Wednesday's Best NCAAB Bets
By Covers.com
Liberty Flames at No. 19 Texas A&M Aggies (-18.5, N/A)
The Aggies are going to have to deal with an unexpected speed bump early this season as they deal with being one of the Big 12’s favorites.
After Billy Kennedy was hired to man the bench back in May, he was forced to take a leave of absence to undergo treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Associate coach Glynn Cyprien will lead the club until Kennedy returns and has already addressed the hype surrounding the team.
"We addressed it on the first day for a total of about five minutes," Cyprien told reporters. "And I think these guys ... because they're a veteran team, understand it's not where you start but it's where you finish. And it hasn't come up again."
Junior Khris Middleton is one of three returning starters and 10 lettermen on the team and could be poised for even bigger things after averaging 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds last season.
These Aggies will come out with a bang.
Pick: Aggies
Duquesne Dukes at No. 16 Arizona Wildcats (-9, 148.5)
The Arizona Wildcats may have some problems getting on track.
They lost Derrick Williams to the NBA when he went No. 2 overall to Minnesota and sophomore guard Lamont Jones transferred to Iona. The Wildcats struggled early in their first game of the year and headed into the half against Valparaiso with just a two-point lead.
They ended up rallying for a 73-64 victory, but couldn’t cover as 14.5-point favorites.
"We're not the 16th-ranked team in the country," Arizona coach Sean Miller told reporters. "Maybe at some point we can get to that spot, but we still have a ways to go. These early games give us the opportunity to learn."
We’ll take the coach at his word even though Duquesne is looking to replace its top two scorers from last season.
Pick: Dukes
2K Classic Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
The Regional Round of the 2011 2K Sports Classic will continue Wednesday with four games on the college hoops card. The action will start at 7:00 p.m. Eastern at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville where Mississippi State (1-0 straight up, 0-1 against the spread) will host Akron on ESPNU.
Most betting shops have installed Rick Stansbury’s team as a 7½-point home favorite with a total of 142½. The Zips are plus-240 on the money line (risk $100 to win $240).
Mississippi St. opened the season Monday with a 76-66 win over Eastern Kentucky as a 16½-point home ‘chalk.’ The 142 combined points jumped ‘over’ the 133-point total.
Senior point guard Dee Bost scored a team-high 23 points to go with six assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals. Junior center Arnett Moultrie, a transfer from UTEP who was donning a Bulldogs uniform for the first time, finished with 13 points, 10 boards and two blocked shots.
Freshman Rodney Hood scored 12 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists. The mercurial Renardo Sidney, who spent the summer in Houston with John Lucas, had nine points and three boards in just 23 minutes of playing time.
Akron (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS) hooked up its backers in five straight games to end last season. Keith Dambrot’s team won the MAC Tournament with a 66-65 overtime win over Kent St. as a 1½-point underdog. However, the Zips dropped a 69-56 decision to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, although they did take the cash as 13½-point ‘dogs.
The key to Akron returning to a third NCAA Tournament in four years with be the play of seven-foot junior center Zeke Marshall, who has not lived up to expectations in his first two years. Marshall, a high-profile recruit, only averaged 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds last season. He was 2-of-13 from the field in the loss to the Irish.
On the bright side, Marshall has led the MAC in blocked shots in each of his first two years. He had four blocks against Notre Dame.
Akron’s best player is senior power forward Nikola Cvetinovic, who averaged 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest. The Zips are hoping to get a big impact from Brian Walsh, a six-foot, four-inch transfer from Xavier.
Also at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, St. John’s (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) will welcome Lehigh into Queens for a showdown on ESPN2. Most books are listing the Red Storm as a 13-point favorite with the total in the 149-150 range.
The Johnnies, who are playing without head coach Steve Lavin while he recovers from prostate surgery, captured a 74-59 win over William & Mary as eight-point home favorites. The 133 combined points stayed ‘under’ the 139½-point tally.
Nurideen Lindsey couldn’t buy a free throw against the Tribe, finishing 3-of-8 from the charity stripe, but he rallied St. John’s from a seven-point deficit at intermission by scoring a team-high 19 points. Lindsey, a sophomore guard, also had five steals and four assists while making 8-of-12 from the field.
God’s Gift Achiuwa and Maurice Harkless scored 17 points apiece and had nine and eight rebounds, respectively. D’Angelo Harrison also scored in double figures with 14 points.
Lehigh (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS) has the nation’s leading returning scorer in C.J. McCollum, who averaged 21.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore last year. McCollum also led The Patriot League in steals and free-throw percentage.
Arizona (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS) will play host to Duquesne at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2. Most spots have the Wildcats listed as 8½-point favorites with a total of 149.
Sean Miller’s team opened the year Monday with a 73-64 non-covering victory over Valparaiso as a 14½-point home ‘chalk.’ Kyle Fogg scored a team-high 16 points, while Jesse Perry produced a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.
Miller’s team lost star Derrick Williams to the NBA Draft as the No. 2 overall pick, but two starters are back along with several key bench players and an outstanding recruiting class. Williams led UA to the Elite Eight last year, including a Sweet 16 win over Duke in upset fashion.
Texas A&M is also in action Wednesday, hosting Liberty as a 20-point home favorite at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The Aggies will be without new head coach Billy Kennedy, who has taken a medical leave of absence after being diagnosed with early stages of Parkinson’s disease. Kennedy came to College Station to replace Mark Turgeon, who has replaced Gary Williams at Maryland, after a successful stint at Murray St.
NCAAB Preview
Mississippi State won its opener by 10, playing seven guys; Bulldogs have two quality big guys, two senior guards- they're picked #5 in SEC this year. Akron has three starters back from 23-13 team that was 9-7 in MAC and won MAC tourney, with two OT wins- they lost six of top six scorers from LY, have six new players, but have won 23+ games six years in a row. Zips are #2 pick in MAC East this season. .
St John's was down 7 at half Monday, won by 15; Red Storm used only seven guys-- they were 12-25 from line, 4-15 from arc, as a young team struggles shooting, but ran well when they forced turnovers. Lehigh has four starters back from LY's 16-15 team that lost to USC by 27, to Penn State by 14; they're picked #3 in Patriot League this year. Coach Lavin was at practice Tuesday; unsure if he will coach this game.
Texas A&M coach Kennedy has Parkinson's, so team is being coached by an interim right now; Aggies have three starters back from 24-9 team that was 10-6 in Big 12- very strong inside, a top 20 team in offensive rebounding and getting to foul line. Kennedy wants to play faster, but it is unclear if his guards can score well enough to do it. Liberty was 19-13 LY, has four starters back but is picked only 8th in Big South; they lost by 21 to Notre Dame, by 30 to George Maon LY.
Arizona won its opener by 9; they used nine guys for 15+ minutes, so they've got better depth than most. No Wildcat starter made a 3-pointer, so shooting could be an issue. Its a big advantage to have already played a game while your opponent hasn't played. Duquesne was 19-13 LY, 10-6 in A-14; they lost to Pitt by 14, West Va by 3, George Mason in double OT. Dukes have good guards but their big guys are shaky.
AKRON (23 - 13) at MISSISSIPPI ST (17 - 14)
Top Trends for this game.
MISSISSIPPI ST is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) in November games over the last 2 seasons.
MISSISSIPPI ST is 1-10 ATS (-10.0 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
MISSISSIPPI ST is 1-10 ATS (-10.0 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
LEHIGH (16 - 15) at ST JOHNS (21 - 12)
Top Trends for this game.
LEHIGH is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
LEHIGH is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) in all lined games over the last 3 seasons.
LEHIGH is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) in all tournament games over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
LIBERTY (19 - 13) at TEXAS A&M (24 - 9)
Top Trends for this game.
TEXAS A&M is 21-8 ATS (+12.2 Units) in November games since 1997.
Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
DUQUESNE (19 - 13) at ARIZONA (30 - 8)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
AKRON vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE
No trends available
Mississippi State is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Mississippi State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
LEHIGH vs. ST. JOHN'S
No trends available
St. John's is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
St. John's is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games
LIBERTY vs. TEXAS A&M
No trends available
Texas A&M is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
Texas A&M is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
DUQUESNE vs. ARIZONA
Duquesne is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Duquesne is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Arizona is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Arizona is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games at home
AKRON at MISSISSIPPI STATE
AKRON: 2-0 ATS vs. SEC
MISSISSIPPI ST: 2-8 ATS in November
LEHIGH at ST JOHNS
LEHIGH: N/A
ST JOHNS: N/A
LIBERTY at TEXAS A&M
LIBERTY: 0-4 ATS vs. non-conference
TEXAS A&M: 7-1 ATS in November
LIBERTY at TEXAS A&M
DUQUESNE: 1-6 ATS in tournament games
ARIZONA: 1-9 ATS off ATS loss/SU win at home