NCAAB News and Notes Monday 1/19

SAINT PETER'S vs. MANHATTAN
Saint Peter's is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Manhattan
Saint Peter's is 4-0-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Manhattan is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Manhattan is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games

BYU vs. NEW MEXICO
BYU is 14-3 SU in its last 17 games
BYU is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
New Mexico is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
New Mexico is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games

GEORGIA SOUTHERN vs. WESTERN CAROLINA
Georgia Southern is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Georgia Southern's last 7 games on the road
Western Carolina is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Georgia Southern
Western Carolina is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Georgia Southern

SYRACUSE vs. PITTSBURGH
Syracuse is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Syracuse is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Pittsburgh is 16-1 SU in its last 17 games

CINCINNATI vs. PROVIDENCE
Cincinnati is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cincinnati's last 6 games on the road
Providence is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
Providence is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games at home

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE vs. UAB
Louisiana-Lafayette is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Louisiana-Lafayette is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
UAB is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
UAB is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games

TEXAS A&M vs. KANSAS
Texas A&M is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Kansas
Texas A&M is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Kansas
Kansas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Kansas is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games

Big Monday Breakdown
By Brian Edwards

Big Monday got off to an outstanding start last week when Notre Dame and Louisville settled nothing in 40 minutes before the Cardinals ran away from the Irish in overtime. This week’s Big East contest look tasty again, as once-beaten Pitt will look to get well against Syracuse.

The Orange are fresh off a dominant home win Saturday against Notre Dame. On the flip side, Pitt suffered its first defeat Saturday at Louisville. In the Big 12 nightcap (insert Sean McDonough joke about Bill Raftery here) game, Kansas will play host to Texas A&M. Let’s take a look at these games and more.

**Syracuse at Pittsburgh**

--Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Pittsburgh (16-1 straight up, 6-5-1 against the spread) as an eight-point favorite with a total of 140. Most spots had the Panthers at 8 ½ early this morning.

--Syracuse (17-2 SU, 8-7 ATS) has thrived in the role of an underdog this season. Jim Boeheim’s bunch owns a 3-1 record both SU and ATS when listed as an underdog, winning outright against Florida, Kansas and Memphis.

--Arinze Onuaku led the ‘Cuse to Saturday’s 93-74 win over Notre Dame as a 3 ½-point home ‘chalk.’ Onuaku had 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, while fellow post player Rick Jackson finished with 14 points, 10 boards and three rejections.

--Pitt couldn’t overcome a brutal shooting night Saturday at Freedom Hall, losing a 69-63 decision as a two-point underdog. The Panthers struggled from the field (22-of-63, 34.9%) and at the charity stripe (9-of-16, 56.2%). Sam Young scored 14 points, but he also committed four turnovers and made just 6-of-20 attempts from the floor. Levance Fields, the team’s senior floor general, missed 11 of his 14 shots from the field and had six turnovers. Jermaine Dixon had a team-high 19 points.

--Young leads the Panthers in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game. However, his shooting stroke has been missing in Pitt’s last three games (two non-covers). Young has made just 15-of-49 (30.6%) attempts from the floor during that span. Jamie Dixon wants Young to attack the basket more, telling the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "We don't have to worry too much about Sam. He's got to get to the free throw line. It's something you've got to do as a scorer.”

--Pitt is unbeaten in 11 home games, compiling a 3-3 spread record. The Panthers are 2-0 ATS in a pair of single-digit ‘chalk’ spots (regardless of venue).

--Jonny Flynn is the catalyst for the ‘Cuse. The sophomore point guard averages a team-high 16.3 points and 5.9 assists per game. Eric Devendorf is his backcourt mate that missed most of last season with a torn ACL. Devendorf is second on the team in scoring with a 14.4 PPG average.

--The ‘over’ is 10-5 overall for Syracuse, cashing in four consecutive games.

--The ‘over’ is 5-1 in Pitt’s six home games with a total.

--The ‘under’ is 7-3 in the last 10 head-to-head meetings between these Big East rivals. Pitt has covered the spread in five of the last six encounters.

--ESPN will have the telecast at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

**Texas A&M at Kansas**

--LVSC opened Kansas (13-4 SU, 7-4 ATS) as a nine-point favorite with a total of 139. As of early this morning, most books had KU installed as a 10 1/2-point ‘chalk.’

--Texas A&M (15-3 SU, 5-5 ATS) has lost two of its first three Big 12 games both SU and ATS, including Saturday’s 69-63 loss to Oklahoma as a 3 ½-point home underdog.

--Bill Self’s team has won its first two Big 12 games, spanking Colorado 73-56 Saturday as an 11 ½-point road favorite. Sherron Collins led the Jayhawks with 18 points and seven assists.

--Collins leads KU in scoring (18.5 PPG) and assists (5.2 APG). He had nine points and four assists in the last meeting between these schools at last year’s Big 12 Tournament, a 77-72 non-covering victory for the Jayhawks. Collins had 13 points and seven assists when KU cruised to a 72-55 win at Texas A&M on March 1st of last season.

--Kansas is 12-1 SU and 6-1 ATS at Allen Fieldhouse this season. Meanwhile, the Aggies are 2-1 both SU and ATS in three true road games. They have wins at Rice and at Alabama.

--Texas A&M owns a 3-2 record both SU and ATS in five games as an underdog.

--The ‘over’ is 7-4 overall for KU, 5-2 in its home assignments. On the other hand, the Aggies have seen the ‘under’ go 6-4 overall.

--Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--I think Georgia’s Dennis Felton is back on the hot seat. The Dawgs looked horrible in Sunday’s 68-45 loss to Kentucky as eight-point home underdogs. They have lost five in a row and are now 9-9 overall and 0-3 in SEC play. UK’s Jodie Meeks scored a game-high 22 points after dropping 54 on Tennessee on Tuesday.

--Florida has won 10 in a row after thumping Arkansas 80-65 Saturday as a 10 ½-point home ‘chalk.’ Nick Calathes, who is sixth in the SEC in scoring, poured in 28 points against the Razorbacks.

--Mississippi St. has won five in a row both SU and ATS, including Saturday’s 73-66 win over Vandy as a four-point home favorite. The Bulldogs, along with Kentucky and Florida, are 3-0 in SEC play. They have the nation’s premier shot blocker in junior center Jarvis Varnardo, who is averaging 5.2 swats per game.

--Marquette (5-0) and Louisville (4-0) are the only Big East schools that remain unscathed in league play.

vegasinsider.com

(8) Syracuse (17-2, 8-7 ATS) at (1) Pittsburgh (16-1, 7-5 ATS)

Pitt looks to rebound from its first loss of the season when it hosts eighth-ranked Syracuse at the Petersen Events Center in yet another clash of Top 25 Big East rivals.

The Panthers blew double-digit leads in both the first and second halves at Louisville on Saturday, eventually succumbing 69-63 as a two-point road underdog, their second consecutive non-cover in conference play. Only two players – Jermaine Dixon (19 points) and Sam Young (14) – scored in double figures for Pitt, which shot just 35 percent from the field. The loss snapped the Panthers’ nine-game conference winning streak (6-3 ATS) going back to last year’s regular-season finale and including their Big East tournament championship.

Syracuse steamrolled Notre Dame 93-74 as a four-point home favorite Saturday, bouncing back from Wednesday’s 88-74 loss at Georgetown as a 6½-point underdog – a defeat that snapped the Orange’s seven-game winning streak. Six different Syracuse players – including all five starters – scored in double figures in Saturday’s victory, as the Orange shot a blistering 55.2 percent from the field and held the Irish to 36.5 percent.

Both squads are 4-1 SU in Big East play, with the Orange going 3-2 ATS and the Panthers going 2-3 ATS.

Pitt is on a roll in this rivalry, winning five of he last six meetings SU and ATS, including the last two in a row. Last season, the Panthers went to Syracuse on March 1 and eked out an 82-77 victory as a two-point road underdog. The SU winner has cashed in each of the last 10 meetings, with the visitor going 5-2 SU and ATS in the past seven regular-season clashes.

The Orange rank in the Top 10 nationally in scoring offense (81.5 points per game, 9th) and field-goal shooting (50.4 percent, 6th), and they’ve scored at least 72 points in 17 of 19 games, including topping 80 on 12 occasions. However, tonight, they face a Pitt defense that ranks 24th in points allowed (59.4 ppg) and 15th in field-goal defense (37.8 percent). The Panthers have held nine opponents to 60 points or less.

Defensively, Syracuse gives up 68.4 ppg, but on just 39.6 percent shooting overall and 29.1 percent from three-point range, the latter figure ranking 11th-best in the nation. Meanwhile, the Panthers score 77.1 ppg (47 percent shooting).

The Orange are 5-2 ATS in their last seven overall, 5-1 ATS in their last seven against winning teams and 3-1 ATS as an underdog this year, but they’re in pointspread slumps of 6-13 on Monday, 1-4 after a spread-cover and 2-9 in games following a 90-point offensive effort. Pitt is 5-1 ATS in its last six after a non-cover, but 1-4 ATS in its last five after a SU win.

The under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in this rivalry and 21-10 in Syracuse’s last 31 games on Monday. However, the over is on runs of 4-0 for Syracuse overall (all in conference play), 11-3 for Pitt at home, 12-3 for Pitt in Big East play and 4-0 for Pitt after an outright defeat.

ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE

Texas A&M (15-3, 5-6 ATS) at Kansas (13-4, 7-5 ATS)

Kansas shoots for its third consecutive Big 12 victory when it entertains Texas A&M at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks suffered a 75-62 loss at No. 8 Michigan State nine days ago but have since come back and posted a pair of double-digit wins over Kansas State (87-71 as a 6½-point home favorite) and Colorado (73-56 as an 12-point road chalk) to start conference play. In Saturday’s win against the Buffaloes, Kansas had a big rebounding edge (31-19) and shot 61.4 percent from the field (27-for-44), including 52.9 percent from long range (9-for-17), while holding Colorado to 37.2 percent overall and 31.2 percent on three-pointers.

Three days after upsetting No. 21 Baylor 84-73 as a 1½-point home underdog, Texas A&M gave No. 6 Oklahoma a good run before falling 69-63 and coming up short as a 3½-point home pup. Although the Aggies held player-of-the-year candidate Blake Griffin to just 16 points and six rebounds, they had only two players score in double digits and finished shooting just 42 percent from the field while missing nine of 23 free-throw tries.

While Kansas is off to a perfect start in Big 12 action, Texas A&M – which won 14 of 15 non-conference games – is 1-2 SU and ATS, including a 72-61 loss at Oklahoma State as a seven-point underdog in its only league roadie to this point.

The Jayhawks have owned this rivalry, winning all but one meeting since the league was formed in 1996, going 9-1 SU this decade. In last year’s regular-season finale, Kansas upended the Aggies 72-55 as a 4½-point road underdog, then a week later the Jayhawks eliminated A&M from the Big 12 tournament with a 77-71 victory as an 11-point chalk in the semifinals on their way to the tournament championship and eventual NCAA title.

One positive for the Aggies in this series: They ended a 31-game losing skid at Allen Fieldhouse in their last trip to Kansas in 2007, prevailing 69-63 as a five-point underdog. Also, the ‘dog is 5-1 ATS in the last six series meetings.

Kansas has scored more than 70 points in all 13 of its victories, but in its last three losses it has scored 60, 67 and 62 points. At home, the Jayhawks average 82 ppg on 49.6 percent shooting. Meanwhile, the Aggies have been limited to an average of just 60 ppg in their three losses. On the road, Texas A&M pours in 73 ppg, but shoots only 43.5 percent from the field (28 percent from three-point land) while allowing 70 ppg on 42.5 percent shooting (32.7 from three-point range).

Texas A&M is on ATS streaks of 7-2 on the road, 6-0 after a SU loss and 7-0 following a non-cover. The Jayhawks are on pointspread rolls of 13-5 overall, 5-1 at home, 6-2 in Big 12 play, 11-5 against teams with a winning record and 4-0 on Monday.

For Kansas, the over is on stretches of 7-3 overall and 6-1 at home, and the over is 3-1 in the last four meetings between the schools. Conversely, the Aggies are on “under” streaks of 16-7 on the highway, 7-2 in conference play and 4-1 on Monday.

ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE

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