College Basketball Knowledge
Butler won four of five gaes with Seton Hall, winning by 7-4 in its two visits here. Pirates' only win was in '14 Big East tourney. Bulldogs won three of last four games; they're 2-4 on Big East road, beating two worst teams in league- they're 2-6 vs spread outside of DePaul/St John's. Big East home favorites of less than 5 points are 7-4 vs spread. Seton Hall won its last four games, covered its last sevem- they're 3-2 as HF.
Memphis lost four of last six games; they're 1-3 on AAC road, winning by 11 at UCF. Tigers won six of last seven games with Houston, with wins by 19-18 points over Cougars LY; Memphis won two of last three visits here. Houston won three of last four games after losing four strait; they're 1-2 as AAC home favorites, AAC home teams are 4-6 against the spread in games with spread of 3 or less points.
Indiana State turned ball over 20 times (-9), lost 79-66 Jan 20 in foulfest at Southern Illinois, where Sycamores took more FTs (42-34) than SIU. ISU won four of last five series games, winning last six played at home, with three of last five by 10+. State is 6-0 at home in MVC (2-2 as HF); they covered once in last seven games. MVC home favorites of 6 or less points are 5-9 vs spread. SIU lost its last four games after an 18-3 start.
LSU won last three games with South Carolina by 18-3-6 points- they won last three visits here, by 10-18-3 points, but Gamecocks have had breakthrough year, are 20-3, 4-0 at home in SEC, winning by 4-9-10-14 points.LSU won four of last five games; favorites covered their last four road games. SEC home favorites of 5 or less points are 8-4 vs spread. Carolina won five of last seven games, is 3-1 as a home favorite.
St Joe's won 15 of its last 17 games, is 5-0 on A-14 road; they lost two home games in conference. Hawks lost 76-71/64-60 last couple years to George Washington. St Joe's is 5-0 on A-14 road, with four of five wins by 9+ points. A-14 home favorites of 5 or less points are 5-5 vs spread. GW won last three games by 6-10-3 points; they're 2-3 as home faves. GW's only home loss was in double OT to Richmond.
Alabama is 3-1 vs Texas A&M in SEC play; home side won all three of regular season meetings. Avery Johnson's son was a sub at A&M LY, but transferred to Alabama to be with his dad- he is sitting out this year but knows Aggies well. SEC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 8-9 vs spread. A&M lost three of last four games; they're 3-2 on SEC road, with wins by 1-4-34. Alabama won three of last four; they're 1-2 as HU.
Baylor won three of last four games with Kansas State; they split last four visits to Little Apple. Bears lost three of last four games; favorites are 4-1 vs spread in their road games. Baylor is 3-2 on road, with three wins by 5 or less points. K-State lost four of last six games; favorites are 4-1 vs spread in their home games. Big X favorites are 11-5 vs spread in games with spread of 5 or less points. Baylor won first meeting 79-72 in double OT Jan 20, despite going 15-29 on foul line.
Pac-12 home favorites of 7+ points are 11-1 vs spread. Utah won 80-75 in OT at Washington Jan 24, in brickfest where teams went 12-50 from arc. Utes won four of last five series games, winning by 9-21 in last two played here. Washington is 2-3 in last five games; they're 3-2 on Pac-12 road, losing by 32-10 points. Utah got swept in Oregon last weekend; they're 3-1 at home, 2-2 as home favorites, winning by 6-9-22 points.
SMU made 10-15 on arc, won 81-69 at Tulsa Dec 29, Mustangs' third straight series win, with other two in OT. SMU split its last four games after starting season 18-0; they're 1-4 as AAC home favorites. Tulsa is 1-3 as an AAC underdog, 2-3 on road, with losses by 19-3-4- they are most experienced team in country, but still lost last two games on road. AAC double digit home favorites are 6-10 vs spread.
Home side won nine of last ten Boise-Colorado State games; Broncos are 1-4 in last five visits here, losing by 17-11-20-6 points, with line win in 2014. Boise lost three of last four games, losing last two road games by 8-10 points. Mountain West home underdogs of 4 or less points are 3-6 vs spread. Rams are 3-4 in last seven games but won last two at home, by 8-9 points. Boise is forcing turnovers 20.9% of time in MW play.
UNLV is down to seven scholarship players, five of whom are guards- they have zero healthy size. Rebels are 3-0 vs San Jose St in Mountain West play, winning 74-40 here LY, but they've lost four of their last five games overall. San Jose is 4-1 as road underdog, with three of five losses by 8 or less points; they've covered eight of last ten games. MW double digit home favorites are 4-7 against the spread.
Neb-Omaha lost 87-76 at South Dakota State 13 days ago; Jackrabbits shot 68% inside arc- they're 6-1 in series games, winning last four by 17-19-22-11 points. State won its last five games, four by 11+ points; they are 2-3 as road favorites. Omaha lost three of last four games, two of last three at home, with losses by 5-3 points. State is best in Summit when it comes to protecting the ball. Omaha forces turnovers 19.8% of time. protects ball Summit League home underdogs are 4-5 vs spread.
Tennessee State lost 81-79 at Tennessee Tech 13 days ago, in game TSU led by 10 at half; home side won four of last five series games. Tech lost five of last six visits here, winning by 4 two years ago. State lost three of last five games; they're 8-2 vs spread in OVC games. Tech scored 81.8 ppg in winning last four games; they're 4-2 on OVC road. OVC home teams are 11-13 vs spread in games with spread of 4 or less points.
Armadillosports.com
Wednesday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
LSU at South Carolina
The Westgate SuperBook opened South Carolina as a 4.5-point favorite for Wednesday’s SEC showdown vs. LSU.
South Carolina (20-3 straight up, 15-5 against the spread) is undefeated in 12 home games with a 7-2 spread record.
South Carolina captured its best win of the season this past Saturday when it went into College Station and handed Texas A&M its first home loss of the year. Frank Martin’s squad won an 81-78 decision as a nine-point underdog. Sindarius Thornwell was the catalyst, producing 25 points, six rebounds, three steals and nine assists compared to just one turnover. Michael Carrera drained all five of his attempts from 3-point range in a 20-point effort.
Carrera is averaging 14.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He’s making 49.5 percent of his field-goal attempts and 48.7 percent from 3-point range. Thornwell (12.7 PPG) paces the Gamecocks in assists (3.6 APG) and steals (1.5 SPG).
LSU (15-8 SU, 8-12 ATS) is alone atop the SEC standings with an 8-2 record in league play. South Carolina, Texas A&M and Kentucky are each one game back with 7-3 SEC ledgers.
LSU is No. 74 in the RPI Rankings due to a 1-3 record against the Top 50. However, the Tigers have produced a 6-6 mark versus the Top 100. They have wins at Vanderbilt and at Alabama, in addition to home triumphs over Kentucky, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Georgia.
LSU has lost four of seven road games, going 2-5 ATS.
South Carolina is No. 27 in the RPI with a 1-0 record against the Top 50 and a 7-3 ledger versus the Top 100. The Gamecocks have road wins at Texas A&M, at Ole Miss and at Clemson, in addition to neutral-court victories over Hofstra, Tulsa and DePaul. They also own home wins over Alabama, Vanderbilt and Memphis.
LSU is led by true freshman sensation Ben Simmons, who averages team-bests in scoring (19.4 PPG), rebounding (12.3 RPG), assists (5.0 APG), field-goal percentage (56.7%), steals (1.9 SPG) and blocked shots (1.0 BPG).
LSU has won four of its last five games with the lone loss coming previously top-ranked Oklahoma in a game it led by 10 with less than 10 minutes remaining. The Tigers beat Mississippi State 88-77 as 9.5-point home favorites this past Saturday. Antonio Blakeney erupted for 31 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point land, while Keith Hornsby finished with 25 points and five assists compared to merely one turnover. Simmons flirted with a triple-double, tallying 16 points, nine boards, seven assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots.
LSU has been an underdog seven times this year, going 3-4 both SU and ATS.
LSU has won three in a row over USC while going 2-0-1 ATS. The ‘under’ has cashed in three consecutive encounters.
The ‘under’ is 12-8 overall for the Tigers, 5-2 in their seven road assignments.
Totals have been an overall wash (10-10) for South Carolina. The ‘over’ is 5-2 in the Gamecocks’ last seven games, 6-3 in their home outings this year.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.
Washington at Utah
Utah (17-7 SU, 9-12-1 ATS) opened as an eight-point favorite Tuesday at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. The Utes have won 11 of 12 home games while posting a 4-5 spread record.
Utah is led by seven-foot sophomore center Jakob Poeltl is averaging 17.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots. Those are all team-highs along with his field-goal percentage (65.0%).
Washington (15-8 SU, 12-9 ATS) is in a third-place tie with Arizona in the Pac-12 standings, two games back of pace-setting Oregon and its 9-2 league mark. Meanwhile, Utah is in a fifth-place tie with Colorado as both teams are 6-5 in conference play.
Washington has lost three of its last five games, including Saturday’s 77-72 home loss to Arizona as a 4.5-point underdog. Andrew Andrews scored 20 points in the losing effort, while Marquese Chriss finished with 18 points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
UW freshman power forward Noah Dickerson injured his ankle against Arizona and was limited to only seven minutes of playing time. Dickerson is listed as ‘questionable’ at Utah. The Atlanta produced signed with Florida but when Billy Donovan left for the NBA, UF gave Dickerson his release and he decided to go to UW. He is averaging 8.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest.
Lorenzo Romar’s squad is 3-2 both SU and ATS in five road outings.
Washington owns a 6-6 record both SU and ATS in 12 games as an underdog.
Utah owns a 1-2-1 spread record in four games as a single-digit favorite.
Since winning five straight in Pac-12 action, Utah has dropped back-to-back contests both SU and ATS. The Utes lost 71-69 Thursday at Oregon St. before falling 76-66 Sunday at Oregon as 6.5-point road underdogs.
Utah’s Kyle Kuzma had 18 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots in Eugene. Jordan Loveridge finished with 16 points and 10 boards, while Poeltl had 13 points and eight rebounds. Foul trouble limited Poeltl to 29 minutes of playing time, and he had only five shots from the field and the charity stripe. He made four of his shots from the floor and all five of his free throws.
The ‘over’ is 13-9-1 overall for the Utes, 8-2 in their home games.
The ‘over’ is 14-7 overall for UW, 5-0 in its road assignments. The ‘over’ is on a 13-2 run in the Huskies’ last 15 games.
ESPN2 will have the telecast at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
Monmouth cruised to an 87-61 win at Marist last night as a 9.5-point road favorite. The Hawks have won six in a row with five of those victories coming by double-digit margins. They are No. 31 in the RPI.
Purdue allowed a 16-point halftime lead to get away at home last night vs. Michigan State. The Spartans rallied to force overtime before losing an 82-82 decision. However, they covered the number as two-point road underdogs.
Dayton and Miami dodged legit upset bids at home last night. The Flyers clipped Duquesne 76-74 but failed to cover as double-digit ‘chalk.’ The Hurricanes held off Pitt, 65-63.
Iowa State center Jameel McKay will miss a second straight game Wednesday against Texas Tech due to a suspension. McKay averages 12.4 points and 9.0 rebounds. He also has 36 blocked shots.
UNLV freshman center Stephen Zimmerman will miss at least a week with an injury sustained Saturday. Zimmerman is averaging 10.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
NCAAB: : Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Saint Joseph’s at George Washington
Dismantling Fordham Rams 82-60 as -7.5 point road chalk in the previous effort, Saint Joseph’s (19-4, 15-6-1 ATS) of the Atlantic 10 remain the nation’s lone flawless road team at 8-0 along with an equally impresive 8-0 mark against the betting line. Hawks perfect road journey gets put to the test when they visit George Washington Colonials (18-5, 10-9-1 ATS) on Wednesday.
Hawks have compelling betting numbers in their favor. They're on a money-making 15-5-1 ATS stretch, 8-2-1 ATS facing a team with a winning record, 4-1 ATS last five running the hardwood vs. Colonials. However, it won't be a cake walk. Colonials have put up outstanding numbers on home court posting a 9-3-1 record against the betting line and sport a profitable 8-3-1 ATS record running the hardwood vs a team with a winning record.
Wednesday's Top 25 Trends
VegasInsider.com
Providence at Marquette
The Friars look to snap an 0-9 mark against the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee to avoid their first three-game losing streak. Excellent PF Ben Bentil should play despite not practicing the last two days in order to give his injured ankle time to heal. Providence won the first meeting between these teams 65-64 on Jan. 5. Avoiding miscues should be the key to this near pick'em. Marquette ranks 316th nationally in turnover percentage, while Providence forces them at a clip that ranks 22nd. All-America candidate Kris Dunn squares off with impressive Marquette freshman Haanif Cheatham in a battle of talented big guards, while Bentil will see plenty of skilled big man Henry Ellenson, a potential lottery pick.
Texas A&M at Alabama
The Aggies have fallen out of first place in the SEC following losses in three of their last four. A&M is on its first losing streak of the season as it visits Tuscaloosa before visiting first-place LSU on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide is 3-2 against ranked foes this season and hopes to have forward Shannon Hale (11.3 ppg) back after a two-game absence due to a foot injury. Alabama is 8-3 at home (5-3 ATS) and has beaten the Aggies in four of their last five trips into town. The Crimson Tide is 2-2 SU (3-1) ATS as a home underdog like they are tonight. A&M saw its 81-78 weekend home loss to South Carolina end a run of seven straight where the under prevailed. The over has hit in three consecutive 'Bama games.
Baylor at Kansas State
The Wildcats come off this season's landmark win, an 80-69 victory over then-No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday. They'll look to avoid an emotional hangover as a slight favorite against another nationally-ranked foe, a Bears squad they lost to 79-72 in double-OT in Waco, covering as an 8.5-point underdog on Jan. 20. K-State hasn't won consecutive games since Dec. 29, struggling in Big 12 play. K-State is 1-8 (5-3-1 ATS) against ranked opponents, but is 10-2 (7-3 ATS) straight up at home. Bears forwards Taurean Prince (14.9p/6.0r) and Rico Gathers (12.7p/10.3r) combined for 30 points and 21 boards in the win. K-State's leading scorer in that game, Kamau Stokes, poured in 20 off the bench but is unavailable tonight due to a knee injury.
Iowa State at Texas Tech
The Cyclones snapped a two-game losing streak at Oklahoma State over the weekend, allowing a season-low 59 points. F Jameel McKay, the Cyclones' top rebounder (9.0) and shot-blocker (1.7), remains suspended indefinitely. Texas Tech has gone 1-4 since PF Norense Odiase broke his foot. The Red Raiders have lost eight of 10 since opening Big 12 play with a win over Texas, a stretch that started with a 76-69 loss at Iowa State on Jan. 6 where they covered as 11-point dogs. That game was lower-scoring than expected, which has become a trend of late since the under is 6-0-1 in ISU's last seven games. The under has hit in Texas Tech's last three contests.
Tulsa at SMU
Larry Brown's Mustangs are just 2-2 since opening the season 18-0, but remain atop the American Athletic Conference standings. They'll look for a season sweep of the Golden Hurricane, which they beat in Tulsa 81-69 on Dec. 29 to open league play. SMU freshman guard Shake Milton, a Tulsa native, scored 24 points on 8-for-9 shooting, hitting 7-for-8 3-pointers. The Golden Hurricane's top scorer, James Woodard (16.2 ppg), had 22 points against SMU last month and torched it for a career-high 30 in last year's loss in Dallas. Tulsa has won 7 of 9 and is 4-2 (SU and ATS) in true road games. SMU is 12-0 (3-5 ATS) at home and has a massive game scheduled in Dallas this weekend against visiting Gonzaga.