Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites.
College basketball teams shooting the best behind the arc:
48.8%- Houston
48%- Nevada
45.9%- Memphis
45.8%- Kennesaw State
44.9%- Cincinnati
44%- Sam Houston State
Quote of the Day
“You’re a goddamn quarterback!!! You know what that means? It’s the top spot, kid. It’s the guy who takes the fall. It’s the guy everybody’s looking at first – the leader of a team – who will support you when they understand you. Who will break their ribs and their noses and their necks for you, because they believe. ‘Cause you make them believe. That’s a quarterback.”
Al Pacino, Any Given Sunday
Saturday’s quiz
Other than the Chiefs (won last two titles), who was the last team to win a Super Bowl?
Friday’s quiz
Last time the Cleveland Browns played in a playoff game, Joe Flacco was their QB.
Thursday’s quiz
Other than the Jets, Denver Broncos have gone the longest since the last time they were in the playoffs- 2015 was last time they made the playoffs.
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Saturday’s Den: College basketball is heating up……..
— Duke 69, Arizona 55
Duke led 34-27 at halftime. won fairly easily.
Blue Devils avenged LY’s 78-73 home loss to Arizona.
Wildcats lost their last two games, after beating a couple of stiffs.
— Pittsburgh 74, LSU 63
Bayou Bengals led 28-27 at halftime.
Pitt is 6-0, is shooting 60.8% inside the arc.
Pitt-Wisconsin is another interesting game Sunday.
— Vanderbilt 76, Seton Hall 60
Commodores shot 66.7% inside arc, 10-27 on arc (1.15 points/possession)
Vandy’s new coach Byington was 56-15 the last two years, at James Madison.
Vanderbilt-Drake is an interesting game on Sunday’s card.
— Tennessee 77, Baylor 62
Vols improve to 6-0; they led 31-9 early on, 47-24 at halftime.
This is closest game Tennessee has had so far.
Vols have rebounded 40.4% of their missed shots (#9 in country)
— Nebraska 74, Creighton 63
Cornhuskers were a 10-point underdog; they thrashed Creighton.
Nebraska was +10 in turnovers; 2nd time in three years they upset the Bluejays.
— Utah State 77, Iowa 69
Aggies out-rebounded Iowa, 47-31; they had 15 offensive boards.
Utah State is 5-0; they’re on their 4th coach in five years, their 6th coach in 11 years, and they only had one losing season the last ten years. Unusual program.
— Nevada 64, VCU 61
VCU led by 15 early in second half.
Nevada survived shooting 15-26 on the foul line.
VCU lost its first two games in Charleston this weekend, both by 3 points.
— Famous birthdays, November 21:
Dale Sveum, 61
Steve Alford, 60
Vin Baker, 53
Malik Rose, 50
Jonathan Papelbon, 44
Justin Turner, 40
Ross Stripling, 35
Tyler Wade, 30
Gavin Lux, 27
— Drake 75, Florida Atlantic 63
Drake is 5-0; four of their starters played for a D2 team last year.
Bulldogs were 10-25 on arc; they play Vanderbilt in Charleston title game Sunday.
— Elon 84, Notre Dame 77
ACC teams aren’t supposed to lose to CAA teams.
Elon shot 61% inside the arc.
Elon outscored Notre Dame 43-31 in second half.
— Mississippi State 84, SMU 79
SMU led by 13 early in game.
Mustangs lost despite shooting 66.7% inside arc, 23-34 on foul line.
Miss State is 5-0, with solid wins over Utah, SMU.
— Bradley 77, Wright State 74
Bradley outscored Raiders 11-5 over the final 4:04.
Braves start four seniors; they’re #33 in continuity.
Bradley-Middle Tennessee is title game in this tournament Sunday.
NFL/baseball notes………
— Giants benched QB Daniel Jones this week; he asked the team to release him, and they did, even though their salary cap would’ve been better off had they kept him until next June- they would’ve saved $30.5M on the 2025 salary cap had they done that.
Jones was 25-45-1 as the Giants’ QB, 1-1 in playoff games, 3-13 the last two years.
— 49ers’ QB Brock Purdy is out for this week’s game in Green Bay. Brandon Allen gets the start at QB; he is 2-7 as an NFL starter (Broncos/Bengals) with his last start in 2021.
— NFL flexed the Week 16 Broncos-Chargers game from Sunday to Thursday night, replacing the Browns-Bengals game, good news for fans in Cincinnati. A December 19 night game in Ohio doesn’t sound like that much fun.
— Cincinnati Reds acquired P Brady Singer from Kansas City for 2B Jonathan India, OF Joey Wiemer
Singer was 9-13, 3.71 in 28 starts for the Royals LY; he started 127 games in five years with Kansas City.
India hit .248 with 15 homers LY; he was Rookie of the Year in 2021.
— P Dustin May, who missed most of the last two years with injuries, signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers for $2,135,000. May is eligible for free agency after next season.