Monday's Best NCAAB Bets
By Covers.com
Kansas Jayhawks at Oklahoma State Cowboys (10, 137)
The Jayhawks are on letdown alert after overcoming a 19-point, second-half deficit to beat Missouri in overtime on Saturday.
But a win in Stillwater would give Kansas the outright Big 12 regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. So the Jayhawks, who beat OSU 81-66 in Lawrence this season, should be motivated.
They’ll be led by forward Thomas Robinson, who's recorded a double-double in seven of the last 10 games.
The Cowboys, coming off a 60-42 win over Texas A&M, have won two straight and three of their last four at home against the Jayhawks. This will be the final home game for senior guard Keiton Page, who averages a team-high 16.2 points. He has 278 career 3-pointers, one shy of the school record.
The Cowboys are 38-16-3 ATS in their last 57 home games.
Pick: Cowboys
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Baylor Bears (-20.5, 127)
It will be an emotional night at the Ferrell Center, as Baylor honors the winningest senior class in school history. Seniors Quincy Acy, Fred Ellis and Anthony Jones will be recognized before the Bears host last-place Texas Tech.
The Bears have righted themselves after a two-game skid, winning three of four. They knocked off Oklahoma 70-60 on Saturday as Pierre Jackson and Brady Heslip each nailed four 3-pointers.
Four Bears are averaging at least 12 points.
The Red Raiders gave an admirable effort Saturday against Texas, losing 71-67. But they averaged a pitiful 47.3 points in the three previous games, all losses.
Baylor is 7-3-1 ATS the last 11 times it has hosted Texas Tech. The Bears also are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning percentage below .400.
Pick: Bears
Game of the day: Notre Dame at Georgetown
By Covers.com
Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Georgetown Hoyas (-6.5, 118.5)
THE STORY: A pair of nationally ranked teams square off for a possible two-round bye in the Big East tournament. Notre Dame visits Georgetown in a showdown between teams trying to attain one of the top four seeds in the league; Notre Dame is currently in third place, one game ahead of the Hoyas. Notre Dame had its nine-game Big East win streak broken on Saturday, while Georgetown bounced back for a win after a previously sketchy showing against Seton Hall. This will be the final home game for Georgetown.
ABOUT NOTRE DAME (20-9, 12-4 Big East): The Irish will try to get well offensively against a team noted for its shutdown defense. Notre Dame made only 4 of 31 3-pointers, a season-low 12.9 percent, in Saturday’s upset loss to St. John’s. Jack Cooley (12.4 ppg) has five double-doubles in his last six games and a team-leading 11 this season. Scott Martin (9.4 ppg) has scored in double figures in two straight games, and his 18 points against St. John’s were a season-high against conference opposition. Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins both average 12.7 points. Tom Knight had a career-high six rebounds against the Johnnies.
ABOUT GEORGETOWN (21-6, 11-5 Big East): Otto Porter (8.8 ppg) showed no lingering effects after catching an elbow in the mouth in the first minute of the Villanova game. Porter came back to score 15 points and six rebounds in his second career start. He started ahead of Markel Starks, who did not play, although coach John Thompson gave no reason for the lineup change. Although this team is built on defense, it boasts a balanced offensive attack: Jason Clark (14.5 ppg), Hollis Thompson (13.1 ppg) and Porter all are shooting 50 percent from the field.
TRENDS:
Irish are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 Big East games.
Hoyas are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a SU win.
Underdog is 11-5-1 ATS in the last 17 meetings.
Under is 13-5 in Notre Dame's last 18 games.
TIP-INS:
1. The Irish had only seven turnovers vs. St. John’s, the 13th time this season they’ve had fewer than 10.
2. Notre Dame is 9-1 when starting the lineup of Eric Atkins, Pat Connaughton, Jack Cooley, Jerian Grant and Scott Martin.
3. Georgetown has made 158 3-pointers, while Notre Dame has made 194.
Big Monday
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Notre Dame at Georgetown
BetOnline.com opened Georgetown (21-6 straight up, 13-9 against the spread) as a six-point favorite with a total of 116.
Georgetown has won 14 of its 15 home games, compiling a 5-5 spread record. The Hoyas cruised to an easy win Saturday over Villanova, taking the cash as 10-point home favorite in a 67-46 triumph. The 113 combined points easily stayed ‘under’ the 135-point total. Jason Clark and Otto Porter both finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
Notre Dame (20-9 SU, 11-10-2 ATS) saw its nine-game winning streak ended Saturday when it lost a 61-58 decision at St. John’s as a six-point road ‘chalk.’ Jack Cooley and Scott Martin scored 18 points apiece in the losing effort.
Mike Brey’s squad has been an underdog 12 times this year, going 7-4-1 ATS with six outright wins. However, we should note that the Irish have won outright in its last five games as an underdog.
The Hoyas own a 3-3 spread record in six games as single-digit home favorites.
Notre Dame has won three in a row over Georgetown both SU and ATS, and the ‘under’ has also cashed in each of those head-to-head encounters.
Even though the ‘over’ is 3-2 in its last five games, the ‘under’ is 16-7 overall for Notre Dame.
Totals have been an overall wash for the Hoyas (11-11) and the ‘under’ is 6-4 in its 10 home games with a total.
ESPN will have the telecast at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Kansas at Oklahoma State
Kansas (24-5 SU, 14-13-1 ATS) faces a quick turnaround after playing a 45-minute thriller Saturday afternoon in Lawrence. The Jayhawks rallied from 19 points down to win an 87-86 decision over Missouri in overtime. They got another extraordinary effort out of Thomas Robinson, who finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds and got a three-point play the hard way late in regulation to force the extra session. Tyshawn Taylor scored 24 points and dished out five assists compared to only one turnover.
Oklahoma State (14-15 SU, 14-12-1 ATS) has had a tough year but has been tough at home, where it has won three straight and is 11-3 SU and 6-5-1 ATS. The Cowboys beat up on Texas A&M by a 60-42 count Saturday as 3 ½-point home favorites. They won convincingly despite playing without their second-leading scorer, Le’Bryan Nash, who averages 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Nash is ‘questionable’ vs. KU with an arm injury.
Brian Williams was the catalyst against the Aggies, scoring a game-high 17 points. Keiton Page, who leads OSU in scoring with a 16.3 points-per-game average, added 15 points.
Robinson is the leading candidate to win Big 12 Player of the Year honors, averaging 17.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per contests. Taylor averages 16.7 points and 5.0 assists per game.
Due to Nash’s injury situation, BetOnline.com didn’t have an opening number for this game late Sunday afternoon.
Totals have been an overall wash for OSU (13-13-1), but the ‘under’ has cashed at an 8-4 clip in its home games.
The ‘under’ is 16-10-2 overall for KU, but the ‘over’ is 3-1-1 in its last five games.
Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
If you watched any of Georgia’s win over Florida on Saturday, you had to notice the great work by the camera man in constantly focusing on Al Horford and his wife during breaks in the action. Horford was already one of my favorite Gators of all time and I didn’t even know he had married the 2003 Miss Universe! That would be the lovely Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic. Big Al!
Coach of the Year candidates:
1-Mike Brey (Notre Dame)
2-Frank Haith (Missouri)
3-Buzz Williams (Marquette)
4-John Calipari (Kentucky)
5-Bill Self (Kansas)
6-Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
7-Steve Prohm (Murray St.)
8-Gregg Marshall (Wichita St.)
9-Steve Alford (New Mexico)
10-Tony Bennett (Virginia)
South Florida bolstered its at-large hopes with Sunday’s 46-45 home win over Cincinnati. The Bearcats, who were also in dire need of a win, took the cash as three-point road underdogs.
Northwestern caught a huge break in its quest for the school’s first NCAA Tournament bid. John Shurna got a fortunate whistle on what appeared to be a good defensive play with 2.6 seconds remaining and the Wildcats trailing by one. The senior forward calmly sank both free-throw attempts to propel Northwestern into the win column. Bill Carmody’s squad still has work to do, but that was a game it absolutely had to have.
Biggest Bubble Losers from the weekend:
1-Mississippi St. – blown out at Alabama
2-North Carolina St. – costly loss to Clemson in overtime
3-UConn – gusty second-half effort wasn’t quite enough vs. Syracuse
4-Harvard – probably blew at-large chances with home loss to Penn
5-LSU – blowout loss at Ole Miss puts a fork in the Tigers
Biggest Bubble Winners
1-Iowa St. – Cyclones are ‘in’ after win at Kansas St.
2-Alabama – Anthony Grant’s stock on the rise
3-Purdue – Boilers handed Michigan its first home loss
4-VCU – Rams dominated George Mason
5-Memphis – Tigers stayed atop C-USA standings
NCAAB Preview
Notre Dame had its 9-game win streak broken at St John's Saturday, as Irish went 4-31 behind arc and were outscored 14-4 on foul line by team with six scholarship players. Notre Dame is 7-3 vs spread as a Big East underdog this season, winning last five tries SU. Georgetown won last five home games, covering three of last four- they're 3-5 as home fave in conference play. Big East home favorites of 7 or less points are 18-24 vs spread this season.
Quick turnaround for Kansas after emotional comeback win in its rivalry game with Missouri; Jayhawks are 3-3 as Big X road favorite, winning on road by 11-35-3-14-6-8 points, with losses at Missouri/Iowa State. Oklahoma State (+17) covered spread in 81-66 loss in Lawrence Feb 11, but Kansas led 51-24 at half-- Self called off the dogs on his alma mater. State is 6-2 in Big X home games, losing to K-State by 8, Baylor by 4; they're 2-1 as a home dog. Big X home underdogs are 14-10-1.
Baylor (-13) won 73-60 at Texas Tech Jan 7, making 7-15 from arc with +11 edge on boards (31-20) in game that was just 32-31 at half. Baylor is 2-6 as Big X home favorite, winning home games by 9-41-5-15-10; they are just 5-3 SU in conference home games. Red Raiders lost tough game in OT at home to Texas Saturday; they're 4-4 as Big X road dog, failing to cover last three road games, losses by 19-33-18 points. Big X home favorites of 14+ points are 7-5 against the spread.
Montana State can clinch 6th/final spot in Big Sky tournament with win over Northern Arizona, despite losing last seven games; Bobcats (+1.5) won 74-72 in Flagstaff Jan 14, despite turning ball over 21 times, getting outscored 21-6 from foul line in a game Bobcats led by 14 at half. State is 3-1 as Big Sky home favorite, winning in Bozeman by 13-7-12 points (3-4, favorites 6-1 vs spread). Lumberjacks won their Big Sky opener and haven't won since; they're 2-5 vs spread as Big Sky road dog.
NOTRE DAME (20 - 9) at GEORGETOWN (21 - 6) - 2/27/2012, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NOTRE DAME is 23-13 ATS (+8.7 Units) against conference opponents over the last 2 seasons.
NOTRE DAME is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in road games versus good defensive teams - allowing <=64 points/game after 15+ games over the last 3 seasons.
GEORGETOWN is 120-162 ATS (-58.2 Units) against conference opponents since 1997.
GEORGETOWN is 12-22 ATS (-12.2 Units) after a conference game over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
NOTRE DAME is 2-0 against the spread versus GEORGETOWN over the last 3 seasons
NOTRE DAME is 2-0 straight up against GEORGETOWN over the last 3 seasons
2 of 2 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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KANSAS (24 - 5) at OKLAHOMA ST (14 - 15) - 2/27/2012, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA ST is 22-10 ATS (+11.0 Units) in all home games over the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA ST is 22-10 ATS (+11.0 Units) in home lined games over the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA ST is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) in home games after a conference game over the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA ST is 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) revenging a road loss vs opponent this season.
KANSAS is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) after allowing 80 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA ST is 3-1 against the spread versus KANSAS over the last 3 seasons
KANSAS is 3-1 straight up against OKLAHOMA ST over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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TEXAS TECH (8 - 20) at BAYLOR (24 - 5) - 2/27/2012, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TEXAS TECH is 7-16 ATS (-10.6 Units) in all games this season.
TEXAS TECH is 7-16 ATS (-10.6 Units) in all lined games this season.
TEXAS TECH is 92-124 ATS (-44.4 Units) as an underdog since 1997.
TEXAS TECH is 1-7 ATS (-6.7 Units) versus good defensive teams - allowing <=64 points/game this season.
BAYLOR is 12-3 ATS (+8.7 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record after 15 or more games since 1997.
BAYLOR is 16-28 ATS (-14.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BAYLOR is 16-28 ATS (-14.8 Units) in all lined games over the last 2 seasons.
BAYLOR is 10-21 ATS (-13.1 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
BAYLOR is 10-22 ATS (-14.2 Units) against conference opponents over the last 2 seasons.
BAYLOR is 9-20 ATS (-13.0 Units) after a conference game over the last 2 seasons.
BAYLOR is 3-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) off a win against a conference rival over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
BAYLOR is 3-1 against the spread versus TEXAS TECH over the last 3 seasons
BAYLOR is 4-1 straight up against TEXAS TECH over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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N ARIZONA (5 - 23) at MONTANA ST (11 - 16) - 2/27/2012, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
N ARIZONA is 5-18 ATS (-14.8 Units) in all games this season.
N ARIZONA is 5-18 ATS (-14.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
N ARIZONA is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) as an underdog this season.
N ARIZONA is 3-11 ATS (-9.1 Units) against conference opponents this season.
N ARIZONA is 1-12 ATS (-12.2 Units) after a conference game this season.
N ARIZONA is 1-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) off a loss against a conference rival this season.
N ARIZONA is 2-10 ATS (-9.0 Units) after 3 or more consecutive losses this season.
N ARIZONA is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
N ARIZONA is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record after 15 or more games this season.
MONTANA ST is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) in February games over the last 2 seasons.
MONTANA ST is 17-30 ATS (-16.0 Units) after a conference game over the last 3 seasons.
MONTANA ST is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) after allowing 60 points or less over the last 3 seasons.
MONTANA ST is 29-48 ATS (-23.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record after 15 or more games since 1997.
Head-to-Head Series History
MONTANA ST is 4-2 against the spread versus N ARIZONA over the last 3 seasons
MONTANA ST is 3-3 straight up against N ARIZONA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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MISS VALLEY ST (16 - 12) at JACKSON ST (7 - 20) - 2/27/2012, 7:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
JACKSON ST is 4-1 straight up against MISS VALLEY ST over the last 3 seasons
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RADFORD (6 - 25) at VMI (14 - 15) - 2/27/2012, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
RADFORD is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
RADFORD is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) in all lined games over the last 3 seasons.
RADFORD is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) after a conference game over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
VMI is 4-2 straight up against RADFORD over the last 3 seasons
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GARDNER WEBB (12 - 19) at HIGH POINT (12 - 17) - 2/27/2012, 7:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
HIGH POINT is 4-2 straight up against GARDNER WEBB over the last 3 seasons
NOTRE DAME vs. GEORGETOWN
Notre Dame is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Notre Dame's last 6 games on the road
Georgetown is 19-5 SU in its last 24 games
Georgetown is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
TEXAS TECH vs. BAYLOR
Texas Tech is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas Tech's last 6 games on the road
Baylor is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games
Baylor is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games
NORTHERN ARIZONA vs. MONTANA STATE
Northern Arizona is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Northern Arizona is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Montana State is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games
Montana State is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
LONGWOOD vs. GONZAGA
No trends available
Gonzaga is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games
Gonzaga is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
KANSAS vs. OKLAHOMA STATE
Kansas is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Kansas is 18-5 SU in its last 23 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oklahoma State's last 5 games
Oklahoma State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Monday's Top College Basketball Trends
N ARIZONA 2-15 ATS after playing a game as an underdog (vs Montana St)
GEORGETOWN is 8-0 ATS (+8 Units) off a home win by 10 points or more (vs Notre Dame)
OKLAHOMA ST is 7-0 ATS (+7 Units) revenging a road loss vs opponent (vs Kansas)
BAYLOR is 3-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) off a win against a conference rival (vs Texas Tech)