NCAA News and Notes Thursday 11/20

11:00 AM FAIRFIELD vs. VIRGINIA TECH
Fairfield is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
Virginia Tech is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

1:00 PM MISSOURI vs. XAVIER
No trends available
Xavier is 18-3 SU in its last 21 games

4:30 PM CHATTANOOGA vs. MEMPHIS
Chattanooga is 1-11 ATS in its last 12 games
Chattanooga is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Memphis is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Memphis is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games

5:30 PM CENTENARY vs. TROY
No trends available
Troy is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Troy is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games

6:30 PM DELAWARE STATE vs. OHIO STATE
No trends available
Ohio State is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

7:00 PM CAL POLY vs. RICE
Cal Poly is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Cal Poly is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Rice is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 16 of Rice's last 21 games

7:00 PM CAMPBELLSVILLE vs. SAMFORD
No trends available
Samford is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home

7:00 PM DUQUESNE vs. ST. FRANCIS PA
Duquesne is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Duquesne is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
No trends available

7:00 PM GEORGE MASON vs. HAMPTON
George Mason is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
George Mason is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
No trends available

7:00 PM HARTFORD vs. PENN STATE
No trends available
Penn State is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
Penn State is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home

7:00 PM LONGWOOD vs. WEST VIRGINIA
No trends available
West Virginia is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
West Virginia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

7:00 PM RHODE ISLAND vs. MONMOUTH
Rhode Island is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games
Rhode Island is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games
No trends available

7:00 PM RIDER vs. LEHIGH
Rider is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Rider is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
No trends available

7:00 PM SACRED HEART vs. PROVIDENCE
No trends available
Providence is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Providence is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home

7:00 PM SOUTHERN ILLINOIS vs. DUKE
Southern Illinois is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
Duke is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Duke is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

7:00 PM TOCCOA FALLS vs. WESTERN CAROLINA
No trends available
Western Carolina is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Western Carolina's last 13 games

7:00 PM USC vs. SETON HALL
USC is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of USC's last 5 games
Seton Hall is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games

7:00 PM WAYNE ST MICH vs. BOWLING GREEN
No trends available
Bowling Green is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Bowling Green is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home

NCAAB Today

Thursday, November 20

Not a lot to go on with these early college hoop games, but we'll give out a little information, such as it is- please proceed with caution.

Vanderbilt won its opener 74-48 over Morehead State; they have two of their starters back from LY's 26-8 team- they're picked third in division. Illinois has three starters back from 16-19 team that went 5-13 in Big 11. Illini won first two games, 66-50 vs Eastern Washington, 72-53 against Trxas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Arkansas needed OT to beat SE Louisiana in its opener; they're picked to finish 5th in SEC West, with seven newcomers joining two returning starters from LY's team that lost in first round of NCAA. Cal-Davis is picked 5th in Big West, with four starters back from LY- they started season 1-2, beating LMU, losing to Iowa St (61-58), Milwaukee (81-75).

Oklahoma State has new coach, four starters back from LY, are picked to finish 5th in Big 12-- they won opener by 19, then beat North Texas by 100-88 in second game Monday. Tulsa has three starters back from last year's 25-14 team- they beat crosstown rival Oral Roberts 50-43 Sat.

Washington beat Cleveland State 78-63 Tuesday, after getting upset by Portland in its opener; Huskies have three starters back from LY- Blue Ribbon picks them 25th nationally. Florida International has 4 starters back from LY- they beat Monmouth by 19 Monday, after an opening 57-54 win over Eastern Kentucky in its opener.

Rice lost by four at home to Portland State in its opener for new coach Braun; Owls have seven new players, which is good since they lost 27 of 30 games last year. Cal Poly lost 67-40 to Ark-Little Rock in opener. Mustangs are picked to finish last in the Big West.

Iowa won its first two games against cupcakes, by 20-6 pts; they have six new guys, are picked 9th in Big 11. Citadel lost 82-59 at VCU after beating up a real cupcake (you have to be terrible to be considered bad enough to play Citadel). Bulldogs have all five starters back from LY, but are still very young and are picked 5th in six-team division.

Virginia Tech has four starters back from 21-14 team; they're picked 6th in ACC, won its first two games, 65-62 vs Gardner-Webb, 62-57 against Mt St Mary's. Fairfield lost 90-63 at Memphis in its opener, then beat Sacred Heart 70-54 Tuesday. Stags are picked to finish 2nd in MAAC.

Xavier is picked to win A-14 despite losing three starters from the 30-7 team from LY; Musketeers beat IPFW by 24 in opener (IPFW gave fits to Michigan State Wednesday), then beat Toledo 81-65. Missouri beat UTC 103-75 Monday after beating Prairie View in opener by 21- they have four starters back from LY's 16-16 team.

Chattanooga not only got drilled by Missouri Monday, they lost by 39 to Tennessee in its opener- playing young Memphis team won't be any easier, even on neutral court. Tigers crushed Fairfield, UMass in its first two games, now they hit road for first time. Tough night for the Mocs.

Seton Hall won its first two games, over St Francis (88-61), Columbia (71-50); Pirates have three starters back from LY's 17-15 team- they're picked 14th in tough Big East. USC is picked 23rd nationally; they won first two games, 78-55 over Cal-Irvine, 73-60 over New Mexico State.

Southern Illinois (2-0, 1-0 ATS) vs. (10) Duke (3-0, 1-2 ATS)

(at New York)

Duke returns to the court for the first time since surviving a scare at home against Rhode Island on Sunday when it meets Southern Illinois in the opening round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden.

The Blue Devils needed to make four free throws in the waning moments to rally past Rhode Island 82-79, coming up way short as a 25½-point home favorite. The Blue Devils shot 45.5 percent from the field, missing 13 of 17 tries from the three-point line, while allowing Rhode Island to make 54.7 percent of its shots (10-for-14 from long range). But they won the game at the charity stripe, going 28-for-32 on foul shots compared with 11-for-16 for the Rams.

Duke, which has scored at least 80 points in all three of its contests, has failed to cash in five of its last six games going back to last year’s ACC Tournament, and the Blue Devils are 4-11-1 ATS in their last 16 lined outings (all as a favorite).

Southern Illinois opened the season last week with home victories on consecutive days, knocking off California (Pennsylvania) 66-52 in a non-lined contest and topping UMass 80-73 as a five-point chalk. The SU winner is 31-3-1 ATS in Southern Illinois games going back to the beginning of last season.

The Salukis are 13-6 SU in their last 19 games, going 11-6-1 ATS in lined contests during this stretch. They’re also 5-2 ATS in their last seven neutral-site affairs and 5-2 ATS in their last seven after a SU victory. Meanwhile, in addition to its ongoing 3-10-1 ATS funk, Duke is in the midst of pointspread downturns of 7-20 at neutral sites, 1-4 in non-conference play and 2-8-1 after a SU win.

For Southern Illinois, the under is on streaks of 12-5-1 in non-conference play, 19-7 at neutral sites, 5-0 on Thursdays and 45-22 following a spread-cover. Also, Duke sports “under” runs of 8-1 overall, 7-0 at neutral sites and 36-17 in non-league action.

ATS ADVANTAGE: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS and UNDER

Michigan (2-0, 1-0 ATS) vs. (4) UCLA (2-0, 0-2 ATS)

(at New York)

Michigan and UCLA get together for a non-conference clash for the seventh straight season, this time at Madison Square Garden in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

The Wolverines, who are coming off an ugly 10-22 season (11-19 ATS) in coach John Beilein’s first campaign, opened this year with a pair of 20-plus-point routs of Michigan Tech (77-55) and Northeastern (76-56) on Nov. 11 and 12, cashing as a six-point home chalk against Northeastern.

UCLA followed up last Wednesday’s 82-58 rout of Florida A&M with a hard-fought 64-59 victory over Miami (Ohio) the following night, both at home. The Bruins failed to cover the spread in both contests, falling short as a 37-point and a 16½-point favorite. UCLA, which has made three straight trips to the Final Four, is 99-17 SU since the start of the 2005-06 season, including three straight wins and covers over Michigan.

Going back to 2004, the Bruins have won four straight meetings against the Wolverines (3-1 ATS), including last year’s 69-54 rout as a 12½-point road chalk. In that contest, UCLA outshot Michigan 49 percent to 31.3 percent.

UCLA has failed to cash in five of its last six lined games dating to last year’s NCAA Tournament, all against non-conference foes. The Bruins are also 2-5 ATS in their last seven neutral-site contests, but they’re on ATS rolls of 4-1-1 against the Big Ten and 8-2 on Thursdays. Meanwhile, Michigan is 1-5 ATS in its last six at neutral sites and 3-13 in its last 16 non-conference games.

The under is 7-1 in Michigan’s last eight overall and 5-1 in UCLA’s last six against the Big Ten, but the over is 9-3 in Michigan’s last 12 non-league battles and 4-1 in UCLA’s last five lined games overall. Finally, the over is 4-2 in the last six head-to-head meetings that have featured a posted total.

ATS ADVANTAGE: UCLA

(19) USC (2-0, 1-1 ATS) vs. Seton Hall (2-0, 1-0 ATS)

(at Puerto Rico)

Seton Hall, which started last season 6-0, looks to remain perfect when it takes on 19th-ranked USC in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

The Pirates dropped nine of its final 11 games last season (3-8 ATS), but has gotten off to a solid start this year with blowout home wins over Saint Francis (88-61 in a non-lined contest) and Columbia (71-50 as a 14-point chalk). Seton Hall shot a combined 57.5 percent in the two wins, but the opponents made 49 percent of their shots.

USC followed up a 78-55 season-opening home win over UC Irvine with Tuesday’s 73-60 home victory over New Mexico State. The Trojans, who shot 46 percent in the two wins and held the opposition to 34.5 percent, cashed as an 18-point favorite against Irvine, but came up short as a 15½-point chalk versus New Mexico State. Tim Floyd’s squad has alternated spread-covers in its last seven games going back to March.

The Trojans are 21-10 ATS in their last 31 non-conference games and 6-2 ATS in their last eight after a non-cover. On the flip side, Seton Hall is mired in pointspread slumps of 4-8 overall, 4-17 at neutral sites, 1-4-1 in non-conference play and 3-7 on Thursdays.

The under is 26-10 in USC’s last 36 non-conference games, 7-1 in USC’s last eight at neutral sites and 5-0 in Seton Hall’s last five lined contests overall. However, the Pirates have topped the total in seven of eight on Thursday and four of five in non-Big East action.

ATS ADVANTAGE: USC

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