers will be hungry to earn another resume-building victory.
Earlier this season Charlotte went into Louisville and mopped the floor with an undermanned Cardinals team. Now they have another opportunity to knock off a ranked team on the road with a limited bench. So look for them to beat the spread here, and it's worth putting a couple on the victory. Take Charlotte with the points for 4 Units and to win (+600) for 2 Units.

Memphis at Syracuse Under 146.5
The Orange just lost its first game of the season when Pitt came into the Carrier Dome and pulled the upset. Now the Cuse hosts a Memphis team searching for consistency on offense. The Tigers has shot just 33 percent in its two losses to ranked opponents, including 28 percent from 3-point range, which won't help against the Syracuse zone.
On the other side, Syracuse struggled with Pittsburgh physical defense and shot well under its season average in the loss. Memphis features that same type of defensive style and are 15th in Ken Pomeroy's effective defensive field goal percentage. Syracuse is 17th in that same statistic.
Take the under for 3 Units

Illinois State (-6) at Evansville
The Redbirds are looking to keep pace in the difficult Missouri Valley with a road win against an outmatch Evansville team. ISU has started 2-1 in conference play and can't afford to drop this game against the 0-3 Aces.
Illinois State features strong guard play in senior, and MVC player of the year candidate, Osiris Eldridge, along with senior Llyod Phillips, who scored 21 in the Redbirds' last outing.
That tandem will be a key factor in taking care of business against the Aces. Take ISU for 3 Units.

Seton Hall at Connecticut (-6.5) 2 Units
How's this for a schedule? Host No. 6 West Virginia on Dec. 26, then host No. 5 Syracuse on Dec. 29, then play Virginia Tech in Cancun, Mexico on Jan. 2, then return to the states to face No. 13 Connecticut in Storrs. It might be fair to say the Pirates are a little worn out by that run. Plus, they lost all of those previous affairs, and are running into a UConn team that seems to have its swagger back after a loss at Cincy.
That being said, Jeremy Hazell has the ability to heat up and keep the Hall close in this one. But, I'd expect Stanley Robinson to match up with him, and with his length he's one of the few defenders in the Big East that could give Hazell trouble. Take UConn for 2 Units.

UNLV (+8) at BYU 3 Units
This was nearly a matchup of two ranked opponents, but UNLV lost its last game against USC in Hawaii. The Rebels haven't played since Dec. 25 and that long layoff should help them in this tough conference game.
Vegas has BYU's number, having won 8 of their last 11 against the Cougars, who have won nine straight. BYU will likely be without Jackson Emery (13.4 ppg) with an ankle injury and the Cougars are unsure on how their leading scorer Jimmer Fredette will come back from a bout with strep throat.
UNLV will look to snap BYU's 9-game winning streak with its defense which has held six straight opponents under 70 points and its deep bench, which features 11 players averaging at least 10.5 minutes. Take the Rebels for 3 Units.