College Knowledge
-- Saint Louis (-2.5) waxed Butler 75-58 Jan 31, forcing 23 turnovers and shooting 58% inside arc; Billikens won eight in row, 17 of last 19 games, with all eight wins by 9+ points- they're 4-1 on A-16 road, winning last four, all by 9+ points. Butler won five of last six games; they're 5-1 at home in league, with four wins by 12+ points. A-16 home favorites of 5 or less points are 19-11 against the spread.
-- Harvard (-11.5) beat Brown 89-82 in double OT Feb 2, after blowing 11-point halftime lead and leading by 22 with 12:58 left; Brown was 12 of 32 from arc, Crimson 10-23- they shot 65% inside arc. Harvard is 2-1 in Ivy League road games, winning 2-10 points- they've won six of last seven games overall. Brown lost four of last five games; they've won two of three at home in league play, losing to Cornell by three.
-- Dartmouth (+3) beat Yale 71-62 at home Feb 2, shooting 61% inside arc; their subs were 12-16. Big Green lost last three games, by 23-18-10 points; they're 1-2 on Ivy road- only one of their six league losses is by less than 10 points. Yale was 5-24 from arc in loss at Hanover; they are 3-1 in last four games, winning by 9-4-19 points. Ivy League double digit home favorites are 3-6 against the spread.
-- Princeton is 5-2 in Ivy, splitting its two road games; Tigers (-8.5) beat Columbia 72-66 at home Feb 2, running to 27-13 lead in first 10:32, then blowing lead before pulling away late. Princeton made 8-11 from arc, had 19-10 edge on foul line. Lions lost six of last seven games, but five of six losses were by six or less points- they're 1-2 at home, with both losses by three points. Ivy League home underdogs are 5-3 vs spread.
-- Cornell (+2.5) won 71-69 at Penn Feb 2, after trailing by 10 at 13:39 mark; Quakers were 12-24 from arc, 1-3 from foul line, bit Cornell made 63% of shots inside arc. Penn is 1-2 on Ivy road, losing by 12-19 points; but losses were to Harvard/Princeton, two best teams in league. Cornell won its last three games, allowing 61 ppg, but they've lost two of three at home. Ivy League single digit home favorites are 6-7 vs spread.
-- North Dakota State is 4-4 in last eight games, losing three of last four on road, scoring 52.7 ppg in three losses; Bison is 0-3 vs top 100 teams this season, losing by 26-13-15 points- their best win came in split vs #101 South Dakota State. Akron won its last 17 games; their opponents shoot 41% inside arc, #7 in country. Zips allowed 54.5 ppg in their last four games. Last nine North Dakota State games stayed under total.
-- SF Austin is 22-3, 13-2 in Southland; their defensive 40.5%eFG leads country, as foes make 26.3% from arc against them. Fourth road game in row for Lumberjacks, who are 7-2 on road in league, but also have four non-D-I wins (#289 schedule)- they played at Sam Houston two nights ago. Long Beach is 13-2 in Big West after facing #1 non-league schedule in country, going 4-7. 49ers are 0-6 this season vs top 100 teams.
Armadillosports.com
Games to Watch
By David Schwab
VegasInsider.com
St. Louis Billikens vs. No. 15 Butler Bulldogs
The Billikens seven-game winning streak has them in second-place in the Atlantic 10 standings with a record of 8-2. They are 19-5 SU overall and 13-9 ATS. They have a huge showdown against VCU, which leads the conference, at home this Tuesday before heading on the road for this matchup. They have covered the spread in all seven games and the total has gone OVER in five of those contests. Saint Louis has five different players scoring at least nine points a game and as a team it is averaging 68.5 points while giving-up 57.8 points to its opponents.
Butler will play Duquesne at home this Tuesday before hosting the Billikens on Friday night. It is in third-place in the A-10 standings at 8-3 and is 21-5 SU overall. It has failed to cover in four of its last six games but is still a profitable 14-9-1 ATS on the year. The total has stayed UNDER in three of its last four games. The Bulldogs are putting up an average of 70.6 points a game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field. Rotnei Clarke leads the team in scoring with 17.2 points, but they have four additional players scoring in double figures.
Saint Louis at Butler: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Saint Louis at Butler (-2.5)
No. 15 Butler is one of two ranked teams in the Atlantic 10 – along with No. 24 Virginia Commonwealth – but neither team has been able to figure out Saint Louis. The Bulldogs will take one final shot at the conference leaders Friday when they host the Billikens. Saint Louis, which holds a half-game lead over the Bulldogs and Rams, began the conference season 1-2 but has been the best team in the league since.
Much like the Billikens’ first meeting against Butler – a 75-58 home victory on Jan. 31 – Saint Louis used stifling defense to defeat VCU on Tuesday and won its eighth straight game, improving to 2-0 against the more highly-regarded schools in the Atlantic 10. The Bulldogs, who are 5-1 since their loss to the Billikens, are 13-1 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and figure to improve on their dreadful 23-turnover performance in the first meeting.
ABOUT SAINT LOUIS (20-5, 9-2 Atlantic 10): Following the loss to the Billikens in January, Butler coach Brad Stevens said, "It was an absolute joy to watch one team play. The problem was, it wasn't the team I coached." St. Louis enjoys the conference’s stingiest scoring defense (57.9) and ranks second in the A-10 with 11.4 turnovers per game. The Billikens held VCU’s conference-leading offense 16 points below its season average and became only the second team this season to commit fewer than 10 turnovers against the Rams’ vaunted pressure defense.
ABOUT BUTLER (22-5, 9-3): Rotnei Clarke continued his scoring spree in Tuesday’s win and is averaging 18.9 points since his return from a neck injury eight games ago, leading his team in scoring each time. The Bulldogs are 14-0 when Khyle Marshall (9.9 points) scores in double figures, but the junior forward endured one of the worst performances of his career in the first meeting, scoring two points in 10 minutes before fouling out. Butler has outrebounded 10 of its last 11 opponents. Stevens is two wins shy of tying Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon (2004-09) for the most wins by a coach in his first six seasons in Division I history.
TRENDS:
* The over is 5-1 in the Billikens’ last six games.
* Saint Louis is 8-0 ATS in its last eight games.
* The under is 4-1 in Butler’s last five games.
* The Bulldogs have only covered once in their last four games.
TIP-INS:
1. Saint Louis is 3-1 against top-25 opponents, but has never defeated four ranked foes in the same season.
2. Butler is 82-12 at Hinkle Fieldhouse under Stevens.
3. All eight of the victories during the Billikens’ winning streak are by double digits – a first in their 97-year history.