College Knowledge
-- UConn won nine of last ten games vs Seton Hall, but lost by 12 here LY; eight of Huskies' last nine series wins were by 8+ points. UConn is 2-3 on Big East road, winning by 3-7 points; they've won three of last four games, but last two wins were in OT. Seton Hall lost eight of last nine games; they're 1-3 at home in Big East, losing by 15-12-6. Big East home underdogs of 6 or less points are 6-10 vs spread.
-- Home side won last four NC State-Clemson games, with Tigers (+9) losing 66-62 in Raleigh Jan 20; Wolfpack lost last four visits here, by 3-12-10-16 points. State is 1-4 since that win, losing last four away games, three by 3 or less points. Four of State's last five games went over total. ACC home underdogs of 4 or less points are 7-2 vs spread. Clemson is 4-0 in last four home games, but lost by 37 at Virginia in last game.
-- Indiana is 8-2 in Big Dozen, 4-1 on road; they blew 12-point halftime lead in 74-72 loss at Illinois last game. Hoosiers lost seven of last eight games vs Ohio State, losing last four visits here by 24-25-21-17 points. Buckeyes are 4-0 at home in league, with three wins by 9+ points; they lost last game in OT at Michigan Tuesday. Big Dozen home teams are 10-12 against spread when spread is 5 or less points.
-- Virginia won five of its last six games, with four wins by 14+ points; they've won last three games vs Maryland by 14-27-3 points, winning last two visits here. Cavaliers are just 1-3 on ACC road, winning only at Va Tech, losing to three lower-tier teams. Maryland is 4-1 at home in ACC, with only loss to Florida State, best win over NC State by point. ACC home favorites of 5 or less points are 3-10 vs spread.
-- Tennessee won its last 11 games vs South Carolina, winning last five visits here, by 24-16-8-4-9 points; Vols are 0-4 on SEC road, losing by 3-10-13-6 points. Carolina scored 49 ppg in losing last three games, all by 11+ points; they're turning ball over 23.4% of time, are 1-3 at home in SEC, losing by 3-7-11. Two of Vols' three SEC wins are by one point. SEC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 8-3 vs spread.
-- Northern Iowa is 9-2 in last 11 games vs Bradley, but lost two of last three visits here, as home team won six of last seven in series. Panthers (-7) crushed Bradley 84-53 Jan 20 in game they led 41-14 at half (made 15-26 behind arc). MVC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 11-3 vs spread. Braves are 4-1 at home in Valley, with only loss to Wichita by 6; their last four wins are all by six or less points.
-- St John's lost its last seven games vs Syracuse, losing last five visits to Carrier Dome by 6-14-2-6-19 points. Red Storm won six of last seven games; they're 3-2 on Big East road- three of their four conference losses are by 12+ points. Syracuse is 4-0 at home in Big East, winning by 25-11-2-16 points; they lost two of last three games (Villanova/Pitt) after an 18-1 start. Big East double digit home favorites are 5-8 vs spread.
-- Evansville is 5-0 at home in MVC, with two OT wins and another by 4 points; they're 2-5 in last seven games, with last four all decided by 6 or less points. Drake trailed by 10 early, made 11-20 behind arc, won 83-69 (+1) over Purple Aces Jan 16, its fourth series win in row (all by 9+ points). Six of Bulldogs' seven MVC losses are by 8+ points. MVC home favorites of 6+ points are 10-18 vs spread.
-- Illinois-Minnesota split last six meetings, with both of LY's going into OT; Illini lost two of last three visits here, with losses by 23-5. Illinois upset then-#1 Indiana last game; their last three games were all decided by 6 or less points. Gophers are 4-1 at home in league, with three wins by 13+ points, and only loss to Michigan by 8. Big Dozen home faves of 8+ points are 9-12 against the spread.
-- Duke flew to Boston Sunday morning for 6pm tipoff because of snow in area; they're 10-1 in last 11 games vs BC, winning last five by 20-1-3-16-25 points. Blue Devils won last four games, with three wins by 13+ points; they're 2-2 on ACC road, winning by 5-19. BC is 1-3 at home in ACC, losing by 12-1-5 points. ACC home dogs are 12-4 vs spread, 4-0 if getting 7+ points; double digit favorites are 10-4, 0-1 on road.
-- Arizona won four of last five games with California, but all four wins were by 4 or less points, including a triple OT tilt in Berkeley couple of years ago. Wildcats won last four games, allowing 59.3 ppg; they're 4-1 at home in Pac-12, winning by 9-3-24-7, with loss to UCLA. Cal Bears are 2-4 on road in conference, losing by 14-10-10-4 points. Pac-12 home favorites of 10+ points are 2-7 against the spread.
-- Colorado won four of its last five games; they're 2-4 on road, winning at doormat Wazzu and Artis-less Oregon. Home side won both of Buffs' games with Oregon State LY. OSU won by 14 here, lost in Boulder by 22. Beavers are 2-8 in conference, 2-4 at home, as President's bro-in-law is taking some heat. Pac-12 underdogs are 12-5 vs spread if number is 3 or less points. Buffaloes outscored Oregon 8-0 over last 4:26 Thursday to win by a point in Eugene.
-- Visitor in 6-3 in last nine Washington-USC games; Huskies won last two visits here, by 6-22 points. U-Dub lost five of last six games, losing last three away tilts by 8-5-2 points- six of their 10 league games were decided by 5 or less points. Five of last seven USC games went over the total. Pac-12 home favorites of 5 or less points are 5-15 vs spread. USC is 3-3 since firing O'Neill; five of six games were decided by four or less points. Trojans are 3-2 at home in Pac-12 (wins by 2-1-4).
Armadillosports.com
Sunday's Slate
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
With football season now in the rearview mirror, it’s great to see college hoops stepping up with a great card for Sunday. We have a number of outstanding matchups so let’s take a look at two crucial Big Ten showdowns to get started.
Indiana at Ohio State
Most offshore books opened Ohio State (17-5 straight up, 12-8 against the spread) as a 1.5-point favorite. However, as of early Saturday night, many books had the game as a pick ‘em with a total of 139.5.
Thad Matta’s squad saw its four-game winning streak snapped in Tuesday’s 76-74 loss at Michigan. Nevertheless, the Buckeyes hooked up their betting supporters as seven-point road underdogs. DeShaun Thomas had a team-high 17 points in the losing effort, while LaQuinton Ross came off the bench to score 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
Ohio St. has been a single-digit home favorite four times this season, compiling a 3-1 spread record. The Buckeyes have won 12 of their 13 home games while going 8-4 ATS. Their only loss in Columbus came against Kansas.
Indiana (20-3 SU, 11-10 ATS) is in bounce-back mode after getting beat Thursday night on a buzzer shot at Illinois. The Illini captured a 74-72 win as a seven-point home underdog when Tyler Griffey somehow got wide open to make an easy layup before the horn off an inbounds play on the baseline. Cody Zeller had 14 points and nine rebounds in defeat. Jordan Hulls, one of the nation’s premier perimeter shooters, finished with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point land.
Tom Crean’s team is an underdog for the first time this year in this spot. The Hoosiers have prevailed in four of their five true road assignments, but they are 2-3 ATS.
These Big Ten rivals split a pair of regular-season meetings last year with the home team winning both times. When they played in Columbus, Ohio St. cruised to an 80-63 victory as a 13-point home ‘chalk.’
The ‘under’ is 12-7 overall for the Buckeyes, 7-5 in their home games.
The ‘under’ is 9-8 overall for the Hoosiers, but they have seen the ‘over’ hit at a 3-1 clip in their last four games.
CBS will have the telecast at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Illinois at Minnesota
Most books opened Minnesota (17-6 SU, ATS) as a 9.5-point favorite. The total started at 138.5.
Tubby Smith’s team has lost five of its last seven games, but there’s no reason for the Gophers to hit the panic button. Each of the defeats came to high-level foes with the exception of the loss at Northwestern. The Gophers have dropped to 5-5 in Big Ten play.
Minnesota has won 12 of its 14 home games at The Barn, posting an 8-6 spread record. The Gophers are 1-1 both SU and ATS in a pair of single-digit home ‘chalk’ situations.
Illinois (16-8 SU, 9-12 ATS) is coming off its thrilling victory over Indiana as mentioned above. The Illini hooked up money-line supporters with a payout in the plus-250 range (risk $100 to win $250).
John Groce’s team has been an underdog 10 times, going 5-5 ATS with four outright victories.
The ‘under’ is 10-8 overall for the Gophers, 6-5 in their 11 home games with a total. The ‘under’ is 4-1 in Minnesota’s last five games (regardless of venue).
The ‘under’ is 11-9 overall for Illinois, 7-3 in its last 10 games.
The ‘over’ has hit in three straight head-to-head meetings.
When these schools met on Jan. 9 in Champaign-Urbana, Minnesota collected an 84-67 win at Illinois as a 1.5-point road ‘chalk.’ The 151 combined points sailed ‘over’ the 140.5-point total Joe Coleman scored a game-high 29 points for the Gophers, who also got a 22-point effort from guard Andre Hollins. Coleman made 10-of-16 shots from the field and Hollins drained 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Trevor Mbakwe added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Paul had a team-high 21 points for Illinois, but he was only 6-of-17 from the floor and missed five of his six 3-point attempts.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Eastern on The Big Ten Network (channel 610 on DirecTV).
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
Michigan has now lost 11 consecutive games in Madison against Wisconsin. We saw an incredible finish on Saturday in the Badgers’ 65-62 win over the Wolverines in overtime. Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a deep trey to put Michigan ahead by three with 2.4 seconds remaining. But the game got sent to OT when Ben Brust buried a heave just inside halfcourt that looked eerily similar to the attempt by Butler’s Gordon Hayward that was off the mark in the national-title game against Duke a few years ago. Brust knocked down another crucial 3-pointer in the extra session as Bo Ryan’s team won outright as a short home underdog.
I have never been hesitant to admit it when I’ve been wrong. And there’s no doubt that I was w-r-o-n-g in my criticism of Miami for not attempting to hire Frank Martin two years ago. The Hurricanes got it right with the hiring of former George Mason coach Jim Larranaga, who led his team to another blowout win on Saturday. The ‘Canes destroyed North Carolina by an 87-61 count to remain unbeaten in ACC action.
Maryland is a 1.5-point home favorite vs. Virginia on Sunday afternoon. Both teams need this one badly.
Tennessee is a 1.5-point road ‘chalk’ at South Carolina. After missing the last two games, Vols’ starting point guard Trae Golden is expected to return from a hamstring injury.
Following its huge upset wins over Florida and Kansas, respectively, Arkansas and TCU both lost Saturday (SU and ATS) to Vandy and West Va. Off its huge win over Indiana, is Illinois in the same situation at Minnesota?
Syracuse is a 15-point home favorite vs. St. John’s. The Red Storm has been a double-digit ‘dog only once this year, winning outright by a 53-52 score at Cincinnati as a 13.5-point puppy.
The ‘Cuse owns a 6-4 spread record in 10 games as a double-digit favorite.
Top 25 NCAAB Betting Notes
By Covers.com
With the NFL season over and done, college basketball slides into the Sunday spotlight with five games involving Top 25 programs. We've got betting notes for all of Sunday's biggest contests:
Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio State Buckeyes (-1.5, 138)
Indiana became the latest top-ranked team to taste defeat the week after they ascended to the No.1 spot. Although an extended stay is highly unlikely, the top-ranked Hoosiers can make their case to remain in that spot with a win Sunday at No. 10 Ohio State. Over the last four weeks, Louisville, Duke, Kansas and Indiana have taken one-week turns as the top-ranked team in the coaches’ poll, only to be dismissed the following week.
Four of the top five teams in the most recent poll suffered at least one loss in the past week while No. 4 Duke isn’t even leading its own conference, placing voters in a bind. The Hoosiers likely lost their grip of the top spot with Thursday’s surprising loss at Illinois, but might be able to make up for it against the Buckeyes, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped Wednesday in an overtime loss at Michigan.
St. John's Red Storm at Syracuse Orange (-16, 131)
Two of the top 10 winningest programs in Division I history renew acquaintances on Sunday when St. John’s attempts to end the country’s longest-active home winning streak when it faces No. 9 Syracuse. The Orange are tied with Marquette atop the Big East standings and have won 36 straight at home, with their last such loss coming Feb. 9, 2011, against Georgetown. But Syracuse is vulnerable at the moment with top outside threat James Southerland and bruising forward DaJuan Coleman both out.
Syracuse – fifth on the D-I wins list – rebounded from its first two conference losses with Monday’s 63-47 victory over Notre Dame. However, the vaunted Orange offense that averaged 82 points in non-conference action is averaging only 65.9 during Big East play. St. John’s – seventh all-time in wins – picked up its sixth victory in seven games with Wednesday’s triumph over Connecticut.
Duke Blue Devils at Boston College Eagles (+12, 145)
Duke will try to continue its winning ways when it travels to Boston College for an ACC game Sunday evening. The No. 4 Blue Devils have won four straight after dropping two of three following the injury to third-leading scorer Ryan Kelly. Duke beat North Carolina State on Thursday night, the same team that toppled the Blue Devils on Jan. 12, the first game Kelly missed with a right foot injury.
Kelly is expected to miss his eighth consecutive game with the injury, leaving fellow seniors Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry to pick up the slack. Plumlee did exactly that against North Carolina State, scoring 30 points in the 98-85 victory, while Curry finished with 26 points for his third straight game with 21 or more. Boston College will try to counter with a starting lineup that features two freshmen and three sophomores. The first two players off the bench are also sophomores.
Illinois Fighting Illini and Minnesota Golden Gophers (-10, 137)
Illinois, which snapped a three-game losing streak with a dramatic 74-72 home upset of No. 1 Indiana on Thursday, will try to build on that momentum at sputtering No. 18 Minnesota, which has dropped five of its last seven games, including a 61-50 setback at Michigan State on Wednesday. It's the second meeting of the season between the Big Ten rivals. The Golden Gophers won the first encounter, 84-67, at Illinois on Jan. 9, handing the Illini their first home loss of the season in the process.
Illinois has gone just 2-5 since the first matchup with the Gophers but Thursday's upset of the Hoosiers could just be the tonic to spark a turnaround for a team that looked like it would be a legitimate Big Ten challenger after whipping Butler, 78-61, to win the EA Sports Maui Invitational in November. In fact, after Thursday's victory over the Hoosiers, which came by way of a Tyler Griffey buzzer-beating layup on an inbounds pass with nine-tenths of a second remaining, the Illini now own four victories over teams currently rated in the top-15: No. 1 Indiana, No. 6 Gonzaga, No. 10 Ohio State and No. 14 Butler.
California Golden Bears at Arizona Wildcats (-13, 132)
Arizona looks to extend its winning streak to five on Sunday when the 7th-ranked Wildcats host California, which has lost 22 of the last 27 meetings in the series. Arizona, which took over sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 without even playing a game on Thursday, has four home games and four road games left in the regular season. California is mired in a five-way tie for fifth place, three games behind Arizona.
The Bears lost 66-62 to Arizona State on Thursday and failed to build on home wins last week over Oregon State and Oregon. Junior guard Allen Crabbe still leads the Pac-12 scoring at 19.3 points per game, but he’s shooting 25 percent (6-for-24) from 3-point range over the last three games. The Bears will need a complete effort from their defense after struggling early against Arizona State. The Wildcats are second in the Pac-12 in scoring at 74.7 points per game.
Sunday's Pac-12 Action
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The Pac-12 takes center-stage in a rare Sunday night tripleheader. Nine of the league's 12 teams own a .500 record or better inside the conference, as Arizona is holding onto a slim lead at 8-2. The big question heading down the stretch is if Oregon, Arizona State, or UCLA can catch Arizona for the top seed in the Pac 12 tournament. Several of the middle-tier clubs have an opportunity at a road victory on Sunday, including Cal, who makes a trip to Tucson.
Cal at Arizona
The Wildcats are riding a four-game winning streak since getting blown out by UCLA on January 24, as Arizona goes for just its fourth cover in 11 conference games. Sean Miller's team failed to cash in Wednesday's 73-66 victory over Stanford as 10½-point favorites, dropping the 'Cats to 1-6 ATS in the last seven games as double-digit 'chalk.' Arizona overcame a one-point deficit to outscore Stanford, 47-39 in the second half, while Mark Lyons and Solomon Hill combined for 48 points.
The Golden Bears fell short in a 66-62 defeat at Arizona State on Thursday, while failing to cash as 3½-point 'dogs. Mike Montgomery's squad has now hit the 'under' in seven of the last eight contests, as Cal is searching for some consistency on offense. In five of the previous nine games, Cal has scored 62 points or less, but the Bears have eclipsed the 71-point mark three times. The road has been tough for Cal inside the Pac-12, going 2-4 SU/ATS with the only wins coming at Utah and USC.
Arizona has taken four of the last five meetings in the series, but the two teams are meeting for the only time in the regular season. The Bears are making their first trip to Tucson since January 2011 when Cal covered as 13-point underdogs in a 73-71 setback.
Colorado at Oregon State
The Buffaloes picked up one of their uglier wins of the season in a 48-47 close-shave at Oregon as seven-point 'dogs on Thursday. Each team shot just 36% from the floor, while Colorado had only one player score in double-figures (Andre Roberson - 10), but the Buffs managed their fourth victory in five games. CU improved to 3-1 ATS as an underdog in Pac-12 action, but Tad Boyle's team has lost outright in two road favorite opportunities at Arizona State and Utah.
The Beavers are the hottest ATS team in the conference by covering seven of the last eight games, including five straight in the underdog role. Craig Robinson's squad snapped a three-game skid with Thursday's home rout of Utah, 82-64 as 8½-point 'chalk,' while limiting the Utes to 35% shooting from the field. The win was just the second in 10 conference contests, as Oregon State owns a dreadful 1-6 ATS record in lined games off a victory this season.
The home team won each of the two meetings in Colorado's debut season inside the Pac-12, as the Beavers blew out the Buffaloes in Corvallis, 83-69.
Washington at USC
Both the Huskies and Trojans each own 5-5 records inside the Pac-12, while each club is going in different directions. Washington started conference play at 4-0, but Lorenzo Romar's team is headed backwards with losses in five of the last six games. The Huskies fell at the buzzer in Thursday's two-point setback at UCLA, even though UW covered as seven-point underdogs. In spite of Washington's struggles, the Huskies improved to 8-2 ATS against Pac-12 opponents, including 6-1 ATS mark as an underdog.
The Trojans have split six games since the firing of head coach Kevin O'Neill in mid-January, which includes consecutive wins over UCLA and Washington State. USC pushed as four-point favorites in Thursday's 72-68 victory over Wazoo, the third win in five conference games at the Galen Center. This is the third instance in which the Trojans have are seeking a three-game winning streak, but USC has failed in the first two chances with losses to Illinois and Cal as short favorites.
Washington captured both matchups with USC last season, including a 22-point blowout as 7½-point favorites in Los Angeles. The Trojans last beat the Huskies at home in January 2010, while losing three of the last four meetings in Southern California.
College Basketball: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Indiana at Ohio State
A pair of ranked teams looking to recover from heart-breaking losses square off Sunday afternoon in Columbus when Indiana visits Ohio State. Hoosiers (20-3, 11-10 ATS) led by Cody Zeller (16.2 PPG) and Victor Oladipo (13.8 PPG) having little trouble putting the ball through the hoop net a nation second best 83.3 points/game. Ohio State (17-5, 12-8 ATS) powered by Deshaun Thomas (19.9) score 71.9 per/contest. But where the Buckeyes stand out is on the defensive end, allowing just 58.1 PPG on 38.3% shooting. Indiana's hopes for a bounce back win on the road Sunday may very well fall short. Columbus always a tough venue for any visitor including Hoosiers on a 0-4 SU/ATS skid playing in Buckeyes back yard. Buckeyes enjoying success vs Hoosiers in recent years posting a 7-1 SU/ATS mark have been pegged 1.0 point favorites against their Big Ten rival.
North Carolina State at Clemson
Things have not gone well for Clemson Tigers during conference play. Tigers trounced 78-41 Thursday at Virginia are now 4-6 SU/ATS within the ACC. However, Tigers are 4-1 (2-3 ATS) on home court vs the conference and have won four straight (3-1 ATS) when Wolfpack pay a visit. Clemson's stingy defense allowing a lowly 58.9 points/game should keep this one within cover range on home court as Tigers are on a perfect 8-0 ATS streak following a loss by more than 20 points, 6-2 ATS as dogs of 4.5 or less.