Best Sports Betting Picks Today: College Basketball, NBA Predictions for February 11th | Deadspin.com

Did college football season restart up? Because who would have ever thought Auburn and Alabama would be ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in college basketball? Come Saturday, the two schools will have a showdown at Tuscaloosa to decide which school is No. 1.

The Tigers are 21-2 after losing to then-No. 6 Florida 90-81 on Saturday. The Crimson Tide are 20-3 with six straight victories. The basketball programs—Bruce Pearl for Auburn, Nate Oats for Alabama—currently have better head coaches than the football programs (Hugh Freeze of Auburn, Kalen DeBoer of Alabama). 

Kevin Durant returns to the court Tuesday to take aim at the 30,000-point mark. Durant needs 26 points to get there as the sputtering Phoenix Suns host the Memphis Grizzlies. Ja Morant and his mates are second in the Western Conference.

We will discuss the Suns’ chances of beating the Grizzlies while also studying the two Southeastern Conference powers. Auburn visits Vanderbilt and Alabama is at Texas.

AUBURN TIGERS AT VANDERBILT COMMODORES

Auburn had won 14 consecutive games before falling to the Gators but remained atop the poll by nine points, mainly because it received 34 first-place votes to Alabama’s 23. The Tigers’ defense disappointed against Florida as Auburn gave up a season-worst points in the 90-81 setback.

National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome had 18 points and 11 rebounds to notch his 14th double-double of the season. Miles Kelly scored a season-best 22 against Florida after tallying in single digits in two of the previous four games. 

Vanderbilt started 13-1 before dropping five of its next eight games. The Commodores trailed Texas by 10 points in the second half on Saturday before rallying for an 86-78 triumph. Jaylen Carey recorded career bests of 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Vanderbilt is 12-1 at home, so Auburn might find itself in a close game. But count on the Tigers to pull away in the second half.

Auburn -9, -108 (DraftKings)

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE AT TEXAS LONGHORNS

The Crimson Tide are 7-1 on the road with the lone loss coming at then-No. 15 Purdue in mid-November. Alabama’s last four road wins have all been by six points or less, including Saturday’s 85-81 win over Arkansas. The Crimson Tide led by 18 in the second half before the Razorbacks made a late-game charge.

Mark Sears has 13 20-point outings for Alabama, but he’s been inconsistent lately and had just 11 points against Arkansas. Grant Nelson and Chris Youngblood each had 15 points and Mouhamed Dioubate came off the bench to score 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

The Longhorns started 11-2 but have since gone 4-7 in SEC play, including consecutive losses to Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Texas coach Rodney Terry made a good point after the loss to the Commodores. “A lot of teams lose two in a row in this league,” Terry said.

But can the Longhorns (10-4 at home) score the big win they need to brighten their resume? Probably not.

Alabama -3, -108 (DraftKings)

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES AT PHOENIX SUNS

The Suns sit at .500 after losing four of their last five games. Durant is back after missing three games with a sprained left ankle, and you can expect him to take aim at the 30K mark. He will be the eighth player in NBA history to reach the milestone.

Durant said he wasn’t offended to be mentioned in trade talks. That’s good, as the Suns are 2-11 this season when Durant doesn’t play. Devin Booker has been on his game with four 3-point outings in the last six games, topped by a season-high 47 to go with 11 assists in a 135-127 overtime win over the visiting Utah Jazz on Friday.

The Grizzlies won 10 of 11 games before losing 125-112 to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. Memphis was outworked on the boards by a 55-40 count. Desmond Bane scored 20 and has notched 20 or more in 14 of his last 17 appearances.

Memphis defeated the host Suns 117-112 on Dec. 31. Star Jaren Jackson Jr. had 38 points and Bane scored 31 for the Grizzlies. Durant had 29 points for Phoenix.

Kevin Durant, 27-plus points, -115 (DraftKings)