College Basketball Knowledge
NC-Wilmington won 70-67 at Hofstra Feb 4th, after trailing 38-18 with 2:24 left in first half; Seahawks lead Hofstra by game atop CAA. Pride won last three visits here, in series where visitor won five of last six tilts. UNCW is 12-1 in last 13 games, winning last five at home; they're 2-5 as home favorites. Hofstra won its last four games, is 4-0 as road underdog this year. CAA home favorites of 5 or less points are 9-12 vs spread.
Duke won last three games with Florida State by 19-22-3 points, after Seminoles had won four of five in series; FSU is 2-3 in its last five visits here, losing by 3-14-22 points. Seminoles lost four games in row overall, giving up 80.3 ppg- coach Hamilton got his contract extended yesterday. Duke won five of its last six games, winning last three at home by 8-1-7 points. ACC double digit home favorites are 13-11 vs spread.
Seton Hall won 81-72 at Providence Jan 16, surviving -10 turnover rate (19-9) in beating Friars for just second time in last eight meetings. PC won last three visits here, by 12-5-13 points. Friars are 2-5 in last seven games, losing last three on road by 7-5-11 points. Seton Hall won six of last seven games, losing last home games to Butler. Big East home faves of 6 or less points are 9-11 against the spread.
Memphis lost seven of last 10 games, are having their worst season in a long time; Tigers lost 80-68 at SMU Jan 30, shooting 32.7% from floor in losing for only second time in last seven series games. SMU split its last eight games, losing three of last four on road, winning at USF by 34. Memphis won its last two home games, is 1-1 as home underdog. AAC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 7-6 vs spread.
UAB won 81-78 at Marshall Jan 30; Herd is 0-3 vs UAB in conference play, losing by 6-18-3 points. Blazers are 19-2 in last 21 games, 5-2 as home favorites. Marshall scored 93.5 ppg in winning its last four games; they're 5-2 SU on road, 1-1 as road dog- their two road losses are by 8-4 points, at Charlotte/UTEP- they allowed 108 ppg in those two games. C-USA home favorites of 7 or less points are 17-11 vs spread.
Ark-Little Rock led 42-14 at half, held on for 68-62 win Jan 23 at Tex-Arlington; road team won four of five series games- Mavericks won by 4,7 in last two visits here. Trojans are 14-2 in last 16 games. 5-2 against spread as home favorites. UTA won four of last five games, is 4-4 SU on road, 1-1 as road underdogs- they won four of last five games, losing last game at home to ULM. Sun Belt home favorites of 7+ points are 17-12.
Cal won its last five games, four by 12+ points; they're 5-2 as favorites at home, winning all seven games. Home side won eight of last ten Cal-UCLA games; Bruins lost four of last five visits here, losing by 4-16-2-13 points. UCLA is 2-5 on Pac-12 road, with three losses by 7 points or less- they're 3-5 in last eight games overall. Pac-12 home favorites of 6+ points are 20-7 vs spread. Cal is stronger since PG Wallace returned.
Home side won seven of last eight Arizona State-Utah games; ASU lost last four visits here, by 21-5-23-42 points (83-41 LY). Utes are 3-2-1 as home favorites, winning last four overall- they're 7-2-1 vs spread in last 10 games. Sun Devils are 1-4-1 as road underdogs, losing four of last six games overall- their only win in seven road games was at Wazzu by 12. Pac-12 home favorites of 9+ points are 10-4 against the spread.
Stanford won its last four games with USC, winning by 21-8 in last two played here; Cardinal lost five of last seven games, is 3-1 as home dogs, 4-3 SU at home in Pac-12. USC lost five of last six road games, three of last four overall; they're 1-3 as road favorites- their last win outside of LA was New Year's Day in Pullman, where all the visitors win. Pac-12 home underdogs of 3 or less points are 11-3 vs spread.
Tennessee Tech lost 81-74 at Morehead State Jan 21 in a foulfest where 76 foul shots were taken. Eagles won five of last six series games, with wins by 26-4 in last two visits here. Morehead won five of its last seven games but is just 2-4 on OVC road. Tech is 6-0 at home in OVC, 3-2 vs spread as a home favorite. Tech shoots 39.6% on arc, best in OVC. OVC home favorites of 3 or less points are 5-8 against the spread.
UT-Martin beat Tennessee State by 18-17 last two years; Skyhawks are 4-1 as home favorites- they won last seven games overall, covering six of them- they're 6-1 at home, losing only to Belmont. State won four of its last five games; they're 4-3 on OVC road. OVC home teams are 10-17 vs spread in games where spread was 3 or less points. TSU won three of last four visits here, losing 100-81 in last visit here two years ago.
East Tennessee State is 8-1 in SoCon games decided by 6 or less points or in OT; Furman is 1-5 on SoCon road, with four losses by 4 or less points. Home side won all three Furman-ETSU games; Paladins won the first meeting 74-70 Jan 30, shooting 67% inside arc in game they led 39-27 at half. Furman lost 66-59 here LY. SoCon home favorites of 5 or less points are 11-8 vs spread. Buccaneers are just 1-5 as home favorites.
Idaho State won eight of last ten games, splitting last four on road; they lost 11 games in row vs Montana, which won last five visits here, by 5- 10-24-7-26 points. Bengals won their last five home games, with three by 17+. Montana is tied with Weber State atop Big Sky; they're 12-2 in last 14 games, 6-1 at home in Big Sky, with only loss to Idaho. Big Sky home underdogs of less than 5 points are 8-9 vs spread. .
Armadillosports.com
NCAAB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Florida State at Duke
Life on the road in college basketball is never easy especially when we are talking about visiting Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke Blue Devils have a 61-3 SU stretch going in front of the Cameron Crazies with a 33-27-3 record against the betting line. Blue Devils home-court advantage tilts the scales here with Seminoles 3-5 (2-5-1 ATS) in conference play away from Tallahassee and a horrid 2-10 (6-6 ATS) last twelve visits to Durham, North Carolina. Blue Devils have opened -10.0 favorites on their home court.
Providence at Seton Hall
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Seton Hall and Providence will both be seeking their 20th win of the season when they tangle tonight in a Big East showdown at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas opened Seton Hall (19-7 straight up, 17-8 against the spread) as a five-point favorite. By late Wednesday night, the betting shop had adjusted the Pirates to 4.5-point ‘chalk.’
Seton Hall has won six of its last seven games, including a pair of wins over Georgetown and a win at Creighton. The Pirates are on a roll for our purposes, going 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games.
Kevin Willard’s team has won 11 of its 14 home games while compiling a 9-4 spread record. As a single-digit home favorite, the Hall has posted a 3-2 record versus the number.
In its last time out, Seton Hall raced to a 36-22 halftime advantage at St. John’s this past Sunday in Queens. At that point, bettors on the Pirates were feeling good about eating 10.5 points of road ‘chalk.’
However, the Red Storm rallied in the second half and nearly pulled off the improbable upset. Instead, they dropped a 62-61 decision but easily hooked up their backers as double-digit home underdogs.
Desi Rodriguez paced the winners with 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Rodriguez drained all four of his attempts from 3-point land. Isaiah Whitehead was an abysmal 1-of-12 from the field, but he managed to contribute 10 points, six steals, three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Whitehead, the prize recruit of Willard’s tenure, is now a sophomore and playing much better basketball. He averages team-bests in scoring (16.6 points per game), assists (4.8 APG) and blocked shots (1.2 BPG).
When these Big East rivals met at Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Jan. 17, Seton Hall captured an 81-72 victory over the Friars as a six-point road underdog. Whitehead was the catalyst with 15 points, seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocked shots. The Pirates destroyed Providence on the boards by a 49-32 margin.
PC’s Ben Bentil scored 21 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the losing effort. Kris Dunn finished with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals before fouling out. The Friars’ star was limited to 28 minutes of playing time due to foul trouble.
Providence (19-8 SU, 13-13 ATS) has lost four of its last five games and is mired in a 0-5 ATS slump. After ending a three-game losing streak with a 75-72 win over Georgetown as a four-point home favorite on Feb. 13, the Friars took a loss last Wednesday at Xavier.
The Musketeers won an 85-74 decision as nine-point home ‘chalk.’ Dunn produced 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the losing effort. Bentil finished with 17 points and six boards before fouling out.
PC owns a 6-3 record both SU and ATS in nine road assignments. As road underdogs, the Friars have been absolutely dynamite, going 5-1 both SU and ATS.
Dunn is one of the nation’s premier players who can do it all. The 6’4” senior point guard averages 17.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.9 steals per game. He is listed as ‘questionable’ at Seton Hall due to an unspecified illness.
Bentil is averaging team-highs in scoring (20.3 PPG), rebounding (7.7 RPG) and field-goal percentage (46.2%).
The ‘over’ is 16-10 overall for PU, cashing at a remarkable 8-1 clip in its road contests. Regardless of the venue, the Friars have watched the ‘over’ hit in three straight and five of their last six.
The ‘under’ is 16-9 overall for the Pirates, 8-5 in their home outings. They have seen the ‘under’ go 6-1 in their last seven games.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports 1.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
The Westgate opened Penn State as a one-point home favorite for Thursday’s Big Ten game against Nebraska. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU. Cornhuskers star Shavon Shields has been upgraded to ‘probable’ after missing four consecutive games due to a concussion. Shields is averaging 15.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
Memphis has lost seven of its last 10 games to almost certainly cement Josh Pastner’s ticket out of town. If the coach that replaced John Calipari has any hope of remaining within distance of Mud Island Ampitheatre, he has to beat SMU on Thursday, then win out the rest of the regular season AND make some noise in the AAC Tournament (and perhaps beyond). As of late Wednesday night, the Mustangs were 4.5-point favorites at Memphis. They have gone 13-0 against teams outside of the RPI Top 100 (the Tigers are No. 155 in the RPI), winning by double-digit margins 11 times and by at least five in all 13 of those contests.
Texas A&M slipped past Mississippi State, 68-66 on Wednesday night thanks to Danuel House’s two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs might not have much life left in their season, but they are a team nobody wants to bet against right now, easily taking the cash as 12-point underdogs in a game that was there to be had in terms of the outright victory.
I noted yesterday how Yale team captain Jack Montague was out indefinitely for personal reasons. Now the school has announced that Montague has withdrawn from school and won’t return to the program this year. Montague (9.7 PPG) hasn’t played since dropping 16 points on Cornell on Feb. 6.
Boise State star forward James Webb III injured his knee in the second half of Tuesday’s home win over UNLV. Webb is currently listed as ‘questionable’ for Saturday’s Mountain West showdown at San Diego State. Webb averages 16.0 points and 9.4 rebounds for the 18-10 Broncos.
FSU heads to Duke
By Sportsbook.ag
FLORIDA ST SEMINOLES (16-11) at DUKE BLUE DEVILS (20-7)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Duke -9, 156.5
No. 15 Duke looks to sustain its ascent up the ACC standings as it hosts reeling Florida State on Thursday.
Duke is 13-2 SU at home this season (7-6-1 ATS) and has won three straight at home since dropping back-to-back efforts in Cameron Indoor against Notre Dame and Syracuse in January. Duke had won five straight overall before dropping an emotional affair at Louisville on Saturday (71-64, Duke +7).
Coach Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles have slipped in the standings while Duke has surged, as Florida State has dropped four straight (0-4 ATS) including road losses at Syracuse and, most recently, at Virginia Tech (83-73, FSU -3) on Saturday. The Seminoles are uncharacteristically weak on defense this season and have allowed just under 77 PPG on the road, including allowing the Hokies to shoot 58% from three in Saturday’s loss.
Historically, Duke is 14-6 SU (7-13 ATS) over its past 20 contests against the Seminoles dating back to 2003. The Blue Devils are 7-3 SU at home (3-7 ATS) in that span. Duke most recently beat Florida State 78-56 (Duke -8.5) at home in Jan. 2014, while Duke won last season’s contest in Tallahassee (73-70, Duke -10.5).
The total between Duke and Florida State has gone UNDER in the last four meetings between these two teams, and Duke’s last four games overall have also gone UNDER. Six of Florida State’s last seven games, however, have gone OVER.
Duke withstood a few injuries this past weekend, but hopes to have G Matt Jones (11.2 PPG, 41% 3PT) and G Derryck Thornton (8 PPG) available to play through ankle and shoulder injuries, respectively. Jones did not play at Louisville on Saturday.
The Seminoles have relied on the scoring punch provided by the dynamic freshman duo of G Malik Beasley (16.2 PPG, 48% FG) and G Dwayne Bacon (15.7 PPG, 45% FG). Predictably, Beasley and Bacon have run into troubles during the Seminoles’ four game slide, as the rigors of their first college basketball season – especially with an offense on their shoulders – has seemingly come to a head (Beasley – 10 PPG, 28% FG; Bacon 13 PPG, 36% FG in last four games).
If Florida State isn’t going to be able to outscore its opponents, they find themselves in tons of trouble, as they’re in the bottom third of all D1 teams in points allowed (73.7 PPG), opponent FGM per game (25.9), and opponent 3PM 7.7). They’ll have a tough time exposing Duke’s biggest weakness, rebounding, as nobody on Florida State has averaged over 5 RPG in their past four games.
Duke also does not foul often, and the young backcourt of Beasley, Bacon and G Xavier Rathan-Mayes (11.8 PPG, 4.7 APG) shouldn’t be traveling to Cameron Indoor Stadium with the intention of getting favorable calls and handfuls of trips to the free throw line. Reserve G Devon Bookert (9.6 PPG) did score 23 points (6-8 3PT) in last season’s meeting with the Blue Devils and is averaging 12 PPG (42% 3PT) over his last four.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils have jumped on the backs of G Grayson Allen (21.0 PPG, 44% 3PT) and F Brandon Ingram (17.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.5 3PT) to a resurgence in the national polls and an honest threat at the ACC regular season title. Just last month pundits had pushed Duke into “bubble team” fodder, but then came five straight wins (three over top 25 opponents) before Saturday’s loss at Louisville. Duke has shot better than 41.5% FG over its last eight games and scores 82.4 PPG overall (14th NCAA).
While Ingram did put up an 8-point dud at Louisville Saturday, it was his first single-digit scoring output this season since November 29th. The 10 turnovers from the lanky freshman, however, are definitely cause for concern, as while Louisville has some of the best pressure defense in the nation, Florida State does have some quick hands (7.3 SPG, 48th NCAA).
Allen was brilliant against Louisville, even in defeat, as he ended up fouling out with 29 points (5-8 from three). While defenses can take Ingram out of a game, Allen has proven to be a consistent catalyst for Duke’s offense with his fearless drives and ability to get points at the charity stripe when all else is failing (7 FT/game). Duke should welcome the return of the aforementioned Jones and Thornton to lessen their depth issues, and Duke’s Achilles heel in clearing the glass won’t be tested by Florida State’s frontcourt.
With the Seminoles’ backcourt struggling recently and the Blue Devils focused after four days to recover from the loss at Louisville, Coach Krzyzewski shouldn’t have issues getting his Blue Devils back in the winning column on Thursday night.