Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites.
Leading scorers in the NBA:
32.6— Anthony Davis, LAL
31.0— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milw
30.2— Jayson Tatum, Bos
28.8— Nikola Jokic, Den
28.6— Luka Doncic, Dal
28.1— LaMelo Ball, Char
Quote of the Day
“Really our focus with Deshaun (Watson), I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury, is first and foremost and to make sure that he gets healthy from the Achilles injury. Everything else, we’ll deal with at a later moment.”
Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry
Friday’s quiz
Steelers’ QB Russell Wilson played college football at which two schools?
Thursday’s quiz
Who was coach of the Baltimore Ravens, before John Harbaugh?
Wednesday’s quiz
Thomas Jefferson’s picture is on the $2 bill.
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Friday’s Den: College basketball notes from the first week…….
— Ravens 35, Bengals 34
Bengals scored TD with 0:38 left, went for 2 points/win, but failed.
Burrow threw for 428 yards, four TD’s.
Bengals outgained Baltimore, 470-389
Cincinnati is 0-5 SU in games decided by fewer than 7 points.
Bengals are 8-3-1 ATS in last 12 games as a road underdog.
Ravens’ first six drives: 31 plays, 107 yards, 7 points.
Ravens’ last four drives: 26 plays, 258 yards, 28 points.
Baltimore is 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS in its last eight games.
Ravens scored 35 touchdowns on their last 78 drives.
Opponents’ team total: over 8-2
College basketball notes from the season’s first week:
— Columbia 90, Villanova 80
Columbia shot 70% inside arc, against a Big East team.
Lions haven’t had a winning season since 2016.
Villanova started five seniors; they were favored by 17.5 points.
— Gonzaga 102, Baylor 63
Zags scored 1.44 points/possession, bringing their A game.
Gonzaga also started five seniors; they raised expectations…..a lot.
— North Florida 74, South Carolina 71
Ospreys of the A-SUN pull a big upset- they were 19-point dogs.
South Carolina led by 8 with 14:10 left in game.
Gamecocks were only 14-25 on the foul line.
— Creighton 99, Rio Grande Valley 86
Ryan Kalkbrenner was 20-22 from floor, scored 49 points.
Senior PG Ashworth was 17-17 on foul line.
Red flag: Creighton gave up 86 points to a Southland team.
— Central Florida 64, Texas A&M 61
Knights were down 11 with 6:24 left in game.
UCF was 22-31 on foul line, Aggies were 8-14.
Knights won despite shooting 34% from the floor.
— Ivy League went 3-1 against the MAAC this week, with only loss Siena’s 72-71 OT win over Brown, a game Brown led by 6 with 1:41 left in regulation.
— Famous birthdays, November 8th:
Mary Hart, 74
Alfre Woodard, 72
Jimmy Giles, 70
Chuck Cecil, 60
Courtney Thorne-Smith, 57
Brevin Knight, 49
Sam Bradford, 37
Yasmani Grandal, 36
Giancarlo Stanton, 35
— Oklahoma State 89, Green Bay 76
OSU alum Doug Gottlieb is coaching Green Bay now, plus he is still a radio personality. This was a 74-possession game, fast pace. OSU led 39-38 at halftime, which is a good sign for Green Bay’s chances of being a contender in the Horizon League.
— South Dakota State 80, McNeese State 73
Upset here; McNeese starts five seniors, is being touted as a potential Cinderella in March. Jackrabbits started two freshmen and a sophomore; they made 12-35 on the arc.
— Arizona State 55, Idaho State 48
Was reading an article that inferred how Bobby Hurley isn’t enjoying the NIL era; this game was like watching paint dry, really bad paint. 0.83 points/possession against a Big Sky team doesn’t bode well for a Sun Devil squad that is moving up to the Big X this season.
— San Diego State 63, Cal-San Diego 58
Underdog Tritons led by 6 with 9:09 left; they start three seniors, two juniors in their fifth year as a D-I team. Cal-San Diego shot 28.6% inside arc, 38.5% on the arc. Aztecs’ next four D-I games are all against top 40 teams, which will be interesting.
— Rider 68, San Diego 67
Kid on USD scored 24 points and he didn’t start; this is a good win for the MAAC against Steve Lavin’s Toreros, who started three sophomores. Rider starts four seniors, always a good thing.
— Vermont started the season with a trip to Alabama:
Vermont 67, UAB 62- Great win for America East; UAB was 0-10 on the arc.
Auburn 94, Vermont 43- Reality set in here; this game was 84-27 at one point.
— Top 5 teams in country in experience:
Xavier
Ole Miss
Nevada
Oklahoma State
Memphis
NHL
Friday, November 8
Trend Report
Detroit vs Toronto
Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
Toronto is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Pittsburgh vs Washington
Pittsburgh is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Washington is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Minnesota vs Anaheim
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
Minnesota is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games when playing Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Anaheim's last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 6 games when playing Minnesota
Vegas vs Seattle
Vegas is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vegas's last 7 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Seattle's last 7 games when playing Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Seattle's last 9 games at home
NHL
Dunkel
Friday, November 8
