Friday's Best NCAAB Bets
Oregon Ducks at Virginia Cavaliers (-7)
Virginia will have had a nine-day break for finals when it takes the court against Oregon on Friday. Wahoos' head coach Tony Bennett said the rest was productive for injured players Sammy Zeglinski (knee) and Will Sherrill (broken fibula).
But that matters little for Sherrill at the moment, as he is still out and will miss Friday's game.
"I don't know if it will heal until the season's done and he can take time off, but you can play with this injury," Bennett explained. "It's more based on what kind of pain you can handle. So I've been teasing him, 'If you're tough you'll be playing, if you're not, you won't,' we joke around."
Zeglinski, though, is back from offseason knee surgery. Expected to be the team's starting point guard, the redshirt junior missed the first seven games of the 2010 campaign. Zeglinski played a total of 27 minutes in victories over Virginia Tech and Radford. He is likely to get more playing time against an Oregon team that likes to press.
"If they're going to press and put that kind of pressure on you, you want guys who can handle it and make good decisions," Bennett noted. "Another ball-handler is always a good thing."
Pick: Virginia
Tennessee Volunteers at Charlotte 49ers (12, 144)
One team gets a player, another team loses one.
Tennessee returns sophomore forward Jeronne Maymon, who was academically cleared when grades were submitted earlier this week. Maymon played nine games last season for Marquette before transferring. He gives the Volunteers an imposing frontcourt of Maymon (6'6'', 240 pounds), Tobias Harris (6'8'', 220), and Brian Williams (6'10'', 278).
Charlotte, on the other hand, kicked its leading scorer off the team on Tuesday. Shamari Spears, a 6'6'', 245-pound forward, got the boot after having been suspended for more than a month due to a violation of team rules. He averaged 17.0 points and 3.2 rebounds through five games.
"After much consideration, it is the decision of our coaching staff that Shamari Spears and our team part ways at this time," head coach Alan Major announced. "We want to wish him the best in his future endeavors and we will continue to move forward as a team."
The 49ers have plenty of moving forward to do, as they are 4-6 and coming off a 82-68 loss at Davidson last weekend. Tennessee is also looking to bounce back. After upsetting Michigan State, the Vols were stunned at home by Oakland 89-82 on Tuesday.
Pick: Tennessee
College Basketball Knowledge
First road game for 7-3 Oregon squad that allowed 75-98-83 points in its losses. Virginia coach Bennett coached against Ducks in Pac-10, when he was at Washington State. Cavaliers won four of last five games, but have not played in 10 days. Pac-10 single digit road underdogs ae 4-9.
Tennessee waxed Pitt 83-76 on road last week, then got upset at home by Oakland Tuesday, its first loss of year; Vols have played #7 sked, with neutral court wins over VCU/Villanova- they're 3-3 when favored. 4-6 Charlotte is 1-4 as underdog; they kicked one of better players off team this week. A-14 home underdogs are 6-3 against the spread.
Boise State lost last three games, all by 3 points after 6-0 start; they are 3-2 on road, with wins at San Diego, Cal-Davis and No Illinois, but lost at UNLV/Drake. Utah won three of last four games; they're 3-2 when a favorite. MWC single digit home favorites are 13-4 against spread. WAC road underdogs are 9-13 against the spread.
4-4 Arizona State is 0-2 on road, losing at New Mexico/Baylor; they're 3-0 if they score more than 62 points, 1-4 if they don't. ASU is 0-7 vs spread, 0-4 as favorite. Nevada is 1-7 vs D-I teams, 1-1 at home, losing to UNLV by 12. WAC single digit underdogs are 7-8, 1-2 at home. Pac-10 road favorites are 5-9 against the spread.
Elon won three of last four games vs Chattanooga; Mocs lost last two visits here by combined total of four points. 4-6 Chattanooga won both its SoCon games at home; they're 2-3 on road, losing by 20 at Tennessee, 41 at Louisville, 21 at FIU (won at Marshall). Elon is 1-5 vs D-I clubs, beating Gardner-Webb by 8- they beat three non-D-I teams.
Veteran Colorado team won last three games but is just 2-2 as a favorite this year/ Citadel hasn't played in 11 days; they're 0-3 on road, losing by 42 at Richmond, 7 at Charleston Southern, 8 at Coastal Carolina- they're 0-3 as an underdog. Big 12 double digit home faves are 11-8 vs spread. SoCon double digit road underdogs are 12-9.