College Knowledge
-- Providence outscored Villanova 29-17 on foul line in 69-66 (-3.5) win over Wildcats 15 days ago; Friars were 29-48 on line, Villanova 17-25. Villanova also turned ball over 25 times. Friars lost last five visits here, by 8-9-17-11-2 points; they're 0-3 since Villanova win, losing by 4-10-3 points. Big East home favorites of 7 or less points are 2-17 vs spread. Wildcats are 3-1 at home in Big East, with two wins in overtime.
-- Minnesota lost four of last five games; they're 3-1 at home in league play, winning by 13-18-19 points. Gophers lost twice to Iowa LY, by 2-4 points, after winning previous six series games. Hawkeyes lost three of last four visits here, losing by 13-35-10 points. Iowa is 0-3 on road in league play, losing by 28-9-3 points. Big Dozen home favorites of 10 or less points are 7-9 against the spread.
-- Louisville won 10 of last 13 vs Marquette, with last three wins here by 20-1-4 points; they've beaten Eagles by 25-13 in last two league tournaments. Marquette is 6-1 in Big East but five games were at home-- both its road games went to OT. Cardinals snapped 3-game skid with 74-71 win over Pitt last game; they're 3-1 at home in Big East, winning by 18-26-3 points. Big East double digit home faves are 4-6 vs spread.
-- UConn won six of last seven games vs South Florida, winning three in row in Nutmeg State by 19-14-5 points. Huskies are 4-3 in conference, 2-1 at home, winning by 21-12 points, with loss to Louisville. USF lost all four Big East road games, by 26-3-8-13 points; four of seven league losses are by 8 or less points. Big East single digit home faves are 10-23 vs spread. UConn ranks in bottom 50 in nation in rebounding; unusual.
-- Virginia won last four games, allowing 50 ppg; they're 1-2 on road in league, with win at Va Tech. Georgia Tech is 1-6 in ACC, with four of six losses by 13+ points; they've lost last five games vs Cavaliers, losing 70-38 LY after previous four losses were all by 8 or less points. UVa's 42.0 defensive eFG% is #7 in country. ACC home underdogs are 10-4 against spread. Tech is 1-7 vs top 100 teams (beat St Mary's).
-- Stanford is 15-5 in last 20 games vs Oregon State, winning LY by 2-5 points, with win at OSU in four OTs; Beavers are 1-8 in last nine visits here, losing last three, by 24-14-5 points. OSU is 1-7 in Pac-12; its last three losses were by total of 7 points- they're 0-3 on Pac-12 road, with losses by 10-1-3 points. Cardinal is 3-1 at home in Pac-12, with wins by 11-10-24. Pac-12 home faves are 11-29 vs spread, 3-12 if laying 7+.
-- Wisconsin is 11-4 in last 15 games vs Illinois, winning last four by 10-4-14-23 points; Badgers (-6) won first meeting 74-51, making 10-23 on arc, 53% inside it- they've also won four of last six visits to Illinois. Big Dozen favorites are 8-3 vs spread if number was 3 or less points. Illini lost five of last six games; they're 3-7 since 12-0 start, losing last three home games, by 17-17-14 points.
-- Rider is 9-1 in last ten games vs Marist; LY's 95-75 loss here was its first in last five visits to McCann Center. Last five series games were all won by 13+ points. Broncs lost last three games, by 17-11-10 points, scoring average of 53.3 ppg, but they're 7-1 vs teams outside top 200. Marist is 2-3 at home in MAAC, with losses by 12-4-4 points. MAAC home underdogs are 10-4 against the spread.
-- Manhattan lost six of last eight games; three of their last four losses were by 4 or less points. St Peter's is 1-8 in its last nine games, skid that started with 55-53 home loss (-3.5) to Jaspers Jan 4, when they missed 11 of 20 foul shots; Peacocks lost eight of last nine visits here, with four of last five losses here by 7 or less points. MAAC home favorites of 7+ points are 12-5 against the spread.
Armadillosports.com
Sunday's Tip Sheet
By David Schwab
VegasInsider.com
At around 6:30 p.m. (ET) this upcoming Sunday afternoon the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are set to square off in Super Bowl XXLVII. A perfect warm-up to the biggest sports betting event of the year are a couple of men's college basketball games that should peak your interest including our featured matchup of the day between No. 25 Marquette and No. 12 Louisville. The following is a brief betting guide for this Big East showdown as well as a couple of the other top games on the slate from the Big Ten and ACC.
Game of the Day
No. 25 Marquette Golden Eagles vs. No. 12 Louisville Cardinals
The Golden Eagles come into this matchup in a first-place tie with Syracuse in the Big East at 6-1 and 15-4 straight-up overall. Their only setback in the conference was a thrilling 71-69 overtime loss to Cincinnati as 7 ½-point road underdogs. Marquette has covered in four of its last five games to improve to 8-7 ATS overall. The total has gone OVER in three of its last five games.
Vander Blue and Davante Gardner remain the two primary scoring threats for the Golden Eagles. Blue is averaging 14.8 points a game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field. Gardner is chipping-in another 12.7 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds a game. Overall, Marquette is averaging 70.1 points and shooting 46.3 percent from the field.
It has been a spectacular rise and a hard fall for Louisville this season. It made it all the way to No.1 in the country with a 16-1 record in its first 17 games. The stay at the top was brief with three-straight losses including unexplainable losses to Villanova and Georgetown as hefty road favorites. The Cardinals are 0-4 ATS in their last four games and 10-11 ATS overall. The total has stayed UNDER in five of their last seven games.
Despite the recent slide, Louisville is still one of the most potent teams in college basketball behind Russ Smith. He is averaging 18.4 points and the team as a whole is putting up 74 points a game. Chane Behanan and Peyton Siva have also been major contributors with over 10 points a game and Gorgui Dieng is pulling down an average of 10 rebounds.
Super Bowl Props
If you are looking to tie-in a few Super Bowl prop bets with this game, here are two that might peak your interest.
Who will have more?
RUSS SMITH (LOU) POINTS -2.5 -110
COLIN KAEPERNICK (SF) COMPLETIONS +2.5 -110
Who will have more?
LOUISVILLE POINTS -3.5 -110
FRANK GORE (SF) RUSHING YARDS +3.5 -110
The Best of the Rest
Iowa Hawkeyes vs. No. 23 Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Hawkeyes ended a two-game skid with a 76-67 victory over Penn State this past Thursday as 13-point home favorites. They are now 3-5 SU in Big Ten play and 14-7 SU overall. Iowa is 10-7 ATS overall and 2-2 ATS on the road this season. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of its last 10 games. The team is averaging 73 points and ranked 17th in the nation in rebounds with 39.9 a game.
With just one loss in its first 17 games, Minnesota was on the fast track to the top of the national rankings. That all came to a screeching halt with four-straight conference losses. The Gophers ended the slide this past Tuesday with an 84-65 rout of Nebraska as a 17½-point home favorite. The net result is a 16-5 record SU (13-6 ATS) and a 4-4 record in Big Ten play. The total has gone OVER in four of the last six games. Minnesota remains extremely balanced with five different players scoring in double figures led by Andre Hollins 14.1 points a game.
Virginia Cavaliers vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Virginia is riding high after knocking off North Carolina State this past Tuesday 58-55 as a 3½-point home favorite. It is now won four straight to move to 15-5 overall and 5-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers have covered in three of their last four games and are a very profitable 11-5-1 ATS this season. The total has stayed UNDER in four of their last six games. Defense has been this team's biggest strength by far. Virginia is holding teams to just 51.2 points a game which is the third-lowest total in Division I.
The Yellow Jackets have just one SU victory in their last seven games to fall to 11-8 SU overall and a dismal 1-6 in conference play. They are 8-9 ATS overall and 5-4 ATS at home. The total has gone OVER in seven of their last eight games. Georgia Tech could have its hands full trying to put points on the board in this matchup with an average of just 65.5 points a game while shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from three-point range.