Betting news, trends, odds and predictions for from various handicappers and websites for Wednesday 1/30/19
Ole Miss lost three of last four games after a 13-2 start; Rebels are 3-2 in true road games, losing by 7 at Butler, 21 at Alabama. Florida is 3-4 in its last seven games; they’ve lost two of three SEC home games. Gators are shooting only 42.8% inside arc in SEC games- they’re playing 7th-slowest tempo in country. Florida won three of its last four games with Ole Miss; Rebels lost last two visits to Gainesville, by 5-7 points. Ole Miss is 11-9 in last 20 games as a road underdog, 2-1 this year; Gators are 11-9 in last 20 games as a home favorite, 0-2 this year.
Butler lost six of its last nine games; they’re 3-5 in Big East, splitting four home games- they lost last six games when scoring under 80 points. Marquette won its last seven games, winning last three road games, by 2-3-5 points. Butler won its last five games with Marquette; favorites covered four of those games. Marquette is 0-5 at Butler in Big East games, losing by 12-21-21-8-11 points. Golden Eagles are 11-10 vs spread in last 21 games as a road underdog, 1-1 this year; Butler is 16-12 in last 28 games as a home favorite, 2-2 this year.
Providence won three of last four games, is 3-4 in Big East, 1-2 on road, losing at Georgetown by 6, at Marquette by 11. Seton Hall lost its last four games after a 12-4 start; only one of their three Big East wins is by more than a basket. Pirates turned ball over 22 times (-8), lost 72-63 at Providence Jan 15; Pirates are 5-2 in last seven series games. Friars lost last three visits to West Orange, by 18-2-16 points. Friars are 14-10 in last 24 games as a road underdog, 1-2 this year; Seton Hall is 11-20 in its last 31 games as a home favorite, 0-3 this year.
Memphis won eight of its last ten games but are 1-2 on AAC road, with only win at Tulane by 4; Tigers are shooting 56% inside arc in AAC games. Tulsa lost three in row, six of last eight games, scoring 63.7 ppg in last three; they split four AAC home games, beating UConn by 6, South Florida by 3. Memphis won five of its last seven games with Tulsa, but lost three of last four visits to Tulsa; home side is 6-1 in AAC series games. Tigers are 8-13 vs spread in last 21 AAC road games, 0-3 this year; Tulsa is 24-11-2 in its last 37 home games, 2-1 this year.
Syracuse won seven of its last nine games; they’re 5-2 in ACC, 2-1 on road, with only loss by 22 at Va Tech Saturday. Boston College won its last two games after a 5-game skid; they split last six home games, are 1-3 vs top 50 teams. ACC teams are shooting 54.5% inside arc vs the Eagles. Syracuse/BC split their last four meetings, with home side winning all four; Orange lost last two visits to Boston, by 15-15 points. Syracuse is 1-5 in its last six games as an ACC road favorite, 1-0 this year; Eagles covered five of last six games as a home underdog, 1-0 this year.
Villanova rallied to beat DePaul 73-68 at home Jan 2, after being down 11 in second half; this was Villanova’s 17th straight series win. Wildcats were +12 in turnovers, outscored DePaul 16-4 on foul line. Blue Demons lost their last eight visits here, with six of last seven by 16+ points. Villanova won its last eight games, is 7-0 in Big East, with road wins by 6-12-8 points. DePaul lost three of its last four games. Villanova is 24-16 in last 40 games as a Big East road favorite, 2-0 this year; DePaul is 10-9 in last 19 games as a home dog, 1-1 this year.
St John’s lost four of its last five games; the one win was 81-66 at home over Creighton Jan 16, ending a 6-game skid vs the Bluejays. Red Storm are 0-5 in Omaha, losing by 3-3-41-14-7 points. SJU is 1-3 on Big East road, losing by 2-5-9 points. Creighton won its last two games after a 4-game skid; Bluejays are shooting 41.4% on arc in conference games- they’re 5-8 vs top 100 teams. Johnnies are 7-4 in last 11 games as a road underdog, 2-1 this year; Creighton is 14-11 vs spread in last 25 games as a home favorite, 1-1 this year.
Illinois is 2-7 in Big 14, but they hammered Minnesota 95-68 at home two weeks ago- they led by 36 at one point. Illini lost seven of its last nine games, are 0-4 on Big 14 road, with losses by 15-12-2-24 points. Gophers split their last six games; they’re 4-1 in Big 14 home games, winning by 7-18-1-5 points. Illinois/Minnesota split their last six meetings; teams split last four series games played here. Favorites covered five of last six series games. Underwood is 6-7 as a Big 14 road underdog, 3-2 this year; under Pitino, Gophers are 14-19 as home favorites, 2-2 this year.
LSU won its last nine games, is 6-0 in SEC, 3-0 on road- two of those three wins were in OT. Tigers scored 81+ points in their last seven games. Texas A&M lost six of its last eight games; they’re 0-3 in SEC home games, losing by 2-19-23 points- they did upset Kansas State in last home game Saturday. LSU/A&M split their last six meetings; Tigers lost three of last four visits to Aggieland, winning 69-68 (+9.5) here LY. Under Wade, LSU is 7-3-1 as an SEC favorite, 1-0 on road; last four years, Aggies are 0-2 as a home underdog.
UCLA is 4-7 in its last 11 games, but 4-3 in Pac-12, 1-2 on road, losing by 13 at both Oregon St, USC. Bruins are turning ball over 22.1% of time in Pac-12 tilts. Washington State lost nine of its last ten games; they’re 1-6 in Pac-12, splitting pair of home games- their only conference win was by 23 over Cal. UCLA won five of last six games with Wazzu, but lost three of last four visits to Pullman; home side won nine of last ten series games. Bruins are 5-9 in last 14 games as a Pac-12 road favorite; Coogs are are 7-16 in last 23 games as a home underdog.
Fullerton won its last four games after an awful 2-12 start; Titans are 4-2 in Big West, winning last two road games, by 2 at Long Beach, 17 at Cal Poly. Northridge is 3-2 in Big West; they’re experience team #339 that won last two road games, at Riverside/Cal Poly. Fullerton won its last four games with Northridge; Matadors lost three of last five visits here. Favorites covered last three series games. Northridge is 16-7 in its last 23 games as a Big West road underdog, 1-0 this year; over last seven years, Titans are 9-19 as a home favorite, 0-1 this year.
USC won seven of last nine games, is 5-2 in Pac-12, losing both road games up in Oregon; they are 0-4 in true road games, also losing at Oklahoma/Santa Clara. Washington won its last nine games, is 7-0 in Pac-12, winning its home games by 18-16-19 points. USC won four of last five games with Washington, but lost four of last five visits to Seattle; home side won seven of last nine series games. Trojans are 4-8 in last dozen games as a road underdog, 0-2 this year; under Hopkins, Washington is 6-2 vs spread as a home favorite, 3-0 this year.
Canisius won its last three games after a 5-11 start; they’re 5-2 in MAAC, winning all four of their road games, all by 5 or fewer points. Niagara lost six of its last nine games; they’re 3-5 in MAAC, 2-2 at home, losing by 20 to Rider, by 2 to St Peter’s. Niagara won three of last four games with Canisius, in series where road team won eight of last ten games. Griffins won six of their last seven visits to Niagara. Canisius covered 11 of last 13 MAAC road games (4-0 this year); Niagara is 8-5 vs spread in its last 13 home games, 2-2 this year.
By Kevin Rogers
Marquette at Butler – 6:30 PM EST – FS1
The hottest team in the Big East is defending champion Villanova, who owns a 7-0 conference record as the Wildcats visit DePaul on Wednesday. On Villanova’s heels is Marquette (18-3 SU, 14-7 ATS), who has put together a solid 7-1 Big East mark, while winning seven straight games since getting blown out at St. John’s on New Year’s night.
The Golden Eagles have covered six times during this current hot streak, capped off by an 87-82 triumph at Xavier on Saturday as two-point favorites. Big East leading scorer Markus Howard posted 31 points for Marquette, while brothers Joey and Sam Hauser combined to knock down nine three-pointers and score 41 points. Marquette picked up its fourth conference win by less than five points, while its last eight road league victories have come by five points or fewer dating back to last season.
Butler (12-9 SU, 9-12 ATS) started 1-1 in Big East play, but has gone through a roller-coaster ride this month by dropping consecutive one-point decisions to Seton Hall and Xavier, followed by back-to-back wins over DePaul and St. John’s. The Bulldogs are back on the decline by losing to Villanova at home, followed by a 14-point setback at Creighton last Friday to fall to 3-5 in the Big East. Butler rode a 7-0 OVER streak in the first seven league games prior to hitting the UNDER against Creighton.
This series has been owned by Butler recently as the Bulldogs have won and covered five straight meetings since March 2016. Last season, the Bulldogs dropped 92 and 94 points in two wins over the Golden Eagles, as Butler has not lost at home to Marquette since entering the Big East in 2014.
St. John’s at Creighton – 8:30 PM EST – FS1
Past Villanova and Marquette, the next eight teams in the Big East own league marks of either 3-4 of 3-5. Third place in the conference is up for grabs as St. John’s (15-5 SU, 8-11-1 ATS) has gone backwards since a 3-1 start to lose four of five. The most recent defeat came in Sunday’s 89-78 setback to Georgetown at Madison Square Garden as seven-point favorites.
Shamorie Ponds paced the Red Storm with 26 points, but St. John’s was limited to 38% shooting from the floor. Chris Mullin’s squad allowed 89 and 94 points in two meetings with Georgetown this season, which were the two highest outputs by any league opponent this season.
Creighton (12-8 SU, 9-10 ATS) bounced back from a four-game skid to win back-to-back games against Georgetown and Butler. The Bluejays limited the Bulldogs to 5-of-22 shooting from three-point range and allowing only one Butler player to score in double-figures. It took Creighton almost to the end of January until it picked up its first home conference win after losing to Marquette and Villanova in its first two affairs at CHI Health Center Omaha.
The Bluejays had won six straight matchups with the Red Storm prior to St. John’s breaking through two weeks ago in an 81-66 home blowout as 3 ½-point favorites. St. John’s has lost three of four road conference games with the lone victory coming in overtime at Georgetown as the Red Storm erased a five-point deficit in the final minute of regulation.
LSU at Texas A&M – 9:00 PM EST – ESPN2
Two teams remain undefeated in SEC play towards the end of January. Top-ranked Tennessee improved to 7-0 in the league after blowing out South Carolina on Tuesday. LSU (16-3 SU, 10-8-1 ATS) has compiled a strong 6-0 mark in the SEC after pulling off a furious rally in Saturday’s overtime triumph at Missouri. The Tigers trailed by 14 with 2:14 remaining in regulation, but LSU went on a 15-1 run to tie the game at 71-71 apiece.
LSU backers still had an opportunity to grab a miracle cover in overtime as 5 ½-point favorites, as the Tigers outscored Mizzou, 15-9 in the extra session to cash in an 86-80 victory. Skylar Mays led LSU with 24 points as the Tigers picked up their third road victory in conference play, including their second in overtime.
Texas A&M (8-10 SU, 8-10 ATS) has started 1-5 in SEC play, but the Aggies are fresh off a win on Saturday by beating Kansas State in SEC/Big 12 Challenge, 65-53 as four-point underdogs. The Aggies put together their best defensive effort since allowing 49 points to Valparaiso in mid-December, A&M outscored the Wildcats, 39-23 in the second half. A&M shot 51% from the floor, while limiting K-State to 33% shooting as the Wildcats attempted only seven free throws.
The Aggies are winless in three home conference games, but own a 3-1 ATS record in the role of an underdog in SEC play. Last season, LSU swept Texas A&M, including a 69-68 victory at College Station as seven-point underdogs.
USC at Washington – 11:00 PM EST – FS1
The Pac-12 has had its issues hanging with the other power conferences as the league doesn’t have one team ranked in the top 25. The only nominee to break through soon is Washington (16-4 SU, 11-8-1 ATS), who sits atop the Pac-12 with a perfect 7-0 record, while coming off a sweep of the Oregon schools as an underdog each time. The Huskies cruised past Oregon State on Saturday, 79-69 as UW jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead to easily cash as three-point ‘dogs.
The Huskies return home to battle the Los Angeles schools as USC (12-8 SU, 10-10 ATS) invades Seattle. The Trojans are tied with Utah for second place in the conference at 5-2, as all five wins for USC have come at the Galen Center. The two losses have come on the road at Oregon and Oregon State, which includes an overtime setback to the Beavers. After USC allowed 81 points in a blowout loss at Oregon, the Trojans have given up 67, 57, and 67 points the last three games, all wins.
Washington has covered in all seven Pac-12 victories, which includes three home blowouts over Washington State, California, and Stanford, as two of those teams have combined for only one conference win. The Trojans are making their first trip to Seattle since February 2017 as USC won, 82-74. In their lone matchup last season in Los Angeles, the Huskies upset the Trojans as 10-point underdogs, 88-81.