College Hoops Notes
By Micah Roberts
The Ohio State football team was the No. 1 team in the nation five days during this past football season, but in its first defense of the ranking, they lost at Wisconsin. The Buckeyes basketball team was in a similar position last week when they had a major hurdle in defense of their ranking with a tough road game against Illini in Champaign and they passed the test with a 73-68 win as a short 1½-point favorite.
It appeared to be the perfect sport for the Buckeyes to fall because they hadn’t really played anyone on the road and had struggled the previous two weeks against the Big Ten’s weaker teams. Coming into last week, the Buckeyes had not covered for two straight weeks, but they quickly turned it around by drubbing Iowa as 20-point favorites and then the big win at Illinois.
The win gave Ohio State (20-0) their best start since the Jerry Lucas days in the early 60’s and also showed signs of being a team that could possibly match their only Championship which was won in 1960. Despite last seasons All-American Evan Turner leaving for the NBA, the Buckeyes are still loaded with talent. Freshman Jared Sullinger played his best game of the season when they needed it most and finished with 27 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocked shots while playing all 40 minutes. His low post game is by far the best in the nation which will give them a huge edge in the tournament.
Up next for Ohio State is a visit from No. 12 Purdue, who is currently back on track, before early February hits where they’ll play all of the ranked Big Ten teams.
Longhorns Impressive
Texas has kind of gone under the radar this season but showed everyone on Saturday just how good they are as they halted No. 2 Kansas’ 69-game home winning streak with a 74-63 win as 7-point underdogs. Their win also gave them a nice little feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1993 as the beat North Carolina, Michigan State and Kansas all in the same year -- and they did so all on the road.
Texas has to get past a trio of tough games the next two weeks as they’ll play at Oklahoma State, Missouri and at Texas A&M, a team they wiped out last week by 21. Should they come out clean from those possible pitfalls, it should be home free from there which should have them positioned nice for a No. 1 seed in the tournament.
Mountain West NCAA Tourney Teams?
With Colorado State handing UNLV a loss last week and raising their record to 13-5, is it possible that the MWC could get four invites for the NCAA’s? San Diego State and BYU are locks to get in, but what about UNLV and Colorado State should they each roll out strong. The MWC has the fourth ranked RPI conference ranking just behind the Big East, Big-12 and Big Ten. UNLV has an RPI ranking of 31st while Colorado State is 55th. My guess at this juncture is no, the MWC will get only three teams and maybe not even that if UNLV keeps giving games away. However, should the Rams close out strong and capture another upset in conference play, they could play get really close.
Jimmer Jacks Another 40-spot
BYU’s Jimmer Fredettte is leading the nation in scoring at 26.7 ppg and became the first player to put up 40 points in two games this year with a 42-point effort at Colorado State. I’m not quite sure how his game will translate to the next level, but it’s going to be fun watching. This kid is a gamer in all sense of the word and has a myriad of shots from anywhere on the court that makes him must-see TV. The cover against the Rams was only BYU's seventh of the season; they haven't covered two straight games all season, but yet are 19-1 straight up.
Odds & Ends Although Penn State's 10-8 record doesn’t suggest they’re anything to get worked up about, their four game cover streak against the likes of Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois and Michigan State should. They went 2-2 in those games straight-up and take their ATS show back home this week against Iowa and Wisconsin.
Despite not covering two games in a row prior to Saturday’s game, we still love us some Drexel because they are one of the best cover teams in the nation going 11-5 ATS this season. This week they play Georgia State and then travel to James Madison.
Not every sports book posts lines on the Summit League, but places like the Hilton do on their Extra Added Games board. After nearly upsetting Michigan State and then beating then No.7 Tennessee in Knoxville, the Golden Grizzlies feel like they have gone to a far away place with no publicity, but they’re currently 9-0 in conference play and more importantly for us, they have gone 15-6-1 ATS this season, including Saturday‘s road win at North Dakota State as a 5 ½-point favorite.
Just when we thought Texas Tech was becoming a gift bet-against team as they had went 2-12 ATS this season, they pull off an upset win Saturday over Nebraska as a 4-point underdog. Perhaps that win will raise their rating a notch and we can get back to business with betting against them this week when they visit Iowa State and then welcome Oklahoma State.
Ball State is currently 5-0 in MAC play and has reeled off a 4-0-2 mark ATS over their last six. Thursday they’ll face Kent and then get Ohio on Saturday.
Villanova is currently on a 6-0-1 cover streak that includes their Saturday beat down at Syracuse. The Orange took two lumps last week, their first losses of the season, and have become one of the best teams in the Big East to bet against going 7-11 ATS. In Conference play, they are now 3-4 ATS.