College Basketball betting news, trends, odds and predictions for Sunday, December 31, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
Sunday’s college hoop
Seton Hall rallied from 13 down in second half to beat Creighton 90-84 in its Big East opener; Pirates are 6-1 vs top 100 teams- their only losses were by 1 to Rhode Island, 4 at Rutgers. Hall won four of last six games with St John’s; Johnnies lost last three visits here, by 11-19-13 points. St John’s lost by 22 to Providence in its big East opener- Friars were 16-30 on arc. Johnnies are 2-3 vs top 100 teams, with best wins over Nebraska, UCF. Last couple years, Seton Hall is 7-6 as home favorites; last three years, Red Storm is 7-15 vs spread as Big East road underdogs. Red Storms has some injury issues now, with Lovett/Ponds both hurting.
Northern Iowa lost its last three games after an 8-2 start; panthers lost by 17 at North Carolina in their only true road game this season. UNI is playing 2nd-slowest pace in country. Bradley is a top 200 team for first time in five years; Braves lost last two games after a 10-2 start- they’re 0-3 vs top 100 teams, losing by 1-23-23 points. UNI is 14-3 in its last 17 games with Bradley; teams split last four games played here. Last two years, Bradley is 10-8 vs spread at home; last 4+ years, Northern Iowa is 15-18-1 vs spread on MVC road.
Providence was 16-30 on arc in 94-72 win at St John’s in its Big East opener; Friars had lost to UMass, URI in its previous true road games. Creighton is 4-3 vs top 100 teams; all three of their losses were to top 40 teams. bluejays blew 13-point second half lead lead in 90-84 loss to Seton hall Thursday. Providence won six of last eight games with Creighton, but Bluejays beat PC in Big East tourney LY. Friars won last three visits to Omaha, by 9-2-2 points. Last 2+ years, Creighton is 9-6 as Big East home favorites; Providence is 9-4 as road underdogs.
Tex-Arlington lost four of last six games after a 7-1 start; Mavericks are 3-4 in true road games, 7-0 vs teams ranked outside top 200, with three wins by 5 or less points. Appalachian State beat Texas State in its Sun Belt opener, snapping a 4-game skid; they’re 0-3 vs top 100 teams, losing by 6-13-13 points. ASU took 31 3’s, 23 2’s in the win over Texas State Friday. UTA won its last four games with App State, winning by 4-16 points in last two visits here. UTA is 11-18-1 vs spread in its last 30 Sun Belt road games; App State is 15-13-1 in its last 30 home games.
Illinois State won its last three games by 4-1-6 points after a 4-6 start; Redbirds are terrible rebounding team that is 4-2 vs teams ranked outside top 100. Indiana State is 5-7 since its upset win at Indiana; Sycamores turn ball over 21.6 of time, lost their other true road games by 3-16 points. Illinois State won three of last four games with Indiana State; Sycamores lost five of last six visits to Normal, losing last two by 28-5 points. Last three years, Redbirds are 8-13 vs spread as MVC home favorites; last 2+ years, Indiana State is 4-8 as road underdogs.
Missouri State won 8 of its last 9 games, seems to have survived off-court incident where couple of scrubs got busted for stealing stuff. Bears are 2-1 in true road games, quality wins at Western Kentucky, North Dakota St, loss by 7 at Oral Roberts. Valparaiso lost its MVC opener by 9 at Indiana State, Crusaders’ 5th loss in their last six games, with all six games on road. Valpo is 1-4 vs top 200 teams, with one win over Utah State. Last 3+ years, Missouri State is 11-14-2 vs spread on MVC road; last four years, Valparaiso was 16-17-1 vs spread in Horizon home games.
Utah/Oregon State split their last eight meetings; Utes are 1-4 in Corvallis, losing last couple visits here, by total of three points. Underdogs covered last four series games. Utah’s upset win at Oregon was their first in three true road games- they lost at BYU/Butler by 12 points each. Beavers won seven of last eight games, but they’ve played schedule #339 to this point. OSU lost by 5 to St John’s in its only top 100 game so far this season. Under Tinkle, Oregon State is 17-10-1 vs spread in Pac-12 home games; Utah is 10-7-1 vs spread in its last 18 road games.
Quick turnaround for Kentucky after they waxed Louisville by 29 Friday afternoon; Wildcats are 10-2 vs schedule #82, but they haven’t played true road game yet- they’re least experienced team in country. Georgia is 9-2 vs schedule #181; they haven’t played in nine days, are 3-1 vs top 100 teams. Kentucky won its last nine games with Georgia; they beat Dawgs three times LY, by 9-5-11 points. Georgia lost its last seven games in Rupp Arena, four by 11+ points. Last three years, Kentucky is 17-10 as SEC home favorites; Georgia is 13-7 as road underdogs.
South Carolina is 8-3 vs schedule #144; Gamecocks are 0-2 vs top 100 teams, losing to Temple, Clemson by 16 points each. ‘cocks are 2-1 in true road games, winning at Wofford/FIU. Ole Miss are 7-5 vs schedule #234, losing three games in OT, all at home. Rebels are 1-4 vs top 100 teams, with best win over UL-Lafayette. Carolina won three of last four games with Ole Miss; Gamecocks lost five of last six visits to Oxford. Last two years, Ole Miss is 7-5 vs spread as SEC home favorites; last five years, South Carolina is 14-17 vs spread as SEC road underdogs.
Virginia Tech is 11-2 vs schedule #341; they split pair of true road games, losing at Kentucky by 7, winning in OT at Ole Miss. Hokies are shooting 43.7% on arc, best in country- how will that play in Carrier Dome? Syracuse is 11-2 but they’ve only played three games away from the dome. Teams are shooting 32.9% on arc vs the Orange. Syracuse is 4-1 vs Virginia Tech in ACC play, winning both games played here, by 2-8ot points. Last 2+ years, Syracuse is 12-5-1 vs spread in ACC home games, 8-4 when favored; last three years, Hokies are 14-12-1 as road underdogs.
UCLA won its last three games, scoring 88 ppg; Bruins were only up 2 with 9:17 left vs Wazzu Friday, before pulling away to win by 14. UCLA won seven of last nine games with Washington; Huskies lost four of last five games in Pauley Pavilion- they lost by 41-32 points in two games vs UCLA LY. Washington is #315 experience team that won nine of last ten games; they shot 74% inside arc in 88-81 win at USC Friday. Last 2+ years, UCLA is 7-11-1 vs spread in Pac-12 home games; Washington is 11-16-1 vs spread in its last 28 Pac-12 road games.
Washington State lost five of last seven games after a 6-0 start; Coogs made 14-35 on arc at Pauley Friday nite, still lost by 14. Wazzu is 0-3 in true road games, losing by 27-7-14 points. Washington shot 74% inside arc vs USC Friday; Trojans had just come back from winning event in Hawai’i. USC won its last four games with Washington State; Coogs lost by 10-23 points in their last two games in Galen Center. Last 2+ years, USC is 8-6 vs spread as Pac-12 home favorites; Washington State is 15-11-3 vs spread in its last 29 conference road games.
Iona won six of last eight games after a 1-4 start; Gaels won 98-93 in OT at Niagara Friday, after blowing 17-point second half lead. Iona starts three seniors- they’re 4-4 in true road games, lot of road games. Canisius won its last three games after a 4-7 start; they used four starters 35:00+ in their 77-76 home win over Rider Friday, in their MAAC opener. Iona won seven of last nine games with Canisius; teams split last four games played here. Last three years, Canisius is 11-19 vs spread in MAAC home games; Iona is 14-7 vs spread in its last 21 MAAC road tilts.