College Basketball Knowledge
George Washington is 4-0 in A-14 games with George Mason, winning 75-69/67-51 in two visits here. Colonials lost in double OT at home to Richmond Thursday; four starters played 40:00+, fifth played 36:00 in wild game. GW split its last six games; they're 2-3 in last five road tilts. George Mason lost six of last seven games, losing last three at home by 19-14-11. A-14 single digit home underdogs are 2-12 vs spread.
Maryland pounded Ohio State 100-65 at home 15 days ago, making 11-21 on arc, scoring 1.35 ppp; Terps lost 80-56 at Ohio State LY in first Big 14 meeting. Maryland is 3-2 in last five games after 15-1 start, losing last two road games to Michigan schools. Buckeyes are 4-0 at home in Big 14, but wins are over four worst teams in league. Big 14 single digit home underdogs are 4-9 vs spread.
Wake Forest lost its last five games, blowing 7-point lead in last 0:16 of last game vs Virginia; Deacons are 0-4 on ACC road, with three losses by 8+ points. Home side won both Wake Forest-Notre Dame ACC tilts; Wake lost 88-75 here LY, after beating Irish twice year before. ND won four of last five games; they won last three home ghames, by 8-2-27 points. ACC single digit home favorites are 11-14 vs spread.
Home side won six of last seven Richmond-St Bonaventure games, with Spiders losing two of last three visits here- they won last three overall in series, winning 71-56 here LY. Richmond won in double OT Thursday at GW; they're 3-5 in last eight games, but two of three wins came away from home. A-14 home teams are 6-12 vs spread in games where spread was 4 or less points. Bonnies lost three in row, allowing 88 ppg.
Southern Illinois made 13-22 on arc, nipped Northern Iowa 75-73 Jan 2 in Carbondale; Salukis are 4-3 in last seven games with UNI, but are 0-12 in last dozen visits to UNI, with four of its last five losses here by 13+. Panthers lost six of last eight games, scoring 48 ppg while losing last two home games- all three of their Valley wins are vs Drake, Bradley. MVC home favorites of 6 or less points are 3-8 vs spread.
Wichita State nipped Evansville 67-64 at home Jan 6, game that was tied at half; Shockers are 14-2 in last 16 games with Purple Aces, winning by 16-20 points in last two visits here. Wichita won last 10 games, are 4-0 on road in Valley, winning all four by 16+ points. MVC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 5-3 vs spread. Evansville is 11-2 in last 13 games, winning all four MVC home games- they shoot 39.4% on arc.
Cal shot 62% inside arc in 79-65 home win over Colorado at home Jan 1; Cal won four of last five games with Buffs, but lost two of three visits here in Pac-12 play. Colorado won four of last five games, winning three in row at home- their only home loss is Utah. Cal lost all four of its road games in conference, all by nine or less points. Pac-12 home favorites of 6 or less points are 7-8 against the spread.
Virginia Tech lost its last three games, is 4-4 in ACC; seven of its eight ACC games were decided by 8 or less points. Hokies are 1-2 on road in ACC, losing by 24 at Duke, 2 at Notre Dame. Pitt is 2-3 in its last five games after a 14-1 start; they're 3-1 at home in ACC, winning by 11-5-23 points. Home side won both Va Tech-Pitt ACC games, with both games going OT. ACC single digit home favorites are 11-14 vs spread.
Wm & Mary won last four games with James Madison, winning by 22-8 in last two played here; Tribe won its last three home games by 8-18-22 points, after losing to Towson- winning side scored 89+ in their last four games. Dukes are 6-3 in CAA; all three losses came at home- they're 4-0 on road in conference, with wins at Northeastern, Hofstra. CAA home favorites of 5 or less points are 3-8 vs spread.
Wisconsin won its last eight games with Illinois, winning last three visits here by 4-6-12 points. Badgers won last three games, beating Michigan State/Indiana at home; they're 1-2 on Big 14 road, beating Penn State by 6. Illinois lost six of last eight games; they split pair of OT decisions in last two games- they're 1-3 at home in Big 14, with upset of Purdue. Big 14 home underdogs of 5 or less points are 3-7 vs spread.
Oregon ended Arizona's 49-game home win streak Thursday; they won last three games, six of last seven games, are 2-2 on Pac-12 road, losing at Colorado/OSU. Ducks won six of last seven games with Arizona State, but lost five of last six visits here- home team is 12-3 in last 15 games in series. ASU is 2-2 at home in Pac-12, beating Wazzu/Oregon State. Pac-12 home underdogs of 4 or less points are 11-5 vs spread.
Rider won four of last five games after starting season 4-12; Broncs won last three home games, by 2-4-23 points; they won six of last nine games with Canisius; road team won five of last seven series games. Griffs lost six of last nine games, but all three wins were on road. Canisius allowed 70+ points in last six losses, 62 or less in last three wins. MAAC home favorites of 3 or less points are 3-6 against the spread.
North Dakota State won its last six games with IUPUI, winning by 38-23-8 in last three visits here. Bison won three of last four games; they're 1-2 on Summit road, with only win at Western Illinois. IUPUI won five of last six games after starting season 5-12; Jaguars won three of last four at home, with win over South Dakota State. Summit home teams are 4-7 vs spread in games where spread was 4 or less points.
Armadillosports.com
NCAAB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Maryland at Ohio State
One of the toughest things to do in sports is play another game right after a huge win. There is almost a bit of a letdown that can lead to problems if you don’t head into that next game totally focused on the task at hand. That is what the Maryland Terrapins will be facing on Sunday after their feat of beating Iowa and snapping Hawkeyes nine game winning streak. If you want to keep updated with the Terrapins and Buckeyes odds for this game and others be sure to visit MyBookie.ag.
How to bet Maryland Terrapins Vs Ohio State Buckeyes
It would be easy to look at the record of the Terrapins and how well they played on their last game and simply assume they will waltz away with the win here. As I mentioned earlier, there is always the chance of an emotional letdown, and the Buckeyes will be looking to jump on the first sign of that. The odds for this one will be up at the NCAA basketball betting page on MyBookie.ag a little closer to game time.
Why bet on the Maryland Terrapins
This teams showed just how though they are mentally when they bounced back from a loss to Michigan State with a win over the #3 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday night. That is a win, which when combined with another one over Ohio State, might see Maryland (18-3, 7-2) move up a little higher than their current #8 ranking. The goal of every team is to finish as highly ranked as possible, so that in itself should be enough to help Maryland stay focused for this one. They already have a win, and a big one at that, over Ohio State this season, as they knocked off the Buckeyes 100-65 back in the middle of the month. That was well above their 77.3 PPG scoring average, so I don’t really see them matching that sort of total this time around.
Why bet on the Ohio State Buckeyes
You might look at the last 2 games that the Buckeyes (14-8, 6-3) played against ranked opponents and think that they have no shot here, but this is a team playing well right now. Yes, they lost both of those games, but they have bounced back nicely with back to bac wins, including a gritty 68-63 win on the road in Illinois earlier this week. The Buckeyes already have the scalp of a ranked team in the back pockets this season, knocking off Kentucky in a major upset back in mid-December. The biggest loss that Ohio State have suffered this season came at the hands of Maryland, and you can bet they will want to exact some revenge in front of their home fans. Ohio State are averaging 71.1 PPG, and are giving up 65.8 PPG this season.
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
I am perhaps one of the few people who believe that this will be a close one. Maryland will automatically relax after that huge win, and will also be looking at how easily they disposed of Ohio State last time out. That sort of thinking can lead to potential problems.
NCAAB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Villanova at St. John's
Villanova Wildcats (17-3, 9-9-1 ATS) look to rebound from their 82-76 OT loss against Providence when they take on St. John’s Red Storm (7-14, 6-14 ATS) Sunday afternoon. Wildcats averaging 75.6 points/game and giving up just 61.7 per/contest, Red Storm ridding an eleven game (3-8 ATS) skid netting a lowly 66.0 PPG while giving up a whopping 79.7 PPG during the slide this has the markings of a lopsided affair.
Villanova with the first conference blemish of the season still fresh in their minds along with having it's 22-game Big East winning streak snapped the Wildcats aren't likely to show much mercy against this inferior Red Storm team they've dominated winning seven consecutive meetings (6-1 ATS) and thirteen of fourteen encounters (10-4 ATS).
Life on the road in college basketball is never easy. But, with Red Storm getting blown out of the water in conference play (0-8, 3-5 ATS) Villanova is the choice. The Wildcats enter a sparkling 7-1 ATS as visitor in this series, 5-1 ATS after a straight-up regular season loss, a profitable 7-1 ATS record running the hardwood vs a team with a winning % below .400.
Sunday's Top 25 Trends
VegasInsider.com
Villanova at St. John's
The Wildcats are coming off their first loss of 2016, falling in OT against Providence last Sunday in a game that ranks among the season's most entertaining, snapping a 22-game Big East winning streak. Jay Wright's team is 5-1 in true road games (2-3-1 ATS) and haven't lost to a team with a losing record all season. Teams 'Nova has lost to are a combined 53-10. Chris Mullin's Red Storm haven't won since Dec. 13, carrying an 11-game losing streak into Madison Suare Garden, where the Wildcats won a conference tournament title last time they took the floor. Shot blocking center Yankuba Sima remains out for St. John's.
Maryland at Ohio State
The Terps bounced back from last weekend's loss at Michigan State by handing Iowa its first Big Ten loss. They're looking to complete a season sweep of the Buckeyes after a 100-65 dismantling in College Park barely two weeks ago. Versatile PF Robert Carter shot 4-for-4 from 3-point range and scored 25 points, while All-America candidate Melo Trimble dished out nine assists. Ohio State expects to hang around by locking down on the defensive end since it's among the best in the conference in field goal percentage defense and blocked shots. OSU's last two games have gone under. Eight of Maryland's last 10 have finished below the posted total.
Northwestern at Iowa
A 74-68 loss at Maryland snapped Iowa's nine-game winning streak and supplied its first loss of 2016, but it maintains a perfect 10-0 (5-2 ATS) home record, winning all but one by double-digits. Considering both Michigan schools and Purdue are among the victims, it's clear the Hawkeyes get loose at home. Dating back to last year, they've won 13 straight in Iowa City. Northwestern has dropped four consecutive games and has lost its last two outside of Evanston, but is an impressive 5-1-1 ATS in true road games. The Wildcats are 4-26 all-time in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, losing there 69-52 last March. Iowa's Jarrod Uthoff leads the Big Ten in scoring and blocked shots.
Wichita State at Evansville
These are the top two teams in the Missouri Valley. The Shockers are a spotless 9-0 (8-1 ATS) and failed to cover only the initial meeting against the Aces, a 67-64 home win that represents the only league game they haven't won by at least 16 points. Evansville comes off an 85-78 OT win at Southern Illinois and was tied at Wichita State with less than 4 minutes to go on Jan. 6. UE center Egidijus Mockevicius has recorded 16 double-doubles and leads the nation in rebounding average (14.2). Wichita State lost its first four games away from home, but have since won and covered in five of six. Wichita has seen the over prevail in four of six. The Aces have seen it come in four of the last five.
Rutgers at Michigan State
The Spartans come off a 31-point home win at Northwestern and have prevailed in two straight, putting an empahtic end to a three-game skid. Tom Izzo's team faces no mid-week games before next Saturday's date at rival Michigan, so there's no chance they might be looking ahead. If flat, it's because they took a day off against a Rutgers that has lost all eight of its Big Ten games, hanging within single-digits only once. The Scarlet Knights did win and cover in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, losing just 68-57, but they've dropped four league games by at least 25 points, including a 107-57 home loss to Purdue. They're 0-6 on the road (2-4 ATS) and 3-10 overall since F Deshawn Freeman was lost for the season.
Oregon at Arizona State
If the Ducks pull off a sweep of the Arizona schools, they'll have sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 entering February. Oregon is still just 2-3 (3-2 ATS) on the road despite ending Arizona's 49-game home winning streak, but has beaten a murderer's row of conference foes since losing its opener at Oregon State on Jan. 3. Top scorer Dillon Brooks has averaged 20.2 points over the last five, shooting 54 percent. The Sun Devils rank last in the Pac-12 in defensive field goal percentage and 3-point defense. Oregon averages 77.7 points per game. The over has prevailed in nine of the last 10 ASU games, including six straight. This is the lone scheduled meeting between the teams this season.