College Basketball Betting News and Notes For Thursday, December 28, 2017

Thursday’s college hoop
Underdogs are 6-1-1 vs spread in last eight Creighton-Seton Hall games; teams split four games played here. Creighton is 10-2 vs schedule #263; Bluejays split couple of true road games, winning by 4 at Northwestern, losing by 17 at Marquette. Jays are shooting 61.8% inside arc, best in country- their eFG% is #2 in nation. Seton Hall is 11-2 vs schedule #139; Pirates force turnovers 22% of time- they’re 5-2 vs top 100 teams, with losses to URI/Rutgers. Last five years, Seton Hall is 10-16 as Big East home favorites. Creighton is 13-9-1 as a Big East road underdog.

Providence won four of last five games with St John’s; Friars won last two visits here, by 14-11 points. Providence split its last six games after a 6-1 start; Friars are 0-2 in true road games, losing at URI by 7, UMass by 9- they force turnovers 21.2% of time. Johnnies are 10-2 vs schedule #133; Lovett is still a ?? with an injury. St John’s forces turnovers 26.3% of time (#5); they’re 2-2 vs top 100 teams, beating Nebraska/UCF, losing by 8 to Mizzou, 12 to Arizona State. Last two years, Friars are 9-4 as Big East road underdogs; Red Storm has been favored in only 2 of 17 Big East home games under Mullin (2-0 vs spread).

This is Valparaiso’s first Missouri Valley game after jumping from Horizon League; Crusaders beat Indiana State by 6-18 points in pre-conference games last two years. Valpo lost four of its last five games after an 8-0 start- they’re 1-4 in true road games, with only win at #261 Santa Clara- they lost by 13 at #254 Cal-Riverside. Indiana State is 2-7 vs D-I teams since they upset Indiana in their opener; Sycamores are 0-4 vs teams in top 150, with losses by 19-18-8-16 points. Last three years, Indiana State is 9-7 vs spread as an MVC home favorite.

Oakland won four of last six games with Milwaukee, winning last two visits here, by 3-11 points. Underdogs covered three of last four series games. Grizzlies are 8-5 vs schedule #120; they’re #49 experience team playing pace #12, losing four of six true road games, winning at Western Michigan, Oral Roberts. Oakland is 6-1 vs teams ranked outside top 150, with loss at Toledo. Milwaukee has its third coach in three years; they’re 3-5 in their last eight games. Oakland is 14-5 vs spread as a Horizon road favorite; last four years, Panthers are 6-8 as home dogs.

Home side won all three Louisiana Tech-Western Kentucky games in C-USA play; Bulldogs lost 96-90 in OT in last visit here two years ago. Tech is 9-4 vs schedule #285; they’re 0-2 in true road games, losing by 3 at Alabama, 15 at Texas, their only two top 100 games. Hilltoppers lost three of last five games after a 6-2 start; WKU has played schedule #75 with a bench that has played 7th-fewest minutes in country. Last four years, Tech is 10-3 vs spread as a C-USA road underdog; WKU is 9-16-2 as home favorites. WKU has wins over Purdue and SMU.

Northern Iowa won six of last seven games with Southern Illinois, with last four wins all by 9 or less points. Salukis lost their last 14 visits to Cedar Rapids, last seven all by 7+ points. UNI lost its last two games after an 8-2 start; they’ve played schedule #12, winning only two games vs teams outside top 100, by 28-38 points- over last four years, Panthers are 18-11-2 as MVC home favorites. SIU is 8-5 vs schedule #302; Salukis lost by 42-22 points in only two games vs top 100 teams. Over last three years, SIU is 7-11-1 vs spread as an MVC road underdog.

Bradley starts three sophs, one junior but they’ve played together a lot; Braves are 10-3 vs #295 schedule- they’re 9-0 vs teams ranked outside top 100. Bradley is 2-2 in true road games, with best win at SE Missouri- they lost at San Diego State, Ole Miss. Drake Bradley won five of its last six games with Drake, winning last four, all by 9 or fewer points, but Braves’ 82-74 win here LY was there first win in last seven visits to Drake. Last three years, Bulldogs are 10-7-1 as an MVC home underdog. Bradley is an MVC road favorite for first time since 2010.

LSU is 8-3 vs schedule #300; this is Bayou Bengals’ first true road game- they lost two of three games in Maui Classic, losing by 39 to Notre Dame, by 10 to Marquette. Tigers are 6-1 vs teams ranked outside top 100, with only loss by point to SF Austin- their best wins are Michigan by 2 points, Houston by 3. LSU has #9 eFG% in nation. Memphis is 9-3 vs schedule #311; they’re 2-2 vs top 100 teams, losing by 12 to Alabama by 9 to Louisville, both on neutral floors. Tigers are #194 experience team that is shooting only 30.4% behind the arc.

Last four years, San Diego is 3-16 vs spread as WCC home favorites. Toreros are 8-3 vs schedule #293- they’re 2-2 vs top 200 teams. San Francisco is 8-5 vs schedule #269 but they upset Nevada in their last game; Dons are 0-2 in true road games, losing by 18 at Arizona State, 12 at Stanford. San Diego USF won its last four games with San Diego; underdogs are 5-4 vs spread in last four series games. Dons won last two games in Jenny Craig Pavilion by 8-17 points. Last three years, USF is 9-9 as road underdogs, after being 23-5 the five years before that.

Tenn-Martin is 2-8 vs schedule #231; they have three non-D-I wins, too. Skyhawks are #52 experience team but they’re turning ball over 22.9% of time (#321). UTM won three of last four games with Tennessee State, winning by 19-17-16 points; State lost its last two visits to Martin, by 19-16 points. Tigers are 3-6 vs schedule #60; they lost by only a point at Texas, but also lost to #314 North Carolina A&T. Last two years, Martin is 10-6 vs spread in MVC home games; last four years, TSU is 17-7 as an OVC road underdog.

Monmouth is 4-8 vs schedule #19, with two OT losses; Hawks beat Lehigh by 8, their only game vs team outside top 200. Monmouth is #298 experience team that is turning ball over 23% of time. Quinnipiac has new coach; they’re 3-9 vs schedule #268- they’re 1-3 vs teams inside top 150. Monmouth won four of last five games with Quinnipiac; favorites covered five of last seven series games. Hawks lost three of last four visits here, losing by 5-14-9 points. Last three years, Monmouth is 12-10 vs spread as MAAC road favorites; Bobcats are 4-10 as home underdogs.

Belmont is 8-5 vs schedule #125; Bruins are 2-4 in true road games, with good wins at MTSU, Western Kentucky. Belmont is #43 experience team that is shooting 61.1% inside arc (#3 in country). Belmont won its last five games with SE Missouri State; teams are 2-2 vs spread in last four series games. Bruins won last two series here, by 13-10 points. SEMo lost its last three games; they’re #289 experience team that is 0-3 vs teams in top 125, losing by 1-18-8. Last four years, Belmont is 14-12 as an OVC road favorite; last three years, SEMo is 8-4 as a home dog.

Montana is 7-5 vs schedule #133; they’re 39-15 SU in Big Sky under Decuire but haven’t made the NCAA’s in his tenure. Griz iz 1-4 in true road games but they won at Pitt, in OT. NAU is 2-10 vs schedule #66; they’re 0-5 vs top 150 teams, with four losses by 22+ points. Montana won its last five games with Northern Arizona, with three of the five by 7 or fewer points. Griz won four of last five visits to Flagstaff, winning last two by 6-17 points. Last three years, Montana is 9-7-2 as Big Sky road favorites; last two years, NAU is 9-5-1 as a home underdog.

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