College Basketball Weekend Betting Preview
By: Willie Bee
College basketball eases into the season with its first weekend full of lopsided affairs. A few matchups, however, stand out and will pique the interests of fans and bettors alike.
The first Friday of the young campaign resembles a normal Saturday, chock-full of contests that include most of the ranked squads though none are pitted against each other. Next week will see some improvement in the schedule with more meaningful games, including the continuation of the 2K Sports Classic in New York and a battle between Ohio State and Florida in Gainesville.
No. 20 Georgetown at Old Dominion (+2)
Don't expect John Thompson III and the Hoyas to look at this game as an easy tune-up. Old Dominion popped Georgetown about 11 months ago at Verizon Center, 61-57, as nine-point underdogs. It was the first loss the Hoyas suffered last season and came after they had taken down both Butler and Washington in neutral site clashes.
Each school is returning four of its five starters from that game, the missing pieces being the two big men, Greg Monroe of the Hoyas and Gerald Lee of Old Dominion. As far as season openers go, this is easily the top matchup on the college hardwood. Georgetown should battle Pitt, 'Nova and Syracuse for the Big East while the Monarchs are among the top mid-majors and should be in a tough CAA fight all season with George Mason.
Bookmaker.com installed the Hoyas as two-point favorites on the road. Georgetown next hits the court at home on Monday versus Tulane. Old Dominion will be home next week for games against High Point and St. Peter's.
Southern Illinois at No. 13 Illinois
Bruce Weber and the Illini warmed up for this instate fight with a pair of games this past week, winning both straight up and splitting at the NCAA betting window. The Salukis will be making their season debut in what shouldn't be much of a match for a team that isn't expected to figure in the Missouri Valley race.
Illinois struggled a bit versus Cal-Irvine in its season opener on Tuesday, taking a 79-65 win as 22-point favorites. The Illini actually covered the spread in the first half when the Anteaters were ice cold and Brandon Paul was red hot from outside.
Weber's crew rebounded, literally, on Thursday with an 84-45 wipeout of Toledo. Illinois was lined at minus 29½ for that one with many of the starters sitting the final 10-20 minutes.
The Illini will next face Texas on Tuesday in New York when the 2K Sports Classic returns to action. Expect Weber to rest some of his upperclassmen on Saturday versus SIU who will be home next week to take on Northeastern and Austin Peay.
Princeton at No. 1 Duke
Don't laugh, but there's a lot more to watch here than the Blue Devils. Pete Carril won't be on the Princeton bench in his lucky sweater to help spur the team on, but the truth is this is a pretty solid group of Tigers that enters the season as the top threat to take the Ivy League title.
Sydney Johnson and the Tigers will have a quick turnaround to travel for this one from their season opener on Friday as seven-point favorites at home against Rutgers. That certainly could work against Princeton along with the fact it will be facing the top team in the land with its rabid fans all amped up for the first game since Duke won it all last April. The Tigers will feature their proverbial scrappy defense and a pretty good backcourt in senior Dan Mavraides and junior Doug Davis, plus another senior on the inside in 6-foot-8 Kareem Maddox.
Mike Krzyzewski also has some solid upperclassmen of his own in seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. The Blue Devils lost a lot in Jon Scheyer plus Brian Zoubek's big body. But don't worry, Duke has two new faces that will be the difference in this team repeating or not. Freshman Kyrie Irving was among the top 5-6 recruits from the 2010 high school class and he's counted on to make several second- and third-team All-America lists at season's end.
Seth Curry is officially a sophomore but will be making his Duke debut on Sunday. He sat out a year ago after transferring from Liberty where he led all of the country's freshmen in the 2008-09 with a 20.2 average.
ESPNU will have this game and it should be must-see on every college basketball handicapper's slate. Duke remains at home next week with a Tuesday tilt versus Miami-OH and a Friday matchup with Colgate. Princeton's next trip to the hardwood is Nov. 22 at James Madison.