CBB Saturday betting preview: Virginia returning to dominant form

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We enjoyed another 3-1 stretch earlier this week to bring our season record to 23-13 against the spread, and we love the value heading into a jam-packed Saturday of college basketball.

Here are a few of my favorite bets for the weekend.

No. 2 Baylor (-8.5, 146.5) at Oklahoma State, 2 p.m.

How many points would you lay on arguably the best team in the country? Baylor has been favored in every game this year by an average of 19.3 points per game, yet it's still managed a 10-3 ATS record and has won every game by at least eight points.

Oklahoma State has hung around with elite competition this year, but it still can't compete with the teams Baylor has dispatched thus far; four of the Bears' first 13 opponents rank higher in adjusted efficiency than the Cowboys. Baylor won those games by an average of 11 points.

This is also just a poor matchup for Oklahoma State, which has been inefficient with its possessions this year and doesn't do a great job of creating extra opportunities. The Bears create possessions as well as any team in the country, ranking in the top six in forced turnover rate (26.7%) and offensive rebounding rate (38.4%) to buoy a top-five offense with elite shooting.

Pick: Baylor -8.5

Maryland at No. 17 Minnesota (-6.5, N/A), 2 p.m.

Minnesota has gotten off to one of its best starts under Richard Pitino, punctuated by Saturday's blowout win over No. 7 Michigan. Still, an 11-4 record may be underselling how good this team is.

Those four losses all came to teams ranked in the top 10 in adjusted efficiency. In their other 11 games - including two against top-10 teams - the Golden Gophers have won by an average of 15.1 points with all but two coming by at least seven points. They're also a perfect 11-0 at home with a 7-4 ATS record in those games.

Given how it's played against superior competition, Minnesota should have no problem against Maryland, which was blown out by Michigan on Tuesday to fall to 2-6 in Big Ten play. The best way to fluster the Gophers is to turn them over, but the Terrapins are among the nation's worst at forcing turnovers. This isn't a spot for them to find their footing.

Pick: Minnesota -6.5

Georgia Tech at No. 13 Virginia (-8.5, 124.5), 8 p.m.

After a slow start to the season, Virginia is quickly becoming the team that nobody wants to play.

Since losing to Gonzaga on Dec. 26, the Cavaliers have covered five straight games and won each by at least nine points - including Saturday's 25-point win over Clemson, which scored just 17 points in the first half. Virginia is one of just three teams ranked in the top 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency, and it's scored a ridiculous 1.36 points per possession over its last two games.

Georgia Tech has been impressive in its own right, but it's been outworked on the boards and has struggled to defend at all three levels. That's not exactly a strong recipe against Virginia, which will make the Yellow Jackets pay for every missed assignment.

Pick: Virginia -8.5

C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.