College Basketball Knowledge
George Washington won 76-71 at NC-Wilmington LY; Colonials are 2-2 this season, n eating Marist by 20, Nevada by 2. GW has four starters back from LY's 16-15 team. UNCW is 0-3 on road, losing at Florida by 17, Ohio State by 40, NC A&T by 5. A-14 double digit home favorites are 4-4. CAA double digit road underdogs are 4-3.
First road game for 3-2 Florida Int'l team that lost to Florida State by 23, beat Chattanooga by 21; Isiah Thomas' Panthers have four starters back from LY's 7-25 team. Marshall is 1-2 vs D-I foes, beating Jackson State by six points. Sun Belt road underdogs of 13 or less points are 5-15 vs spread. C-USA home favorites are 5-8-1 vs spread.
Minnesota is 6-0 (5-1 vs spread) already, winning Puerto Rico tourney, but they'll be without Nolen/Williams here; Gophers are 3-1 as favorite this year. 3-3 Virginia lost three of last four games, losing at Stanford by 21, to Washington by 43, Wichita by 12 (both in Maui). Virginia lost by 10 here two years ago. Big 11 home faves of 12+ points are 11-5.
Bosie State won/covered all of its four games vs D-I foes, winning by 20 at Cal-Davis, 5 at San Diego; Broncos have 7 seniors (four of LY's top five scorers back). Northern Illinois is 1-2 vs D-I teams, losing by 9 to Northwestern, by 3 at Bradley. WAC favorites are 11-5 vs spread, 2-1 on road. MAC home underdogs are 0-4-1 against the spread.
USC led by 20 in first half, 13 at half, but lost by hoop at Nebraska two days ago; Trojans are 4-3, scoring 57-63-58 points in losses- they're 3-0 if they score more than 63 points. TCU is 4-2, beating Houston by 16, SMU by 20. Both teams lost badly to Rider. MWC home faves are 9-3 vs spread. Pac-10 road underdogs are 2-6 against the spread.
UAB won its last three games vs Troy State by 18-5-12 points, taking 78-66 win in last visit here; Blazers are 4-1 this year (5-0 vs spread, 3-0 as favorite)- they upset Arkansas 70-65 Friday. Three of their last four games were decided by 9 or less points. Trojans are 0-4 vs D-I teams, but all four were on road (losses by 19-10-11-9 points).
Rider lost 92-89 in OT at Hofstra in Bracket Buster game LY; Broncs are 4-2, beating USC-TCU-LMU, but they lost MAAC opener at home to Siena by 13 Friday night. Hofstra is 1-3 vs D-I teams, beating Wagner by 3 Friday. MAAC home favorites are 4-4 against soread. CAA road dogs of less than 10 points are 6-7 against the spread.
Seton Hall is without leading scorer Hazell (wrist); they're 2-3 but have played 11th-hardest schedule in country (out of 346) so far this season. Pirates beat St Peter's last eight years, with only two of last six wins by more than 13 points. Peacocks are 2-3, scoring 50.6 ppg, but they did upset Alabama as 12-point dogs earlier this month on neutral floor.
Game of the day: Virginia at Minnesota
The team on the biggest roll in college basketball could very well reside in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Gophers, thought to be a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament, have won their first six games. Minnesota shoots for its seventh Monday night at home against Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Gopher gold
Home wins over Wofford and Siena were no surprise, but the Gophers caught the attention of everyone in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. After beating Western Kentucky in the first round, Minnesota pulled off two major surprises with wins over North Carolina in the second round and West Virginia in the title game.
The championship moved the Gophers to the 17th spot in this week's USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and improved Minnesota to 5-1 ATS. The early success led to a possible letdown against North Dakota State last Wednesday, but it didn't happen as the Gophers rolled to an 84-65 win.
Blake Hoffarber scored 24 points and hit four 3-pointers. Trevor Mbakwe, the tournament Most Valuable Player in Puerto Rico, scored 12 points and had seven rebounds while Ralph Sampson III added nine points and blocked three shots.
Minnesota ended the first half on a 20-3 run to take a 42-26 lead.
The Gophers are unbeaten despite the absence of guard Devoe Joseph, who was suspended indefinitely by coach Tubby Smith the day before the opener. Minnesota is also playing without point guard Al Nolen and forward Rodney Williams, who are both scratches with foot injuries.
Have and Cav nots
Virginia (3-3) lost two of three at last week's Maui Invitational. The Cavaliers were embarrassed in the opener, losing to Washington 106-63. Virginia bounced back to defeat Oklahoma 74-56, but fell to Wichita State 70-58 in the final game.
The Cavaliers began the season with wins over William & Mary and South Carolina Upstate. Virginia stopped off in California on its way to Hawaii to play Stanford, but was no match in an 81-60 loss. It takes a 2-3 ATS mark into Monday.
The Cavaliers are coming off a tough season and the outlook for 2010-11 isn't that much better. Virginia, 16-16 overall and 5-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season, will be counting on several inexperienced players.
Senior forward Mike Scott leads Virginia in scoring with a 16.5 average, but four of the top six scorers are either freshmen or sophomores.
The Cavaliers' inexperience showed in Maui. Virginia jumped to a 14-point lead in the first half against Wichita State, but everything quickly fell apart. The Cavaliers were outscored 66-38 from the midpoint of the first half through the end of the game. Virginia made only 9-of-28 shots in the second half.
Scott scored 54 points and had 29 rebounds in the three games in Maui.
Trends
- Minnesota is 2-1 SU and ATS in the past three meetings with Virginia, the most recent coming in 2008. The Golden Gophers took a 66-56 victory as 8-point home favorites. In those three head-to-head games, the teams combined for a 1-2 over/under record.
- Golden Gophers are 8-1 ATS in their last nine home games.
- Over is 7-2 in Virginia’s last nine non-conference games.
Monday CBB Winning Info
By Jeff Mattingly
Hofstra vs Rider
-Hofstra and Rider played each other last year in an ESPN BracketBuster game, which Hofstra won 92-89 in overtime behind 31 points from Charles Jenkins.
-Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins was one of 50 players chosen to the preseason Naismith Trophy Watch List. Of those 50, only five came from mid-major conferences.
-Hofstra holds a narrow 18-17 lead in the series. Prior to last year’s meeting, the teams hadn’t played since 1991-92.
-Rider is 4-2 on the season and is coming off a home loss to Siena in its conference opener. The team is shooting 49.5 percent from the floor, including 49.1 percent from three-point territory.
-Rider out-rebounded Hofstra 45-44 in last year’s meeting, but was 20 of 27 from the foul line, while the Pride was 32 of 40.
-The Broncs are 1-1 at home this year and finished the 2009-10 season 7-6 at home. Rider has won 135 of its last 183 games in the Broncs’ Zoo, including 30 of the last 41.
-Rider is currently ranked 15th in the nation among Mid Major programs. No other MAAC teams are currently in the Top 25.
-The Broncs are 4-1 in non-conference games this year and finished the regular season 7-6 in non-conference games last year.
St. Peter’s vs Seton Hall
-Saint Peter’s takes its two-game winning streak on the road tonight and heads just six miles west to the Prudential Center.
-This will be the 82nd meeting between the two schools and the 63rd season in a row they will face each other.
-Peacocks head coach John Dunne is in his fifth season and has a 40-86 overall record, including an 0-4 mark versus Seton Hall.
-Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard is in his first season. He has a career record of 47-52, which includes three seasons at Iona. He is 3-3 all-time against Saint Peter’s.
-Seton Hall owns a 58-23 edge in the series. Last season, the Pirates defeated the Peacocks 53-51 at the Prudential Center on a buzzer beater.
-The Peacocks victory over Alabama was the first over a BCS team since defeating Rutgers in 2007.
-Saint Peter’s will take the floor this season with one of the oldest team’s in the country, having five seniors on the roster.
-Seton Hall is coming off a 64-58 overtime loss to Clemson in the consolation game of the 2010 US Virgins Island Paradise Jam.
-Pirates senior Jeremy Hazell broke his left wrist in the game versus Alabama and will miss 4-to-6 weeks.
-The Pirates victory over Alabama marked their first victory over an SEC team since they defeated Tennessee on November 21, 1992.
Virginia at Minnesota
-Virginia travels to Minnesota for the first game of the 2010 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It is the Cavaliers’ second trip to Minneapolis in three years in the event.
-Virginia leads the all-time series 4-2, including a 2-1 mark in Minneapolis.
-The teams have met three times in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with the home team winning all three times.
-Virginia has a 5-5 all-time record in the challenge, including a 1-4 mark on the road.
-Minnesota is just the second ranked opponent the Cavaliers have played in the challenge, losing to No. 2 Michigan State 82-75 in 2002-03, which also followed a team trip to Maui.
-UVA will be playing its second ranked opponent on the year, losing 106-63 in the first round of the Maui Invitational to No. 13 Washington.
-Under Tony Bennett, Virginia is 14-1 when scoring at least 70 points. The Cavaliers are 4-18 over the past two seasons when scoring under 70 points.
-Tonight’s game continues a stretch of six games away from home for the Cavaliers. It is the first time since 1991-92 that Virginia has played six straight regular season games away form home. The road trip has been played in four different time zones and totaled 11,505 miles.
-Minnesota holds a 4-7 record in the challenge, losing to Miami, 63-58, last season in Coral Gables.
-The Big Ten is the defending Challenge Champion, defeating the ACC by a 6-to-5 margin a year ago. Road teams won six of the 11 games in 2009 and seven of the contests were decided by seven points or less.
-Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith is 7-18 against ranked opponents during his Gopher tenure.
-Minnesota has a combined record of 36-5 under Smith in regular season non-conference games. The Gophers have won 28 consecutive non-conference regular season home games.
-The Gophers are allowing just 59.6 points per game at Williams Arena under Smith (56 games).
Florida International at Marshall
-FIU enters Monday’s contest with a 4-1 record following an 80-59 win over Chattanooga on Saturday.
-The Panthers hit the road for the first time tonight and is averaging 73.8 points per game and allowing 67.4 points a contest.
-FIU leads the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage, shooting 45.1 percent from the floor.
-Panthers head coach Isiah Thomas comes into the contest with an 11-26 record (3-15 on the road) and will be looking for his first-ever victory over the Thundering Herd.
-FIU holds a +6.4 advantage in scoring.
-The Panthers have forced 94 turnovers in the first five games.
-Marshall dropped an 80-66 road contest at Louisville last time out, actually leading by a point at the half, but had 19 turnovers and shot 44.8 percent from the line.
-The Thundering Herd came in hitting just 55.8 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe.
-Marshall’s defense has forced 94 turnovers this season, an average of 18.8 per game.
Monday CBB Winning Info
By Jeff Mattingly
Boise State at Northern Illinois
-Boise State’s 5-0 start in 2010-11 marks the first time since the 1987-88 season the team has won its first five games. The Broncos began the season 6-0 in 1987-88, the best start in school history.
-The Broncos are 5-4 against the Mid-American Conference, including a 3-2 record against Northern Illinois’ counterparts in the West Division.
-Boise State has the No. 4 scoring offense in the WAC (71.6) and No. 1 scoring defense (53.0), which has produced the league’s No. 1 scoring margin of 18.6 points per contest.
-Despite not having a single player ranked amongst the top 15 in rebounding in the WAC, the Broncos lead the conference in rebounding margin, averaging 9.0 more rebounds per game than their opponents.
-Boise State ended a six-game slid in true road openers with its 65-60 victory over San Diego.
-Northern Illinois is 1-3 all-time against teams that currently make up the WAC and is 2-5 versus teams that were in the WAC at the time the game was played.
-In three-plus seasons under Ricardo Patton, NIU is 18-21 in games played in DeKalb.
-Huskies senior Xavier Silas is averaging 28.8 points per game to lead the Mid-American Conference and ranks second in the nation in scoring.
-NIU leads the MAC in free throw percentage (72.1 percent), after ranking 290th in the country in that category last year.
USC at TCU
-USC lost its first road game of the season at Nebraska on November 27 and dating back to last season have lost four consecutive road games and 10 of 12 road contests.
-USC led by as many as 20 points in the first half and took a 13-point lead into the break before dropping a 60-58 contest in Lincoln. The Trojans shot 56.7 percent from the field in the first half and 27.6 percent in the second half.
-The Trojans have a home game against the Texas Longhorns on deck and are in the midst of playing 8 games in 17 days to start the season.
-In the first seven games, USC has relied heavily on freshmen with guards Maurice Jones playing 276 and Bryce Jones playing 212 out of the possible 280 minutes.
-USC ranked ninth in the Pac-10 Conference in returning scoring at 42.8 percent.
-The Trojans have won the battle of the boards in six of seven games this season and has out-rebounded the opposition 258-210 in seven games.
-TCU continues a stretch of four games in eight days and this matchup marks the fourth and final contest of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic.
-As of Sunday, TCU ranks among the leaders in the Mountain West Conference in turnover margin (No. 2) and 3-pointers made (No. 3).
-TCU returned six players who accounted for 47.3 percent of scoring from last season.
-Over the past 15 seasons, the Frogs have accumulated a 173-76 overall record at the DMC while posting at least 10 victories on their home court on 11 occasions.
UAB at Troy
-Tonight’s game will mark the first time since November 15, 2008 that UAB will play at Troy. The last two meetings were played in Bartow Arena.
-UAB senior guard Aaron Johnson leads the country with an average of 9.6 assists per game. He has racked up 48 assists compared to just 18 turnovers.
-The Blazers begin a stretch of four games in seven days with the Troy contest.
-With the win against Arkansas in Little Rock on Friday night, the Blazers have won 10 of their last 14 road contests dating back to last season.
-UAB’s starting five scored all 70 points in the 70-65 overtime win over Arkansas on Friday night.
-The Blazers lead Conference USA in three-point field goal percentage defense, checking in at 21.6 percent.
-UAB’s 11-man squad has a combined total of 10 years of Division I experience.
-Troy dropped an overtime thriller to Mississippi STate on Friday night in Starkville, 92-83.
-Troy is 3-38 all-time against SEC teams and 84-100 all-time against other Division I opponents in the state of Alabama.
-Since Don Maestri took over the reins of the Troy program, the Trojans are 288-80 at home. Since 2008, Troy is 22-4 on its home floor.
-The Trojans returned just 20.4 percent of its scoring and 35.5 percent of its rebounding from a season ago.