College Betting Notes
By Micah Roberts
It was only two weeks ago when most of the college basketball experts were proclaiming Syracuse as the best team in the nation citing all their strengths as being superior to everyone else which would make a trip to the Final Four quite easy. After starting out 18-0 with all kinds of love coming from Dick Vitale and Bobby Knight, the Orange have now gone on to lose four in a row.
Their first two losses were understandable. Pittsburgh and Villanova are two of the best in the nation, but last week’s home loss to Seton Hall as a 13 ½-point favorite has everyone rethinking their stance on Syracuse. They didn’t just get beat! They got ran off their home court by a team with a losing record. The game was never close as Seton Hall took a 13-point lead at the half and expanded it to a 90-68 blow out win. The Orange only shot only 36% percent from the field in the loss and the Pirates hit 54 percent.
On Saturday, Syracuse was a 2-point underdog at Marquette and was down by 11 at the half, but battled back strong to close out the game. Even though they still lost the game 76-70, they showed signs of getting back to that team we all thought they were by shooting 57% from the field.
Coming up next for the Orange is a road trip on Wednesday to play No. 7 Connecticut, who is fresh off a double-overtime loss to Louisville. Look for Syracuse to play well and possibly pull off the upset. They’ve been humiliated and beat up in front of the nation and now have to pull themselves out of the hole. They have the talent and coaching to make it happen and they can use the losing experience as a gut check down the road.
Everything is Big in Texas
There’s nothing a bettor likes more than to watch his bet play out in total relaxation without even sweating a single drop as his team rolls. This season, that team has been Texas. They aren’t just covering point spreads, they are crushing their opponents. Last week, they continued their burnt orange crush tour with a 15-point win at Oklahoma State and 13-point win over Missouri. On the season, Texas is 12-3 against the spread and it has covered six straight games. Over its last 10 games, Texas is 8-1-1 ATS.
They played at Texas A&M on Monday and welcome Texas Tech Saturday. Last month the Long Horns won at Lubbock 83-52, look for a similar score this week and don’t be afraid of all those points you have to lay.
Teams to Pick on
If looking for a great team to bet against, North Carolina State might interest you. They’ve gone three straight weeks without covering a game. Over that stretch they have been the underdogs in five of those games and have lost by nine or more in each case. This week they’ll face Virginia Tech and Duke.
Wake Forest had been keeping pace with NC State as they had gone five straight games without covering going into to last Saturday’s game against Virginia, but they broke the streak with a straight up win as a four-point underdog.
DePaul had gone through a stretch from late December to early January where they covered six straight games. On Jan. 12, their cover streak ended against Seton hall and they have not covered since going 0-5 ATS. They are currently on an eight-game straight up losing streak.
Air Force Soaring
Even though Air Force is only 3-4 in their last seven games, bettors have been cashing in on them as they have covered six times over that stretch. They are on a current streak of four straight covers.
Penn State Streaking
Their 12-8 record doesn’t put fear into anyone, but for three straight weeks now, Penn State has covered every game. It’s gone 4-2 straight up over that stretch which includes big wins over Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin. This week they have rematches against Illinois and then Michigan, who they lost to by seven last month. Their rating has been adjusted rapidly over this stretch which will decrease their value a little bit, but you have to ride the hot streak until it stops.
Hoyas are Back
It wasn’t that long ago when Georgetown was the No. 1 RPI team in the nation, but then they hit a brick wall going through a stretch where they lost four of five games. But they have regrouped and played extremely well over the last two weeks using some of the Big East’s weaker teams to gain their confidence back before winning at Villanova Saturday. They are currently on a 4-0 ATS streak heading into Monday’s game against Louisville.