Wednesday's Best NCAAB Bets
Vanderbilt Commodores at No. 11 Missouri Tigers (-4.5, 153.5)
Missouri is coming off a trip that had them traveling about 7,300 miles, so you know they’ll be happy to be in front of their home crowd Wednesday. The big question is whether the home crowd will be happy to see them if they keep falling asleep for long stretches on the court.
The Tigers nearly blew a 20-point lead at the half on Thursday against Oregon only to pull out an 83-80.
"Those guys fought hard to chip away, and just being in this situation, it was stressing me out the way this game was coming out," Marcus Denmon, who scored 19 points, said. "I was just glad to get out of here with a win."
That win didn’t Mizzou backers any good if they had the Tigers as 6.5-point favorites.
The Tigers won’t get away with that against a Vanderbilt team that takes care of the fundamentals. The Commodores rank 37th in the nation in rebounding and 59th shooting 47 percent from the field.
Pick: Commodores
No. 23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats (-5.5, 141.5)
In theory this game is on a neutral court at Freedom Hall, but that’s only an hour away from Kentucky University. So the Wildcats expect to have a decided advantage in the stands – though that probably won’t bother the Irish much.
Notre Dame and its five seniors know what the club is in for, having played against Louisville at Freedom Hall each of the last three years. However, that familiarity hasn’t done much to help them out. The Irish haven’t won a game at Freedom Hall since 1980.
Meanwhile, John Calipari expected some early issues with his Wildcats after John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins left for the NBA. Kentucky dropped a 75-73 decision at North Carolina last week as a 1-point favorite.
We were passive (in the loss to) North Carolina," Calipari said. "They were the aggressor, we were passive. Why? Because we had a couple of guys on the floor you could not trust. Then everybody pulls back, no one helps, no one makes a rotation, no one wants to leave their own man because they don't have any trust."
We’ll side with Notre Dame’s experience to cover the number.
Pick: Irish
Kentucky tests Notre Dame's 8-0 record
By: Joe Freda
The No. 23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish have begun their season with an eight-game win streak, cashing at 3-1 against the spread in the four ‘board’ games of that span. Mike Brey’s squad travels to Louisville’s Freedom Hall for Wednesday’s SEC/Big East Invitational battle against the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats, who have a 1-2 spread record in three neutral-site matchups.
The contest is Wednesday's only pairing of ranked schools. Notre Dame moved into the No. 23 slot of the latest AP poll while Kentucky slipped to 17th on the same list.
Notre Dame has been idle since Nov. 30, when Brey’s crew posted an 81-72 win as a 15 ½-point home favorite against the Indiana State Sycamores. The Fighting Irish connected on 53.8 percent of their field buckets, while sinking 16-of-22 free throws.
Fighting Irish guard Ben Hansbrough logged a season-high 24 points, while adding a team-high five assists. The senior hit 8-of-12 from the field, draining all four of his shots from the foul line.
Notre Dame’s Carleton Scott notched a team-high eight rebounds and logged four of his squad’s five blocks. The forward finished with 11 points and added four assists.
The duel’s combined 153 points soared ‘over’ the ‘total’ of 133. Notre Dame outrebounded Indiana State, 32-20, while holding the Sycamores to 44.3 percent field-goal shooting.
The Fighting Irish are 3-0 ATS in their three neutral-site contests, with the ‘under’ going 2-1.
Kentucky was edged out, 75-73, as a one-point road dog in Saturday’s game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Wildcats were held to 38.7 percent shooting from the field, while being outrebounded, 40-32.
Wildcats guard Doron Lamb came off the bench to notch a season-high 24 points. The freshman drained 3-of-4 from beyond the arc while adding three assists.
Kentucky’s Darius Miller and Josh Harrellson logged seven rebounds each, uniting for 17 points. Miller sank 3-of-5 from downtown, while Harrellson connected on both of his field goals.
The tight affair’s combined 148 points ‘pushed’ the closing ‘total.’ Kentucky allowed 41.4 percent of North Carolina’s field buckets to connect, including 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Kentucky was 2-0 ATS last season in its two games that followed an SU defeat. The ‘over’ also cashed at 2-0.
The Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings against Notre Dame, with the ‘over’ going 3-2.
The foes last met in the 2009 NIT Quarterfinals, with the Fighting Irish prevailing, 77-67, as 3 ½-point favorites. Kentucky edged out Notre Dame in rebounds, 28-27, while both teams combined to hit 19-of-37 from three-point land.
Wednesday’s tip is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (PT), with ESPN providing the national television coverage.
Both squads will be off for two days, returning home as part of Saturday’s college basketball slate. Kentucky will face the Indiana Hoosiers, while Notre Dame hosts the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
College Basketball Betting: Aztecs at Golden Bears
By: Brad Young
San Diego State (8-0 straight up, 6-1 against the college basketball spread) is gunning to add another quality road victory to its non-conference schedule with Wednesday’s matchup at California. The 15th-ranked Aztecs have already won on the road this season at Gonzaga along with a home victory versus Saint Mary’s College.
San Diego State continued its winning ways by cruising past Wichita State Saturday as 9 ½-point home ‘chalk,’ 83-69. The combined 152 points soared past the 129-point closing total, helping the ‘over’ improve to 5-2 this season.
The Aztecs broke the game open by outscoring the Shockers in the second half, 46-33. SDSU finished the contest with advantages in rebounding (34-25) and steals (10-6), while shooting a robust 51 percent (30-of-59) from the field.
Forward Billy White led a balanced attack with 24 points and four rebounds, while forward Kawhi Leonard added 16 and 12. Guard D.J. Gay accounted for 14 points and six assists, while forward Malcolm Thomas contributed 12 points and five boards.
California (5-2 SU, 4-3 ATS) has recorded consecutive SU victories after back-to-back losses. The Golden Bears slipped past Iowa State Saturday as six-point road underdogs, 76-73, ending a three-game slide ATS. The combined 149 points toppled the 135-point closing total, helping the ‘over’ cash the second straight matchup.
Cal finished the contest with advantages in rebounding (36-33) and assists (18-12). The Golden Bears prevailed by shooting 48 percent (27-of-56) from the field, and 41 percent (7-of-17) from 3-point land.
Junior forward Harper Kamp paced the offense with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while center Markhuri Sanders-Frison added 12 and six. Guards Jorge Gutierrez (11 points and five assists) and Allen Crabbe (11 points and six boards) also contributed in the triumph.
San Diego State and Cal played each other four straight years from 2004-07, with the Golden Bears posting a 3-1 SU and ATS record. Cal won the last matchup in 2007 as a 5 ½-point home favorite, 77-69, while the combined 146 points went ‘over’ the 133 ½-point closing total.
Both of these teams made last year’s NCAA Tournament, but 11th-seed San Diego State was knocked out in the first round by Tennessee. Cal won its first-round matchup as an eighth-seed against Louisville before falling to eventual champion Duke in the second round.
San Diego State will begin a five-game homestand after this contest, beginning with games against San Diego, Cal Santa Barbara and San Francisco. The Aztecs are 11-1-1 ATS their last 13 road games, but only 3-11 ATS their past 14 outings against Pac-10 opponents.
Cal follows this matchup with home games against Southern Miss, Cal Poly, fourth-ranked Kansas and Hartford. The Golden Bears are 16-5 ATS their previous 21 home games.
Wednesday’s matchup will begin at 7:30 p.m. PT from Cal’s Haas Pavilion
SEC/Big East Invt'l
By Brian Edwards
The SEC/Big East Invitational will tip off tonight with a pair of games in Louisville at Freedom Hall. The action will start at 7:00 p.m. Eastern when Arkansas and Seton Hall square off, followed by Kentucky and Notre Dame, who have played each other at this venue 32 previous times.
**Seton Hall vs. Arkansas**
Arkansas (5-1 straight up, 1-3 against the spread) has won back-to-back games since suffering its lone loss of the year to UAB in overtime on Nov. 26. The Razorbacks are coming off a 75-60 non-covering victory over Troy as 18-point home favorites. Senior center Delvon Johnson was the catalyst with 20 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Seton Hall (3-3 SU, 3-3 ATS) had lost two straight games both SU and ATS until beating St. Peter’s by a 69-49 count as a 10-point home favorite on Nov. 29. Jordan Theodore scored a team-high 11 points for the Pirates, while Jeff Robinson chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Most books opened Seton Hall as a four-point favorite with a total of 135. Bettors can take the Hogs to win outright for a plus-160 payout (risk $100 to win $160).
Seton Hall will be playing without leading scorer Jeremy Hazell, who is ‘out’ with a broken wrist. Hazell, who averages 24.0 points per game, has been out since the Pirates beat Alabama 83-78 on Nov. 19. They are 1-2 both SU and ATS without him.
John Pelphrey’s team has one of the country's best long-range shooters in Rontei Clarke, who averages 16.5 PPG and has drained 21-of-50 from beyond the arc. Sophomore power forward Marshawn Powell broke his foot in mid-August and although he has recently returned to the lineup, he still doesn't have his legs back and the foot doesn't appear to be 100 percent, either. Powell, who averaged 14.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a true freshman last year, is averaging 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in four games this season. He had eight points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of playing time in the win over Troy.
Seton Hall’s losses have come at Temple (62-56) and vs. Clemson (64-58 in overtime) and Xavier (57-52) down in the Virgin Islands.
The ‘under’ has cashed in three straight games for Seton Hall, although we should note that the ‘over’ hit in its first two games with a total.
Arkansas has watched the ‘under’ cash at a 3-1 clip.
ESPN2 will have the telecast at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
**Kentucky vs. Notre Dame**
Most books are listing Kentucky (5-2 SU, 2-3 ATS) as a 5 ½-point ‘chalk’ with a total of 141 ½. Gamblers can take Notre Dame on the money line for a plus-180 return (risk $100 to win $180).
Notre Dame (8-0 SU, 3-1 ATS) has only been an underdog once, beating Wisconsin 58-51 in the finals of the Old Spice Classic. The Irish also posted wins over Georgia (89-83 in overtime) and California (57-44) down in Orlando. They limited the Bears to just five points in the first half.
Mike Brey’s squad is coming off an 81-72 win over Indiana St. as a 15 ½-point home favorite. The 153 combined points sailed ‘over’ the 133-point total. All five starters scored in double figures led by Ben Hansbrough, who had 24 points and five assists. The Mississippi St. transfer knocked down 8-of-12 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point land.
Kentucky has lost two of its last three games both SU and ATS, including a 75-73 loss Saturday at North Carolina as a one-point road favorite. Doron Lamb scored 24 points in the losing effort for the Wildcats, who also got 15 points, four assists and three steals from freshman point guard Brandon Knight. Terrence Jones, who averages a team-high 19.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, had a nightmare performance in Chapel Hill. The freshman power forward, who has the skill set of a guard, made just 3-of-17 shots before fouling out.
Although Kentucky won’t be at home, it will feel that way since UK’s court has been installed at Freedom Hall since the Cardinals are now playing at KFC Yum! Center.
UK owns a 1-2 record both SU and ATS as a single-digit favorite.
Hansbrough is averaging team-highs in points (15.8 PPG), assists (4.0 APG) and field-goal percentage (50.6%). He has buried 23-of-42 shots (54.6%) from 3-point range.
These long-time rivals used to play on an annual basis, but the series was discontinued after the 2003-2004 campaign. They last met in the NIT quarterfinals on March 25 of 2009, when Notre Dame beat Kentucky 77-67 as a 3 ½-point home favorite at the Joyce Center. Billy Gillispie was dismissed as UK’s head coach the following day.
ESPN will provide television coverage of the tip-off that’ll take place approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of Seton Hall-Arkansas.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
Duke will play host to Bradley tonight as a monster favorite. As of early this morning, most betting shops had the Blue Devils as 27 ½-point favorites with a total of 145. Coach K’s team is not expected to have freshman Kyrie Irving, who is averaging 17.4 points and 5.1 assists per game. The starting PG is ‘doubtful’ with a toe injury.
UNLV will take on Boise St. tonight in the Orleans Arena. The unbeaten Rebels were 15-point favorites early this morning. The Broncos, who are 6-1 SU and 5-1 ATS, are coming off their first loss to Long Beach St. as 7 1/2-point home favorites. The 'under' is an unblemished 6-0 in BSU games.
I would hate to be a Michigan State player at the team’s next practice whether that’s today or Wednesday. Tom Izzo was livid with his team’s performance in last night’s loss to Syracuse – and so were MSU backers. The ‘Cuse took the Spartans behind the woodshed at Madison Square Garden, cruising to a 72-58 win as a four-point underdog in the nightcap of the Jimmy V Classic.
Kansas barely tasted getting ahead of the number all night in its 81-68 win over Memphis in the lid-lifter at MSG. Nevertheless, the Jayhawks cashed tickets as 11-point favorites and the total was a nail-biter. I saw books close the tally as low as 148 ½ and as high as 150 1/2. KU stayed unbeaten while Josh Pastner’s team suffered its first loss.
Georgia picked up a big win Tuesday night in Atlanta, beating Ga. Tech 73-72 as a four-point road underdog. Bettors backing UGA on the money line cashed a nice plus-155 ticket and they can thank junior guard Dustin Ware, who knocked down a clutch 3 at crunch time to give the Dawgs a 73-70 advantage. Ware finished with 21 points, one shy of his career high. Trey Thompkins also scored 21 points for Mark Fox’s squad.
I like this College of Charleston team led by former Ga. Tech head coach Bobby Cremins. The Cougars have won three in a row and will host Clemson on Dec. 22. I’ll be looking at COC if listed as a home underdog. The Cougs are led by Andrew Goudelock, who is averaging a team-high 24.1 points and 4.0 assists per game.
Staying in the SoCon…the ‘under’ is a perfect 8-0 in West Carolina games.
My starting five and top-three subs for the All-Time-Cremins Team while at Ga. Tech:
1-Mark Price
2-Dennis Scott
3-Matt Harpring
4-Tom Hammonds
5-John Salley
Sixth Man: Kenny Anderson
3-Point Specialist: Jon Barry
Back-up Big: Malcolm Mackey
Does it bother me to snub Stephon Marbury? No, not at all.
vegasinsider.com.
College Basketball Knowledge
Rhode Island beat Northeastern last three years by 3-13-20 points; URI is 5-3, 0-2 on road, losing at Pitt/Providence- they're 3-3 as favorite this year. Northeastern lost last four games, three by 5 or less points. A-14 teams are 4-8 vs spread in games where spread is 3 or less. CAA teams are 6-5 in games where spread is 3 or less.
3-3 Seton Hall is without leading scorer Hazell (wrist); they've been off for nine days, are 1-3 away from home, losing to Clemson-Xavier down in Virgin Islands after Hazell got hurt (scored 52-58 points). Arkansas is 5-1, losing by 5 to UAB on neutral floor, in their only game away from home. SEC underdogs of less than 7 points are 9-4 vs spread.
Boston College beat Providence last two years by 5 points each, after losing to Friars the two years before that. 6-2 Eagles have 4 starters back from LY, but aren't real deep; they've already beaten Texas A&M/Cal, but also lost to Yale. Third game in five nights for 9-1 Providence team whose only good win was 87-74 win over Rhode Island Saturday.
Villanova beat Penn last seven years; they beat Quakers 103-65 LY after 22-point win year before. Wildcats are 6-1, losing only to Tennessee on neutral floor; they're 3-2 vs spread as a favorite. Penn is 4-4, losing by 24 Pitt, only decent team they've played. Big East double digit favorites are 19-15. Ivy League double digit underdogs are 4-7.
North Carolina is just 5-3; only once in their last six games did they win by more than 5 points. UNC is 1-3 vs spread as favorite; they lost only true road game 79-67 at Illinois (+6.5). Erratic Evansville won at Butler, but its their only win in last four games (lost at Air Force by 1, by 12 at Middle Tennessee). MVC single digit dogs are 9-12, 0-3 at home.
Minnesota is 7-1, but struggled in last two games, beating Cornell 71-66 (-16) after 87-79 home loss to Virginia (-13); this is Gophers' first true road game, but they did go 3-0 in Puerto Rico tourney. St Joe's lost LY at Minnesota 97-74. Third game in six nights for St Joe's squad that lost last three games, by 12 at Drexel, 11 at Villanova, 9 at Princeton.
Texas Tech won six of last eight games vs TCU, winning three of its last four here, with wins by 13-27-7 points (TCU won last visit here 85-80). Red Raiders lost three of last four games- they trailed last game 61-42 at half in Seattle. Tech is 1-3 as a favorite this year. First road game for 6-3 Horned Frogs, whose losses are by 15-19-6 points.
Oklahoma State/Tulsa split one-sided wins last two years; Cowboys are 7-1, winning last game in double OT at LaSalle Saturday, first true road fame of year. OSU lost to Virginia Tech, only top 100 team they've met so far. Tulsa is 4-3, with losses by 3-9-2 points. C-USA teams are 8-4 vs spread in games where spread is 4 or less points.
Missouri lost 89-83 at Vanderbilt LY, in what was their first true away game of year; Tigers are 6-1 after tough week last week, when they lost in OT to Georgetown, then won by 3 at Oregon, after leading by 20 at half. First true road game for 7-1 Vanderbilt team that beat No Carolina and lost to West Virginia by 3 on neutral court.
Young Kentucky is 5-2 playing 5th-hardest schedule in country, losing by 17 to UConn on Maui, by hoop at North Carolina Saturday- they've also beaten Washington on neutral court. Notre Dame is 8-0 against #222 schedule, but they did beat Georgia/Wisconsin on neutral floor. Big East single digit underdogs are 8-3. SEC single digit favorites are 11-12.
Cal Bears are 5-2, losing on neutral floor to Notre Dame (57-44, +3) and Boston College (68-46, +1); Cal lost its top four scorers from last year's 24-11 team- they've also beaten decent New Mexico team by 25 on this floor. San Diego State is 8-0 against #44 schedule, with wins at Gonzaga by 3, at Long Beach by 16. Pac-10 underdogs are 8-11, 4-2 at home.
Gonzaga lost three of its last five games, losing 81-64 to Kansas State in Kansas City, pretty much home game for Wildcats; Zags lost 73-61 to Illinois in Seattle Saturday, and also lost at home to San Diego State, so they may have slipped little this year. Washington State lost six of last eight vs Gonzaga, with last two series wins by 10-4 points in '07, '08.
Road team is 5-3 in last eight Niagara-Buffalo games; teams split last four played here. Bulls are 4-3 with last three games all decided by four or less points- they won only home game 87-76 (-7.5) over Towson St. Niagara lost last four games, allowing 83.3 ppg- they lost couple road games in MAAC play over weekend, by 8 at Marist, 24 at Iona.