NCAAB Betting News and Notes Saturday, March 4th, 2017

Saturday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com

Kansas at Oklahoma State

Since starting Big 12 play with six straight losses, Oklahoma State (20-10 straight up, 16-8-1 against the spread) has ripped off 10 wins in its last 12 games both SU and ATS. Brad Underwood, the first-year head coach who was formerly at Stephen F. Austin, has done a remarkable job with this squad over the last six weeks. The Cowboys’ two defeats during this span have come by six combined points.

Oklahoma State saw its five-game winning streak snapped in Tuesday’s 86-83 loss at Iowa State. The Cowboys took the cash in backdoor fashion as 3.5-point underdogs thanks to 12 points from Jawun Evans in the last two minutes. Evans drained a deep triple with two seconds remaining to trim the deficit to two. OSU fouled with 1.1 seconds left, leaving the ATS result in doubt. Iowa State’s Donovan Jackson made the first free throw but missed the second to allow OSU backers to cash tickets. Evans was sensational in defeat, producing 29 points, six assists and four rebounds. The sophomore guard buried 4-of-6 attempts from long distance and splashed the nets on all nine of his free throws. Leyton Hammonds added 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from downtown, while Phil Forte finished with 12 points and four boards.

As of late Friday afternoon, several offshore books had this game as a pick ‘em.

OSU is No. 29 in the RPI Rankings, going 1-6 against the Top 25, 3-8 versus the Top 50 and 9-9 against the Top 100. The Cowboys have wins at Wichita State, at West Virginia, at Texas Tech, at TCU and at Kansas State. They also beat Arkansas by 28 at home and knocked off Georgetown on a neutral court.

Oklahoma State has won outright in 11 of 15 home games, compiling a 5-5 spread record. Depending on the line movement, this might be OSU’s second game as a home underdog this year. The Cowboys lost a 92-75 decision to WVU as 2.5-point home ‘dogs back on Dec. 30.

Evans leads the Cowboys in scoring (18.6 points per game), assists (6.0 APG) and steals (1.9 SPG). Carroll (17.0 PPG) is OSU’s leading rebounder (6.7 RPG) and paces the team in field-goal percentage (53.8%). Forte (13.4 PPG) is the nation’s best free-throw shooter (95.2%) who is hitting 42.5 percent of his launches from 3-point land.

Kansas (27-3 SU, 10-17-1 ATS) has won nine of its 10 road assignments, posting a 4-5 spread record.

Bill Self’s squad locked up yet another Big 12 regular-season championship two weeks ago. Since losing in overtime at Iowa State on Feb. 4, KU has won seven straight games. The Jayhawks are off a 73-63 win Monday over Oklahoma, but they failed to cover the number as 14.5-point home ‘chalk.’ The Sooners led by 12 midway through the second half, but Frank Mason led the KU comeback on his Senior Night by scoring 23 points and handing out six assists. Devonte Graham hit three key 3-pointers in the second-half surge and finished with 16 points. Freshman sensation Josh Jackson had 11 points and 12 rebounds, but he committed eight turnovers.

Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the Associated Press’s poll and is No. 2 in the RPI. KU has a 5-1 record against the RPI Top 25, an 8-2 mark versus the Top 50 and a 17-3 record against the Top 100. The Jayhawks lost their season opener to Indiana on a neutral court. They took their two other defeats at home vs. Iowa State and at West Virginia. KU owns home wins over Oklahoma State, Baylor, WVU, UNC Asheville, Stanford, Nebraska, Kansas State, Texas Tech and TCU. The Jayhawks have neutral-court scalps of Georgia and Duke, in addition to road wins at Iowa State, at Kentucky, at Baylor, at TCU, at K-State and at Texas Tech.

Mason is a candidate for National Player of the Year honors, averaging 20.3 points, 4.9 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. The senior guard has drained 50 percent of his 3-pointers. Jackson is averaging 16.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game, while Graham (13.2 ) is also averaging double figures and has a 130/52 assists-to-turnovers ratio.

When these teams met at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence on Jan. 14, Kansas rallied to capture an 87-80 win as a 13.5-point home ‘chalk.’ The 167 combined points slithered ‘under’ the 169-point total. OSU took the lead in the first two minutes, led by as many as 11 in the first half and went to intermission with a four-point advantage. KU won the battle of the boards by a 45-36 margin and were fortunate enough to get to the charity stripe 45 times. The Jayhawks made 30-of-45 free throws, while the Cowboys were sent to the FT line just 14 times, making 11. Mason led KU with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Jackson contributed 20 points, 11 boards, four steals and two blocked shots. Graham finished with 21 points and four assists compared to only one turnover. Carroll scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down seven boards for OSU. Evans went just 6-of-22 from the field and finished with 15 points and six assists.

The ‘under’ is 16-12-1 overall for KU, cashing at an 11-4 clip in its last 15 games. The Jayhawks have seen the ‘under’ go 8-2 in their road contests.

The ‘over’ is 13-11-1 overall for OSU, 7-2-1 in its home outings. However, the ‘under’ has cashed at a 6-3 clip in the Cowboys’ last nine games.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

Duke at North Carolina

College basketball’s most bitter rivalry will be renewed when North Carolina (25-6 SU, 16-13-1 ATS) hosts Duke on Saturday night in Chapel Hill. UNC is undefeated in 15 home games with a 10-4 spread record. The Tar Heels have compiled a 3-1 ATS mark in their four games as single-digit favorites.

Roy Williams’s squad saw its four-game winning streak both SU and ATS halted in Monday’s 53-43 loss at Virginia as a 3.5-point road favorite. UNC made just 17-of-48 shots (35.4%) from the field went 4-for-16 from 3-point land. Joel Berry was the only UNC player in double figures with 12 points.

North Carolina is No. 5 in both the RPI and the AP rankings. UNC is 4-3 against the RPI Top 25, 9-4 versus the Top 50 and 14-6 against the Top 100. The Tar Heels own home victories over Louisville, FSU, Virginia, Notre Dame, Va. Tech, Monmouth, Tennessee, Syracuse and Pittsburgh. They have neutral-court scalps of Oklahoma State and Wisconsin, in addition to road wins at Wake Forest, at Clemson and at Pitt.

Justin Jackson leads UNC in scoring with an 18.4 PPG average. He has hit 39.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. Berry is averaging 14.7 points and 3.8 assists per game, while Kennedy Meeks is averaging 12.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game.

Duke (23-7 SU, 11-18 ATS) has lost five of its nine road games, going 3-6 ATS.

Duke won seven games in a row when head coach Mike Krzyzewski returned from a leave of absence after undergoing back surgery. However, the Blue Devils saw that seven-game streak halted in a Feb. 22 loss at Syracuse on a buzzer beater off of the backboard. Then with junior guard Grayson Allen out nursing an ankle injury last Saturday, they lost 55-50 at Miami as one-point road favorites. Duke avoided a three-game losing streak by beating FSU 75-70 on Tuesday as an eight-point home favorite. Frank Jackson was the catalyst with a game-high 22 points. Amile Jefferson produced a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Luke Kennard had 17 points and six rebounds. Jayson Tatum finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

Kennard leads Duke in scoring (19.8 PPG) and also averages 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The smooth-shooting southpaw has knocked down 45.4 percent of his 3-pointers. Tatum is averaging 16.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Jefferson, the senior power forward, paces the Blue Devils in rebounding (8.6 RPG), field-goal percentage (61.9%) and blocked shots (1.6 BPG).

After sitting out the loss at Miami, Allen played 16 minutes against the Seminoles. He was ineffective, contributing only two points, two rebounds and one steal. Allen, who is averaging 14.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, is listed as a ‘probable’ at UNC.

Duke has been an underdog three times this season, posting a 1-2 record both SU and ATS.

Duke has failed to cover the spread in four consecutive games and is mired in a 5-14 ATS slump.

When these schools met at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham on Feb. 9, Duke won an 86-78 decision as a 2.5-point home favorite. The 164 combined points hit right on the total for a push. Allen led the Blue Devils by knocking down 7-of-12 shots from 3-point range on his way to a game-high 25-point effort. Kennard added 20 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Tatum finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocked shots. Jackson paced UNC with a team-best 21 points, while Berry was also in double figures with 15 points.

As of late Friday afternoon, several offshore shops had UNC installed as a six-point home favorite.

The ‘under’ is 18-10-1 overall for UNC, 11-3 in its home games. The Tar Heels have seen the ‘under’ go 8-1-1 in their last 10 outings.

The ‘under’ is 16-12-1 overall for Duke, but the ‘over’ is 6-3 in its nine road contests.

ESPN will have the telecast at 8:15 p.m. Eastern.

B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets

I made a mistake in Friday’s Tip Sheet when discussing the Ivy League’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The conference has finally changed its format this year, adding a four-team playoff that’ll be played March 11-12 at The Palestra in Philadelphia. The regular season champion will no longer get the bid to the Tournament, as the top four teams will slug it out in the City of Brotherly Love.

Illinois has won four in a row and five of its last six both SU and ATS. The Illini will face Rutgers at the RAC as a short road favorite Saturday at noon Eastern on ESPNU. The Scarlet Knights are 3-3 ATS with one outright win as home underdogs against Big Ten competition.

Pitt owns a 3-0 spread record in three games as a double-digit underdog. The Panthers were listed as double-digit ‘dogs late Friday afternoon for Saturday’s noon Eastern tip at Virginia.

Oklahoma has covered the number in five consecutive games. The Sooners will host TCU as short home favorites at 3:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN News. OU has seen the ‘under’ go 8-2 in their last 10 games. The Horned Frogs are looking to snap a six-game losing streak.

Texas has lost six in a row while limping to a 1-5 spread record. The Longhorns will take on Baylor in Austin at 4:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

Miami, Fl. owns a 5-1 spread record with four outright victories in five games as an underdog in ACC play. The Hurricanes were listed as 7.5-point ‘dogs for their trip to Tallahassee to face FSU. The Seminoles are undefeated in 17 home games with an 11-3 spread record.

Mississippi State guard Quinndary Weatherspoon is ‘questionable’ for Saturday’s home game vs. LSU due to an ankle injury. Weatherspoon is averaging 16.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

Boise State opened as a 3.5-point favorite for a 4:00 p.m. Eastern tip at Air Force. The Broncos are looking to snap out of a 0-7 ATS slide.

Maryland hosts Michigan State
By: Dave Schoenholt
StatFox.com

Michigan State seeks more March magic as they hope to knock off Maryland and bolster their NCAA resume.

Michigan State (15-14 ATS) still may become a dangerous team in March, like so many past Tom Izzo-coached Spartans squads, but their postseason hopes hit a speed bump on Wednesday with a loss at Illinois (73-70, MSU +1). Michigan State was coming off a span where they took six of their eight games leading up to last night’s loss, turning a once out-of-reach at-large nod to the NCAA tournament into a spot squarely on the bubble. The Spartans had the ball in their hands with less than 10 seconds left and a chance to win, but couldn’t get a shot at the rim. The game-sealing turnover symbolized the evening for Michigan State, who would cough away 15 turnovers in the game (to just nine assists). Maryland (17-10-1 ATS) will have to hope that Rutgers on the schedule (2-15 Big Ten) cured what ailed the Terrapins in their three straight losses prior to pounding the Scarlet Knights on Tuesday (79-59, MD -5.5). While a 20-point road win is never something to overlook, there is still most likely a bad taste in Coach Mark Turgeon’s mouth from dropping their last two at the XFINITY Center (Iowa, Minnesota). Both losses came from an empty homestand last week and made for three defeats in a row (at Wisconsin, Feb. 19) before the aforementioned win at Rutgers this Tuesday. The Terrapins are now an uninspiring 12-5 (7-7 ATS) at home this season. The Spartans are 2-6 (3-5) on the road this season and have dropped their last three away from the Breslin Center. Both teams have trended towards the OVER in recent games, with Maryland hitting the OVER in five of their last six, while Michigan State’s last four games have all been OVER. That said, the last three times (all Michigan State wins) these two programs have met, the total has been UNDER. Michigan State is 3-2 (1-4 ATS) against Maryland since the Terrapins joined the conference in 2014. Maryland, however, is 3-0 ATS the three times they’ve played the Spartans in College Park. On the injury front, both Michigan State and Maryland have veterans who’ve recently been deemed out for the season: Spartans senior G Eron Harris (10.4 PPG) and Terrapins junior C Michal Cekovsky (7.6 PPG) will both be in street clothes.

Michigan State’s youth was on full display in Wednesday night’s loss at Illinois. Chief amongst the Spartans’ 15 turnovers – they average 14.5 TO/G (289th in NCAA) - was F Miles Bridges (16.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG) getting stripped on a potential game-winning drive in crunch time. Bridges was otherwise brilliant, with 21 points and 10 rebounds – his fifth double-double in conference play. Without the senior Harris, Coach Izzo relies on four freshmen to play major minutes (Bridges, Nick Ward, Joshua Langford and Cassius Winston). Langford (6.6 PPG) had the most high school buzz besides Bridges coming into East Lansing, but has taken the longest to earn Coach Izzo’s trust. The athletic wing has played 20+ minutes in his last six contests, averaging 10.0 PPG in that span. Taking the good with the bad, Langford has nine turnovers in his last three games. Ward (13.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG) is a guy who produces whenever he’s on the floor, but needs to stay out of his own way (and out of foul trouble). Ward had 42 points in 43 minutes in wins over Wisconsin and Nebraska last week, but only managed 11 points against the Illini on Wednesday. Winston (6.9 PPG, 5.4 APG) has really struggled with his shot as of late (5-of-26 FG over his last four games) but has distributed well (8+ assists in three of his last five games) to make up for it. Senior G Alvin Ellis (6.8 PPG) has stepped up into the injured Harris’s role of sharpshooter with four 15+ point games in conference play (after not scoring more than eight points in any non-conference game). The Spartans don’t normally rack up the points (72.4 PPG, 184th in NCAA), but had scored 86.0 PPG in last week’s wins before coming back down to earth with 70 in Wednesday’s loss. Don’t let the mediocre scoring mark let you think Michigan State isn’t a very good offensive team: The Spartans are ninth in the country in assists per-game (17.3) and shoot 47.6% FG (34th in NCAA). While Michigan State’s defense isn’t the elite unit it has been in the past, Coach Izzo’s squad holds teams to 41% FG (36th in NCAA).

Coach Turgeon’s Terrapins have an easy barometer to follow for success: control the glass and win the game. All of Maryland’s seven losses this season have seen their victorious opponents grab 36 rebounds or more (39.2 Reb allowed in seven losses). The Terrapins are especially abysmal at preventing second chances (10.2 OReb allowed per-game, 317th in NCAA). Even in snapping their season-high three game losing streak with a 20-point win in Piscataway against Rutgers, Maryland allowed the lowly Scarlet Knights to grab 16 offensive rebounds. The Terrapins allowed 18 and 15 offensive rebounds to Wisconsin and Iowa, respectively, amongst two of their last three losses. Rebounding wasn’t the issue against Minnesota, just shoddy defense. Maryland allowed 55 second-half points to the Gophers in their Feb. 22 home loss (89-75), despite outrebounding Minnesota and dishing out 22 assists to just 10 turnovers. The bad defense carried over to a 47-point first half for Maryland’s next home opponent, Iowa, as they allowed the Hawkeyes to shoot 16-for-26 from beyond the arc in another double-digit home loss. These are the demons that Maryland will have to exorcise as they try to find success back on their home floor against a team arguably better than both Iowa and Minnesota. The last time Maryland faced Michigan State it was also in March, as the Spartans bounced the Terrapins in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament last season. Star G Melo Trimble (16.9 PPG, 3.7 APG) shot just 2-for-15 FG in the loss that day. After scoring 59 points combined in two mid-February games against Northwestern and Wisconsin, the junior guard is struggling with his perimeter shot again. Maryland needs Trimble at his best to compete with the upper-echelon of the Big Ten, but Trimble is just 3 for his last 19 from beyond the arc (three games) and has scored just 32 points in that span.

NCAAB: Streaks, Tips, Note
Sportspic.com

Seton Hall at Butler

Butler Bulldogs (23-6, 17-10 ATS) currently second in the Big East put a four game win streak on the line when they welcome the Seton Hall Pirates (19-10, 11-16-1 ATS) carrying a modest three game streak into the contest. Butler always tough to beat in their own building (13-2, 6-5 ATS) along with looking to keep momentum going heading into Championship Week are not going to take Pirates lightly.

Consider Bulldogs. They're a solid 12-5 (10-7 ATS) vs the conference, have dominated the series winning 7-of-8 meetings with a sparkling 8-0 record against the betting line. Additionally, Pirates have not been a peg to hang your hopes on in conference road games going 2-6 in eight tries (3-5 ATS).

Duke Blue Devils at North Carolina Tar Heels March 4, 08:00 EST
Duke Blue Devils journey to Chapel Hill Saturday for a college hoops regular season finale matchup with North Carolina Tar Heels.

Regardless of records or rankings, the rivalry between the Duke Blue Devils (23-7, 11-18 ATS) and the North Carolina Tar Heels (25-6, 16-13-1 ATS) remains one of the Biggest Rivalries in NCAA Basketball.

Duke at North Carolina

Blue Devils 11-6 within the ACC with a money-burning 5-12 record against the betting line edged Florida State 75-70 at home Tuesday but failed at the betting window as -7.0 point favorites. Tar Heels 13-4 (9-8 ATS) against the conference were not as sharp as they could have been in their last game dropping a 53-43 decision at Virginia as -3.5 point road favorites.

The two ACC rivals meet for the second time this season. In the first meeting at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, the Blue Devils showed a lot of grit earning a back-and-forth battle 86-78 laying -2.5 points. With the win, the Blue Devils have now won five of six (4-2 ATS) and twelve of sixteen (9-7 ATS) regular season encounters. Over the past fifteen regular season finale games the Blue Devils are 6-9 SU/ATS overall, 2-5 (4-3 ATS) in UNC's backyard.

NCAAB Knowlodge

Notre Dame won its last six games; they’re 4-0 as a road underdog, with road losses by 3-2-7 at Florida St, Ga Tech, North Carolina. Louisville lost two of last three games; they’re 1-5-1 vs spread in last seven. Cardinals are 4-4 as home favorites- they won last seven home games, with 4 of 7 by 9+ points. Irish beat Louisville 77-70 at home Jan 4, third straight series win for Notre Dame, who had 22-13 edge on foul line that night. ND won two of last three visits to Louisville. ACC home favorites of 8+ points are 15-21 vs spread this season.

Arkansas won/covered five of last six games; they’re 4-3 as home favorites- they’re only 5-3 at home, but won last two at home by 18-9 points. Georgia won five of its last six games, with three of those wins by 1 or 2 points; Dawgs are 8-0 vs spread as a road underdog this season, with losses by 4-1-9-2 points (4-4 SU). Arkansas won three of last four games with Georgia, in series where home side won five of last six meetings. Dawgs lost by 2-12 points in last two visits here. SEC home favorites of 6 or less points are 16-23 vs spread this season.

Florida is 9-1 since Vanderbilt beat them 68-66 in Gainesville Jan 17, after trailing by seven in second half; Commodores won four of last five series games. Gators won by 1-6 points in last two visits here. Florida is 6-2 on SEC road, 5-1 as road favorites, with only losses at Kentucky, South Carolina. Vandy won four of last five games, covering all five- they lost their last game at Kentucky after leading 25-6. Commodores are won last three home games, after losing four in row before that. SEC road favorites of 4 or less points are 6-4 vs spread this season.

Oklahoma State won five of its last six games, winning last three home games, by 13-4-17 points- they’re 9-2 vs spread in last 11 games. Kansas won its last seven games; they’re 7-1 on Big X road, with only loss at West Virginia by 16. Kansas outscored Oklahoma State 30-11 on foul line in 87-80 home win over the Cowboys Jan 14; home side won last seven series games. Jayhawks lost last three visits to Stillwater, by 7-5-19 points. Road teams are 12-7 vs number in Big X games where spread was 2 or less points.

Duke was 13-27 on arc in 86-78 home win over North Carolina Feb 9; Blue Devils are 12-4 in last 16 series games, winning four of last five visits to Chapel Hill- they won here by 7-1 last two years. Duke lost two of last three games; they’re 0-4 vs spread in last four games, 3-5 SU on road, 1-2 as a road underdog- their last two losses were by total of 8 points. North Carolina won four of last five games; they’re 6-2 as a home favorite this year, with six of eight home wins by 11+ points. ACC home favorites of 7 or less points are 19-17-1 vs spread this season.

Colorado State won its last seven games, three of which were on road; Rams are 4-1 vs spread as road underdogs, with road losses by 1-21 points at Boise/Fresno. Nevada won/covered its last five games; they’re 6-2 as home favorites, with only home loss to Fresno by 5. CSU is 6-3 vs Nevada in Mountain West meetings, going 3-2 in Reno; this game is for regular season title. Wolf Pack scored 87 pts/game in their last three games. Mountain West home favorites of 6+ points are 12-17-1 vs spread this season. Neither team has any depth.

Cal-Davis outscored Cal-Irvine 35-11 on foul line in 74-65 home win over the Anteaters Jan 28, a game Irvine led by 18 in first half- Davis was 35-46 on line. Aggies are 3-2 in last five series games, but they’ve lost six of last seven games in Bren Center. Davis is 4-3 on road, but lost last two road games, at Long Beach/Fullerton- they’re 2-1 as road underdogs. Irvine won five of its last six games; they’re 5-2 as home favorites, with wins by 15-28-20-17-19-3 points- they lost to Cal Poly at home. Big West home favorites of 8+ points are 7-5 vs spread this season.

Michigan State lost last three road games, are 2-6 on Big 14 road, 2-5 as a road underdog, with only wins at Minnesota, Nebraska; they’re on bubble- this would be huge win for them. Spartans are 3-2 in Big 14 meetings with Maryland; Terps won hoop in OT in only visit here, two years ago. Maryland lost three of last four games; they’re only 4-4 at home (lost last two at home), 3-3 as a home favorite. Big 14 home favorites of 4 or less points are 18-15 vs spread this season. These are the #317, #319 experience teams in country (out of 351).

CAA tournament, Charleston

Wm & Mary is 3-4 in its last seven games- they’re just 2-7 on CAA road this season. W&M won five of last six games with Elon; teams split their meetings this year- team that lost led by double digits in first half of both games. Elon is also 3-4 in its last seven games; they split last six road games. Tribe shoots 38.9% on arc, 57.8% inside arc, both best in CAA. Phoenix has best eFG% defense in conference. Elon is 1-3 in last four conference tourney games, 1-2 since joining CAA: W&M won its first tourney games last three years, by 11-13-15 points.

Towson State won six of last eight games, losing two games last week by total of 9 points; Tigers split last six road games, covered last five games overall. Northeastern went 3-10 in last 13 games after starting CAA play 5-0; Huskies lost six of last eight road games. Northeastern won five of last seven games with Towson; teams split pair of 7-point decisions this season. Huskies beat Towson 71-60 in LY’s CAA tourney. Northeastern won its first conference tourney last four years and 8 of last 10; Towson is 1-5 in last five CAA tourneys.

SoCon tournament, Asheville, NC

East Tennessee State won six of its last seven games; they’re 6-3 on SoCon road. ETSU is 6-1 in SoCon games with Mercer; they swept Bears this season, winning by 9-17 points, with last meeting Feb 11. Bucs beat Mercer 81-65 in LY’s tourney. Mercer won three of last four games; they’re 4-1 in last five SoCon road games, after losing first four games on foreign soil. ETSU is 8-2 in first game of last ten conference tourneys; they lost in final of SoCon tourney LY. Mercer won its first conference tournament game the last eight years.

MAAC tournament, Albany

Siena beat Fairfield twice this season, by 7-9 points; teams haven’t met since Jan 15. Saints are 6-2 in last eight series games. Stags lost three of last four meetings here, losing by 2-15-7 points. Saints won five of last seven games; they’re #39 experience team in country, starting four seniors. Stags won 8 of last 11 games; they’re 5-2 vs spread as a road underdog, losing on road by 7-7-42-19 points. Fairfield won its first MAAC tourney game six of last eight years; Siena is 9-1 in its first tourney game the last decade. This game is on Siena’s home court.

OVC tournament, Nashville

Jacksonville State won last two nights, knocking off #1-seed Belmont last nite, when all five starters played 35+ minutes; JSU is 18-35 on arc in those games- their coach Harper won C-USA tourney twice as an underdog while at Western Kentucky- he won four national titles at lower levels. Gamecocks made 10-22 on arc in 90-72 win at Tenn-Martin Dec 29, in OVC opener, only meeting this year. Martin used three starters 35:00+ last nite; their best player was ill, played only 22:00. Lower-seeded teams won last three OVC title games.

Armadillosports.com

Trends to Watch - Saturday
VegasInsider.com

Battle in the Ville

Notre Dame heads down Interstate 65 to Louisville for a key Atlantic Coast Conference battle. Both teams enter at 23-7 SU, yet the Irish are ranked No. 13 and an eight-point underdog. They might enter the game with a bit of a chip on their shoulder.

Notre Dame is 4-0 ATS in their past four games as a road underdog, 5-1 ATS in their past six as an underdog and 8-2-1 ATS in their past 11 against teams with a winning percentage over .600. They're also 6-2-1 ATS in their past nine on the road, and 5-2 ATS in their past seven league games. And when these teams last met on Jan. 4 in South Bend, it was the Irish coming away with a 77-70 victory.

Louisville has managed just two covers over their past seven games overall, and they're 1-4 ATS in their past five against teams with a winning percentage over .600. However, they have covered 12 of their past 17 as a favorite while going 14-6-1 ATS in their past 21 at KFC Yum! Center (yes, that's really the name of their arena.)

The home team has covered five of the past six meetings in this series, with the favorite going 4-1 ATS in the past five. The Fighting Irish are 11-5 ATS in the past 16 in this series, however. If you're a total bettor, you will like the 'over'. The over is 11-3 in the past 14 meetings in this series, and 7-1 in the past eight games played in Louisville. The over is also an overwhelming 10-1 in the past 11 for the Cards as a favorite and 7-1 in their past eight overall. While the under is 5-2 in the past seven road outings for the Irish, the over is 11-3 in their past 14 against teams with a winning overall record.

Sunshine State Showdown

Miami-Florida and Florida State renew acquaintances in Tallahassee at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. While this rivalry isn't quite as heated on the hardwood or amongst the fans and alumni as on the gridiron, it is quickly gaining momentum as one of the better rivalries in the ACC.

These teams met Feb. 1 in Miami, and the Seminoles cruised to a 75-57 win as three-point underdogs to snap a two-game losing skid at the time. It was a rare good showing on the road for the Seminoles, who have a dismal 2-6 SU record over their past eight road outings. However, when they're at home they're a completely different team. FSU is a perfect 17-0 SU at home this season, and they're 11-3-1 ATS. That includes an impressive 8-0 SU/6-1-1 ATS mark in eight league home games.

Miami has rolled up a couple of signature wins since that loss against FSU. They won a key overtime game at Virginia on Feb. 20, and tripped up Duke by five points at home on Feb. 25. Miami's results page is littered with impressive wins, showing that they're going to be a force to reckoned with on any given day. However, they can also completely disappear like they did last time out against Florida State or at Wake Forest on Jan. 18, confusing their fanbase and bettors alike.

Ball Hawks

Delaware survived against Hofstra in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament and now they'll focus on a much bigger fish, top-seeded UNC-Wilmington. The Seahawks swept the Blue Hens, winning in Delaware by a 91-81 score back on Jan. 7. They also routed Delaware 108-80 on Feb. 4 to cover a 20 1/2-point number. The Seahawks enter this outing 1-4-1 ATS over their past six games, but 3-0-1 ATS in their past four against teams with a losing overall mark.

Also in the CAA, Northeastern and Towson will square off in the 3-6 battle in the quarters. The Tigers are looking for their 20th win of the season, but it might not be easy. The Huskies of Northeastern have covered six of their past seven neutral-site games, and they're 10-1-1 ATS in their past 12 against teams with a winning percentage of .600 or better. The Tigers are 4-0-2 ATS in their past six overall, but just 1-7 ATS in their past eight on a neutral site.

Bay Area Battle

San Francisco and Santa Clara will duke it out in the West Coast Conference quarters in a 4-5 matchup. The Dons are the lower seed, but enter as a 1 1/2-point favorite. The Dons edged the Broncos 61-58 back on Feb. 9, while losing 72-58 on New Year's Eve in Silicon Valley. San Francisco had an 8-1 ATS stretch from Jan. 7-Feb. 4, but they're just 2-4 ATS over their past six outings. USF is 6-0-1 ATS in their past seven neutral-site games as a favorite, and 8-3 ATS in their past 11 overall as a fave. Santa Clara is 7-1-1 ATS in their past nine neutral-site games.

The 'under' has cashed in nine of the past 11 in this series. The under is also 12-3 in San Francisco's past 15 overall and 4-1 in their past five against teams with a winning overall mark. For Santa Clara the 'under' is 4-1 in their past five neutral-site games and 6-1 in their past seven agaisnt teams with a straight-up winning mark.

Southern Lights

East Tennessee State looks to oust Mercer in a 3-6 matchup in the SoCon quarters. The Buccaneers of ETSU swept the regular season series against the Bears, winning 88-71 on Feb. 11 while pushing aside the Bears in Macon on Jan. 7 by a 67-58 score. ETSU covered in each of the meetings, too.

Furman and Samford square off in a 2-7 battle, and the Paladins are likely happy to see the Bulldogs. Furman swept the regular season series, winning 90-73 in the most recent battle on Feb. 11 as 7 1/2-point favorites, and winning by 10 in Alabama as 2 1/2-point underdogs back on Jan. 5. Furman enters the game 5-2 ATS in their past seven outings, and 10-3 ATS over their past 13 appearances.