College Basketball Knowledge
Richmond rallied from down 13 with 14:36 left, beat George Washington 98-90 in double OT Jan 28; Spiders made 11-19 on arc, shot 61% inside arc- they're 7-4 in last 11 series games- teams split lst four played here. GW won five of last seven games, three of last four on road. Richmond lost last two games, allowing 85 ppg; they're 3-4 in last seven at home. A-14 faves are 12-3 vs spread in games with spread of 2 or less points.
Villanova made 13-25 on arc, pounded Xavier 95-64 at home New Year's Eve, scoring 1.42 ppg- they shot 72% inside arc, are 6-0 vs Villanova in conference play, winning by 7-12 in two visits here. Wildcats won its last seven games, is 16-1 in last 17- they're 8-0 on Big East road. Xavier won eight of last nine games, winning last four at home. Big East home teams are 8-6 vs spread in games with spread of 3 or less points.
Illinois State lost 81-78 at Southern Illinois Jan 12, blowing 56-44 lead in last 15:00; both teams shot eyes out from arc. Salukis won three of last four series games, but in series where home side won last six series tilts, SIU lost its last eight visits to Normal, last four by 17+ points. ISU won eight of its last ten games, winning last five at home, bfour by 9+ points. MVC home favorites of 6 or less points are 7-11 vs spread.
Louisville held Pitt to 28.6% on floor in 59-41 home win Jan 14-- both teams shot 1-11 on arc. Cardinals won last seven series games, winning by 11-12 points in last two visits here. Cardinals lost last two games on road, are 3-2 since postseason ban. Pitt won its last two games after its 3-6 skid; Panthers are 5-2 at home in ACC. ACC home teams are 13-9 vs spread in games with spread of less than 5 points.
North Carolina split its last six games after a 19-2 start; they won 67-55 at home over NC State Jan 16, going +9 (18-9) in turnovers in game that was tied at half. UNC is 18-2 in last 20 series games, winning by 14-2 in last two visits to Raleigh. Wolfpack is 4-10 in ACC but won three in a row at home, over Miami-Wake-Clemson. ACC home underdogs of 7 or less points are 12-7 against the spread.
Wisconsin won its last five games with Iowa, winning by 5-11 in its last two visits here; Badgers won eight of last nine games, losing by 12 in last road game, at Michigan State- they're 3-3 on Big 14 road, with losses by 1-5-12 points. Iowa lost two of last three games; they're 7-0 at home in Big 14, with six wins by 11+ points. Hawkeyes have been off for week since last game. Big 14 home favorites of 8 or less points are 17-11.
Tennessee's leading scorer Punter (foot) is out, but they beat LSU by 16 without him last game; Vols beat South Carolina 78-69 at home Jan 23, making 10-21 on arc, 30-32 on line- they're 16-1 in last 17 series games, winning last seven visits here. Gamecocks lost two of last three games, are 6-1 at home in SEC, losing by 27 to Kentucky in last home game. SEC single digit home favorites are 24-15 against the spread.
Arizona won its last six games, sweeping Washington schools on its last road trip; Wildcats won last six games with Colorado, winning by 27-28 in last two visits to Boulder. Arizona scored 83.2 ppg during the streak. Buffaloes won last six home games since losing by hoop to Utah; home teams won their last eight games overall. Pac-12 home underdogs of 3+ points are 4-9 vs spread. Buffs are shooting 44.2% inside arc (#325).
San Diego State ran out to 25-7 lead, beat Wyoming 67-55 at home Dec 30, in typical Aztec brickfest; teams made 10-43 on arc. Aztecs are 4-3 in last seven series games, 1-2 in last three visits here (won 60-52LY)- they also lost 45-43 to Pokes in MW finals last March. Wyoming is 4-7 in its last 11 games, but won two of last three at home- Mountain West home underdogs of 4+ points are 11-5 against the spread.
Cal-Irvine held Long Beach State to 24.6% from floor in 58-54 road win Jan 14, rallying back from down 11 with 16:24 left to beat 49ers for 6th time in last seven series games. Long Beach lost two of last three visits to Bren Center, but won 88-82 here LY. Niners won their last six games after a 9-12 start, winning road games at Hawai'i/Cal-Davis. Big West home favorites of 5 or less points are 5-10 vs spread.
Nevada made 10-25 on arc, scored 1.25 ppp in its best offensive game of season in 89-84 win at Utah State Jan 30, Wolf Pack's first win against USU in last four series games. Nevada won three of its last four games, losing only to Aztecs; they won three of last four overall, losing in OT at UNLV last game. Mountain West home favorites of 4 or less points are 7-5 vs spread. Aggies lost last four on road, by 15-3-19-7 points.
Oregon State is 5-8 in its last 13 games, but won last three at home by 2-15-4 points; Beavers lost four of last five games with Washington- they won two of last three played here, beating Huskies 64-50 LY. Huskies lost four of last five games, losing last three on road by 10-1-8 points, allowing 89.7 ppg. Pac-12 home favorites of less than 5 points are 7-10 vs spread. Beavers allowed 80+ points in their last six losses.
Siena lost tough home game with Iona two nights ago, rallying back from down 21 at half to lead 73-72 with 3:37 left. Saints won four of last five games with Fairfield, beating Stags 91-76 at home Jan 7- they won their last two visits here, by 1-8 points. Siena won four of last five road tilts, with loss at Marist. MAAC home underdogs of less than 5 points are 12-13 vs spread. Fairfield is 8-2 in its last ten games after a 9-9 start.
Armadillosports.com
Villanova at Xavier
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Xavier has lost only three times this year and been blown out just once. On Wednesday night at home, the Musketeers can avenge their blowout loss at Villanova when they get Jay Wright’s team at their place.
The Westgate SuperBook opened Xavier (24-3 straight up, 17-10 against the spread) as a one-point home favorite.
Chris Mack’s squad has won 13 of its 14 home games while posting a 7-7 spread record. Since getting beat 70-56 at Creighton on Feb. 9, Xavier has won three consecutive games both SU and ATS, including Saturday’s 88-70 win at Georgetown as a miniscule 2.5-point road ‘chalk.’
Edmond Sumner led four Xavier players in double figures with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 9-of-9 perfection at the charity stripe. The Musketeers made 29-of-31 free throws and shot 53.8 percent from the field against the Hoyas. They also won the battle of the boards by a 28-26 margin and committed only seven turnovers compared to 12 by Georgetown.
Trevon Bluiette leads the Musketeers in scoring with a 15.3 points-per-game average. Sumner averages 11.4 points, 3.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and has a team-best 30 steals. Myles Davis (10.5 PPG) has a 106/45 assists-to-turnovers ratio.
James Farr (10.0 PPG) leads Xavier in rebounding (8.1 RPG), field-goal percentage (53.8%) and blocked shots (1.1 BPG).
Xavier is No. 6 in the RPI Rankings thanks to a 6-1 record against the Top 50. The Musketeers have posted an 11-3 mark versus the Top 100. They have neutral-courts wins over Alabama, USC and Dayton, in addition to road scalps of Providence, Michigan, Butler and Georgetown.
Villanova (24-3 SU, 13-12 ATS) has won seven in a row, including Saturday’s 77-67 win over Butler as an 11-point home favorite. The 144 combined points slipped ‘over’ the 141-point total. Josh Hart led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Kris Jenkins added 20 points, six boards and a pair of blocked shots. Ryan Arcidiacono finished with nine points and nine assists without a turnover.
Wright’s club has won nine of its 10 road games while going 5-4-1 ATS. If the line holds, Villanova will be an underdog for only the second time this season. The Wildcats were 5.5-point underdogs when they lost at UVA.
Villanova is No. 2 in the RPI, going 6-3 against the Top 50 and 14-3 versus the Top 100. The Wildcats have defeats at Virginia (86-75), vs. Providence (82-76) at home and vs. Oklahoma (78-55) on a neutral floor. They owns quality road wins at St. Joseph’s, at Seton Hall, at Providence, at Creighton, at Butler, at Georgetown and at Temple. Also, ‘Nova has neutral-court victories over Ga. Tech and Stanford, in addition to home scalps of Seton Hall, Akron, Creighton and Butler.
Villanova ranks eighth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 61.5 points per game. The Wildcats are ninth in field-goal percentage defense, forcing opponents to shoot at a miserable 38.5 percent clip. They don’t light up the scoreboard with offense, but they do lead the country in free-throw shooting (78.1%).
Villanova has won six in a row both SU and ATS in this rivalry. The ‘over’ has cashed at a 4-1 clip in the last five head-to-head meetings.
When these Big East rivals met on New Year’s Eve at The Pavilion, Villanova stormed out to a 48-30 intermission lead before capturing a 95-64 win that was never in doubt. The Wildcats easily took the cash as 6.5-point home favorites, while the 159 combined points sailed ‘over’ the 143-point tally.
All five ‘Nova starters scored in double figures led by Arcidiacono’s 27 points and eight assists on 7-of-14 shooting from downtown. Daniel Ochefu contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.
Hart is averaging 15.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Arcidiacono (12.0 PPG) has a stellar 115/45 assists-to-turnovers ratio and a team-high 35 steals. -- The ‘under’ is 14-11-1 overall for the Wildcats, but the ‘over’ has gone 5-4-1 in their 10 road assignments. The ‘over’ is 3-1 for ‘Nova in its last four outings.
The ‘over’ is 16-10 overall for the Musketeers, 10-4 in their home contests.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports 1.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
The Westgate opened Iowa as an eight-point home favorite vs. Wisconsin. This game will tip from Iowa City at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on the Big Ten Network. The Badgers had covered the number in seven straight until failing to do so their last two times out. They have watched the ‘under’ prevail in four consecutive contests. The Hawkeyes are mired in a 0-3 ATS slump.
The Westgate opened Texas A&M as a 12-point home favorite vs. Mississippi State. The Bulldogs upset Vandy at The Hump in Starkville last week before going into Tuscaloosa and cooling off a hot Alabama team on Saturday. Ben Howland has the nation’s fourth-best recruiting class coming in next year, according to Rivals.com. However, this MSU team isn’t done yet. It knocked off Alabama with freshman star Malik Newman sidelined with a back ailment that has him listed as ‘questionable’ Wednesday in College Station. The Bulldogs have won outright in four of their last five games as underdogs.
The Westgate opened Creighton as a 7.5-point home favorite vs Marquette. This Big East showdown will tip at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CBS College Network. The Golden Eagles are 8-5 ATS with six outright victories in 13 games as underdogs. The Bluejays won a 65-62 decision at Marquette as a 1.5-point road ‘chalk’ on Feb. 13.
The Westgate sent out Notre Dame as a 7.5-point favorite at Wake Forest, only to adjust the number to seven less than 30 minutes later. The Demon Deacons are 3-8 ATS at home. Even worse, they’re 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS as home underdogs. Notre Dame’s Zach Auguste (14.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG) is ‘questionable’ with a knee injury.
Gamblers will be served up Washington at Oregon State at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU for the last-call televised game on Wednesday’s card. The Beavers are 10-3 SU and 7-5 ATS at home, while the Huskies are 3-4 SU but 5-2 ATS in their seven road assignments. UW has seen the ‘over’ cash at a 15-4 clip in its last 19 outings.
Yale’s Jack Montague is out indefinitely due to a personal matter. Montague (9.7 PPG, 3.0 APG, 2.5 RPG) hasn’t played since a Feb. 6 win over Cornell when he scored 16 points. The Bulldogs, who are 9-1 in Ivy League play, are vying with Princeton (8-1) and Columbia (8-2) for the league’s automatic berth that goes to the regular-season champ. Yale and Princeton have already split their two regular-season meetings.
Arizona visits Colorado
By Sportsbook.ag
ARIZONA WILDCATS (22-5) at COLORADO BUFFALOES (19-9)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Arizona -5, Total: 144
No. 9 Arizona looks to hold onto the top spot in the Pac-12 standings with its seventh straight win as it visits Colorado.
The Wildcats (15-12 ATS) visit Colorado on Wednesday night with the Buffaloes looking for their seventh straight Pac-12 home win. Colorado is 14-1 SU at the Coors Events Center (7-5 ATS) but have dropped their last four contests away from Boulder. Arizona is 5-3 SU (5-3 ATS) on the road this season, most recently sweeping the Washington schools away from home.
Colorado comes off an empty road trip against USC and UCLA, most recently getting walloped 77-53 (Colorado +5) at UCLA on Saturday. Colorado is 1-5 ATS in its last six games. Arizona will have had a week off since their last game, a 99-61 pasting of rival Arizona State in the McKale Center on Feb. 17th.
Arizona has owned this series with an 8-2 SU record since 2012 (5-5 ATS) and has won the last five games overall against Colorado. The Wildcats have won the last two contests in Boulder and are 2-2 SU (3-1 ATS) when visiting Colorado since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 conference. Most recently these two teams played in Boulder last February with Arizona winning in a romp (82-54) as a nine-point favorite. While the total has gone UNDER in five of Colorado’s last seven games, the total has also gone OVER in four of Colorado’s last five home games.
Coming off of a week’s worth of rest, Arizona travels to face the struggling Buffaloes who are starving to return home after a winless trip to Los Angeles. The Wildcats are 10-2 SU (7-5 ATS) with 3+ days rest this season and come off of their biggest in-conference blowout this season after toying with Arizona State en route to 57% FG and a +24 rebounding margin last Wednesday. Coach Sean Miller’s group is finally playing up to his expectations as they’ve reeled off six straight to sit atop the conference standings (tied with Oregon).
The Wildcats have won each of their last four games since getting G Allonzo Trier (14.8 PPG) back from injury and Trier has responded by averaging 17.3 PPG over his last three games. Trier is so important to the Arizona attack (82 PPG vs D1 opponents) because he’s the only perimeter player who can create his own offense off the dribble and manufacture points from the charity stripe. Trier is 22-26 from the line over his past three games.
F Ryan Anderson (15.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG) is one of two players in the Pac-12 averaging a double-double although his prowess on the glass hasn’t been needed with only 14 rebounds over his past two games. Colorado plays through its frontcourt, so how Anderson and C Kaleb Tarczewski (9.5 PPG, 9 RPG) stack up in their individual battles with Josh Scott and Wesley Gordon of the Buffaloes will be a big barometer of success for Arizona. Tarczewski is averaging 11.8 RPG over his last five games.
On the perimeter, G Gabe York (14.7 PPG, 42% 3PT) is one of the better marksmen in the conference and leads the Pac-12 in 3PM (2.7 per game).
Colorado looks to bounce back from a sour road trip as they enter the friendly confines of the Coors Events Center where they average 83.2 PPG (as compared to 69.5 PPG on the road). The Buffaloes shot just 31% FG in their most recent blowout loss to UCLA, while allowing the Bruins to shoot 50% FG and 55% 3PT. Opponents shoot lots of threes against the Buffaloes (17.8 3PA) because of three reasons:
One is that the Buffaloes just aren’t that effective at defending the perimeter (35.8% 3PT), and reasons two and three are in the form of forwards Josh Scott (16.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.7 BPG) and Wesley Gordon (7.6 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 BPG), as it’s tough to convert inside on the Buffaloes (5.1 BPG, 28th NCAA; 44.4% FG allowed on two-pointers, 34th NCAA).
Scott is the key to the Buffaloes, as he still doesn’t look to be 100% from an ankle injury that kept him out for two games at home against Washington and Washington State two weeks ago. While Scott did play 32 minutes at UCLA, he only put up 9 points on 4-12 FG. Gordon steps up when Scott is absent (double-doubles against Washington and Washington State) but fades to the background when Scott returns (only 3 double-doubles all season with Scott in the active lineup).
Colorado gets inconsistent perimeter scoring from guards George King (13.9 PPG, 45% 3PT) and Josh Fortune (10.2 PPG, 39% 3PT), who both boast respectable perimeter numbers but can be feast or famine on a game-to-game basis in the box score. King is 5-17 3PT over his past five games while Fortune is 4-19 3PT over that same span. The Buffaloes’ biggest issue lately, though, has been turnovers, as nobody has stepped up to claim a role all season as a true floor leader and point guard.
At 14.1 TO/game (297th NCAA), coach Tad Boyle actually benched three starting guards after the mid-week loss at USC due to 20 turnovers, only to have his new lineup cut down on the turnovers (11) at the expense of getting exposed on defense by UCLA’s perimeter shooting.
Game of the Day: Villanova at Xavier
By Covers.com
Villanova Wildcats at Xavier Musketeers (-1.5)
Back on New Year's Eve, Villanova routed Xavier - which entered with a 12-0 record - by a 95-64 margin. Ryan Arcidiacono hit seven 3-pointers en route to 27 points and Daniel Ochefu notched 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks as the Wildcats cruised to their seventh straight win over the Musketeers. Villanova may have actually improved since that day as only an overtime loss to a quality Providence team has separated the Wildcats from a 17-game winning streak. The Musketeers, who trail Villanova by 2 1/2 games in the Big East standings, have won three straight games - all by double digits.
LINE: Overnight odds from Las Vegas sent our Villanova as a 1-point road favorite with a total of 144 points. Online books opened with Xavier as a 1-point home favorite which was bet up to -1.5 with 60 percent of action on the Musketeers.
POWER RANKINGS: Villanova (-18.25) - Xavier (-16.35) - home-court advantage (-3.0) = Xavier -1.1
WHAT SHARPS SAY: "Both teams come into this game with 24-3 SU records, but the first meeting wasn’t close. Villanova embarrassed Xavier by 31 points (95-64) as the Wildcats played a perfect game that will be impossible to duplicate. Villanova shot 63.2 percent from the field, 52 percent from 3-point land, and 90.9 percent from the free throw line. Xavier grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, so if they combine that with better shooting and better defense, the Musketeers have a good shot at revenge." - Covers Expert Steve Merril.
WHAT BOOKS SAY: "Two of the top teams in the nation and in the Big East square off Wednesday, No. 1 Villanova visits No. 5 Xavier. Xavier looks to avenge a blowout loss to the Wildcats they suffered back in December 95-64. Villanova easily covered the 6.5-point spread in the first meeting between these two teams." - Michael Stewart, CarbonGaming.ag.
ABOUT VILLANOVA (24-3, 13-1 Big East): Josh Hart recovered from a tough two-game stretch with 22 points and 12 rebounds against Georgetown, marking his eighth double-double of the season from the guard position. Ochefu has six double-doubles but none since Jan. 6, although he is shooting 76.5 percent over his last five games. Arcidiacono has shot 33.3 percent or worse in seven of his last nine outings as his scoring average (12.0) and shooting percentage (42.3) have dropped, although both are still career bests.
ABOUT XAVIER (24-3, 12-3): Edmond Sumner scored a career-high 22 points in Saturday's 18-point win over Georgetown as Xavier shot 77 percent in the second half, showing that the team was not looking ahead to Wednesday's showdown with Villanova. The Musketeers looked the part of a No. 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament as they shot 29-of-31 from the foul line against Georgetown, committed only seven turnovers and got points from 10 different players. Trevon Bluiett averages a team-high 15.3 points but has reached that mark only once in the last four games and is shooting 5-of-22 from 3-point range during that stretch.
TRENDS:
* Wildcats are 6-0 ATS in the last six meetings.
* Favorite is 7-0 ATS in the last seven meetings.
* Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings.