College Basketball Information
Florida beat Florida State last four years, winning by 18-25 points last two years; Gators led 35-15 at half LY in 72-47 win, as FSU turned ball over 22 times (-7). Florida got PG Wilbekin (suspended) back this week; they're 5-1, with last four wins by 14+ points. State is turning ball over 23% of time in 5-1 start, with only loss by a basket against Michigan.
Tulsa hit buzzer beater to stun Indiana State Wednesday, in game they trailed by 3 with 0:53 left, its first win in five games. though two of its four losses are to Wichita/Creighton, top 15 teams. Tulsa is shooting just 31% from arc. TCU is 3-2 with no game decided by more than 8 points; Horned Frogs struggled past D-II Alaska in first round. Neither of these teams played yesterday.
Green Bay was 10-19 from arc, outscored Pepperdine 25-4 on foul line in 97-89 win last nite; three Phoenix played 30+ minutes- Waves made 13-24 from arc against them, scored 1.22 ppp, very high. Harvard beat Denver by 8 last nite, Crimson were 21-28 on line, only 1-3 from arc as they attacked basket throughout. Horizon road underdogs are 11-15.
Oklahoma State is 6-0; they were up by 23 at half, beat Purdue by 10 in first round at Disney. Two Cowboys played 36-37 minutes in spite of that. Butler is 5-0; their last four wins were all by 7 or less points or in OT; three Bulldogs played 30+ minutes- they turned ball over only six times (+7). Big X favorites are 4-6 against spread away from home.
Memphis won by 27 over Siena Thursday; none of its guy played more than 27:00; their three wins are all vs teams ranked #247 or lower. LSU made 10-22 in easy win over St Joe's; despite leading by 16 at half, four Tigers played 30+ minutes. LSU lost opener by hoop at UMass, won its last four games, all by 14+ points. SEC neutral court teams: are 6-7.
Villanova is off to 5-0 start, beating USC by 15 yesterday; four Wildcat subs played 15+ minutes- no one played more than 28. Kansas team is are one of least experienced teams (#349) in US; they were up 14 at half on Wake Forest yesterday, gave up 52 points in second half, but none of Jayhawks played more than 27:00- four of their subs played 15:00+. .
#30 Xavier is 5-1 after losing in OT yesterday after never trailing in first 40:00; only two Musketeers played more than 25:00 despite game going to OT. Xavier beat Tennessee by 4 at home 17 days ago, as Vols missed 12 of 19 FTs Tennessee is 3-2 after getting spanked by UTEP last nite: three Vols played 31:00+- they shot 35% from floor, 23-39 from line.
6-0 Iowa won yesterday despite never leading in regulation and losing its star Marble to cramps for last 7:00 of game; Hawkeyes have all 5 of its starters back from LY. UTEP shot 58% from floor, held Tennessee to 35% in 78-70 win; they had two starters play 35-39 minutes, but no one else played more than 26:00. Big Dozen neutral court favorites are 7-6.
George Washington held Miami scoreless for last 1:59 of regulation, won by 8 in OT yesterday; four of its starters played 33:00+ in game where GW only got to line nine times, but was +6 in turnovers. Marquette beat host Fullerton by 20; none of its starters payed more than 25:00; one of its subs played 27:00. Marquette is 4-2, losing to Ohio St/Arizona St.
San Diego State will have crowd edge in Fullerton; they shot 57% from floor, led Charleston by 16 at half in easy win. No Aztec played more than 27:00. 5-0 Creighton was best team all day in crushing Arizona St by 28; Bluejays made 12-25 from arc- only one of its guys played more than 27:00. Creighton made 46.4% from arc in winning first six games.
Duke was 24-29 from foul line in 74-64 win over Alabama, which was a lot better than 91-90 win over Vermont Sunday; Blue Devils are making 44.7% from the arc, defend arc well (25.8%) but are soft inside. Arizona was down 27-8 to Drexel Wednesday, rallied to win by 4; Wildcats had 23-5 edge on foul line, but were -8 in turnovers (13-5). Semis of this event were Wednesday, so depth shouldn't be a factor.
Georgia Tech is 5-1, with #175 Georgia only team they've beaten in top 200; Tech is making just 28% from arc- their only loss is to Dayton by 10 at home. Ole Miss has star guard Henderson back; they're 4-0 with zero good wins becaue they dumbed down schedule in anticipation of his suspension. Henderson is 10-22 from arc. Rebels are forcing turnovers on 21.6% of opponents' possessions.
Virginia is 5-1 despite turning ball over 21.8% of time, making 57.5% on foul line; Cavaliers' only was to VCU by 3. Virginia forces turnovers on 22.9% of possessions. SMU is 5-1 with #184 URI best team they beat so far; Mustangs turn ball over 22.8% of time- they lost to Arkansas by 11 for their only loss. ACC neutral court teams are 19-4 against spread.
Armadillosports.com
Duke vs. Arizona: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Duke Blue Devils vs. Arizona Wildcats (-2.5)
Arizona will try to match Duke's four NIT Season Tip-Off championships when they meet Friday for a top-5 matchup at Madison Square Garden. Both teams overcame slow starts in Wednesday's semifinals and are a combined 46-4 at the tournament. No. 3 Arizona is 4-4 against No. 5 Duke, including 2-3 at neutral sites.
Duke will face a different kind of challenge after getting past guard-oriented Alabama. "They're big," coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Arizona. "(Arizona) can post three guys from their starting lineup. And we're not real big so that will be interesting how we try to get that going." Arizona seven-footer Kaleb Tarczewski is coming off his first career double-double.
LINE: Arizona opened as low as -1 but has been bet up as high as -3.
ABOUT DUKE (6-1, 4-3 ATS): Freshman Jabari Parker leads the team with 23.6 points and 8.7 rebounds after matching his career high with 27 points on Wednesday. Parker is the first freshman since Kevin Durant (2006-07) to score at least 20 points in his first seven collegiate games. Rodney Hood adds 19.9 points but was held to eight points Wednesday because of foul trouble.
ABOUT ARIZONA (6-0, 4-2 ATS): Tarczewski is averaging 9.8 points after scoring 15 points to go with 10 rebounds and a career-high four blocks Wednesday. Nick Johnson leads the way with 17.3 points and 6-9 freshman Aaron Gordon adds 12.5 points and a team-high 9.7 rebounds. The Wildcats, who are playing Duke for the first time since knocking off the Blue Devils in the 2011 Sweet Sixteen, had 10 turnovers and zero assists in the first half of the semifinal win against Drexel before turning around the offense.
TRENDS:
* Blue Devils are 5-2 ATS in their last seven vs. Pacific-12.
* Wildcats are 5-0 ATS in their last five vs. Atlantic Coast.
* Blue Devils are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 neutral site games.
* Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games.
TIP-INS:
1. Duke won the tournament in 1985, 2000, 2005 and 2009; Arizona won it in 1990, 1995 and 1999.
2. Duke has had a double-digit scorer off the bench in six of its first seven games.
3. Parker and Texas-Arlington's Reger Dowell lead the country with seven 20-point games.
Friday's Betting Notes
By David Schwab
VegasInsider.com
The Thanksgiving Holiday weekend is loaded with action when it comes to college basketball starting with a monster matchup on Friday night in the NIT Tip-Off Tournament Finals from Madison Square Garden in New York.
NIT Tip-Off Final
No. 6 Duke Blue Devils vs. No. 4 Arizona Wildcats
The Blue Devils opened-up an 11-point lead at the half in their semifinal game against Alabama en route to a 74-64 victory to cover as nine-point favorites. They are now 5-1 straight-up on the year and 3-3 against the spread. The total has gone OVER in four of the six games. Freshman sensation Jabari Parker led Duke with 27 points and eight rebounds in the win over the Tide.
Arizona came very close to being a no-show in this much anticipated showdown after falling behind by 19 points in its semifinal matchup against the spirited Drexel Dragons. A furious second-half rally resulted in a tight 66-62 victory as a 12 ½-point favorite. The 6-0 Wildcats are now 4-2 ATS. The big man for Arizona in this game was Nick Johnson with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Duke has covered the spread in nine of its last 13 neutral site games while the Wildcats have gone 4-2 ATS in their last six games played at a neutral site.
Other Games
Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers vs. No. 1 Michigan State Spartans
The Mountaineers head into this mountain-sized challenge with a record of 2-5 SU, but the good news is they have won their last two outings. All five losses have come on the road and none of their first seven games have had a posted line. Julian Norfleet is averaging 18.7 points a game while dishing out 5.4 assists a game and Sam Prescott leads the team in rebounds with 4.4 a game.
The No. 1 team in the nation moved to 6-0 SU with last Saturday’s 87-76 victory over Oklahoma in a game that ended as a PUSH. The Spartans are now just 1-2-2 ATS and the total has gone OVER in four of the five games. The duo of Gary Harris and Adreian Payne have combined for 34.9 of the team’s 83.9 points a game. Harris is shooting 87.5 percent from the foul line and Payne is shooting 51.4 percent from the field.
The total has gone OVER in four of the Mountaineers last five nonconference games and Michigan State is just 2-7-3 ATS in its last 12 games following a SU win.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. No. 9 Louisville Cardinals
The Golden Eagles come into this matchup with a hot hand after going a perfect 6-0 SU (3-1 ATS) to start the year. In their biggest victory of the year they knocked off North Dakota State 70-69 as six-point underdogs on the road. Southern Miss is averaging 74 points a game and shooting 48.2 percent from the field with four different players scoring in double figures.
Last season’s national champs took an early tumble in the rankings with a 93-84 loss to then-No. 24 North Carolina this past Sunday as a 10-point favorite. The 5-1 Cardinals have now failed to cover in three of their last four games. Russ Smith continues to lead the way with 20.2 points and 3.5 assists as part of a team effort that is averaging 84.7 points a game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field.
The last time these two met was in January of 2005 with Louisville cruising to a 107-62 victory as an 11.5-point road favorite.
Florida State Seminoles vs. No. 15 Florida Gators
Florida State come into this heated rivalry with a SU record of 5-1 and it has covered in four of its last five games. The only setback of the season was an 82-80 overtime loss to No. 22 Michigan as a three-point underdog. The Seminoles are shooting 50.7 percent from the field which is ranked 32nd in the nation and averaging 81.2 points a game. Ian Miller has led the way with 15.5 points while hitting 48.2 percent of his shots.
The Gators are also 5-1 SU on the year with a 2-1 record ATS. Their only setback was a 59-53 loss to No. 10 Wisconsin as 5 ½-point road underdogs on Nov. 12. Florida is averaging 74.7 points a game with a field goal percentage of 47.7 percent. Casey Prather has been a force with 19.2 points, six rebounds and 2.7 assists and the team as a whole has six players scoring in double figures.
The Seminoles come into this year’s showdown looking for revenge after getting hammered 72-47 last season as six-point home underdogs. The total stayed UNDER the 136-point closing line.