Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites.
Most passes thrown in a game for the Cleveland Browns:
64— Bernie Kosar, 1987
61— Colt McCoy, 2011
58— Jameis Winston, 2024
57— Brian Sipe, 1981
56— Jason Campbell, 2013
54— Brian Hoyer 2013/Eric Zeier 1995
Quote of the Day
“When all is said and done, more is usually said than done.”
Unknown
Thursday’s quiz
What was the biggest upset in Super Bowl history? (pointspread-wise)
Wednesday’s quiz
Bill Cowher was coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers before Mike Tomlin.
Tuesday’s quiz
John Calipari led UMass to the Final Four in 1996.
************************************
Thursday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..
— SEC pounded on the ACC this week, going 14-2 in their challenge.
Chances are we’ll hear about this week on Selection Sunday, when most of the SEC gets in the Field of 68.
— Alabama 94, North Carolina 79
83-possession game, very fast pace. Alabama scored 1.13 points/possession.
North Carolina was 5-28 on the arc.
Alabama is #68 in bench minutes; they put six guys in double figures.
— Duke 84, Auburn 78
Auburn led 13-2 out of the gate, but Duke shot 55.6% inside the arc.
Duke had only four turnovers, in a 63-possession game.
Auburn started 5 seniors; Duke played one senior more than 5:00.
— Creighton 76, Kansas 63
Kansas never led; they shot 35.7% from the floor.
Creighton led 41-31 at halftime.
Bluejays are shooting 60.2% inside the arc (#11)
— UConn 76, Baylor 72
UConn was 26-33 on foul line, Baylor 12-19
Baylor led by 11 early on, led 37-36 at halftime.
Baylor is 5-3, 2-3 against top 50 teams (schedule #10).
— Oregon 68, USC 60
Oregon held the Trojans to 34.5% from the floor.
Ducks are 9-0, with four top 100 wins.
Trojans other than Claude (9-20) were 10-35 from the floor.
— Iowa State 81, Marquette 70
This game was 61-61 with 8:43 left.
Marquette star Jones was only 6-21 from the floor.
Cyclones are 3-1 vs top 100 teams, scoring 87.5 ppg
— Famous birthdays, December 5th:
Jeroen Krabbe, 80
Jim Plunkett, 77
Bill Simpson, 73
Cliff Floyd, 52
Charlie Batch, 50
Josh Smith, 39
AJ Pollock, 37
Christian Yelich, 33
— Maryland 83, Ohio State 59
Terps led this game 63-23 at one point; they shot 59.5% inside arc.
— Belmont 99, Illinois State 97 OT
Belmont led MVC opener 54-45 at the half.
Illinois State shot 18-33 on the arc and still lost.
Belmont is 7-2, playing schedule #285.
— New Mexico 83, San Jose State 77
San Jose led 17-4 early, 71-65 with 7:16 left in game.
Lobos had 16 offensive boards, out-rebounded San Jose 42-31.
— Upsets of the Night:
Coastal Carolina (+5.5) 58, Campbell 57
Creighton (+4.5) 76, Kansas 63
North Dakota State (+4.5) 77, Weber State 73
St Thomas (+4.5) 87, Northern Colorado 75
IU Indy (+4.5) 84, Green Bay 75
— Texas 63, NC State 59
59-possession game; very slow pace.
NC State lost last three games, scoring 61-61-59 points.
Wolfpack was 5-14 on arc, 6-14 on foul line.
— Summit League went 5-4 against the Big Sky in their challenge; underdogs were 5-4 ATS in the nine games.
— Jacksonville Jaguar QB Trevor Lawrence was put on IR, is most likely out for the year; he got a concussion Sunday after a late hit by a Houston defender.
— South Korean star 2B Hyeseong Kim was posted, will be available as a free agent starting Thursday at 5:00. KIm will be 26 next month; he hit .326 LY, with 11 homers, 75 RBIs while stealing 30 bases for the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO.
— Red Sox signed reliever Aroldis Chapman for one year, $10.75M. In 61⅔ IP for Pittsburgh last year, Chapman struck out 98, walked 39, had a 3.79 ERA. He’ll be 37 years old soon; Boston will be his 7th major league team.
Most passes thrown in a game for the Cleveland Browns:
64— Bernie Kosar, 1987
61— Colt McCoy, 2011
58— Jameis Winston, 2024
57— Brian Sipe, 1981
56— Jason Campbell, 2013
54— Brian Hoyer 2013/Eric Zeier 1995
Quote of the Day
“When all is said and done, more is usually said than done.”
Unknown
Thursday’s quiz
What was the biggest upset in Super Bowl history? (pointspread-wise)
Wednesday’s quiz
Bill Cowher was coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers before Mike Tomlin.
Tuesday’s quiz
John Calipari led UMass to the Final Four in 1996.
************************************
Thursday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..
— SEC pounded on the ACC this week, going 14-2 in their challenge.
Chances are we’ll hear about this week on Selection Sunday, when most of the SEC gets in the Field of 68.
— Alabama 94, North Carolina 79
83-possession game, very fast pace. Alabama scored 1.13 points/possession.
North Carolina was 5-28 on the arc.
Alabama is #68 in bench minutes; they put six guys in double figures.
— Duke 84, Auburn 78
Auburn led 13-2 out of the gate, but Duke shot 55.6% inside the arc.
Duke had only four turnovers, in a 63-possession game.
Auburn started 5 seniors; Duke played one senior more than 5:00.
— Creighton 76, Kansas 63
Kansas never led; they shot 35.7% from the floor.
Creighton led 41-31 at halftime.
Bluejays are shooting 60.2% inside the arc (#11)
— UConn 76, Baylor 72
UConn was 26-33 on foul line, Baylor 12-19
Baylor led by 11 early on, led 37-36 at halftime.
Baylor is 5-3, 2-3 against top 50 teams (schedule #10).
— Oregon 68, USC 60
Oregon held the Trojans to 34.5% from the floor.
Ducks are 9-0, with four top 100 wins.
Trojans other than Claude (9-20) were 10-35 from the floor.
— Iowa State 81, Marquette 70
This game was 61-61 with 8:43 left.
Marquette star Jones was only 6-21 from the floor.
Cyclones are 3-1 vs top 100 teams, scoring 87.5 ppg
— Famous birthdays, December 5th:
Jeroen Krabbe, 80
Jim Plunkett, 77
Bill Simpson, 73
Cliff Floyd, 52
Charlie Batch, 50
Josh Smith, 39
AJ Pollock, 37
Christian Yelich, 33
— Maryland 83, Ohio State 59
Terps led this game 63-23 at one point; they shot 59.5% inside arc.
— Belmont 99, Illinois State 97 OT
Belmont led MVC opener 54-45 at the half.
Illinois State shot 18-33 on the arc and still lost.
Belmont is 7-2, playing schedule #285.
— New Mexico 83, San Jose State 77
San Jose led 17-4 early, 71-65 with 7:16 left in game.
Lobos had 16 offensive boards, out-rebounded San Jose 42-31.
— Upsets of the Night:
Coastal Carolina (+5.5) 58, Campbell 57
Creighton (+4.5) 76, Kansas 63
North Dakota State (+4.5) 77, Weber State 73
St Thomas (+4.5) 87, Northern Colorado 75
IU Indy (+4.5) 84, Green Bay 75
— Texas 63, NC State 59
59-possession game; very slow pace.
NC State lost last three games, scoring 61-61-59 points.
Wolfpack was 5-14 on arc, 6-14 on foul line.
— Summit League went 5-4 against the Big Sky in their challenge; underdogs were 5-4 ATS in the nine games.
— Jacksonville Jaguar QB Trevor Lawrence was put on IR, is most likely out for the year; he got a concussion Sunday after a late hit by a Houston defender.
— South Korean star 2B Hyeseong Kim was posted, will be available as a free agent starting Thursday at 5:00. KIm will be 26 next month; he hit .326 LY, with 11 homers, 75 RBIs while stealing 30 bases for the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO.
— Red Sox signed reliever Aroldis Chapman for one year, $10.75M. In 61⅔ IP for Pittsburgh last year, Chapman struck out 98, walked 39, had a 3.79 ERA. He’ll be 37 years old soon; Boston will be his 7th major league team.
2024-25 college basketball
Thursday’s Big West college basketball games:
Cal Poly @ Cal-Davis (-1.5)
Cal Poly (5-4)
KenPom rating: 209
Tempo: 5
Experience: 316
Continuity: 289
Cal Poly is 5-4, after going 36-140 the last six years.
Mustangs already have true road wins at Eastern Washington, Stanford.
Cal Poly has #47 eFG% in country; they turn ball over a lot.
Mustangs are 3-0 vs teams ranked outside the top 125.
Cal-Davis (3-4)
KenPom rating: 212
Tempo: 41
Experience: 220
Continuity: 68
Davis lost its only D-I home game, 76-55 to #148 Norfolk State
Aggies are #312 team in country on defensive boards.
Davis is turning ball over 21.5% of time (#335)
Aggies’ best win: 75-68 at #92 Grand Canyon.
Cal-Davis won 14 of last 15 series games.
Cal Poly lost last ten visits to Davis (4 of last 5 by 12+ points)
Cal-Riverside @ Cal-Northridge (-5.5)
Cal-Riverside (4-4)
KenPom rating: 193
Tempo: 186
Experience: 277
Continuity: 28
Riverside is 3-1 vs teams ranked outside the top 100.
Highlanders are shooting 46.4% inside arc (#301)
Riverside has road wins at Cal Baptist, Colorado State.
UCR is 4-0 when it allows less than 80 points, 0-4 if it allows 80+.
Cal-Northridge (6-2)
KenPom rating: 154
Tempo: 18
Experience: 158
Continuity: 223
CSUN is 1-2 vs teams ranked in top 200.
Matadors’ best win: 72-69 in OT at #138 Montana State
Opponents are shooting only 46.7% inside arc (#71)
This is CSUN’s first Division I home game.
Riverside won seven of last eight series games.
Highlanders won three of last four visits to Northridge
Cal-San Diego @ Santa Barbara (-2.5)
Cal-San Diego (6-2)
KenPom rating: 95
Tempo: 301
Experience: 291
Continuity: 119
Tritons won an 8-team event in Daytona Beach.
San Diego is 2-2 vs teams ranked in top 200.
Tritons are forcing turnovers 22.9% of time (#17)
San Diego’s best win: 73-67 over #135 James Madison.
Santa Barbara (6-1)
KenPom rating: 111
Tempo: 302
Experience: 74
Continuity: 182
UCSB is 7-1, but against schedule #356.
Gauchos lost 79-76 to UTEP, their only top 200 game.
Gauchos’ best win: 64-59 at #230 San Jose State.
UCSB has #8 eFG% in country.
Cal-San Diego swept UCSB last year, 79-72/61-46
Tritons lost 3 of last 4 visits to the Thunderdome, losing by 17-36-21.
Bakersfield @ Cal-Irvine (-15.5)
Bakersfield (4-4)
KenPom rating: 246
Tempo: 335
Experience: 283
Continuity: 236
Bakersfield is 2-3 vs teams ranked in top 200.
Roadrunners’ best win: 68-60 over #143 Northeastern
Bakersfield is shooting 46.6% inside arc (#288)
Roadrunners are 0-3 in true road games, losing by 13-20-10 points.
Cal-Irvine (8-0)
KenPom rating: 55
Tempo: 107
Experience: 125
Continuity: 35
Irvine won an 8-team event in Alberta, Canada last week.
Anteaters have #12 eFG% defense in country.
Irvine’s best win: 80-60 at #115 Northern Iowa.
Anteaters are turning ball over 20.7% of time (#312).
Anteaters won last seven series games.
Bakersfield lost last three visits to Irvine, by 5-8-36 points.
Long Beach State @ Fullerton (-6.5)
Long Beach State (1-9)
KenPom rating: 339
Tempo: 326
Experience: 222
Continuity: 348
Long Beach is 0-9 vs D-I teams (schedule #116)
Long Beach is shooting 42.6% inside arc (#341)
Long Beach has five losses by 16+ points.
Long Beach is #337 team in country on defensive boards.
Fullerton (2-6)
KenPom rating: 293
Tempo: 324
Experience: 300
Continuity: 208
5 of Fullerton’s 6 losses are to top 100 teams (schedule #27)
Titans’ two wins are by 1-9 points, over teams #245/#274
Fullerton has #353 eFG% in country (there are 364 teams)
Titans are #349 team on defensive boards.
Teams split their last eight meetings.
Long Beach lost last three visits to Fullerton, by 3-3-10 points.