Early college basketball betting total trends
By: Willie Bee
The Ivy League isn't exactly the first conference that comes to mind when one thinks of high-scoring college basketball teams. The Princeton Tigers are trying to change that, at least for bettors who are looking for 'over' trends to follow.
Princeton opened the season as the favorites to win the Ivy League, so the 6-3 record to date straight up and against the spread shouldn't be surprising. The Tigers' perfect 6-0 mark to the 'over,' however, is a bit of a shock. They're joined by Providence, Detroit and Wooford who also have 6-0 records to the high side. UC-Irvine is 5-0 'over.'
Six of Princeton's nine contests have drawn official totals, ranging from a low of 119½ to 133 points. The 133 number came in their second game of the campaign when the Tigers traveled to Durham to face No. 1 Duke. The Blue Devils posted an easy 97-60 win, the only time Princeton has allowed more than 77 points in a game.
The Tigers' 71.2 scoring average is around the middle of the college hoops pack, and they'll face a very similar team as far as stats go this Sunday when they travel to Tulsa to meet the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa is averaging 71 per game, and 4-2 to the 'over.'
Meanwhile down on the low end of the spectrum...
Five schools with at least five games with posted totals remain prefect on 'unders,' led by the Illinois State Redbirds and Western Carolina Catamounts who are both 7-0 that direction. The Redbirds are holding opponents to 62.8 points per game, the same figure as Kansas State who also owns an unblemished 'under' mark at 5-0. The Catamounts are slightly above that, giving up 65.1 per contest, but still within the top half of the defensive rankings.
Jacksonville State and William & Marry are both 5-0 'under' to finish off the current list.
One team for 'under' bettors to watch the next few weeks is Virginia Tech, 6-1 on the low side so far. The Hokies are struggling a bit in the early going, beginning this weekend on a three-game slide and having trouble finding the basket. Their 64.4 per game scoring average is easily the lowest among ACC schools, and a 43 percent field goal rate ranks well below the nation's norm.
Seth Greenberg's guys have a pair of home games coming up against Penn State (Sunday, Dec. 12) and Mississippi State (Dec. 18) to try and get their offense going. Va Tech has failed to reach the 60-point level in five of their eight games, including the last three. One of those was a 58-55 loss to Purdue that went to overtime with the Hokies one-point underdogs and the 130 ½-point total never seriously threatened.
Weekend schedule a bit bland
A very light Friday board tips the weekend, with Iowa State at Iowa among the better matchups. After dropping four of their first seven, the Hawkeyes have reeled off a pair of victories to get back over the .500 mark at 5-4. Iowa caught the Northern Iowa Panthers on a cold-shooting night this past Tuesday to score a 51-39 win at home as three-point chalk. The Panthers found the net just 15 times in 55 shots, including 6-for-30 from long range.
Iowa State stopped a two-game skid on Monday with an 85-58 win over Southeast Missouri State. The Cyclones cashed the minus-23 tickets to give them a 4-3 mark versus the number, 7-2 straight up.
Saturday's schedule includes the weekend's only matchup of AP top 25 schools when No. 3 Pittsburgh takes on No. 11 Tennessee in the SEC/Big East Invitational. Don Best's Adam Markowitz will preview the game which is officially listed as taking place on a neutral court, though that court happens to be the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
The Panthers moved to 10-0 straight up on Wednesday with a 70-42 victory over Delaware State, a game that didn't make the college basketball odds board. Pitt is 3-4 versus the spread and 4-2 to the 'over.' Tennessee comes into this contest the last unbeaten SEC school, 6-0 straight up and 4-2 against the spread. The Vols own one win over a Big East school already, taking down Villanova 78-68 as six-point 'dogs on Nov. 26 to win the NIT Season Tip-Off. They haven't played since a Nov. 30 home game with Middle Tennessee State, an 86-56 romp as 16½-point chalk.
Pitt and Tennessee tip at 12:15 p.m. PT on ESPN. Rutgers and Auburn will play in front of them, a 9:30 a.m. PT start on ESPN2.
Sunday's action is also light, with a Philadelphia Big 5 contest among the handful of games involving ranked squads. No. 12 Villanova will look to move to 3-0 in this year's fabled series when it treks to the La Salle campus to meet the Explorers at Tom Gola Arena.
'Nova has already taken down St. Joseph's (71-60) and Penn (65-53), though the Wildcats failed to cover either game as 20- and 15½-point favorites respectively. La Salle enters 5-3 SU, 2-3 ATS. All three straight up losses came against Big 12 opponents (Baylor, Missouri and Oklahoma St.)