College Basketball Information
SMU (-12) beat Rutgers 70-56 at home Jan 18, holding Knights to 33% from floor, forcing 18 turnovers; Mustangs are in top 25 for first time in 28 years- they're 7-1 in last eight games, 9-1 in last ten vs spread, 1-1 as road favorites (2-2 SU on road). Rutgers won two of last three games, is 2-1 as home dogs. Home teams are 9-2 against spread in their conference games. AAC home underdogs are 6-11 vs spread.
Missouri (+6.5) had 16 offensive boards, made 7-15 from arc in 75-71 win at Arkansas Jan 28; Tigers are 2-1 vs Arkansas, coached by former Mizzou coach Anderson. Hogs' 77-75 win at Vandy last week was its first in five road games; they're 2-5 vs spread in last seven games. SEC home favorites of 6 or less points are 13-5 vs spread. Mizzou lost last three games, is 1-2 as an SEC home favorite.
Green Bay won three in row, nine of last 11 vs Youngstown State; they beat Penguins 85-69 (-9) Jan 4, despite going 0-9 outside arc- they shot 63.3% inside arc. Phoenix is 0-5 vs spread in last five games, splitting last four SU- they're 2-2 as road favorites. Horizon home underdogs are 3-6 vs spread. Youngstown lost last three games by 1-18-2 points; they are 3-1 at home in Horizon, with only loss to Valparaiso by 3.
Creighton (-10.5) waxed Butler 88-60 Jan 14, shooting 64% inside arc in game with total of only 7 turnovers; Bluejays lost at St John's last game, are 0-3 vs spread in last three- they're 2-2 as road favorites, winning by 13-19-28 points on foreign soil. Big East home underdogs of less than 5 points are 5-5 vs spread. Butler is 2-9 vs spread in last 11 games, 1-6 in last seven as a dog- they lost last two home games by 17-14 points.
St John's (-4.5) nipped Seton Hall 78-77 Jan 23, forcing 19 turnovers (+8 )in game where both teams shot 58% inside arc. Home teams won 11 of last 12 series games; Red Storm lost their last six visits to this arena, but won five of last six Big East games after 0-5 start- they covered last five games overall. Pirates are 1-4 at home in Big East, with only win vs DePaul. Big East home underdogs of 5+ points are 1-6 vs spread.
UCLA (+1) won 69-56 at Colorado Jan 16, forcing 17 (+6) turnovers; Bruins are 3-0 vs Buffs in Pac-12 play, winning by 17-3-13- they're 4-0 as home favorites, with three of four home wins by 12+ points. UCLA covered six of last eight games, is 5-1 as Pac-12 favorite. Pac-12 double digit home favorites are 11-8 vs spread. Colorado lost last three games on road by 17-12-21 games, but won last three overall, all at home.
Minensota (+3) beat Wisconsin 81-68 Jan 22, shooting 59% inside arc, 4-7 from arc, 11-11 from line; home side won seven of last eight series games, with Gophers losing last three visits here, by 8-1-7 points. Big Dozen home favorites of 9 or less points are 10-17 vs spread. Badgers lost three of last four home games, are 2-3 as home favorites- they're 2-6 vs spread in last eight games overall. Minnesota is 0-3 as a road dog.
UCSB (-6.5) beat Long Beach 64-51 at home Jan 16, ending a five-game series skid; Gauchos lost last five visits to Pyramid, with four of five by 12+ points. UCSB won three in row overall and six of last seven games; they're 3-1 on Big West road, with only loss by hoop at Fullerton. Big West home favorites of 4 or less points are 4-1 vs spread. 49ers are 5-1 in last six games- they covered all four games as a Big West favorite.
Utah shot 60% inside arc, was +9 in turnovers in 84-66 win over USC Jan 16; they're 2-2 vs Trojans in Pac-12 play, losing by 17 in only visit here in '12. Utes are 0-5 on Pac-12 road, with dogs covering four of the five games. USC is 3-2 vs spread in last five games, but 1-4 as home dog with all four home losses by 8+ points, only win vs Cal. Pac-12 home underdogs of 5 or less points are 10-5 vs spread.
BYU (-12.5) beat Pacific 88-78 at home Jan 30, grabbing 17 offensive boards in game where Pacific shot 60% inside arc. Cougars won last four games, three by 10+ points; they're 1-5 vs spread in last six games, 2-4 on WCC road, beating USF/Santa Clara. WCC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 3-4 vs spread. Pacific is 3-2 in last five games, covering six of last eight- they've lost three of five WCC home games.
Manhattan (-10) held Rider to 26.5% from floor in 67-51 home win Jan 24, just its 4th win in last 14 series games, but they did win last two in Broncs' Zoo by 16-11 points. Jaspers won last three games, are 2-3 as a MAAC road favorite- three of their four (4-3) MAAC road wins are by 11+ points. Rider is 4-2 at home in MAAC, losing to St Peter's/Marist. MAAC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 4-7 vs spread.
Omaha (+5.5) shot 63% inside arc in 80-71 win at South Dakota State Jan 18; Mavericks won three of last four games, are 1-2 as home faves in Summit play, winning home games by 4-11. Jackrabbits won/covered last four games, allowing 59.3 ppg in last three; they're 3-1 on Summit road, with only loss by 7 at Fort Wayne. Summit League home favorites of 5 or less points are 6-2 against the spread.
Northern Colorado (+5) won 84-73 at Montana Jan 18, ending a 5-game skid to Griz in game where Montana shot 20-26 (77%) inside arc. Griz won last two visits here by 7-8 points; they've won last four games, last three by 6 or less points and won three of last four on road, Bears lost last four games, are 0-5 vs spread in last five, but are 5-0 at home. Big Sky home teams are 16-9 vs spread when spread was 4 or less points.
Armadillosports.com
Minnesota at Wisconsin
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Wisconsin (19-5 straight up, 13-11 against the spread) will have revenge on its mind tonight when it hosts Minnesota in a Big Ten showdown. As of early this morning, most betting shops had the Badgers installed as 8.5-point favorites.
Bo Ryan's team raced out to a 16-0 start to the season before losing five of its next six games. Since then, Wisconsin has bounced back with consecutive wins, including Sunday's 60-58 non-covering triumph over Michigan St. as a four-point home favorite. Nigel Hayes paced the winners with 14 points.
Wisconsin hasn't been as tough at home this season. In fact, the Badgers had lost three in a row at Kohl Center before knocking off the Spartans. They are 11-3 SU and 6-8 ATS at home for the year.
Minnesota (16-8 SU, 8-11-1 ATS) has been an underdog eight times this year, posting a 3-5 record both SU and ATS. In seven true road assignments, the Gophers are 2-5 both SU and ATS. However, both of those stats are a big misleading.
That's because two of Minnesota's outright defeats and non-covers as a road underdog came in overtime. In fact, Richard Pitino's team lost by 12 to Michigan St. in OT at Breslin Center as a 10.5-point 'dog (now that's a brutal beat for gamblers that were on Minnesota!). In addition, the Gophers lost by three in OT at Purdue as 2.5-point puppies just last week.
The loss to the Boilermakers was the team's third straight, but it responded Saturday with a 66-60 home win over Indiana as a 4.5-point 'chalk.' Deandre Mathieu led Minnesota, which trailed IU by six at intermission, with 16 points and five assists. Maurice Walker added 14 points and eight rebounds.
Wisconsin is sixth in the RPI Rankings thanks to a 5-3 record against the Top 50 and 11-4 versus the Top 100. Minnesota is No. 39 in the RPI, going 3-4 against the Top 50 and 5-6 versus the Top 100.
Although the 'under' has cashed in four of its last five games, the 'over' is 12-11 overall for Wisconsin, 7-7 in its home games.
The 'under' is 10-8-1 overall for the Gophers.
Even though its leading scorer Andre Hollins injured his ankle in the first minute of the game and didn't return, Minnesota beat Wisconsin 81-68 as a three-point home underdog when these team met at The Barn on Jan. 22. The 149 combined points surged 'over' the 133.5-point total.
Walker led the Gophers with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Mathieu finished with 18 points, five board and three assists. The Gophers shot 58.9 percent from the field and were a perfect 11-of-11 from the charity stripe. Sam Dekker scored a game-high 20 points in the Badgers' losing effort.
Tip-off tonight in Madison is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets
When Syracuse and Pitt met at the Carrier Dome last month, the Orange's freshman point guard Tyler Ennis took over at crunch time to lead his team to victory. On Wednesday at Pitt, the 'Cuse basically trailed the entire game. The Panthers went ahead by six with 1:55 remaining on a Lorenzo-Charles like tip-in (circa N.C. St. 1983) by Talib Zanna just before the shot clock expired. But a 7-0 run by the Orange put it briefly in front, only to see the Panthers regain a one-point lead on two free throws by Zanna with 4.4 seconds remaining. From there, Ennis took the ball into the frontcourt off the bounce and launched a running leaner in traffic from about 35 feet. As the buzzer sounded, the ball splashed the nets to allow Jim Boeheim's team to escape with its unbeaten record intact.
Pitt previously owned a perfect 9-0 record against top-five foes at the Petersen Events Center.
I thought the whistle that put Ennis at the free-throw line with 10.8 seconds remaining was total garbage. It was clearly a clean block up top and the other defender didn't move as Ennis created the contact. You shouldn't get the call on the road. He converted both to temporarily put the Orange in front by one.
When I try to think of a Syracuse point guard during Boeheim's tenure to compare Ennis to, I see some reminders of several school legends. He's got a little of the dribbling/penetration skills of Pearl Washington, some of the passing and decision-making of Sherman Douglas and the poise and shooting of Gerry McNamara (well, not quite as lethal from 3 as McNamara, but you get the point).
The Duke at UNC game that was postponed last night will be played next Thursday.
Bad Bubble Losers from last night: LSU (at Texas A&M), Stanford (at Washington) and UMass (vs. George Mason).
Big Bubble Winners from last night: California (at Washington St. in OT), Boise St. (vs. New Mexico), Toledo (vs. Ohio) and Indiana St. (at Bradley).
College Basketball: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Minnesota at Wisconsin
Badgers (19-5, 13-11 ATS) scorched 81-68 in Minneapolis earlier allowing Minnesota 58.9% shooting including 57.1% from long range will have pay-back in mind when they host Golden Gophers (16-8, 8-10-1 ATS) Thursday night. Wisconsin showing noticeable improvement on defense since that dreadful performance have allowed 60.6 PPG on 40.8% from the field, 33.8% from outside over the past five games. Looming large for Wisky, the Gophers are extremely poor when traveling posting a 4-15 SU mark last nineteen away from home with a cash draining 5-13-1 ATS record at the betting window. Minnesota on the road facing a Big Ten rival you bet them at your own risk as Gophers are 6-13-1 ATS last twenty on hostile conference hardwood. One final betting nugget favoring Wisky, history has shown Gophers to be poor bets following a win cashing just a single ticket in eight attempts (1-6-1 ATS).