Sunday's Best NCAAB Bets
No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at St. John’s Red Storm (-2.5)
It’s pretty simple for the Red Storm: as Dwight Hardy goes, so too does St. John’s.
Hardy is averaging 15.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. On a recent hot streak, he dropped 20 or more points in six of seven games. However, the past two outings – a pair of double-digit losses to ranked teams – he finished with just 20 points combined and failed to crack his season average either team out.
One of those losses was a 76-61 beatdown to Notre Dame in South Bend. In the loss, Hardy was a mere 2-for-5 from the floor for 8 points in more than 30 minutes of action. Because the senior couldn’t find his stroke, the Red Storm struggled to find any consistency on offense, trailed by double-digits 10 minutes in and by 19 at the half.
Overall, Notre Dame is 10-3 ATS in its past 13 Big East games and is 5-3 SU in its past 8 against the Red Storm.
The Fighting Irish are coming off a 79-57 loss at Marquette, but the team already knows it has to refocus on its trip to New York City and won’t be surprised by Hardy or the Red Storm.
“We didn't play like we needed to,” Notre Dame senior captain Ben Hansbrough said. “The road's very tough. In this league, you have to learn how to bounce back.”
Bounce they will.
Pick: Notre Dame
No. 8 Purdue Boiler Makers at West Virginia Mountaineers (-2)
It’s not too often you see a top-10 team as an underdog against an unranked non-conference team. But the Purdue Boilermakers have enough problems that the team may need more than just two points in Morgantown.
The Boilermakers had a 10-game winning streak snapped this week in a 70-67 loss at Minnesota that had the team play some of its worst defense of the season. In fact, it was the most points Purdue has allowed all season. And the Boilermakers just aren’t built to win in a shootout.
Senior center JaJuan Johnson had a monster game with 29 points and 11 rebounds, but E’Twaun Moore, the team’s no. 2 leading scorer, remains in a funk. He made a mere 2-of-14 shots against Minnesota and has made just nine of his past 39 shots overall.
"I had some shots that just didn't go down," Moore said. "They are the same shots I've hit before. It's the same as when I hit seven 3s. They wouldn't fall."
Moore and Purdue will find their rhythm. Just don’t expect it to come against the Mountaineers.
Pick: West Virginia
NCAA Betting Preview: West Virginia battles Purdue
By: Joe Freda
The No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers have a 5-1 spread record in their last six games, with the ‘over’ going 4-1-1. Matt Painter’s squad plays its second straight road game in Sunday afternoon’s duel against the West Virginia Mountaineers, who are 2-1 ATS in their last three contests.
Purdue saw a 10-game win streak end with Thursday’s 70-67 setback as a three-point road favorite against the No. 25 Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Boilermakers went 13-for-13 at the free throw line, but were held to 38.3 percent field shooting.
Boilermakers forward JaJuan Johnson finished with team-highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds. The senior notched his third double-double in six games, while adding two of his team’s three blocks.
Johnson’s mate E’Twaun Moore logged a team-high seven assists. The guard continued a shooting slump with a 2-for-14 night from the field, bringing him to 9-for-39 in his last three games.
The tight battle’s combined 137 points leaped ‘over’ the closing ‘total’ of 134. Both squads went scoreless in the final 3:17, with the Boilermakers shooting 0-for-6 in that stretch.
Purdue dropped to 5-3 ATS in its first eight games away from home, with the ‘over’ also moving to 5-3. Moore and Co. have connected on 40.2 percent of their three-point shots in that span.
West Virginia picked up its third straight win in Thursday’s 93-63 triumph as a 9 ½-point home favorite against the Providence Friars. The Mountaineers smothered Providence, allowing a stingy 31.2 percent field shooting.
Mountaineers forward John Flowers put up a season-high 24 points, shooting 10-of-12 from the field. The senior also logged team-highs of five blocks and three steals.
West Virginia’s Kevin Jones notched 19 points and 13 rebounds, finishing with his second double-double in six contests. The New York native connected on 9-of-18 field buckets, while failing to record an assist for the first time in five games.
The lopsided affair’s combined 156 points jumped above the ‘total’ of 152 ½. Both foes struggled from the foul line, uniting to sink 28-of-42 free throws.
West Virginia improved to 3-1 ATS in its first four ‘board’ home dates. The ‘over’ rose to 3-0 in that span’s three duels containing a ‘total,’ with Bob Huggins’ troops combining to shoot 44.6 percent from the field.
Purdue won last January’s matchup against WVU, 77-62, covering ATS as a 4 ½-point home favorite. Johnson logged team-highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Boilermakers, who connected on 50 percent of their field buckets. Jones drained 2-of-2 from beyond the arc for West Virginia, whose sizable 17 turnovers factored into its defeat.
Sunday’s tip is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (PT), with CBS providing the national television coverage.
Both teams will have two days off before resuming action as part of Wednesday’s college hoops schedule. Purdue returns home to meet the Penn State Nittany Lions, while the Mountaineers remain at WVU Coliseum to face the Marshall Thundering Herd.
NCAA Betting Preview: Butler at Wright State
By: Adam Markowitz
It isn't often that we pay all much attention to Horizon League basketball, but if there is a chance for the Butler Bulldogs, last year's national runners-up, to be beaten once again by a member of its own conference, this is the best chance for it to happen.
The 'Dogs take to the road on Sunday night (4 p.m. PT) to tangle with the Wright State Raiders in an NCAA basketball betting affair that will be shown on ESPN3.com and ESPN Full Court.
Butler has already suffered one very disappointing defeat on the road here in Horizon League play, getting beaten by the UNC Wilmington Seahawks. It also looked mortal in an 84-79 win against the Youngstown State Penguins as 21½-point choices of the oddsmakers.
Still, these Bulldogs are very, very talented, and there's a reason that many think they could be poised for another nice run deep into the NCAA Tournament. Matt Howard, who was nearly a hero down the stretch against the Duke Blue Devils in the National Championship Game, has come back as the team's leading scorer this year, averaging 17.6 PPG. He is also the top rebounder at 7.7 RPG.
Shelvin Mack has really stepped up his game this year as well, averaging 14.4 PPG and coming off of a two-game stretch in which he scored a total of 38 points and had 10 boards.
On the other side of the court, this is clearly the biggest game of the season for the Raiders, and that's something that we cannot overlook when analyzing the college basketball odds on Sunday. Though Wright State is just 11-7 this year, this is a team that thinks it can win the Horizon League and get into the NCAA Tournament.
One could tell on Friday night that the Raiders clearly had a case of the "look ahead" syndrome, as it was beaten at home by the Valparaiso Crusaders as short favorites.
Wright State will need a trio of players to come up huge in the backcourt if it is to upset Butler to end the weekend. N'Gai Evans has had six straight games with at least double digits in scoring, and is now averaging 13.6 PPG. Troy Tabler might only be shooting 39.1 percent from the field on average, but he is a double digit point scorer as well at 12.3 PPG.
The real star though, has to be Vaughn Duggins. Duggins is a four-year player for these Raiders, and he knows that it is going to take one of his best games to take down the Bulldogs. Duggins has averaged 16.3 PPG this year, and is averaging 19.3 PPG in his last four NCAA basketball wagering wars.
It wasn't all that long ago that the Raiders were dominating this series, covering four straight and going 3-1 SU in a stretch from February 2007 through February 2008. However, since that point, the Bulldogs have really turned on the jets against their rivals, going 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS, including three wins both SU and ATS last season.
The last two visits here to Wright State have ended in victories of 77-65 and 69-51 for Butler, and it hopes to be a very unwelcome guest again here on Sunday night.