Top five college basketball under teams
COVERS.com
1. Rice (6-17 over/under)
It has been a season to forget for the Owls (3-22 straight up), but that doesn’t mean bettors should totally ignore them. They are the most consistent under team in the nation, largely because of their anemic offense.
Rice is putting up just 55.2 points per game this season and has not broken the 60-point mark in any of its last five games. They have lost 15 consecutive games straight up and 11 of those have gone under the total. That includes a run of seven straight unders in January.
The Owls have four games left this season, three of them against teams they went under the total against the last time they played them.
2. Bowling Green (7-17)
The Falcons have a weak offense and a mediocre defense and that has helped them go under the total more often than not. In fact, 13 of their 15 games between Thanksgiving and the beginning of February played under.
Bowling Green’s last two games are a good example of how things have gone this season. It lost both straight up and against the spread to Akron and Ohio, scoring a combined 104 points while giving up 134. Both games went under.
In fairness to the Falcons, a lot of their problems are down to the loss of a star player. Guard Ryne Hamblet has been out since Dec. 6 for academic reasons. He was averaging 12.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and Bowling Green would be a much better offensive team with him in the lineup.
3. Georgetown (6-16)
Georgetown is the sole ranked team on this list and is one of only two with a winning straight up record (21-4). The reason the Hoyas are listed here is simple: they are an extremely strong defensive team.
They rank fifth in the nation in defense, allowing an average of just 57.5 points per game. If it's possible, the defense seems to be getting stronger as just three of their last nine opponents have broken the 60-point mark against them, with eight of those games going under the total.
One of key players in the Hoyas’ stellar defense is Roy Hibbert. The senior center has team highs in blocks (2.2) and rebounds (6.7), and also leads the team in offensive categories such as points (13.3) and field goal percentage (60.3).
4. Georgia State (6-15)
A run of seven consecutive January games that played under the total earned Georgia State a spot on this list.
The Panthers have an uncanny knack of keeping games close as an underdog. In a trio of early January games against George Mason, Northeastern and VCU they were underdogs of between 11 and 17 ½ points. But they held each team to a total of 64 points or less and all three games went under the total – as have three of the Panthers’ last four overall.
5. Santa Clara (7-16)
The Broncos are the second team on the list with a winning record (13-12). Six of their last seven games have gone under the total set by the oddsmakers.
Just like Georgetown, Santa Clara’s tendency to go play under comes down to its strong defense. The Broncos allow just 61.1 points per game overall this season (30th in the nation), and have held their last four opponents to an average of just 53.5 points. All four went under.
Santa Clara closes out the season with games against San Diego, San Francisco, Portland and Gonzaga. Its previous game against those teams, except for Gonzaga, went under.