College Basketball Information
St John's is 9-3 but lost by 11 to Wisconsin in only trip outside NYC, a game played in South Dakota; this is first true road game for St John's. Red Storm is blocking 24.6% of shots, #1 in country- they're 1-3 vs top 100 teams, with best win over Ga Tech in Brooklyn. Xavier won its last five games, last three against teams in top 100 (4-2 overall).
Ohio State won last three games with Purdue by 3-17-10 points; they're 2-3 in last five visits here, winning by 4-10 points. Buckeyes won by 17 at Marquette in only true road game- they're 6-0 vs top 100 teams, with five of six wins by 10+ points. Purdue hasn't played in nine days since win at West Va; they're 1-2 vs top 100 teams, losing by 10-6 points.
Providence swept Seton Hall by 12-10 points LY, after losing previous five games with Pirates; Friars are 10-3 despite losing PG for year, with three of last four games decided by 1 or 2 points- they split pair of true road games, with games decided by total of three points. Seton Hall lost its two games vs top 100 teams, by a total of four points. Pirates are 2-4 in games decided by six or less points.
Kansas State won 65-62 at George Washington LY, despite making 36% of shots; Wildcats won last seven games after 2-3 start, including win vs Gonzaga- they're forcing turnovers 22.4% of time (#23 in US), holding teams to 26.7% from arc. Colonials are 11-1 with only loss on a neutral court to Marquette; they've got top 100 wins, with Creighton best one.
Illinois won six of last nine games with Indiana, but lost to Hoosiers in conference tourney LY; Indiana lost last four visits here, by 31-2-24-2 points. Five of last seven series games were decided by 6 or less points. Illini is 7-0 at home, but only one of those seven foes were ranked in top 150. Indiana lost by 17 at Syracuse, in its only true road game this year.
Michigan State won 13 of last 17 games with Penn State, six of last eight here, with last three wins by 5-11-9 points; Spartans won at Texas by 14 in only true road game, also have four neutral court wins- they've got game at Indiana Saturday- better not look ahead. Penn State is 1-3 vs top 100 teams, with all four games decided by 9 or less points, two in OT.
Louisville was 6-26 from arc in loss at Kentucky Saturday; Cardinals are 1-1 in true road games, routing FIU by 29 before that. Louisville force turnovers 25.9% of time, all 11 of their wins this year are by 14+ points. Central Florida hasn't played in nine days; they splir pair vs teams in top 100, losing to Florida St by 12. UCF is worst foul shooting team in country right now, making 56.6% from line.
Georgetown won its last eight games vs DePaul, winning by 14-8-11-24 points; Hoyas aren't as talented as past year, but are making 56.8% of shots inside arc, while holding foes to 28.7% outside arc. DePaul is 0-4 vs top 100 teams, losing by 7-22-18-18 points- they had dramatic win at Northwestern Friday, but it was ugly game. Blue Demons turn ball over 20.1% of time, but also force turnovers 20.5%.
Memphis split a pair with Oklahoma State, losing in Stillwater by 21 in only true road game; Tigers are forcing turnovers 24.3% of time- they're 3-1 on neutral floor, with wins by 27-7-5 points, 77-75 loss to Florida. South Florida's last eight games were all decided by 5 or less points, with Bulls winning last three home games, by a total of seven points.
Iowa-Nebraska split their four conference games; Hawkeyes' wins are by 9-14 points, with home team 1-1 in each gym. Iowa is 4-2 vs teams in top 100, with four of six games decided by 5 or less points. Nebraska is 0-2 in true road games, losing by 15 at both Cincinnati/Creighton- they are forcing turnovers 20.8% of time, but they're 1-4 vs top 100 teams, with losses by 6-13-15-15 points.
Villanova lost by 17 at Syracuse Saturday, its first loss of year, after it led 25-7 early on; Wildcats won by 30 at St Joe's in its other true road game- they've got neutral court wins over Kansas/Iowa. Butler is 1-2 vs top 100 teams, with all three games decided by 3 or less points- both of their losses are by a hoop, to Oklahoma State/LSU on neutral floors.
UConn won by 12 at Washington in its only true road game; Huskies are making 43.1% from arc (#6 in Us), 3-0 vs teams ranked outside top 200, with all three wins by 10+ points. Houston lost by 10 to Stanford in its only top 100 game; they haven't played in 10 days, splitting last two games, decided by total of 5 points- they're 3-5 in last eight games.
Creighton is playing first-ever Big East game; Bluejays are making 43.9% of 3's, #3 in country, 53.7% of 2's (#35)- they're 4-2 vs top 100 teams, with three wins by 14+ points. Marquette lost at Arizona State by 2, at Wisconsin by 6 in its true road games. Eagles are 0-5 vs top 50 teams, with four losses by 8 or less points- their only win vs top 200 team is by 16 over George Washington on a neutral floor. .
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College Basketball: Streaks, Trends, Notes
Sportspic.com
Northern Illinois at Iowa State
Iowa State Cyclones (11-0, 6-3 ATS) handling Boise State 70-66 to win the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu return to the mainland and will host Northern Illinois Huskies (5-5, 4-5 ATS) on New Years Eve. Cyclones off to the best start in school history net 87.2 points/game behind four double digit scorers lead by forward Melvin Ejim contributing 18.0 PPG on 50.9% shooting. Huskies without any double digit scorers at this stage score just 66.3 per/contest on 40.8% from the filed. Cyclones will likely continue the streak of success as they have too much fire-power for NIU to keep up. The home team gets the nod knowing Cyclones are ridding a 22-1 SU stretch on home court, 11-5 ATS mark in lined games. Look for Iowa State to improve it's 8-3 ATS stretch vs non-conference foes, 7-3 ATS record following a ATS loss and expect NIU to extend it's 1-12 ATS skid giving up 70 or more points.
Tuesday's Big East Action
By David Schwab
VegasInsider.com
The end of the year on the calendar marks the start of conference play in men's college basketball. As millions of people get ready for a New Year's Eve celebration, anyone who loves wagering on the sport is getting ready for a full day of action involving a number of conference openers. This Tuesday's betting tip sheet decided to focus on a pair of key opening matchups in the new look Big East.
No. 11 Villanova Wildcats vs. Butler Bulldogs
After a couple of less than stellar seasons, the Wildcats have quickly established themselves as the toast of the new look Big East by reeling off 11 straight victories before falling to No. 2 Syracuse 78-62 this past Saturday as four-point road underdogs. They are now 8-2 against the spread this season and the total has gone OVER in five of the nine games.
Villanova is led by a trio of players scoring in double figures. James Bell is averaging 16.2 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds while JayVaughn Pinkston is adding another 15.3 points and five rebounds. Rounding out the group is Darrun Hilliard with an average of 13.6 points a night.
Butler kicks off its first season in the Big East with a solid 10-2 straight-up start in nonconference play. The Bulldogs have covered in six of their last seven games with a posted line to improve to 7-3 ATS on the year. The total has stayed UNDER in five of their last six outings.
Kellen Dunham and Khyle Marshall have accounted almost half of Butler's points this season with a combined 35.1 points a game. Dunham is shooting just 42 percent from the field but he has converted on 79.7 percent of his shots from the free throw line. Marshall is hitting 58.2 percent of his shots from the floor and pulling down 6.7 rebounds a game.
The Wildcats have been opened as slight 2½-point road favorites for Tuesday's Big East season opener.
This will be the first meeting between these two teams, but the Wildcats come in with a 19-7 record ATS in their last 26 games against a team with a SU winning record. The Bulldogs are 18-7-2 ATS in their last 27 home games against a team with a SU winning record on the road.
Marquette Golden Eagles vs. Creighton Bluejays
Marquette is another holdover from the original Big East and it brings last year's 14-4 SU record in conference play into this season's debut. The Golden Eagles have won eight of 12 nonconference games SU while covering in six of 11 contests with a posted line. The total has gone OVER in three previous road games this season.
Davante Gardner leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points a game and he is pulling down a team high 6.2 rebounds. Jamil Wilson is the only other Golden Eagle scoring in double figures with 11.7 points and Todd Mayo remains the biggest scoring threat from outside; hitting 36 percent of his shots from three-point range. Wilson remains questionable for Tuesday night with a knee injury.
Creighton makes its debut in the Big East after an impressive 10-2 SU run outside the conference this year. The Bluejays are a profitable 7-3 ATS with a 4-1 ATS mark in five previous home games. The total has stayed UNDER in four of those five home games and in seven of 10 games overall.
The Bluejays' lineup boasts one of the top players in the nation in Doug McDermott. He has carried this team so far with an average of 24.8 points and 7.3 rebounds a game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. Ethan Wragge is chipping in another 12.4 points and 4.1 rebounds to help the cause.
Creighton will open play in the Big East as an eight-point home favorite over the Golden Eagles.
These two last met in 1998 with Marquette winning 80-68 as a 6 ½-point home favorite. Recent trends have the Golden Eagles going 2-5-1 ATS in their last seven games following an ATS loss. Creighton is 4-0 ATS in its last four games following an ATS win. The total has gone OVER in six of Marquette's last seven games on the road.
Big East Bonus Games:
A few other Big East games on Tuesday's slate start off with a High Noon tip between St. John's and Xavier (-5). The Red Storm are 9-3 SU with a costly 3-7 record ATS while the Musketeers are 10-3 SU on the year with a respectable 7-4 record ATS.
Later in the afternoon, Seton Hall squares off against Providence (-6½) in a 2:30 tip. The Pirates open their Big East season with nine SU victories in 13 nonconference games and they are 5-7 ATS. The Friars are a solid 10-2 SU in their first 12 games, but just 4-6-1 ATS.
The third game of interest in the conference pits the DePaul Blue Demons on the road against Georgetown (-13½) in a 5 p.m. start. DePaul is 8-5 SU heading into Big East play with a 5-6-1 record ATS while the Hoyas have gotten off to an 8-3 SU start with an even 5-5 mark ATS.