Wednesday Wagers
By Brian Edwards
Bettors don’t have any complaints Wednesday with a stacked card full of intriguing and most importantly, televised college basketball games galore. Let’s do our best to get you ready for your wagering options.
***Notre Dame at Villanova*
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Villanova (18-1 straight up, 14-4 against the spread) as a 10-point favorite.
Jay Wright's team has won nine consecutive games but most importantly, it has posted an 8-1 spread record during that span. The Wildcats are coming off Saturday’s 81-71 win at St. John’s as seven-point road favorites. After trailing for much of the first half and 38-37 at intermission, ‘Nova poured it on in the second half. Scottie Reynolds was the catalyst with 19 points, while Corey Fisher finished with 18 points. Freshman guard Maalik Wayns a McDonald’s All-American as prep player last season, came off the bench to score 16 points. The 152 combined points slipped ‘over’ the 149-point total.
Notre Dame (15-5 SU, 7-6-1 ATS) is 4-3 in Big East play and sporting an RPI ranking of 67, so Mike Brey’s team is firmly on the proverbial “bubble.” Therefore, a win in this spot would be huge, although not completely necessary at this early stage by any means.
Notre Dame had lost back-to-back games at Cincinnati and vs. Syracuse until beating Depaul 87-77 Saturday at the Joyce Center. However, the Blue Demons covered the number as 16-point road underdogs. Tim Abromaitis paced the Irish with a game-high 30 points, while Luke Harangody added 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Harangody leads the Big East in scoring, averaging 24.7 points per game. The senior center is fourth in rebounding, pulling down 9.9 boards per contest. Senior point guard Tory Jackson is second in the conference in assists, dishing out 5.8 assists per game. Jackson leads the Big East in assists-to-turnover ratio, coughing up the ball just 29 times all year. Ben Hansbrough, Jackson’s backcourt teammate after sitting out last year as a transfer from Mississippi St., is second in the Big East in assists-turnover ratio, averaging 5.2 assists compared to only 27 turnovers.
Villanova is the lone Big East school that remains unbeaten in league play. The Wildcats are 7-0 in the conference, leading Syracuse (7-1) by one-half game. They lead the Big East in scoring offense, averaging 84.9 points per game.
Reynolds is a serious contender for Big East Player of the Year honors, competing with Harangody and Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson. Reynolds is fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 18.7 PPG. He is making 80-percent of his free throws and 42.4-percent of his shots from 3-point land.
Nova is unbeaten in eight home games, going 6-1 ATS in its seven lined contests. The Wildcats’ lone defeat this year came at Temple by a 75-65 score. They are No. 4 in the RPI Rankings and obviously a serious threat to garner a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday.
As much as gamblers have enjoyed feasting on Villanova winners, they’ve also brought home a lucrative amount of cash by consistently backing ‘Nova ‘overs.’ In fact, the ‘over’ is an incredible 13-5 overall for the Wildcats, 6-1 in their home games with a total.
The ‘over’ is 8-5 overall for the Irish, although the ‘under’ has cashed in three of its last four outings.
ESPN will have the telecast at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
**Vanderbilt at Tennessee**
LVSC opened Tennessee (15-3 SU, 8-6-1 ATS) as a 5 1/2-point favorite.
Bruce Pearl's squad saw its seven-game winning streak snapped Saturday in Athens, where Georgia spanked the Volunteers 78-63 as a 6 ½-point home underdog at Stegeman Coliseum. Travis Leslie led the Dawgs with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. In the losing effort, Scotty Hopson had a team-high 19 points and five steals.
Tennessee is undefeated in 10 home games, compiling a 4-3 spread record.
Vanderbilt (15-3 SU, 10-6 ATS) has won nine in a row, posting a 6-2 spread ledger in the process. The Commodores, who are tied with Kentucky for the SEC East lead with a 4-0 record, had to rally from a double-digit deficit to beat Auburn 82-74 Saturday in Music City. Nevertheless, they failed to hook up their backers as 12-point home favorites. Jeffery Taylor had a team-high 18 points, while A.J. Ogilvy had 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
Tennessee senior center Wayne Chism (11.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG) banged knees with a Georgia player in Saturday’s loss and is listed as “questionable.” Chism didn’t practice Monday, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He returned to the UGA game after the injury but wasn’t nearly as effective. His potential absence would be huge for Vandy and its big man Ogilvy, who has averaged a meager 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in four career games against the Vols. Chism had 18 points and 18 rebounds vs. Vandy in Knoxville two years ago, 20 points and seven boards in last year’s meeting at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tyler Smith was dismissed from the UT squad a few weeks ago and Brian Williams remains suspended indefinitely. Melvin Goins and Cameron Tatum have been reinstated to the team. Neither player touched the court in last Tuesday’s win at Alabama, but both returned to the floor against the Dawgs. Tatum got nine minutes of playing time, producing one point, one assist and one rebound, while Goins was only on the court for four minutes. Goins made 2-of-3 shots from the charity stripe for his only contribution to the box score.
UT swept the season series from Vandy last season, winning by 13 in Nashville and by 19 in Knoxville.
The ‘under’ has cashed in five consecutive head-to-head meetings between these in-state rivals. Also, the ‘under’ is 8-1 dating back to the last nine encounters.
The ‘over’ is 8-6 overall for Vandy, 3-1 in its last four games (regardless of venue).
The ‘under’ is 8-3 overall for the Vols, 5-1 in their home games at Thompson-Boling.
ESPNU will have television coverage at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
**Florida State at Duke**
LVSC opened Duke (16-3 SU, 12-6 ATS) as an expensive 15 1/2-point favorite.
Duke bounced back from last Wednesday night’s loss at North Carolina St. by winning 60-47 Saturday at Clemson. The Blue Devils took the cash as two-point road favorites. Nolan Smith was the catalyst with 22 points.
FSU (15-4 SU, 4-10 ATS) has won nine of its last 11 games, yet is mired in a 0-4 ATS slide. The Seminoles are coming off Sunday’s 68-66 win over 4 ½-point home favorites. Solomon Alibi buried a pair of free throws in the final minute for the go-ahead points. Chris Singleton finished with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds for the ‘Noles.
Leonard Hamilton’s team is 2-2 both SU and ATS as an underdog, winning outright vs. Marquette in Orlando and also knocking off Ga. Tech in Atlanta. The ‘Noles lost as ‘dogs at Maryland and at Ohio St.
Jon Scheyer leads Duke in scoring (18.6 PPG) and assists (5.6 APG). Kyle Singler is pulling down a team-high 7.1 rebounds and is scoring at a 15.8 PPG clip.
Duke has won four in a row against FSU, but the Seminoles are an impressive 9-3 ATS in the last 12 meetings. The ‘under’ is 10-3 in the last 13 head-to-head encounters between these ACC adversaries.
The ‘over’ is 6-4 in Duke’s home games, 9-9 overall. Totals have also been an overall wash for the ‘Noles (6-6-1).
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology update on ESPN.com, FSU was listed as a No. 8 seed that would play UAB in a first-round showdown.
Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
Our spies on the ground in Fayetteville inform us that Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey is not in danger of losing his job right now. I’m told he’ll be given next season to fix the Razorbacks, who lost by 31 at Kentucky this past Saturday.
Unlike Pelphrey, Auburn will be getting rid of Jeff Lebo when the Tigers fail to reach the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season on Lebo’s watch. With a new arena on the way, the Auburn job will be a lot more attractive than it has been in the past.
Wyoming sophomore forward Afam Muojeke is out for the season. Muojeke was averaging a team-high 17.9 PPG.
Texas will play host to Texas Tech on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU. The Longhorns will be looking to snap a two-game losing slide after winning their first 17 games. They went down at Kansas St. and at UConn last week.
Memphis will play Wednesday at Marshall on CBS College at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The Thundering Herd, who are coached by former Florida assistant Donnie Jones, have been one of the quietest, yet best, stories in college hoops this year. Marshall started the season 15-2 with its only losses at Old Dominion and at North Carolina. Sine then, it has lost to West Va. (68-60) and UAB (61-59), but the Herd still maintains hopes of getting to its first NCAA Tournament since 1987.
Cornell, which is sporting a No. 39 RPI ranking, will host Harvard (RPI of 59) this Saturday night in a crucial Ivy League contest. Remember, the Ivy is the last league remaining that doesn’t have a conference tournament and sends its regular-season champ to the Big Dance. They’ll meet again at Harvard on Feb. 19.
Why does Syracuse look like an extremely legit Final Four contender? The easy answer is the play of Iowa St. transfer Wesley Johnson. Another potential answer is the leadership of fifth-year senior Andy Rautins, who leads the team in assists and is playing unselfish basketball even though he’s the team’s best shooter but isn’t getting many shots. However, the real answer is better chemistry due to the addition-by-subtraction impact of Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris leaving the program. Devendorf rarely played defense and was a high-volume shooter with an annoying personality.
Coaches on the Hot Seat:
1-Jeff Lebo (Auburn)
2-Fred Hill (Rutgers)
3-Ernie Kent (Oregon)
4-Norm Roberts (St. John’s)
5-Ed DeChellis (Penn St.)
Speaking of PSU, it will host Illinois in Wednesday’s first start that’ll come off the board at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The Big Ten Network will provide television coverage. The Illini were a part of Lunardi’s “next four out” this week. His last four teams out included Louisville, Florida, Charlotte and Seton Hall. The next four out in addition to Illinois includes Wichita St., Tulsa and Minnesota. Lunardi’s ‘last four in’ were Cincy, Richmond, William & Mary and Arizona St.
My Top Ten:
1-Kansas
2-Syracuse
3-Kentucky
4-Texas
5-Villanova
6-Michigan St.
7-Duke
8-Purdue
9-West Virginia
10-Ohio State
vegasinsider.com.
Game Of The Day: BYU Cougars at New Mexico Lobos
By David Chan
Voters agree, market unsure
BYU went into Saturday’s game at San Diego State as 2-point chalk after opening 3 and 3.5. The Cougars won 71-69 to run their streak to 15 games. On Monday BYU moved up in both the AP and Coaches’ polls. The week also included an easy home win over Wyoming, but the market clearly thinks the rankings are too lofty.
Aztec nemesis
The last time San Diego State lost at home was last season, also to BYU. The Aztecs had 14 wins in their gym since the Cougars, led by Jimmer Fredette’s 28 points, gave them a home loss. Fredotte’s performance last season was just the warm-up act: Fredette went off for 33 points on Saturday despite recently shaking off a case of mono.
"It's our fifth conference win, so it is really big," BYU coach Dave Rose told the Salt Lake Tribune. "And that's why it is big, because we are in the middle of the conference grind, and every win you get is really important.”
Fredette went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and later drained clichés equally mercilessly.
"We knew it was a big game. We knew it was a huge game for us to come in and get a win. Not a lot of teams are going to do that," Fredette told reporters. "They are a very talented team, they play really well at home, and they've got a great crowd. We knew the challenge ahead of us."
Lobos pack mentality
New Mexico comes into this game having won four straight. The most recent win came Saturday in Albuquerque, 82-64 over Colorado State. The Lobos’ bench chipped in with 27 points and 17 boards. Every Lobo had at least two points and at least two rebounds in the game.
“It was just a really good team effort," Lobos head coach Steve Alford told The Santa Fe New Mexican. "I thought we got good minutes out of everybody we played.”
The Lobos had a 48-30 rebounding edge overall something that didn’t go unnoticed.
"It didn't help us because we got hurt on the boards," Colorado State head coach Tim Miles told the Denver Post. "But we got hurt on the boards because we didn't guard the ball."
Does the market get it now?
Prior to the four-game win streak, the Lobos lost games at San Diego State and home to UNLV. Before that spell, the Lobos were a nifty 10-3-1 against the spread. In the six games since, their ATS mark is 3-3.
This makes the task doubly tough for people wanting to ride the Lobos to an easy cash-in: The Lobos have lost recently when playing quality opponents and the market seems to have a short-term handle on where the number ought to be.
What happened?
BYU is 3-1 straight up and against the spread at New Mexico’s Pit under coach Rose. The one loss came last season when the Lobos embarrassed the Cougars 81-62.
"Last year, we might have played our worst game in Albuquerque," Rose told the Salt Lake Tribune. "They really handled us, and they got us out of the game early and we kind of fell apart and didn't play like ourselves. ... So this group of guys has a lot to prove about going in there and being able to play a competitive game because last year it got away from us."
A couple of trends:
BYU is 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings. The over is 8-2 in the last 10 games between these schools. I’m not wild about trends that predate the current roster, but it’s worth mentioning these.
Or maybe not, at least on the total:
Conversely, BYU’s last four contests have gone under and the under is 5-1-1 in Lobos’ last seven overall.
NCAAB News and Notes
Wednesday, January 27
Information on the best of Wednesday's college basketball games........
Underdog is 6-2 vs spread in last eight Notre Dame-Villanova games, as Irish won two of last three visits here; average total in those three games was 173. Villanova is 7-0 in Big East, 5-2 vs spread, winning at home by 27-2-5 points (1-2 as home favorite). Irish are 2-2 as dogs, 1-2 on road, losing by 12-2 points. Big East home favorites are 19-20 vs spread.
UConn is 0-3 in true road games, losing by 2-3-5 points; they're 3-1 as a Big East favorite. Providence blew 9-point lead in last 2:00 of last game, losing to USF in OT. UConn is 3-4 in last seven games vs Providence, losing three of last four; with visitor 5-2 SU in those seven games. Big East home underdogs are 5-13 against the pointspread.
Wichita State lost four of last five games vs Illinois State; Redbirds lost five of last six visits here, but beat Shockers 72-57 Dec 29, making 9-18 from arc. ISU is 1-3 on Valley road, losing by 4-1-10 points; they're 2-0 as an MVC dog. Wichita is 4-0 as home favorite, winning home games by 23-12-12-9 points. MVC home favorites are 14-16 vs spread.
Vanderbilt lost six of last eight games vs Tennessee, dropping last four in Knoxville by 7-27-20-19 points; Commodores are 4-0 in SEC, winning at Alabama/South Carolina- they're 2-1 as underdog. Tennessee won six of last seven games; they're 3-1 in SEC, winning home games vs Auburn by 26, Ole Miss by 2. SEC home favorites are 7-11 against the spread.
Florida won 11 of last 12 games against Georgia, winning last last six in Gainesville by 8-23-11-16-10-26 points; Gators' last ten series wins are all by 10+ points. Dawgs are 4-0 vs spread in SEC games, losing on road by 8 at Kentucky, 3 at Miss State. Florida won last three games by 14-5-2 points. Favorite is 4-1 vs spread in their conference games.
Favorite is 5-2 vs spread in last seven Oklahoma State-Texas A&M tilts; Aggies won two of last three visits here. Home team is 4-1 vs spread in Oklahoma State's Big 12 games; Cowboys are 2-0 as home favorite, with wins by 29 over Texas Tech, 12 vs Colorado. Aggies lost last three road games by 9-23-5 points. Big 12 home favorites are 13-8 vs spread.
Underdog covered eight of last ten Drake-Northern Iowa games; Drake won three of last four visits here. Bulldogs won last five games after 0-4 start in Valley; they've covered last six games, are 3-1 as MVC dog, with road losses by 23 at Wichita, 4 at Creighton. UNI is 3-1 as home fave in Valley, with wins by 19-8-2-22 points.
Memphis is 65-1 in its last 66 C-USA games; they've won five in a row vs Marshall, winning last two visits here by 10-23 points. Marshall is 15-4, losing last two games, to West Va/UAB- loss to Blazers was their first in five league games. Tigers are 3-2 on road, losing at Syracuse and UMass in Boston. C-USA home underdogs are 3-8 against the spread.
Home team won nine of last ten LSU-Alabama games; Tigers lost five of last six visits here, losing by 4-2-11-6-14 points. Bama lost three of last four games; their SEC wins are by 17 at LSU, 5 vs Miss State. Tigers are 0-5 in SEC, losing road games by 9 at South Carolina, 14 at Florida. SEC home favorites are 6-12 against the spread this season.
Texas lost its last two games, but they've won eight of last nine games vs Texas Tech; Red Raiders lost last six visits to Austin by 3-7-34-29-26-6 points (1-4 vs spread in last five). Longhorns are 0-4 vs spread in Big 12 games; they won home games by 17-5 points. Favorite is 4-1 vs spread in Tech's Big 12 road games; they're 0-2 as road dog in league play.
Duke won eight of last ten games vs Florida State, winning three of last four played here, but Seminoles covered three of the four, losing by 7-1-3 points. Blue Devils are 3-0 as ACC home favorite, winning in Durham by 21-20-20 points. Florida State is 1-3 vs spread as an underdog this season. ACC home favorites are 13-15 against the spread.
BYU is 20-1, ranked 10th in country; Cougars won seven of last eight vs New Mexico; underdog is 4-1 vs spread in last five series games played here. Cougars won last 14 games, winning MWC road games by 18 at Air Force, 2 at San Diego State. Lobos won last four games, allowing an average of 59.8 ppg. MWC home underdogs are 2-5 against the spread.
Home team won eight of last nine Nebraska-Colorado games; Huskers won last three in series by 19-2-5 points, but lost three of last four visits to Boulder, losing by 4-4-2 points. Nebraska is 0-4 in Big 12, losing road games by 11 at Texas A&M, 17 at Missouri. Colorado is 2-3 vs spread as a favorite. Underdog is 5-1 vs spread in last six series games here.
Tips and Trends
Florida State Seminoles at Duke Blue Devils
Seminoles: Revenge is clearly on the mind of Florida St, as they have lost to Duke 4 consecutive games SU. The Seminoles are 15-4 SU and have won back to back league contests to stand at 3-2 SU in the ACC. However, Florida St. is only 4-10 ATS for the entire season. Florida St. is 2-3 ATS as the listed underdog, with today being the 1st time this season the Seminoles are a double digit underdog. The Seminoles are 2-3 SU and 1-3 ATS in true road contests this season. Florida St. has only averaged 62.5 PPG in their 4 road lined games this season. Luckily, the Seminoles focus on their defense to win games. The Seminoles have held 10 of their 19 opponents under 60 PTS this season. C Solomon Alabi leads Florida St. in scoring with 12.6 PPG and 2.6 BPG this season. F Chris Singleton averages 11 PPG, and is coming off a career high 23 PTS in his last game. Alibi and Singleton combine for 81 blocks this season, the most in the ACC for a duo.
Seminoles are 0-4 ATS last 4 games vs. a team with a winning SU record.
Under is 10-3 last 13 vs. a team with a winning SU record.
Key Injuries - None.
PROJECTED SCORE: 74 (Side of the Day)
Blue Devils (-14, O/U 140.5): Duke continues to be Duke, as they are 17-3 SU on the season, earning them a #7 national ranking. What's different from this Duke team opposed to years past is their 12-6 ATS record. Duke remains incredibly tough at home, where they are 11-0 SU and 7-3 ATS this season. Today marks the 2nd lowest point spread Duke has been favored by this season, as they've yet to play a home game with a single digit spread this season. The Blue Devils are 4-1 ATS as a favorite less than 20 PTS this season. With a win against Clemson in their last game, the Blue Devils are 4-1 SU against ranked opposition this year. 3 different Blue Devils average more than 15 PPG, led by Guards Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. The 2 combine to average 37 PPG, with nearly 9 APG and 4.5 three pointers per game. Defensively, only 1 opponent has scored more than 70 PTS at Duke.
Blue Devils are 4-0 ATS last 4 home games.
Under is 21-8 last 29 vs. Atlantic Coast.
Key Injuries - None.
PROJECTED SCORE: 68