College Basketball Knowledge
Tulsa swept Temple LY 63-56/55-39 in first year as conference rivals; Hurricane won by 7 here. Tulsa is 2-2 on AAC road, losing by 19-15 at Cincy/Houston- they won at Tulane/ECU. Temple won four of its last five games, winning last three at home by 18-2-9 points. Owls turn ball over 2nd-least of any team in country. AAC home favorites of 4 or less points are 2-1 vs spread. Tulsa forces turnovers 22.5% of time in AAC.
Texas A&M won 11 of last 12 games, losing last road game by three at Arkansas; Aggies are 1-3 vs Vanderbilt in SEC play, with home side 3-0 in regular season meetings. A&M are 3-1 on SEC road, winning by 1-4-34 points. SEC home favorites of less than 5 points are 5-3 vs spread. Vandy won its last three home games by 18-1-8 points; after losing its home opener to LSU. Vandy is on bubble; this would be huge for them.
Ohio State-Wisconsin split their last 14 meetings; Buckeyes won twice in last three visits here. OSU is 3-4 in last seven games, losing three of last four on road, with only win in OT at Illinois. Big 14 home favorites of 6+ points are 20-12 vs spread. Badgers won its last four games after starting season 9-9; they beat Michigan State/Indiana in last two home games by total of 4 points- their last seven games were decided by 8 or less points. .
Hofstra won its last four games, three by 6 or less points; Pride won five of last six games with NC-Wilmington, but Seahawks won 79-74 here LY. Hofstra is 3-1 at home in CAA, winning by 10-8-28-2 points, with only loss in OT to James Madison. UNCW won its last seven games, with four of seven on road; Seahawks' only road loss was at Towson by 16 points. CAA home favorites of 5 or less points are 4-7 vs spread.
Wright State is 5-0 at home in Horizon, with four wins by 11+; Raiders won 84-82 in OT at Milwaukee Jan 2, after blowing 17-point lead in last 9:46, its five win over Milwaukee in last five meetings. Milwaukee won six of last eight games; they're 3-1 on Horizon road, wth only loss by 12 at Valparaiso. Panthers are shooting 55.7% inside arc in Horizon games. Horizon home teams are 2-7 in games where spread was 5 or less points.
St Mary's shot 64% inside arc in 85-74 home win over BYU Dec 31; its sixth win in nine WCC meetings with Cougars- they lost last two visits to Provo, by 13-22 points. Gaels won 12 of last 13 games, with loss by 3 at Pepperdine; they're 3-1 at home in WCC, beating three stiffs. WCC nnderdogs are 8-3 vs spread in games where spread was 3 or less points. BYU won its last four WCC home games, scoring 95.3 ppg.
Oregon won seven of last eight games; only loss was 91-87 at Colorado Jan 17; Buffs were 25-32 on foul line, Ducks 11-17. Colorado is 5-2 in last seven series games- they lost two of last three visits here, with one win 48-47 in '13. Pac-12 home favorites of 9+ points are 6-0 vs spread Buffs are 2-2 on Pac-12 road, losing by 14 at Cal, 12 at Washington; its wins are at Wazzu/Stanford. Oregon is 3-1 as a Pac-12 home favorite.
UConn beat Memphis 81-78 at home Jan 9, both teams took 30+ FTs in game. Teams split six AAC meetings; with two games here decided by total of six points. Huskies won four of last five games; they're 3-1 on AAC road, with only loss by 9 at Tulsa. Memphis lost three of last four games; they're 3-1 at home in AAC, but loss was as 16-point favorite vs ECU. AAC home underdogs of 4 or less points are 4-4 vs spread.
UCSB lost 65-57 at Hawai'i Jan 9, turning ball over 19 times, shooting 38% from floor, in first loss in last five games with Hawai'i, which lost last two visits to Thunderdome by 1-9 points. Gauchos are 2-3 in last five games, losing home games to Long Beach/Irvine. Hawai'i won eight of last nine games, winning at Riverside/Fullerton. Big West home teams are 5-10 vs spread in games with spread of less than 5 points.
USC is 4-0 at home in Pac-12, with three wins by exactly ten and one in four OTs; Trojans won 89-75 at UCLA Jan 13, holding Alford to nine points, Bruins to 4-19 on arc. USC lost 10 of last 12 games vs UCLA, losing by 10-17 in last two played here. UCLA are 1-3 on Pac-12 road, winning by 9 at Oregon State; this is a 14-mile "road trip". Pac-12 home favorites of 7 or less points are 12-9 against the spread.
Utah beat Oregon State 59-53 at home Jan 17, outscoring Beavers 21-5 in last 10;00 of dreadfully slow 58-possession game. Utes won three of last four series games- they lost two of three visits to Corvallis. Pac-12 home underdogs of 3 or less points are 8-2 vs spread. Utah won its last five games, sweeping Washington trip- they're 3-2 on Pac-12 road. OSU lost five of last six games; they're 2-2 at home in conference.
Chattanooga won 77-68 at Wofford Jan 11 after trailing by 6 in second half; Terriers made 13-29 on arc in losing cause. Mocs won four of last five games with Wofford, but lost three of last five played here. SoCon home favorites of 8+ points are 6-2 vs spread. Wofford lost last two on road by one point each; they're 6-3 in SoCon after going losing nine of 11 non-league D-I tilts. Chattanooga won five in row, 11 of last 12 games.
Belmont won nine of last ten games, losing last game at Tennessee Tech; they're 6-1 vs Morehead State, winning all three here by 19-1-14 points. Bruins are 4-0 at home in OVC, 2-2 as home faves, winning by 8-18-26-8 points. Morehead is 6-3 in OVC, with all three losses by 5 points or loess; all four of their OVC road games were decided by 5 or less points. OVC single digit home favorites are 11-14 against the spread.
Armadillosports.com
Thursday's Pac-12 Tips
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Colorado at Oregon
Since losing in Boulder on Jan. 17, Oregon (18-4 straight up, 12-7 against the spread) has won four in a row both SU and ATS, including Sunday’s 91-74 win at Arizona State as a 2.5-point road ‘chalk.’ Chris Boucher led the way with 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Dillon Brooks added 18 points, while Tyler Dorsey produced 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Oregon is unbeaten in 13 home games with a 7-3 spread record. Going back further, the Ducks have cashed tickets at a 13-3 clip in their last 16 games.
Dana Altman’s team has won seven of its last eight games while posting a 6-2 spread record. Oregon is No. 2 in the RPI Rankings thanks to seven Top-50 wins and 12 Top-100 victories. The Ducks are 7-2 against the Top 50 and 12-3 versus the Top 100. They have road wins at Utah, at Arizona and at Arizona State, in addition to home triumphs over Baylor, Valpo, California, Southern Cal, Long Beach State, UCLA and UC Irvine.
Brooks is scoring at a 16.6 points-per-game clip and is making 47.8 percent of his shots from the field. Brooks also averages 6.2 rebounds per game and is dishing out 2.9 APG. Elgin Cook (13.5 PPG) leads the Ducks in steals with 32, while Dorsey is averaging 13.4 PPG and burying 43.5 percent of his launces from long distance. Boucher (12.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG) leads the nation in blocked shots with 3.3 rejections per contest.
Colorado (17-5 SU, 13-6 ATS) is in a four-way tie for second place in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes share 6-3 league records with USC, Utah and Washington, and they are all one game back of loop-leading Oregon and its 7-2 Pac-12 ledger.
Colorado has won three in a row and five of its last six both SU and ATS, including Sunday’s 70-62 win over California as a 4.5-point home favorite. Josh Scott led the way with 18 points, while Dominique Collier tallied 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Colorado owns a 4-2 record both SU and ATS in six road games. The Buffs are 2-2 both SU and ATS as road underdogs. They are 4-2 ATS with three outright victories in six total ‘dog spots, including a neutral-court win over Iowa St. as 10.5-point puppies.
CU is led by Scott, who averages team-highs in scoring (17.4 PPG), rebounding (9.5 RPG) and field-goal percentage (56.2%). King (14.7 PPG) is knocking down 48.0 percent of his shots from downtown, while Josh Fortune is scoring at a 10.6 PPG clip. Collier (8.6 PPG) is hitting 49.2 percent of his 3-pointers and is averaging team-bests in assists (3.3) and steals (1.0 SPG). Wesley Gordon (6.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG) is a key presence in the paint with his work on the glass and protecting the rim. Gordon has a team-high 47 blocked shots.
CU has won five of the last seven head-to-head meetings between these schools both SU and ATS. When these Pac-12 adversaries collided in Boulder on Jan. 17, the Buffs captured a 91-87 win as one-point home favorites. The 178 combined points soared ‘over’ the 143-point total. CU destroyed the Ducks on the boards by a 35-19 rebounding margin. Josh Scott was the catalyst for the winners, scoring 17 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking two shots. Tory Miller added 12 points and seven boards, while Xavier Talton and George King contributed 13 points apiece. In the losing effort, Brooks had a game-high 21 points before fouling out, while Dorsey had 19 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.
The ‘over’ has hit in three of the last four head-to-head encounters between these schools.
The ‘over’ is 10-9 overall for CU, 4-2 in its six road assignments.
The ‘under’ is 10-9 overall for the Ducks, going 5-5 in their home outings. However, they have seen the ‘over’ hit in back-to-back contests and four of their last five.
Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports 1.
UCLA at USC
This is a huge revenge game for UCLA after it took woodshed treatment from arch-rival USC at home last month. The Trojans went into Pauley Pavilion and captured an 89-75 win as 2.5-point road underdogs. The Bruins had won six in a row over USC both SU and ATS, including five beatdowns by double-digit margins since Andy Enfield took the USC job.
In the lopsided victory on Jan. 13, Jordan McLaughlin scored 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. The sophomore guard also handed out four assists without committing a turnover. Chimezie Metu added 21 points and eight rebounds.
After losing back-to-back games in its swing through the state of Oregon two weeks ago, USC responded by winning consecutive games by double-digit margins over Washington St. and Washington last week. The Trojans beat the Huskies 98-88 as 8.5-point home favorites. Nikola Jovanovic was the catalyst against UW with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. McLaughlin added 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. Bennie Boatwright chipped in 15 points and eight boards.
USC has been dynamite at home, going undefeated in 13 games with a stellar 10-2 spread record.
USC is No. 19 in the RPI, compiling a 4-5 record against the Top 50 and a 7-5 ledger versus the Top 100. Enfield’s team has quality scalps over Wichita State, Arizona, Washington, Monmouth and Arizona State. The Trojans don’t have any bad setbacks against foes outside of the Top 50.
Six USC players are scoring in double figures led by McLaughlin, who averages 12.8 PPG and knocks down 41.9 percent of his 3-balls. McLaughlin has a 108/52 assists-to-turnovers ratio and a team-best 32 steals. Jovanovic (12.4 PPG) leads the team in rebounding by pulling down 7.3 boards per outing.
UCLA (13-9 SU, 8-14 ATS) has lost three of its five road games both SU and ATS.
UCLA is No. 68 in the RPI, losing seven of 10 games to Top-50 opponents. The Bruins are 7-8 against the Top 100. They owns quality victories over the likes of Kentucky, Arizona and Arizona St. They have a pair of quality road scalps at Oregon St. and at Gonzaga. Nevertheless, UCLA’s resume needs work in order to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
Steve Alford’s squad avoided a three-game losing streak by knocking off Washington St. by an 83-50 count as a 10-point home favorite. Isaac Hamilton, who dropped 36 points on the Trojans at the Pac-12 Tournament last season, paced the Bruins with a game-high 22 points against the Cougars. The sophomore guard also had six assists, four rebounds and one steal. Bryce Alford added 12 points, four boards and four assists.
Alford, the coach’s son who is a junior combo guard, is averaging team-bests in scoring (17.0 PPG) and assists (5.2 APG). Alford is making 37.2 percent of his attempts from 3-point range and 86.3 percent of his free throws. Hamilton is scoring at a 16.6 PPG clip, while Tony Parker is averaging 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Parker shares team-high honors in blocked shots (22 apiece) with Thomas Welsh, who averages 12.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest.
The ‘over’ is 14-8 overall for the Bruins, 3-2 in their road contests. UCLA saw the ‘over’ hit in six straight games until the ‘under’ appeared in two its last three outings.
The ‘over’ is 12-10 overall for USC after cashing in eight of its last 10 games. However, the ‘under’ is 7-6 for the Trojans in their home games.
The ‘over’ has hit in six consecutive head-to-head meetings between these bitter rivals.
The Pac-12 Network will have the telecast at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
Oregon State will take on Utah in Corvallis at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2. The Beavers are 8-3 SU and 5-5 ATS at home this year. Meanwhile, the Utes are 3-3 both SU and ATS in their six road assignments.
Nobody in the nation needs a win more on Thursday night than Vanderbilt. In fact, the Commodores to reel off a slew of victories starting with Texas A&M at Memorial Gymnasium in Music City at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Kevin Stallings’ team has been one of the nation’s biggest disappointments.
Devin Williams scored 17 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to propel West Virginia to an 81-76 win over Iowa State on Tuesday night at Hilton Coliseum. The Mountaineers bounced back from a blowout loss at Florida this past Saturday by beating the Cyclones outright as 5.5-point underdogs.
Georgia is quickly becoming my Washington St. of the 2015 college football season. This team just cashes a lot of winners – plain and simple. On Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum, UGA captured a 69-56 win over South Carolina as a 1.5-point home underdog. Yante Maten, a 6’8” sophomore power forward who has developed a nice offensive game, led the way with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Kenny Gaines chipped in 17 points, seven boards, three assists, two steals and one rejection, while J.J. Frazier contributed 13 points, six boards, five assists and four steals. The Bulldogs have covered the spread in five consecutive games and eight of their last nine. They return to the court Saturday to host Auburn in Athens.
Alabama’s Retin Obasohan is playing like an All-SEC player over the last four weeks. Obasohan had 25 points, eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and one blocked shots to carry the Crimson Tide to an 82-80 overtime win Tuesday night at Mississippi St. Avery Johnson’s team was playing without starting power forward Shannon Hale, yet won outright as a 5.5-point underdog. Obasohan has scored at least 21 points in eight of Alabama’s last 10 games. His key jumper late in regulation forced the extra session at The Hump in Starkville.
Boise State avoided what would’ve been an at-large-bid crushing defeat Tuesday night at Taco Bell Arena. The Broncos trailed Utah State by 10 at intermission, but they rallied to win a 70-67 decision. The Aggies easily covered the number as 11-point road underdogs. James Webb III sparked the comeback win with 19 points, nine rebounds and three steals for BSU.
UConn, Memphis clash
By Sportsbook.ag
CONNECTICUT HUSKIES (15-6) at MEMPHIS TIGERS (13-8)
Sportsbook.ag: UConn -2, Total 142
Host Memphis looks to avenge a January defeat at the hands of Connecticut as these two teams clash in a key AAC matchup.
Connecticut comes into their second game against Memphis this season having won four of their last five, most recently demolishing UCF 67-41 (UConn -7) on Sunday. The 41 points allowed were a season-low for the Huskies and the second time Connecticut has held an AAC opponent to under 45 points. Connecticut is 4-1 SU over their last five road games.
Coach Kevin Ollie welcomed back 7-foot Center Amida Brimah (7.6 PPG, 2.9 BPG) back into the fold on Sunday against UCF, as Brimah had missed the Huskies’ previous 11 contests with a broken finger. Sitting just a half-game behind Cincinnati, Tulsa, and Temple in the AAC standings at 5-3, a win for Connecticut at Memphis is necessary to keep pace at the top of the standings (behind postseason-ineligible SMU).
Likewise, Memphis is looking to make a dent in the conference standings at 4-4. If coach Josh Pastner’s Tigers have postseason aspirations, this has to be considered a must win. Memphis is coming off a big missed opportunity to build their resume, losing at SMU 80-68 on Saturday (Memphis +10).
The Tigers will also have to overcome the bitter taste they have from their last home game, a shocking 84-83 loss to East Carolina on Jan. 24th (Memphis -16) that gave the Pirates their first road win of the season. Historically, Connecticut is 4-2 SU (2-3-1 ATS) against Memphis since these two started playing as AAC rivals in 2014. The clubs have each split when playing in the FedEx Forum, with Memphis taking the most recent game at home, 75-72 (Memphis, -2) in Feb. 2015.
Memphis would go on to sweep both games last season over the Huskies, also adding a 54-53 win at Storrs in Mar. 2015, before Connecticut was able to come back with last month’s victory.
Of note, the total has gone OVER in five of the last seven games that Connecticut and Memphis have played.
Connecticut’s success has been fueled by its outstanding defense (61.4 PPG allowed, 7th NCAA; 36.8% FG allowed, 3rd NCAA) which has been even more stifling recently (53.7 PPG over last 3 games). The Huskies haven’t allowed an opponent to break 40% from the field since Jan 2, and that’s without the imposing Brimah, who’s now back to protect the rim.
Ollie is great at adjusting his defense throughout the course of the game, which reflects on Connecticut being a great second half defensive team (31.9 2nd half PPG, 4th NCAA). While the Huskies are mediocre overall on the glass, they do a good job of limiting opponents to just one shot (26.2 DR/G, 36th NCAA). Their 5.2 blocks per game (23rd NCAA) will no doubt be on the rise as Brimah starts getting more comfortable back on the floor.
Leading the Huskies is G Daniel Hamilton (11.6 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.8 APG), but Hamilton has really struggled to put points on the board in AAC conference play. Hamilton is shooting a woeful 26.6% from the field for only 9.8 PPG. Sunday’s 4-7 performance from the field for Hamilton was the first time he’d hit more than half of his shots in a game since Dec 23rd, 2015.
It’s worth noting that Hamilton has career averages (3 games) of 17.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 5 APG against Memphis. G Sterling Gibbs (13 PPG) was the hero in this season’s win over Memphis last month, as Gibbs poured in a season high 26 points (7-11 FG, 5-7 3PT).
Senior F Shonn Miller (13.3 PPG, 57% FG) has really been quite a catch for Ollie’s club, as a transfer from Cornell. The ever-consistent forward has now amassed 16 straight games in double figures, but will be needed more on defense to help slow down Memphis’s talented frontcourt.
If Memphis is to avoid being swept by the Huskies this season, they’ll have to continue to pound the glass as they did in the first meeting (42-29). Worrisome is that Memphis found it hard to shoot over Connecticut (9 blocks for the Huskies) and that was without Brimah on the floor.
The next big key for Memphis will be keeping F Shaq Goodwin (14.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 50% FG) out of foul trouble, as Goodwin went for 23 against Connecticut – but only played 20 minutes in the process. He was able to get whatever he wanted on the interior of the Huskies for 6-9 FG (11-12 FT), but the rest of his team struggled to go 16-50 (32% FG) in the loss to Connecticut. Goodwin most recently had a career high 35 points last week against UCF, but again struggled with foul woes this weekend, fouling out in Saturday’s loss at SMU.
Support for Goodwin will need to come from freshman F Dedric Lawson (14.4 PPG, 9 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 1.9 BPG). Lawson has real problems with shot selection though, (33% FG in conference play) highlighted by efforts like his 1-9 FG on Saturday at SMU.
Besides a sterling 11-15 FG, 27-point effort at home in a loss to East Carolina, Lawson hasn’t shot better than 38% in a game since December 18th. Memphis as a team could run into huge issues against this Connecticut defense, as their 40.9% FG (300th NCAA) attests. The thing that keeps the Tigers’ offense afloat is their propensity to convert at the charity stripe, though (20.5 FTM/game, 3rd NCAA). They went 26-30 on the road in their loss to Connecticut, and being in the friendly confines of FedEx Forum could be even more of a boon in that area.