In the Paint - Week 7
By Joe Williams
VegasInsider.com
Champagne Super 'Nova
Villanova remains in the top spot of the rankings after humbling crosstown rival Temple 78-57 as 14 1/2-point favorites. The Wildcats have covered four of their past five games, and they're 4-0 ATS in their past four games as double-digit favorites. You can expect Villanova to be favored by more than 20 points when American U. pays a visit to campus next Saturday. The Eagles of American enter 2-7 with losses including Howard and New Hampshire. That game is going to be really ugly.
Rock, 'Chalk', Jayhawks
Kansas pulled away from pesky Davidson in a neutral-site game Saturday, winning 89-71 as 15-point favorites. It was their first cover in three tries, and just the third cover in the past seven outings. As the 'chalk', the Jayhawks haven't exactly rocked this season. However, Kansas does have 10 consecutive victories dating back to their opening overtime loss against Indiana in Honolulu. The 'over' is a perfect 4-0 in the past four games for Kansas after a 4-0 'under' run from Nov. 15-22. It also helps that their schedule has been much less challenging lately, allowing their offense to power up.
Sir Duke
The Blue Devils have been covering big numbers lately. Duke is a perfect 3-0 ATS over their past three games, including a 94-45 emasculation of UNLV on a neutral-site court this past Saturday. Duke has covered each of their past three outings when they're favored by 24 or more points, too. The upcoming week features games against Tennessee State and Elon University, so you can expect heavy lines for those two games, too, although TSU did take North Carolina State to overtime recently, and Elon has wins over Florida International, Illinois-Chicago, North Illinois and South Florida, so they're not a pushover. They also lost by three at Georgetown, so the Phoenix won't be intimidated for their neutral-site game in Greensboro.
Gonzaga Cover Kings
Gonzaga has been rolling lately, winning each of their past three games by an average of 18.3 points per game (PPG). The Bulldogs have covered four in a row, including wins at Tennessee and a 27-point win over cross-state rival Washington. The Bulldogs are hitting on all cylinders right now. The schedule becomes much less challenging after an early-season gauntlet, as they face South Dakota out of conference before kicking off West Coast Conference play with Pepperdine Dec. 29. The rest of their schedule includes just one ranked team, St. Mary's (Calif.), for two conference games Jan. 14 at home and Feb. 11 in Moraga.
Cards and Cats Time
Louisville has rattled off five consecutive victories since their 66-63 setback against unbeaten Baylor on a neutral-site court Nov. 25. The Cards have three straight covers, and they're 7-2 ATS in nine games overall heading into their showdown with Bluegrass State rival Kentucky Saturday night. The Cardinals are looking to avenge a 75-73 los at Kentucky last season. Louisville has dropped eight of the past nine meetings with Kentucky, including losses in the Sweet 16 and Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. Louisville also hasn't covered at home against Kentucky in the past six tries dating back to Dec. 28, 2002. The 'under' is 6-3 in the past nine in this series, and 14-5 in the past 19 meetings (13-4 in the past 17 regular season meetings).
Other Teams to Watch
After showing some signs of life early on, Fordham has dropped six games in a row and they're 0-5 ATS over their past five outings. Total bettors love the Rams, as the 'under' has cashed in six of the past seven games.
James Madison slipped to 1-9 with a loss at Appalachian State this past weekend, a third straight non-cover. The Dukes are just 1-7 ATS overall on the season.
Middle Tennessee fell 80-77 at Virginia Commonwealth over the weekend, but they covered for their sixth consecutive game, and eighth time in nine tries.
Northern Kentucky of the Horizon League has won five consecutive outings, and they're a perfect 6-0 ATS over their past six games.
Oregon State has been terrible this week, slipping to 3-9 SU with neutral-site losses to Long Beach State and Portland over the weekend. The Beavs have lost five straight, and they're 2-8 ATS over their past 10 outings.
Providence has their five-game cover streak snapped Dec. 10 against UMass, but the Friars are still 6-1 ATS over their past seven outings. The 'over' is 3-1-1 in their past five after the 'under' opened 6-0.
South Dakota has Gonzaga on the docket next. The Coyotes are 5-0-1 ATS in their past six games heading into that measuring stick game.
Temple opened the season a perfect 6-0 ATS in their first six outings, but have hit the skids lately with a 1-3 ATS mark over the past four. The 'under' is also 3-1 in their past four outings.
UC Santa Barbara continues to scuffle, including a 40-point beatdown at UCLA last Saturday. The Gauchos are 0-6 ATS, and they haven't beaten an FBS team so far this season.
Wyoming did big things on the gridiron this season, and their basketball team is following suit. The Cowboys have won five straight, and they have covered four in a row. The 'over' is also a perfect 4-0 in the past four outings.