NCAAB betting trends, odds and predictions for Friday, February 17th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
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Oakland used 15-4 at start of second half to win 78-66 at Valparaiso Jan 6; Grizzlies’ first win in last four series games. Valpo lost two of three visits to Oakland, but won 84-67 here LY. Oakland won its last four games, is home for first time in 19 days; they’re 3-3 at home in Horizon games, 2-4 vs spread. Valparaiso is 10-1 since losing to Oakland; they won/covered four of five Horizon road games. Oakland is shooting only 27.7% on arc in conference games. Horizon home favorites of 3 or less points are 2-11 against the spread.
Cornell lost its last four games (1-3 vs spread), is 2-1 as a road underdog, with road losses by 9-19 points, with a win at Columbia. Dartmouth won two of last three games, covered last four; they’re 2-1 as a home underdog, losing by 16-5 points, beating Penn by 3. Cornell beat Dartmouth 75-62 in Ithaca Jan 28; teams have split season series last four years. Big Red won 81-72/77-73 in last two visits to Dartmouth; road team won four of last five series games. Ivy League home favorites of 6 or less points are 3-2 vs spread.
Harvard was 10-39 outside arc, 10-23 inside it in 65-62 loss at Columbia Jan 28, Lions’ third straight series win, by 1-14-3 points. Columbia lost seven of last eight visits here, but won here LY, 55-54. Crimson won three of last four games, is 3-0 vs spread at home, winning by 14-10 over Dartmouth/Penn, losing to Princeton by 1. Columbia lost three of last four games, is 2-1 as a road underdog, losing by 8 at Penn, 2 at Princeton and winning by 4 at Cornell. Ivy League home favorites of 8+ points are 2-4-2 vs spread.
Ill-Chicago lost five of last seven games, are 3-2 on Horizon road, 3-1 as a road underdog. Detroit lost five of last seven games, is 2-4 at home in Horizon, 1-1 as a home favorite. Flames made 8-15 on arc, shot 60% inside arc in 78-64 home win over Detroit Jan 6; UIC turned ball over 23 times (-7) in game they led 40-25 at half. Teams split last four series games after Detroit had won nine of previous 10 meetings; UIC lost six of its last seven visits to the Motor City. Horizon home favorites of 3 or less points are 2-11 vs spread.
Brown lost its last three games overall; they’re 0-3 at home in Ivy, losing by 1-13-3 points to Yale-Harvard-Dartmouth. Penn won its last two games after starting out 0-6 in ivy League; Quakers are 0-3 on road (0-3 vs spread), losing by 9 at Princeton, 10 at Harvard, 3 at Dartmouth. Brown was 24-26 on foul line in 82-70 win at Penn Jan 14; Bears won six of last seven series games, winning two of last three in the Palestra (lost 79-74 here LY). Ivy League road favorites are 3-4-1 against the spread.
Princeton is 8-0 in Ivy League, 1-4 vs spread in last five games; they’re 1-2 as a home favorite, with Tigers winning by 5-1-15 points- they won 57-56 at Harvard. Yale won five of its last six games, is 2-1 at home in Ivy, losing to Harvard by 8, beating Brown/Dartmouth. Princeton beat Yale 66-58 at home in first meeting Jan 14, after being down 5 with 12:17 left. Home side won seven of last eight series games; Tigers lost last five visits to New Haven, by 4-5-1-21-4 points. Ivy League road favorites are 3-4-1 against the spread.
VCU won its last seven games, winning last two road games in miraculous fashion after they trailed both games in last 0:00.4; they’re 4-2 on A-14 road, 2-4 as a road favorite. Richmond won four of last six games, is 5-1 at home in A-14, with only loss by 5 to George Mason. Rams beat crosstown rival Richmond 81-74 at home Feb 1, in game that was tied with 10:00 left; Rams won four in row, 8 of last 10 series games, winning two of last three visits here. A-14 road favorites of 4 or less points are 4-6 vs spread.
Cal won five of its last six games, is 3-3 on Pac-12 road; they’re 1-1 as a road favorite. Stanford lost five of last six games, is 3-3 at home in Pac-12, 1-1 as a home underdog- they’re 3-5 as a Pac-12 underdog this season. Cal beat Stanford 66-55 Jan 29 in Berkeley; game was tied at half. Home side won last four games in series- Bears lost five of last seven visits to the The Farm, losing 72-69/77-71 here the last two years. Pac-12 road favorites of 5 or less points are 8-3 vs spread. Stanford coach Haase played at Cal, but transferred to Kansas.
Canisius won three of last four games, is 4-4 on MAAC road- they’re 0-2 as a road favorite. Dogs are 7-1 vs spread in their road games. Rider lost five of last six seven games, is 4-4 at home in MAAC, 2-1 as a home underdog. Rider won 72-66 at Canisius Jan 30, in brickfest where teams combined to go 8-38 on arc- Broncs made 24-28 on foul line. Rider won four of last five series games; Griffins lost 59-46/79-68 in last two visits here. MAAC road favorites of 3 or less points are 4-3 vs spread.
Marist made 15-25 on arc but lost 93-80 at Iona Dec 31; Gaels were +11 (15-4) in turnovers. Iona is 14-1 in last 15 series games, winning last seven, with five of last six by 10+ points. Gaels won their last seven games in the McCann Center. Iona lost two of last three games, is 5-4 on MAAC road, 4-3 as a road favorite. Marist lost its last eight games (2-6 vs spread); they’re 2-4 as a home underdog, with home losses by 11-16-12-20-7 points- they lost last five home tilts SU. Double digit favorites are 8-7-1 in MAAC games, 1-1 on road.
Quinnipiac lost 73-71 at Fairfield 11 days ago; Stags rallied back from 13 down with 9:51 left. Teams split eight meetings in MAAC play; Stags won 56-52/84-80 in last two visits here. Bobcats lost five of last seven games, are 5-3 at home in MAAC, 2-2 as a home underdog- they lost last game 112-107 a Rider. Fairfield won five of its last six games, is 3-3 on MAAC road, 1-0 as a favorite- they covered five of their six MAAC road games. Road teams are 14-7 vs spread in MAAC games when number was 3 or less points.
Eastern Washington won six of last eight games, is 3-3 as a home favorite; they won their last home game in triple OT. Idaho won seven of last nine games (8-1 vs spread); they’re 2-2 as a road underdog, with road losses by 25-3-23 points (3-3 SU on road). Eagles made 11-22 on arc, won 69-62 at Idaho Dec 30, surviving 21 turnovers (-11) in game they led by 22 with 6:10 left. Eagles won five of last seven series games, winning last two played here, by 3-14 points. Big Sky home favorites of 6 or less points are 8-14-1 vs spread.
Akron is 12-1 in MAC but just 1-5 vs spread in its last six games; Zips are 2-5 vs spread in their home games, with six of seven wins by 7 or less points. Kent State is 3-3 on MAC road, 2-3 as a road underdog; six of their last seven games were decided by 7 or less points. Flashes are 1-5 vs spread in their last six games. Home side won last six Akron-Kent regular season games; Zips also beat Kent in two of last four MAC tourneys. Golden Flashes lost last three visits here, by 4-9-14 points. MAC home favorites of 8+ points are 5-10-1 vs spread.
Little Rock lost its last seven games; they’re 2-3 as road underdogs, losing away games by 3-6-16-7-16 points. Arkansas State is 6-0 at home in Sun Belt, 3-3 as a home favorite, winning home games by 3-31-2-12-1-10 points. Wolves lost their last two games. ASU rallied from down 12 at the half to win 77-72 in Little Rock Jan 14; Red Wolves were 26-32 on foul line. Teams split season series three of last four years; Trojans lost three of last four visits to Jonesboro. Sun Belt home favorites of 8+ points are 9-10-1 vs spread.
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Trends to Watch - Friday
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The Big Game
California is likely headed back to the NCAA Tournament as the Golden Bears own an 18-7 record overall and 9-4 mark inside the Pac-12 conference. The Golden Bears make the short trip to Palo Alto to face Stanford, who has lost five of its last six contests. These rivals are going in different directions from an ATS standpoint of late as Cal has covered four of its last five, while Stanford has compiled a 2-4 ATS record in its past six contests.
Stanford had owned Cal from 2014 through 2016 by capturing four straight meetings, but the Golden Bears have rebounded with home victories in the last two matchups. Cal cruised past Stanford, 66-55 as eight-point favorites last month, but the Cardinal has won each of the last two matchups in Palo Alto. The Cardinal is 3-5 ATS as an underdog in Pac-12 play, but upset Utah as a home ‘dog earlier this month, 81-75.
Crawling Back
Richmond is in the mix for the Atlantic 10 title, but the Spiders were dealt a huge blow in Tuesday’s 93-70 loss at George Mason. The Spiders have lost consecutive games only twice this season as Richmond hosts VCU in a critical conference battle. Richmond owns a perfect 5-0 record in home conference play, while putting together a 3-0-1 ATS mark in those contests.
VCU held off Richmond in its last matchup, 81-74 on February 1, but the Spiders took home the money as 10-point underdogs. The Rams are riding a seven-game winning streak, but VCU has cashed only three times during this hot stretch. This series has belonged to VCU, who has won each of the past four meetings, including a 94-89 overtime decision at the Robins Center last season.
Midterm Exams
The Ivy League is transitioning into the second half of conference play as all eight teams are in action on Friday. Princeton (8-0) and Yale (6-2) are the top two teams in the Ivy as these squads meet up in New Haven in a pick-em spot. The Tigers knocked off the Bulldogs in their previous matchup in New Jersey last month, 66-58, but Princeton has since compiled a 1-4 ATS record. Yale looks to bounce back after falling to rival Harvard last weekend, as the Bulldogs have won 11 of their past 12 home conference games.
Speaking of Harvard, the Crimson return home following a pair of huge road victories at Brown and Yale last weekend. Harvard has covered four consecutive contests as it hosts Columbia, looking to avenge a 65-62 defeat in New York City last month as 2½-point road favorites. The Lions remain on the highway following road losses at Penn and Princeton last weekend, as Columbia has covered in two of three away games in Ivy action.
Dartmouth and Cornell are two of the bottom-feeders this season in the Ivy, as each squad owns a 2-6 conference record. In this battle of colors, the Big Green has won two of their past three games and covered four consecutive contests. The Big Red has lost four straight games since handling Dartmouth at home on January 28 in a 13-point win, as the two teams have split the last eight meetings.
Both Penn and Brown have each compiled 2-6 conference marks, but the Quakers have turned it around by beating Columbia and Cornell last weekend. The Bears have lost three straight games, but Brown knocked off Penn as 9 ½-point underdogs last month, 82-70. Brown has covered seven consecutive meetings with Penn, including each of the past three home matchups.
Over the Horizon
Valparaiso and Oakland are the top two squads in the Horizon League as both teams are playing well at the moment. The Crusaders have won 10 of their last 11 games (7-4 ATS), while the Golden Grizzlies are riding a four-game winning streak (2-2 ATS). Oakland has cashed in seven of the previous eight matchups with Valpo, including a 78-66 road victory in January as three-point underdogs. The two teams meet in Oakland as the Grizzlies are 0-4 ATS in their last four attempts as a home favorite.
Illinois-Chicago began Horizon play at 4-2, but the Flames have dropped five of the past seven games. UIC travels to Detroit to face a Titans’ squad that has alternated wins and losses in each of the previous five contests, coming off an 89-80 home defeat last Friday to Oakland. The Flames cruised past the Titans in the last matchup in January, 78-64 as seven-point favorites, while UIC has cashed in four of five Horizon road contests.
Metro Madness
Rider knocked off Canisius in its last meeting, 72-66 in late January as six-point road underdogs. The two MAAC rivals meet in Lawrenceville as Rider has compiled a 4-6-1 ATS record in the last 11 conference games following a 4-1 ATS start. The Golden Griffins are 3-1 SU/ATS in the past four games, while winning back-to-back road contests at Siena and St. Peter’s, but are 0-2 ATS as an away conference favorite.
Marist looks to snap an eight-game losing streak as the Red Foxes host Iona. The Gaels have dropped two of three since a six-game winning streak, including close losses to Siena and Canisius. Iona has captured seven consecutive matchups with Marist, including a 93-80 home victory as 13-point favorites on New Year’s Eve.
Fairfield and Quinnipiac are in the middle of the pack of the MAAC, as these teams are hooking up for the second time in less than two weeks. The Bobcats edged the Stags, 73-71 as four-point road underdogs in their last meeting, as the road team has won six consecutive matchups. Quinnipiac has won five of its past seven MAAC home contests, including underdog victories over Iona and Canisius.