Monday's Best NCAAB Bets
No. 9 Georgetown Hoyas at St. John’s Red Storm (+3)
Steve Lavin’s Red Storm are looking to be a force in the Big East this year. They’re off to a good start so far but face a stiff test in their first home conference game Monday against Georgetown.
St. John’s has won four straight games and have covered in their last three, including a 67-65 win at Providence on Saturday. Dwight Hardy has been a major factor in the club’s early success. He scored 21 points against Providence and is averaging almost 22 points per game over his last six.
"It's a great honor, the brightest lights in the world," Hardy told reporters about Monday’s game. "We're playing a great team in Georgetown, it's going to be a good matchup. They've got some good guards, we've got some good guards."
That much is true, but Georgetown is showing a few holes. The Hoyas dropped a 69-55 decision to Notre Dame before the New Year and then couldn’t cover as a big 22.5-point favorite in a win over DePaul on Saturday.
St. John’s will give the Hoyas a good run here.
Pick: Red Storm
Pennsylvania Quakers at No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (-24.5)
Everyone knew the Kentucky Wildcats had the skill to compete with the best of the nation this season. Now they’re coming together as a team to make the most of that talent.
Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight can get the Wildcats by on most nights on their individual skills, but things have changed since the team first faced any competition in Maui back in November.
“It's more than just me and Brandon,” Jones told reporters after Kentucky won outright at Louisville as a 3-point underdog on Friday. “Everybody's stepping up. Everybody's playing better (than) what we played in Maui, when it just looked like it was individuals playing.”
Monday’s game serves as one last tune-up before Kentucky opens conference play on Saturday at Georgia. The competition in the conference looks weaker this year with only Vanderbilt, Florida and Tennessee ranked among the top 50 in RPI index and Louisville coach Rick Pitino said after Friday’s loss that the Wildcats are tougher to defend this year now that they’re spreading the offense around a bit.
That spells trouble for a Pennsylvania club that has dropped two of its last three.
Pick: Wildcats
NCAA Odds: Florida Gators take on URI Rams
By: Joe Freda
The Florida Gators have won five of their last six games, with a 2-1 spread record against ‘board’ foes in that stretch. Billy Donovan’s troops open January with Monday’s home duel against the Rhode Island Rams, who are riding a three-game winning streak.
Florida has had two days off since Friday’s 71-67 win as a two-point road dog against the Xavier Musketeers. The Gators connected on 45.1 percent of their field buckets, while holding Xavier to 40.3 percent.
Gators guard Erving Walker notched a team-high 18 points. The New York native drained 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, while sinking 9-of-11 at the foul line.
Walker’s mate Chandler Parsons grabbed 11 rebounds, equaling his season-high. The senior forward added a team-high seven assists en route to finishing with five points.
The close battle’s combined 138 points flew above the ‘total’ of 127, ending the Gators’ four-game ‘under’ streak. Xavier connected on 11-of-17 free throws, while getting outrebounded by Florida, 38-30.
The Gators are 0-5 ATS in their first five home ‘board’ dates, with the ‘total’ split at 2-2 in games containing a number. Parsons and Co. have put up 71.4 PPG in that span.
Rhode Island’s latest triumph came in Wednesday’s 67-65 win as a one-point home favorite against the Boston College Eagles. The Rams were outscored in the second half, 35-28, nearly erasing their nine-point lead at the break.
Rams forward Nikola Malesevic logged a team-high 16 points, while adding three assists. The sophomore hit 6-of-9 from the field, with 4-of-6 coming from three-point land.
Malesevic’s mate Will Martell notched a team-high six boards, while finishing with five points. The senior center added one of his squad’s six steals.
The tight affair’s combined 132 points plunged below the ‘total’ of 147. Rhode Island went 9-for-10 at the foul line, while allowing the Eagles to drain 12-of-25 three-point shots.
The Rams are 3-3 ATS in their first six ‘board’ battles away from home, with the ‘over’ going 4-2. Martell and Co. have allowed 73.7 PPG in that stretch.
Florida has not had any recent meetings against Rhode Island. The Gators are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 non-conference games.
The Rams are 2-6 ATS in their last eight road duels that followed three or more home contests. The ‘over’ is 5-1 in the last six games of that span.
Monday’s matchup tips at 6 p.m. (ET), with ESPNU providing the national television coverage.
Florida will be idle for four days, remaining home for Saturday’s game against the Mississippi Rebels. Rhode Island will have five days off before resuming action as part of Sunday’s college hoops slate, hosting Xavier.
Monday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
We’ve got three televised games to get you ready to bet on tonight. The first is a Big East clash followed by a Big Ten showdown and then Florida takes on one of the A-10’s premier programs.
Georgetown at St. John’s
As of late Sunday night, most books were listing Georgetown (12-2 straight up, 9-4 against the spread) as a three-point road favorite. This game will be played at Madison Square Garden in NYC.
St. John’s (9-3 SU, 5-6 ATS) has won four in a row, including its first two Big East games. The Red Storm pulled an upset on Dec. 29, going into Morgantown and beating West Va. 81-71 as a nine-point road underdog. D.J. Kennedy scored 17 points to go with 11 rebounds and six assists, while Dwight Hardy finished with a game-high 20 points against the Mountaineers.
Steve Lavin’s squad followed up the win over WVU by winning 67-65 at Providence in a pick ‘em affair. Hardy scored a game-high 21 points against the Friars. The Red Storm preceded its win over WVU by handing Northwestern its first loss of the year at Madison Square Garden. St. John’s beat the Wildcats by an 85-69 score as a three-point ‘chalk.’
Georgetown has failed to cover the spread in its first two Big East games. The Hoyas lost 69-55 at Notre Dame as 1 ½-point favorites before getting past DePaul 86-75 as 22-point home favorites.
In non-conference play, Georgetown posted five solid wins for its resume: at Old Dominion (62-59), vs. N.C. St on a neutral court (82-67), vs. Missouri in Kansas City (111-102), vs. Utah St. (68-51) and at Memphis (86-69). Temple handed the Hoyas their lone loss in non-conference play, 68-65.
St. John’s has been an underdog twice this year, winning at WVU and losing at Saint Mary’s (76-71). Meanwhile, the Hoyas are 4-2 ATS as single-digit favorites.
Before winning four straight, St. John’s suffered a pair of poor setbacks, losing 67-66 at home to St. Bonaventure and 84-81 at Fordham.
Freeman, a senior shooting guard, is averaging a team-high 19.2 points per game, but he’s been held to a 10.0 PPG scoring average in four career games versus the Red Storm.
St. John’s essentially ensured Georgetown of missing the NCAA Tournament last year with a pair of victories over the Hoyas in an eight-day span at MSG.
The ‘over’ is 7-5 overall for the Hoyas, 6-5 overall for the Red Storm. The ‘under’ is on a 6-1 run in the last seven head-to-head meetings between these long-time adversaries.
Georgetown is ranked No. 2 in the RPI, while St. John’s is at No. 7.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.
Michigan State at Northwestern
As of early this morning, most betting shops had Michigan State (9-4 SU, 5-7 ATS) installed as a 1 ½-point favorite with a total of 142.
Northwestern (9-2 SU, 4-2 ATS) lost its Big Ten opener on New Year’s Eve, dropping an 82-69 decision at Purdue as a 10-point ‘dog. Michael Thompson scored a team-high 18 points in the losing effort.
Bill Carmody’s team is unbeaten in six home games, compiling a perfect 2-0 spread mark as well. The Wildcats’ most impressive home win came over Ga. Tech in blowout fashion (91-71).
Northwestern is led by junior forward John Shurna, who is averaging team-highs in scoring (22.2 PPG), field-goal percentage (60.4%), steals and blocked shots (0.9 BPG). Thompson, a senior point guard, is averaging 15.1 points and 4.5 assists per game. He has a 50/24 assists-to-turnover ratio.
Tom Izzo’s team won its Big Ten opener on New Year’s Eve day, pulling away from Minnesota for a 70-61 win as a seven-point home favorite. Durrell Summers scored a game-high 19 points, while Kalin Lucas had 10 points and seven assists. Delvon Roe contributed 11 points and nine boards.
Michigan State’s four losses have come to quality foes like Texas (67-55 at home), vs. Syracuse (72-58 at MSG), at Duke (84-79) at vs. UConn (70-67 in Hawaii). The Spartans’ best wins have come over Washington, South Carolina, Oakland and Minnesota.
MSU owns a 1-3 spread record as a single-digit ‘chalk.’
Michigan St. has won 21 of the last 23 head-to-head meetings between these schools. The Spartans won 91-70 in Evanston last year and 79-70 in East Lansing. However, the Wildcats posted a backdoor cover as 13-point underdogs at Breslin Center. They also beat Michigan St. two years ago, capturing a 70-63 win as 12-point road underdogs behind 31 points from Kevin Coble and 20 points from Thompson.
The ‘over’ has cashed in four straight head-to-head meetings between these schools and six of the last seven.
The ‘over’ is 5-1 overall for Northwestern, hitting in each of its last four games. On the flip side, the ‘under’ is on a 7-2 run in the Spartans’ last nine outings.
The Big Ten Network will have television coverage at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
Rhode Island at Florida
Florida (10-3 SU, 3-6 ATS) picked up a solid road win on New Year’s Eve day, winning 71-67 at Xavier as a two-point road underdog. Erving Walker led four UF players in double figures with 18 points, draining 9-of-11 free throws with a number of them putting the game on ice at crunch time. Kenny Boynton finished with 15 points and six assists while committing just one turnover. Vernon Macklin added 14 points and seven rebounds in only 24 minutes of playing time.
As of early this morning, most books were listing the Gators as 10 ½-point favorites with a total of 134.
Rhode Island (9-4 SU, 6-4 ATS) has won three consecutive games since suffering an embarrassing loss at Quinnipac in a non-lined affair. The Rams are coming off a 67-65 win over Boston College as one-point home favorites. Nikola Malesevic scored a team-high 16 points.
Billy Donovan’s team has failed to cover the spread in four previous games as a double-digit favorite. Meanwhile, URI has been a double-digit underdog once, losing 83-75 at Pittsburgh but covering the spread as an 11-point ‘dog.
URI’s best weapon is senior forward Delroy James, who is averaging team-highs in scoring (19.1 PPG), rebounding (7.2 RPG) and steals (1.6 SPG).
The Rams haven’t tasted an NCAA Tournament bid since 1999 when Jim Harrick was still roaming the sidelines. The Gators haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since beating Ohio St. for the national title 2007 finals. Since then, they have settled for a pair of NIT bids and lost to BYU in the first round of last year’s Big Dance in a double-overtime affair.
Florida has a balanced offensive attack with its five starters averaging at least 9.2 PPG. Walker averages a team-high 13.9 PPG, but the junior PG has just as many turnovers (38) as assists (38). Walker’s backcourt mate, sophomore Kenny Boynton, is averaging 12.5 PPG but has not shot well. Boynton has made just 37.7 percent of his attempts from the field and 27.5 percent from 3-point land.
The ‘over’ is 6-4 overall for URI, cashing in its last two road games.
The ‘under’ is 5-3 overall for UF, cashing in four of its last five games with a total.
ESPNU will have the telecast from the O-Dome at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
Kentucky will play host to Pennsylvania at 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU. As of early this morning, most spots had the Wildcats listed as 24-point home favorites with a total of 136.
Auburn (6-7 SU, 1-3-2 ATS) will take on Florida St. tonight at its new arena that isn’t off to a promising start. The Tigers, who were 14-point home underdogs as of early this morning, have already lost at Auburn Arena to low-major schools like UNC-Asheville, Samford, Campbell, Jacksonville and Presbyterian. Furthermore, Tony Barbee’s first team on the Plains needed overtime to beat Ga. Southern and only knocked off Middle Tennessee by two points.
Speaking of the JU Dolphins, they have an 8-3 record with a pair of road wins against SEC teams (Auburn and Florida).
Gonzaga stayed hot Sunday by winning its sixth straight game. The Bulldogs pushed past Wake Forest by a 73-63 count as 10-point road favorites. Since losing three in a row, Mark Few’s squad has wins over Xavier, Baylor, Oklahoma St. and Wake.
For gambles chasing with late-night action Sunday, Oregon St. as an 8 ½-point home underdog was the play, especially for those that got a taste of the money-line payout. The Beavers knocked off Arizona 76-75 in Corvallis.
vegasinsider.com.
College Basketball Knowledge
Northeastern won eight of last nine games vs James Madison, winning last three by 18-5-12 points; Huskies won last three visits to JMU by 3-3-5 points. Dukes won four in row, 10 of last 12 games; they're 3-4 as favorite, losing 64-63 at Georgia State in only CAA game. Huskies lost eight of last ten games; they're 5-3 vs spread as an underdog.
Georgetown won six of last eight games vs St John's, winning three of last four visits here, with wins by 14-24-32 points. St John's has much better team now, winning at West Virginia/at Providence in first two Big East games. Hoyas are 2-2 in true road games, winning at Old Dominion by 3, 17 at Memphis, losing at Temple by 3, Notre Dame by 14.
Drexel won three of last four games vs Hofstra, winning 70-62/75-62 in last two games played here; Dragons won seven of last eight games, are 4-1 vs spread as favorite, winning home games by 12 over St Joe's, 4 vs Rider, 45 over Niagara. Hofstra won six of its last eight games, but they lost their last game by 25 at Iona.
Old Dominion won last 12 games over Towson State, winning five in a row at Towson by 21-9-14-12-16 points- they beat Tigers three times LY, by 16-16-30 points. Monarchs are 9-3, but 1-2 on road, losing by 23 at Missouri, 8 at Delaware in CAA opener- they're 3-3 as favorites. Towson is 4-3 as underdog, winning as 12-point dog in last game. .
VCU won its last dozen games over Georgia State, winning last five in this gym by 2-11ot-5ot-15-13 points. Rams are 1-3 in true road games, with only win by 21 at Wake Forest- they're 2-6 vs spread as favorite. Georgia State is 3-4 in last seven games, with last three losses by 4-2-2 points. Panthers are 2-0 against the spread as an underdog.
George Mason is 9-2 in last 11 games vs Delaware; Blue Hens lost last seven visits to Fairfax by 14-14-30-14-12-23-11 points. Delaware lost three of last four games (losses by 19-10-12 points)- they're 2-3 against spread as the underdog. Mason is 6-1 vs spread as a favorite this year, 5-0 at home- they lost last game by 6 at Dayton.
NC-Wilmington lost four of last six games vs Wm&Mary, losing two of last three visits here, with losses by 4-29 points; Seahawks are 1-5 on road, 2-2 as road underdog, losing away games by 17-40-5-1-28 points. Wm&Mary is 3-0 at home vs D-I teams, but none of the three foes are ranked higher than #246. Tribe is 0-3 vs spread as a favorite.
Michigan State won 13 of last 14 games vs Northwestern, winning last six visits to Evanston by 12-11-11-16-11-21 points; Spartans are 8-4, losing only true road game by 5 at Duke. Wildcats are 9-2, supposed to nake NCAAs for first time, but they've lost by 16 at St John's, by 13 at Purdue in only two games as an underdog this season.
Butler won eight of last nine games vs Milwaukee, winning three of last four visits here, by 5-8-7 points. Bulldogs are 10-4, winning first two in Horizon play by 2-17 points- they're 2-3 in true road games, winning by 2 at Loyola, 13 at Siena. Butler is 5-2 as favorite, 1-1 on road. Panthers are 7-8, with six of the eight losses by 12+ points.
Nevada is 11-4 in last 15 games vs Fresno State, but lost last two visits here, by 2-10 points; home team won last four series games. Wolf Pack is down this year at 4-10, 0-5 in true road games, losing by 17-3-30-4-2 points. Nevada is 5-3 vs spread as a dog. Fresno won its WAC opener by 13 over San Jose, its fourth win in last five games.
St Peter's won its last six games vs Canisius, winning last three games in this gym by 11-1-24 points; Peacocks are 7-6, winning first two MAAC games by 3-17 points- they're 1-0 vs spread as favorite. Canisius is 0-2 in MAAC games, losing at Iona by 9, at 3-10 Marist by 10- they're 2-0 against the spread as an underdog this season.
Iona won eight of last 10 games after 0-3 start; they're 3-2 in true away games, losing by 6 at Syracuse, 10 at Cleveland State. Gaels lost nine in row to Siena, losing last four visits here, by 1-5-1-20 points. Iona won its first two MAAC games, by 9-24 points. Siena has beaten Georgia Tech but lost to two America East squads- they're 2-3 at home.
Loyola won last four games vs Marist by average of 8 points; Foxes lost last five visits here, by 3-8-12-10-7 points. Loyola lost five of last six games; they're 3-2 at home- their best win is at Morgan State. Marist is 3-10 but 2-0 in MAAC, upsetting Niagara/Canisius at home. Red Foxes are 4-5 against the spread as an underdog, 1-2 on the road.