NCAAB Betting News and Notes Thursday, November 17th, 2016

NCAAB Knowledge

Temple split its first two games, beating LaSalle in OT, then a bad home loss to New Hampshire last game. UMass split its first two games, playing at #2 tempo in country; they lost 90-88 at Ole Miss Monday after leading by 8 at half; Minutemen took 36 FTs, Rebels 46 in game that UMass was outscored in 11-0 over last 3:49. Minutemen lost 3 starters from LY but has best freshman class school has had in a decade. Temple has a depleted roster because of injuries. A-14 home favorites are 4-9 vs spread this season.

Providence lost Dunn/Bentil to NBA this year; Friars have 2 starters back from LY’s 24-11 team that won beat USC in NCAAs- they beat Vermont by 22 in opener- game was 34-28 at half. Ohio State beat Navy 10 by 10, NC Central by 6 to open its season; Buckeyes turned ball over 21.9% of time in first two games (#255 in country). OSU has all five starters back from team that was 3-4 in last 7 games LY and missed NCAAs. Big 14 home favorites are 5-4 vs spread so far this month. Big East teams are 6-2 vs spread, but haven’t played that many lined games yet.

DePaul outscored Robert Morris 27-15 on foul line in 78-72 win in their opener. Blue Demons have four 3-star recruits and are expected to improve this year- their last winning season was 10 years ago. Rutgers beat Drexel by 21 after beating a stiff to open season; Scarlet Knights’ last winning season was 2006- they’ve got new coach this year. Big 14 home favorites are 5-4 vs spread so far this month.

Seton Hall beat couple stiffs by 21-24 points to open season; Pirates have nucleus of juniors back (4 starters are back) though star Whitehead did bolt to NBA.- they’re expected to be up with Villanova/Xavier atop Big East. Iowa lost 4 starters from LY’s 22-11 team that won an NCAA game in OT LY, then lost to Villanova in 2nd round. Hawkeyes beat two cupcakes to open this season, winning by 17-32 points- they’ve got only 2 juniors and one senior.

Oregon lost by 17 at Baylor Monday, with best player Brooks out injured- he isn’t expected to play here, ether. Ducks still have 3 other starters back from 31-7 team that made Sweet 16 LY. Oregon beat Valparaiso 73-67 at home LY, after trailing by 4 with 13:30 left. Crusaders made just 10-32 on arc- they’ve got new coach now. Valpo is already 3-0, with D-I wins by 14-20 points over stiffs; they’ve got 3 starters back from 30-7 team Pac-12 home favorites are 7-4 vs spread this month. Horizon road underdogs are 5-1 against the spread.

UConn lost its first two games to Wagner/Northeastern; they’re 0-2 for first time since 1968; as they head to Hawaii for Maui Classic, they stop for game at Loyola Marymount team that is 47-73 in last 4+ years, 15-41 in WCC games. Lions lost by 15 at Nevada after beating a stiff to open season- Nevada shot 68% inside arc against them. LMU has 3 starters back from LY. UConn has five freshmen who are learning college ball the hard way. AAC teams are 4-4 vs spread so far this season. WCC teams are 9-9 vs spread, 3-3 as an underdog.

Davidson’s star G Gibbs is on injury list, check status; Wildcats beat Appalachian State 86-74 in their opener (Gibbs didn’t play), after being down 3 with 10:00 to go. Davidson has 4 starters back from a 20-13 team that made NIT. Davidson was 0-3 vs ACC teams LY, losing by 10-25-33 points to Fla State-Pitt-UNC. Clemson beat Georgia by 10 in its opener, game they never trailed. Tigers have 3 starters back from 17-14 team including their star Blossomgame, who could’ve gone pro. ACC teams are 10-4 vs spread this month; A-14 teams are 7-12 vs spread.

Northern Iowa was 54-17 the last two years; they beat a D-III team in their opener this year. Panthers lost 3 starters from 23-13 team that blew a 12-point lead with 0:34 left in second round NCAA loss to Texas A&M. Will that loss linger? Arizona State beat stiffs by 18-22 points to open this season; Sun Devils shot 60% inside arc in those games. Hurley brought in three 4-star recruits this year, so ASU is younger, much more talented than recent years. MVC teams are 5-6 against the spread so far this month; Pac-12 teams are 9-5.

Wake Forest opened this season with wins over stiffs by 21-20 points; Deacons lost 3 starters back from 11-20 team that went 2-16 after looking promising in Maui last November. Manning is gradually upgrading Wake’s talent level but it is a slow process. Texas-El Paso has 3 starters back from 19-14 team; their PG Artis was once a starter at Oregon. Floyd was an NBA coach, is building Miners back up- they haven’t been to NCAAs since 2010. ACC favorites are 10-3 vs spread this month. C-USA underdogs are 7-1 vs spread.

Mississippi State was 14-19 LY in Howland’s first season there; they had a solid recruiting class, are expected to be better, but they struggled with Norfolk State in opener, winning 78-74- game was tied at half. Central Florida has new coach (Dawkins), not much depth or many returning players— he has a bit of a rebuild on his hands. Knights won first game by 24 over Nicholls State, but it was a 5-point game with 10:00 left. SEC favorites are 7-9 vs spread this month; AAC teams are 4-4 vs spread, 1-1 as underdogs.

Charleston hosts this tournament; they won first two games this month by 13-7 over Coastal Carolina, Citadel. Cougars have all 5 starters back from LY’s 17-14 team, have recruited well in Grant’s two years as coach, are expected to contend for CAA title this year. Boise State is long away from home; they played a stiff in first game, lost 4 starters from LY’s 20-14 team that won 20+ games for 4th year in row. Boise has lot of new guys this year, may take step back. MW teams are 4-5 vs spread this month. CAA teams are 6-6 against the spread.

Pitt lost 3 starters and its coach from a 21-12 team; fanbase got tired of Dixon, so he went back to TCU, his alma mater. Panthers needed double OT to beat Eastern Michigan in its opener, then beat Gardner-Webb by 19- they’ve got decent experience level. SMU has a new coach too; they won first two games by 28-27 points over same two teams that Pitt beat- Mustangs forced TO’s 27.1% of time in first two games, but also turned it over 23.4% of time. ACC teams are 10-4 vs spread this month, all as favorites; AAC teams 4-4, 3-3 as favorites.

Michigan won its first two games by 18-12 points; Beilein has all new assistant coaches this year, possibly a tactical upgrade. Wolverines have all 5 starters back from LY’s team but isn’t very deep- they’ve played at slow pace in their first two games. Michigan finished out of top 50 last two years. Marquette won its first two games by 24-32 points- they made 42.3% on arc in those games, have more experience than they’ve had in Wojo era. Big East teams are 6-2 vs spread this season, Big 14 teams are 9-8.

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