Western Ky. vs. Vandy
By Brian Edwards
Gamblers have just five board games Friday night, including a pair of games at Somet Center in Nashville. Tennessee is heavily favored over Middle Tennessee in the opening game at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, while Vanderbilt will face Western Kentucky in the nightcap contest.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Vols as 22-point favorites against the Blue Raiders. Meanwhile, LVSC had Vanderbilt (6-2 straight up, 3-3 against the spread) as a 10-point ‘chalk’ on the send-out.
Kevin Stallings’ team is in bounce-back mode after dropping a 79-68 decision Tuesday at Illinois as a four-point road underdog. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Commodores, who got 12 pointes apiece out of Jeffery Taylor and Brad Tinsley in the losing effort.
Western Kentucky (4-3 SU, 1-6 ATS) has won back-to-back games, including Tuesday’s 63-57 non-covering victory over Evansville as a 13-point home favorite. Steffphon Pettigrew had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds for the winners. Jeremy Evans added 10 points, 11 boards, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
WKU has been an underdog twice this season, going 0-2 both SU and ATS.
These schools met for three straight years from 1999-2001 with Vandy winning both SU and ATS in each encounter.
The ‘under’ is a perfect 4-0 for the Hilltoppers, but the Commodores have watched the ‘over’ cash at a 3-2 overall clip.
Old Dominion Monarchs vs. Dayton Flyers
The Old Dominion Monarchs and the Dayton Flyers will both be trying to pick up a win on Friday when they battle at Dayton Arena.
Current streak:
Old Dominion has won 2 straight games.
Dayton has won 4 straight games.
Team records:
Old Dominion: 6-3 SU, 0-4-1 ATS
Dayton: 6-2 SU, 3-4 ATS
Old Dominion most recently:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Georgetown are 1-1
After playing Mount St. Mary's are 1-0
After a win are 8-2
Dayton most recently:
When playing on Friday are 8-2
After playing George Mason are 2-0
After a win are 5-5
A few trends to consider:
Old Dominion is 16-4 SU in its last 20 games
Old Dominion is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Dayton is 23-2 SU in its last 25 games at home
Dayton is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Next up:
Old Dominion at Georgetown, Saturday, December 19
Dayton home to Presbyterian, Saturday, December 19
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Tennessee Volunteers
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the Tennessee Volunteers will both be gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Current streak:
Middle Tennessee has lost 2 straight games.
Tennessee has won 2 straight games.
Team records:
Middle Tennessee: 3-5 SU, 2-1 ATS
Tennessee: 6-1 SU, 2-2-1 ATS
Middle Tennessee most recently:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing SIU Edwardsville are 0-1
After playing Belmont are 4-6
After a loss are 6-4
Tennessee most recently:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
After playing East Tennessee State are 3-1
After a win are 7-3
A few trends to consider:
Middle Tennessee is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
Middle Tennessee is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Tennessee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Middle Tennessee
Tennessee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Tennessee is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Next up:
Middle Tennessee home to SIU Edwardsville, Sunday, December 13
Tennessee home to Wyoming, Tuesday, December 15
Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Iowa State Cyclones
The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones will both be gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at Hilton Coliseum.
Matt Gatens led Iowa with 18 points in its 67-50 loss to Northern Iowa on Tuesday night.
Northern Iowa covered as 11-point home favorites, while the teams played UNDER the 118-point total listed by sportsbooks.
Iowa State was hammered 82-63 by California on Saturday, as 8-point underdogs. The 145 points went UNDER the posted total of 149.5.
Craig Brackins had 21 points to go with six rebounds and four assists in the loss.
Current streak:
Iowa State has lost 3 straight games.
Team records:
Iowa: 3-6 SU, 1-7 ATS
Iowa State: 6-3 SU, 5-2 ATS
Iowa most recently:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Drake are 7-3
After playing Northern Iowa are 5-5
After a loss are 5-5
Iowa State most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Bradley are 2-0
After playing California are 0-1
After a loss are 3-7
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Iowa's last 5 games on the road
Iowa is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Iowa State
Iowa is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Iowa is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Iowa State
Iowa State is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
Iowa State is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Iowa
Iowa State is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Iowa
Iowa State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Iowa
Next up:
Iowa home to Drake, Saturday, December 19
Iowa State home to Bradley, Sunday, December 20
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Vanderbilt Commodores will both be gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at Memorial Gymnasium.
Jeffery Taylor and Brad Tinsley netted 12 points apiece for Vanderbilt in its 79-68 loss to Illinois on Tuesday night.
Illinois covered as 3.5-point home favorites, while the game played OVER the 146-point total posted by oddsmakers.
Current streak:
Western Kentucky has won 2 straight games.
Team records:
Western Kentucky: 4-3 SU, 1-6 ATS
Vanderbilt: 6-2 SU, 4-3 ATS
Western Kentucky most recently:
When playing on Friday are 9-1
Before playing Louisville are 1-3
After playing Evansville are 5-4
After a win are 7-3
Vanderbilt most recently:
When playing on Friday are 6-2
Before playing Tennessee State are 4-1
After playing Illinois are 1-0
After a loss are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Western Kentucky is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games
Western Kentucky is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Western Kentucky is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
Vanderbilt is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
Vanderbilt is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Next up:
Western Kentucky at Louisville, Saturday, December 19
Vanderbilt home to Tennessee State, Saturday, December 19
Idaho State Bengals vs. USC Trojans
The Idaho State Bengals and the USC Trojans will both be gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at Galen Center.
Dwight Lewis scored 16 points to lead USC past Sacramento State 51-36 on Tuesday night.
The game resulted in a push with Southern California as 15-point home favorites, while the teams played UNDER the 121.5-point total listed by sportsbooks.
Current streak:
Idaho State has lost 3 straight games.
Team records:
Idaho State: 2-7 SU, 2-5 ATS
USC: 3-4 SU, 1-3-2 ATS
Idaho State most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Sacramento State are 3-7
After playing Boise State are 5-5
After a loss are 4-6
USC most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Tennessee are 1-1
After playing Sacramento State are 1-0
After a win are 5-5
A few trends to consider:
Idaho State is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Idaho State is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games on the road
USC is 17-4 SU in its last 21 games at home
USC is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Next up:
Idaho State at Sacramento State, Saturday, December 19
USC home to Tennessee, Saturday, December 19
NCAAB News and Notes
Friday, December 11
Information on Friday's college hoop games.
Dayton is 6-2 after 56-55 win at George Mason Tuesday (was up 16 at half); Flyers are 2-2 as favorite, have four starters back from 27-8 team that won game in NCAAs last March. Old Dominion has all five starters back from 25-10 team; they lost three of last four games, losing by 14 to Miss State, 5 to Missouri, 7 at Richmond.
Tennessee (-10) beat Middle Tennessee 76-66 LY (led by 4 at the half); Vols are playing for first time in nine days; they're 2-2 as non-conference favorite. MTSU is 1-5 vs D-I opponents, losing last three to Belmont by 9, NC A&T by 9, UAB by 1. Sun Belt road underdogs are 19-17 vs spread out of conference. SEC home favorites are 20-17.
Iowa is without its coach who had surgery to repair damaged artery this week; Hawkeyes (-9) whacked Iowa State 73-57 LY, after leading by 2 at half, but Iowa is 3-6 this year, with four double digit losses. Cyclones lost last three games, by 2-3-19 points, scoring just 62.7 ppg; they're 4-2 against the spread as a favorite this season.
Vanderbilt is 6-2 after losing by 11 at Illinois Tuesday; they're 2-2 as a favorite this year, with all five starters back from 19-12 team (8-8 in the SEC). Western Kentucky is 4-3 after winning tough games vs Evansville Tuesday; Hilltoppers are 0-2 as an underdog this year, losing at LSU by 11, at South Carolina (and former coach Horn) by 18.
USC is 3-4, losing three of last four games; they held Sacramento State of Big Sky to 36 points Tuesday (51-36); Trojans are 1-3 against spread as a favorite. Idaho State is 2-7 after losing by 12 at home to Boise State two nights ago; Bengals are 1-4 vs spread as underdog, losing at Iowa St by 20, Bradley by 5, BYU by 34, Utah St by 33, Notre Dame by 10.