College Basketball Information
Mississippi State is off to 5-1 start, winning last two games by total of three points; Bulldogs force turnovers 26.1% of time (#6 in US)-- their only loss was by 19 at Utah State, its only road game and only game vs team in top 225. TCU lost finals in Alaska by 21 to Harvard; they won by hoop at Washington State, its only road game against a D-I team.
West Virginia made 46.5% of its 3's in 6-2 start; its six wins are against teams outside top 200, losses to teams ranked 105-9. #48 Missouri won first seven games, winning by 11-13 points in two games in Vegas last week- none of their seven wins are vs teams ranked better than #144 in US. SEC home favorites are 16-10 vs spread. Big X underdogs are 10-6.
Providence won its last three games with Rhode Island, all by 13+; they are 7-2, one of tallest teams in country but have injury issues. Friars are making 81.3% on foul line, #3 in US. URI is 5-3 with no wins against a team ranked higher than #266; Rams are 0-3 vs top 130 teams, losing by 31-28-7 points- Friars are #60. Big East faves are 7-10 away from home.
Dartmouth is 2-1 vs D-I teams, winning by 18-25 points vs teams not in top 300- they won by 25 at Maine Sunday, first road game of year for a team making 41.8% of its 3's. Northern Illinois is 1-4 despite playing all its games at home except one- their only win is over San Jose by a point. Huskies are shooting 20.9% from arc, the worst percentage in country.
Rebuilding Vanderbilt is 4-3, with all four wins by 11 or less points vs teams ranked #150 or lower; all three Commodore losses are vs teams in top 70. #204 Marshall is 0-2 on road, losing by 8 in OT at Morehead, by 10 at East Tennessee. Herd hasn't beaten a team ranked above #200. SEC home favorites are 16-10. C-USA road underdogs are 15-15.
Ole Miss is 6-0, beating Ga Tech/Penn State in NYC last week, winning by hoop at Coastal Carolina in only road game; Rebels are making 39.1% of 3's, but just 64.6% on foul line. Kansas State is 4-3, losing two out of three on neutral floors; Wildcats lost to Georgetown by 27 in only game vs top 100 team- they're turning ball over 20.6% of time, making 26.6% from the arc, both lousy numbers.
San Diego State won Anaheim tourney, beating pair of Big East teams in last two games; Aztecs won last seven games with San Diego, winning by 12-7-5 in last three visits here- this is State's first true road game this year. Toreros are 7-2 against lousy schedule, losing at New Mexico by 7 in only top 100 game. Mountain West faves are 5-2 away from home.
VCU forces turnovers 27.5% of time, #2 in US; interesting contrast vs Eastern Kentucky team that runs Princeton offense- they lost by 19 at NC State last game, only top 170 team they've played. VCU is 6-2 with four wins by 13+ points; they've got game with regional rival ODU on Saturday, better not overlook EKU squad that is 31-12 last 1.5 years.
Rider beat Monmouth last six years, with four of six wins by 12+, now they're MAAC rivals for first time. Broncs beat Monmouth 65-62 LY, but they turned ball over 28 times after leading by 15 at half. Hawks are 3-4, with all three wins vs teams ranked #282 or lower; three of their four losses are by 10+ points- they're shooting 42% inside arc- not good.
Air Force just got whacked by Colorado/Richmond as they're rebuilding after going 8-8 in tough Mountain West LY; Falcons are turning ball over 23.1% of time (#334 in US) and haven't beaten anyone ranked in top 300 #261 South Dakota is 2-3 vs D-I teams, with two wins by total of five points; only one of those games was home. Summit road dogs are 10-12.
Seton Hall made 10-21 from arc, forced 18 turnovers in 89-58 over LIU LY; Pirates just lost 58-54 to FDU, NEC rival of LIU's, terrible loss for Big East team. LIU is 2-4 but lost by 1 at Indiana, which doesn't make lot of sense; its their only loss by less than 15 points. Blackbirds have awful defensive numbers, allowing 57% on shots inside the arc.
Georgetown won its last three games, including win over VCU after 1-2 start, but Hoyas are turning ball over 20.6% of time, make just 31.7% from arc- three of their four wins are by 18+ points. High Point is 2-3 vs D-i teams, with losses by 8-7-3 points; they haven't played any big name schools yet. Panthers are shooting 27% from arc, turning ball over 20.1% of time- they're coached by former UNC player Scott Cherry.
Armadillosports.com