Jeff Benton
15 Dime West Virginia
Seton Hall is coming off blowout wins over Syracuse on the road (90-68) and Providence at home (81-71). But I’m not exactly rushing to buy stock on the Pirates, as I believe they’re still a fraud. For one thing, Providence stinks on the road, so that victory doesn’t impress me. Winning by 22 at Syracuse? That’s an outstanding victory, but one that has lost a little bit of its luster now that the Orange have dropped four in a row.
Let’s not forget that as recently as 10 days ago, when they lost 66-60 to god-awful Rutgers at home, the Pirates were mired in a 1-6 SU and 2-5 ATS funk. Three of those defeats came on the road against Cincinnati (17-point loss as a nine-point underdog), Louisville (19-point loss as an 11½-point ‘dog) and Pitt (21-point loss as a 13½-point pup). And in those three contests, Seton Hall scored 53, 54 and 54 points (it also produced just 56 points in a five-point home loss to Syracuse).
I bring up those low point totals for this reason: West Virginia plays an outstanding, holding opponents to 64.8 points per game on 40 percent shooting, including just 27.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc. At home, those numbers drop to 61.4 ppg, 38.2 percent overall and 24.7 percent from long range! In their last three games, the Mountaineers have allowed 46, 55 and 55 points, and two of those contests were on the road, including Saturday’s 66-55 thumping of Cincinnati as a 4½-point underdog.
Going back to Jan. 4, West Virginia is 6-2, and the two defeats were by a total of five points (75-71 to Marshall, which is the class of the Big East; 55-54 at Louisville, a game where the Mountaineers couldn’t hit a shot in the second half).
Three more reasons to love West Virginia: 1) It is riding a six-game winning streak against Seton Hall, cashing in five of those wins, all as a favorite (including three straight double-digit home wins); 2) it has covered in five of its last seven games overall, including four of five within the Big East; 3) and Seton Hall is in pointdspread slumps of 4-10 against teams with a winning record, 1-5 following a SU victory, 4-10 after a spread-cover and 1-4 on Wednesdays.
JB Sports
2* Oklahoma City
2* Memphis
1* Toronto
California Sports
4* Ohio U
4* Richmond
4* Clemson
3* Providence
3* 76ers
Anthony Redd
80 Dime Clippers
Marc Lawrence
4 Units Colorado St +5.5
3 Units Virginia +5.5
3 Units Utah Jazz -2
Mike Lineback
4* Pacers 1st Half Team Over 53.5
4* Rockets
Helmut
NC State Over 136
St. Louis Under 121
BYU -14.5
The Duke's Sports
Indiana (+3') for 1.5 Units
The Hoosiers are looking to avenge their January 4th loss at Minnesota where they easily covered. However, they'll have to do so without Watford (wrist), who actually was a non factor in that competitive game where he only scored 4 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. The good news is that we should have Verdell Jones III back in the fray tonight. He has been battling an inflamed knee and should return tonight; after all, he averages 13 ppg, 4 assists, 3 rpg and is a force on defense in the backcourt with Hulls. On the other hand, the Golden Gophers miss Al Nolen (foot), especially on the defensive end of the floor. Minnesota has struggled on the road with a 10-22 ATS ledger and they haven't had much success in Indiana at 1-4 ATS. The dog in this series has covered 5 of the last 6 and we won't fight that trend here.
Crown City Sports
5* Syracuse +3
4* Clemson -5.5
2* Minnesota -3
RAS
S. Miss/UAB Under 136
N Iowa/Ill State Over 116
Miss St/Bama Over 132
Minn/Ind Under 138.5
Hofsta/G Mason Under 138
Seabass
200* UConn Under 137
Craig Davis
Oklahoma +5
Iowa +4.5
Memphis -6
Missouri State -5
SMU -3
BEN BURNS
NETS
CAVS
ST JOHNS
Andy Fanelli
Pistons
Memphis/Minn Over
Al DeMarco
Pistons
Twolves
UMASS
Chuck O'Brien
George Mason
Brett Atkins
San Diego St
Joel Tyson
76ers
Xavier
Karl Garrett
Rutgers
Seton Hall
Michael Cannon
Marquette
Mike Neri
Dayton
Kansas St.
Ohio