Date | Match Up | Rating | Score | Result | Profit | Lead Time | Analysis |
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03-02-21 | Illinois v. Michigan -6.5 | Top | 76-53 | Loss | -114 | 2 h 9 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-10 Play of the Day The 18-1 Wolverines have been darn near infallible against just about all comers. That their one loss came at Minnesota – who is 2-8 since – is pretty much the exception that proves the rule. They are 1 win away from clinching the Big Ten regular season title, with three games to play before the conference tournament. Illinois is their closest pursuer. The Illini’s star guard, Ayo Dosunmu, has been out with a broken nose. Illini head coach Brad Underwood made some recent comments about Michigan’s pause that Wolverines players may interpret as insulting. He also said, “These games mean nothing. There’s no Big Ten championship that means much. These games don’t mean much. They really don’t.” Seems like he’s more interested in pursuing a national championship, eh? |
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03-01-21 | Arizona v. Oregon -4.5 | Top | 69-80 | Win | 100 | 10 h 49 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit PAC-12 Play of the Day Oregon returns home after playing three games in a row on the road, and |
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03-01-21 | St. Joe's v. Richmond -14.5 | Top | 76-73 | Loss | -108 | 7 h 39 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Atlantic 10 Play of the Day See the Dayton selection above for a reason to be against St. Joe’s this evening. The Hawks are a 3-14 team overall, 2-9 in conference, coming off a 97-point outing in victory. They hit a ceiling so hard, and now it’s time for the bounce-down crash against a 13-6 Richmond team coming home off a loss at Saint Louis where the Spiders played well enough to win despite losing and not covering. Saint Louis – who plays defense while St. Joe’s pretty much does not – beat Richmond where St. Joe’s cannot, in the paint |
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02-28-21 | North Dakota State -1 v. South Dakota | Top | 89-77 | Win | 100 | 6 h 53 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Summit League Play of the Day North Dakota State will be attempting to even the series against South Dakota this weekend, and will have the benefit of not facing the Coyotes at their best. South Dakota star guard AJ Plitzuweit suffered a gruesome leg injury that likely ended his season. Plitzuweit has averaged 19.0 points per game while making 43.3% of three-point attempts. Without their leading scorer, the Coyotes will have a tough time fending off a North Dakota State team looking for payback on Sunday. |
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02-27-21 | Baylor -3 v. Kansas | Top | 58-71 | Loss | -109 | 9 h 9 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-12 Play of the Day Earlier this season, KU suffered a home loss to Texas by the score of 84-59. Texas was ranked #8 then, is still in the Top 20. Baylor is ranked #2, with a points differential of +23.1, and beat the Jayhawks 77-69 in January after leading 41-28 at halftime. Wisely, the Bears didn’t pour it on in the second half, the better to lessen Jayhawk revenge emotions for this re-hook. Sweeping Kansas would put a nice cherry on top of Baylor’s seasonal sundae that sure is taking a long time in between spoon fulls. |
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02-27-21 | Rhode Island v. Duquesne -1 | Top | 75-86 | Win | 100 | 8 h 7 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Atlantic 10 Play of the Day Duquesne was robbed of momentum earlier this month when their program had to go on pause. The Dukes now have two games under their belt and now will get to play in their renovated Cooper Fieldhouse for just the second time this season. In their first outing in their new gym, the Dukes impressed in a home victory over Rhode Island. Duquesne’s recent loss to La Salle has deflated their value and a buy-low situation now has appeared. Head coach Keith Dambrot said a good old fashioned butt kicking would be good for his team. The duo of Michael Hughes and Marcus Weathers inside can control the interior in this one for the Dukes. |
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02-27-21 | Austin Peay +3.5 v. Jacksonville State | Top | 67-75 | Loss | -108 | 6 h 11 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Ohio Valley Play of the Day JSU is off a season-best 54.2% from three-point range in a season sweep of Murray State. This happened on the same Thursday night during which Tennessee Tech pulled a shooting night out of their butts (56.4% overall, 50.0% from three-point range) to beat Austin Peay, who contributed to their own demise with a 5-for-20 (25.0%) outing on three-pointers. The traveling Governors have revenge against JSU, for a 76-70 loss in which their available bench was three players who totaled 3 points. They’ve gotten guys back since then. Consider that Jacksonville State is 5-14 ATS in their last 19 games as a home favorite |
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02-27-21 | Wake Forest v. Virginia Tech -10.5 | Top | 46-84 | Win | 100 | 5 h 24 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit ACC Game of the Week In their prior meeting, Va. Tech blocked 9 shots to Wake’s 0, shot 47.8% to Wake’s 36.7%... but won the game only 64-60! Despite that nonsense, we’ll side with the #16-ranked Hokies in their second game back from a pause. They returned from it in a hornet’s nest – all right, a Yellow Jackets’ nest -- at Georgia Tech, turning in their worst offensive game of the season against a good defensive foe. At the same time, Tech exploited their shaky interior defense with 26-and-10 game from Moses Wright, a 6’9” inside scorer the likes of whom Wake Forest does not feature. |
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02-27-21 | Texas v. Texas Tech -3 | Top | 59-68 | Win | 100 | 1 h 15 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-12 Play of the Day Texas Tech hasn’t been able to catch much of a break in the past week, as they had the challenge of playing at Kansas and at Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders lost both by narrow margins but now get to return home against a Texas team that is perhaps in for a letdown. The Longhorns had a different fortune against Kansas, narrowly escaping in overtime. Encouraging for Texas Tech as they have previously defeated Texas this season despite the Longhorns making 13-of-25 three-pointers. The Red Raiders limited Texas to 34.5% shooting from two-point range in that contest |
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02-26-21 | Missouri State v. Evansville +6 | Top | 90-81 | Loss | -105 | 11 h 29 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Missouri Valley Conference Play of the Day The road favorite has won six straight. The home dog has lost six straight. Evansville’s six straight losses were against the first, second and fourth place teams in the Missouri Valley, five of them on the road. Missouri State is in third place. But their six straight wins were against 5-11 Southern Illinois w/o Domask, 5-11 Bradley who played without four guys, and 4-12 Illinois State. |
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02-26-21 | UAB -3.5 v. Texas-San Antonio | Top | 64-57 | Win | 100 | 11 h 26 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit C-USA Play of the Day Defense travels, they say. UAB is giving up only 59.5 ppg. They got a game in against Rust on Monday, 2/22, not necessarily to knock off the rust because they’ve been playing steadily since Jan. 8. But they’d lost their final “real” home game to Old Dominion two days earlier, so it was a good way to leave Birmingham for the season. Now, they play four straight on the road to close out their regular-season C-USA slate. A defense this good ought to figure out a way to contain 21+ ppg Jhivan Jackson and force UTSA to adjust in the next game. Consider that Texas San Antonio is 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record and 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games as an underdog |
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02-26-21 | Purdue +1.5 v. Penn State | Top | 73-52 | Win | 100 | 5 h 11 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-10 Play of the Day Penn State’s lack of interior defense is a major issue when facing an improving Purdue offense. The Boilermakers now rank 4th-best in the Big 10 in two-point percentage during conference play. They can use 6’10 big man Trevion Williams as an asset when facing a Penn State defense that ranks last in two-point percentage allowed in the Big 10. In the first meeting against Penn State this season, Purdue converted 63.3% of two-point attempts in a 80-72 victory. Purdue has been off since Saturday to prep for this spot, while Penn State had to play games on both Sunday and Tuesday |
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02-25-21 | IUPU Ft Wayne +5.5 v. Green Bay | Top | 89-84 | Win | 100 | 9 h 44 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit NCAAB Mismatch of the Day The #10 Seed has an offensive Effective Field Goal percentage of 58.2%, fourth highest in the nation behind Gonzaga, Baylor and Belmont. (The first two are the undefeated, #1, #2 ranked teams in the nation, and Belmont is unbeaten atop the Ohio Valley conference.) So, what the heck is Fort Wayne doing as a lowly #10 seed in a First Round Horizon League game? Probably biding their time, tinkering here and there, learning about the opposition they’ve been facing for the first time in their first season in this league, and working themselves up for this double-revenge outing with a seven-season coaching staff vs. Green Bay’s first-season bunch. |
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02-25-21 | Robert Morris v. Detroit -10 | Top | 73-83 | Push | 0 | 8 h 56 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Horizon League Hammer Detroit had little issue with disposing of Robert Morris last weekend and now meet them to start the Horizon League Tournament on their home floor. Detroit built leads as big as 23 and 19 points in the two meetings last week, producing 1.15 and 1.31 points per possession in their two wins. The Titans attack was led by Antoine Davis totaling 54 points. Detroit has gone on a tear to end the season, going 9-1 against the spread over their last 10 games. |
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02-24-21 | Florida State -11 v. Miami-FL | Top | 88-71 | Win | 100 | 10 h 54 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit ACC Mismatch of the Day Miami head coach Jim Larranaga called the Hurricanes situation currently as a ‘miserable’ one, as they’re down to six available scholarship players. Starting guard Harold Beverly has been ruled out indefinitely, joining a long list of sidelined ‘Canes. Miami’s lack of depth poses a serious issue against a Florida State team that can come at them in waves. That proved to be the case in the first meeting on January 27th, as Florida State rolled to a 81-59 victory. Florida State dominated the interior, making 59.1% of two-points compared to 35.5% for Miami. |
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02-24-21 | NC State v. Virginia -11.5 | Top | 68-61 | Loss | -105 | 10 h 53 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit ACC Play of the Day Off two road losses at Florida State and Duke, Virginia is eligible to come home and smoke the Wolfpack, who is eligible to be fat and happy off road wins at Pitt and Wake Forest as they enter this third straight away from Raleigh. Meeting in-game adversity head-on is not part of what NC State hoops is all about (at least not anymore). When you play Virginia, in-game adversity often strikes in the form of long scoring droughts and the resulting frustration that mounts. Consider that Virginia is 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games following a ATS loss while NC State is 3-8-2 ATS in their last 13 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record. |
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02-23-21 | St. Louis -3.5 v. VCU | Top | 65-67 | Loss | -110 | 6 h 2 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Atlantic-10 Play of the Day Virginia Commonwealth was dealt the unfortunate news that star guard Bones Hyland will not be able to suit up on Tuesday. Hyland is averaging 19.2 points per game, and there is no way to replace his individual talent on the offensive side of the floor. The Rams will also be welcoming in a ticked off Billikens team, coming off of a terrible effort at Dayton. Helpful for Saint Louis is their ability to protect the ball against VCU’s pressure, as they rank 63rd-best nationally in turnover rate. |
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02-22-21 | Syracuse v. Duke -5.5 | Top | 71-85 | Win | 100 | 7 h 29 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit ACC Play of the Day Duke continues to surge, as they’ve won and covered three straight games. It’s not likely a coincidence that they’ve done so with freshman Jalen Johnson exiting the program. Duke’s chemistry and energy along with their defense all appears to be much improved. Also, Duke is shooting the ball tremendously making 50-of-113 three-point attempts over their last five games. That serves as a great advantage when going against Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense. |
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02-22-21 | Morehead State v. SIU-Edwardsville UNDER 132.5 | Top | 56-48 | Win | 100 | 7 h 55 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Total of the Week The under is 14-6 in Eagles last 20 overall, 37-16 in Eagles last 53 games following a straight up win, and 23-10 in Eagles last 33 road games. While the under is 6-2 in Cougars last 8 games as a home underdog and 7-3 in Cougars last 10 home games. |
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02-21-21 | Maryland v. Rutgers -4.5 | Top | 68-59 | Loss | -108 | 4 h 4 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-10 Play of the Day There should be no shame in the two losses Rutgers has suffered over the last month, with losses coming on the road at Iowa and Michigan. The Scarlet Knights overall have gone 5-2 as of late, including against the spread. Rutgers’ length and athleticism will cause issues for a perimeter based Maryland team that relies on shooting from three-point range. Rutgers is 5th-best in the Big 10 in limiting three-point attempts and possesses multiple athletic defenders that can match up well with a smaller Maryland team. Consider that Rutgers is 21-8-2 ATS in their last 31 games following a ATS win. |
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02-20-21 | Virginia -2 v. Duke | Top | 65-66 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 24 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit ACC Play of the Day It's been a difficult year for Duke, with Coach K continually suggesting he would prefer not to play during a pandemic, and one of their starters opting out in the middle of the season. They have won back to back games on the road against bottom feeders, but their last two home games were losses to Notre Dame and North Carolina. The Cavs are coming off a blowout loss to #4 ranked FSU, but they have previously won on the road at Georgia Tech and #12 ranked Clemson. The Cavaliers are 8-0-1 ATS in their last nine games following a loss, and the road team is 21-6-1 ATS in the last 28 meetings. Duke has only covered in two of their last 10 home games. |
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02-20-21 | Duquesne v. Richmond -9 | Top | 72-79 | Loss | -104 | 6 h 37 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Atlantic 10 Play of the Day Richmond is now further removed from their program pause due to COVID-19. The Spiders now have two games under their belt and will look to benefit from a Duquesne team exiting the same sort of situation. Dukes head coach Keith Dambrot said he has no idea of how good his team will be after an 18 day layoff. Dambrot said he has no idea if it’s the right call, but he has kept practices to no longer than one hour this week. Duquesne will have their hands full with a veteran Richmond team looking to get back on track after a hard fought loss to VCU. Consider that Richmond is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 home games vs. a team with a losing road record and 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games as a home favorite. |
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02-20-21 | Connecticut +7 v. Villanova | Top | 60-68 | Loss | -110 | 2 h 13 m | Show |
Big East Play of the Day Connecticut is a drastically different team with star guard James Bouknight back in the fold, and the Huskies remain undervalued in his second game back. Bouknight returned to score 18 points in 24 minutes on Tuesday against Providence, as the Huskies built a comfortable 18 point lead at one point in the process. Where UConn can match up well against Villanova is on the defensive end of the floor, where they are exceptional at running opposing teams off of the three-point line. That is where Villanova prefers to operate, as they rank 33rd in three-point attempt rate. Consider that UConn is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games |
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02-19-21 | Robert Morris v. Detroit -9 | Top | 74-85 | Win | 100 | 8 h 8 m | Show |
Horizon League Play of the Day After being 2-5 in Horizon League play, the Titans have gone 6-1 since. The only loss in the stretch was on a back-to-back at Cleveland State on Saturday after winning the first game. Detroit leans heavily on star guard Antoine Davis, and for good reason. The 6’1 junior has totaled at least 23 points in nine straight games. Davis is shooting 42.3% from long range during conference play. Robert Morris is a team that is likely going to begin to feel the impact of losing top player, 6’’7 senior A.J. Bramah to an opt out last week. Consider that Robert Morris is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog. |
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02-18-21 | Colorado v. Oregon -3 | Top | 56-60 | Win | 100 | 11 h 5 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit PAC-12 Play of the Day As Dana Altman’s teams often do, the Ducks are starting to peak at the right time. Oregon has won three in a row, including an impressive sweep of the Arizona schools last weekend in the Pac 12. Oregon has welcomed back point guard Will Richardson from injury, and that has made a world of difference for the Ducks. Now playing off of Richardson, Rutgers transfer Eugene Omoruyi, has totaled 62 points in the last three games, which is no coincidence. Omoruyi’s tough and physical presence on the perimeter is a difficult matchup for a Colorado team that recently allowed 1.09 points per possession in a loss to California. Consider that Colorado is 18-43-1 ATS in their last 62 games as a road underdog. |
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02-18-21 | Arizona +2 v. UCLA | Top | 60-74 | Loss | -109 | 9 h 51 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Upset of the Day If Arizona cannot participate in the post-season (they can’t, they won’t), then, while a regular-season Pac 12 title is still mathematically possible, weeping Arizona State (done!) and beating UCLA are pretty high on the list of goals. “I told you guys we were not a juggernaut,” said Bruins’ head coach Mick Cronin recently about his down-trending bunch. The Wildcats lost 81-75 to the Bruins on Jan. 9 and although head coach Sean Miller would have people believe otherwise, they’re in better shape than UCLA is right now. Consider that UCLA is 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss, 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win, and 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite |
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02-17-21 | Minnesota v. Indiana -6 | Top | 72-82 | Win | 100 | 10 h 19 m | Show |
Big-10 Play of the Day Minnesota’s road struggles have continued, as they now stand at 1-6 against the spread during Big 10 play. Making matters worse is that the Gophers could possibly be without starting center Liam Robbins on Wednesday. At best, Robbins will be limited, putting the Gophers in a tough spot when going against Indiana star big man Trayce Jackson-Davis. Indiana will be in a much better spot at home after playing the last two games on the road. Indiana’s letdown against Ohio State on Saturday was a reasonable one, considering the quality of Ohio State and the Hoosiers coming off of a double overtime win at Northwestern |
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02-17-21 | Marquette v. Butler -2 | Top | 73-57 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 54 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big East Play of the Day After Marquette won the prior meeting 70-67 at home on Feb. 2, Butler had to be kicking themselves because they got 21 turnovers, made only 9 themselves, sank only 13 of 25 free throws while Marquette was shooting a not-likely-to-be repeated 61.5% on field goals. Marquette played badly enough to lose, but didn’t. But they’ve lost all three games since! |
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02-16-21 | Xavier v. St. John's -1 | Top | 84-93 | Win | 100 | 8 h 12 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big East Play of the Day Xavier looked out of sorts in their return to the floor on Saturday, losing at home to UConn. Xavier has only played two games since January 10th and now have to deal with a relentless St. John’s team that has been surging. St. John’s will certainly look to wear down the Musketeers and their ability to sustain pressure over the course of 40 minutes should make a difference. Prior to the second half of their game against Butler, the Red Storm had been on fire. St. John’s now gets to return home after having been on the road for four of their last five games. Consider that St. Johns is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a winning road record. |
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02-15-21 | Virginia v. Florida State -1 | Top | 60-81 | Win | 100 | 9 h 58 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit ACC Play of the Day Florida State’s ability to utilize their versatility on the defensive end should prove beneficial on Monday night. The Seminoles can switch defenders across the board and that creates an issue for a Virginia offense that has gained an advantage by creating matchups with big men Jay Huff and Sam Hauser in the half court. On the offensive end, Florida State’s ability to space the floor and shoot from distance is equally helpful against Virginia’s pack line defense. Florida State is making 38.7% of three-point attempts this season, 15th-best nationally. Florida State is a rare ACC foe that Virginia has struggled with, winning four of the last seven in this series. Consider that Florida State is 15-5-2 ATS in their last 22 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game. |
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02-14-21 | Minnesota v. Maryland -2.5 | Top | 59-72 | Win | 100 | 8 h 6 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-10 Play of the Day The overall length and athleticism gave the Gophers issues in their first meeting, as the Terps won by a final of 63-49 on the road. Maryland limited Minnesota to 39.1% shooting from two-point distance in the win. Maryland has their back against the wall after losing two in a row and will welcome a Minnesota team that has yet to win a road game this season. While Maryland’s 10-10 record doesn’t look great on paper, they have yet to lose to a team that sits outside of the KenPom Top 50. Consider that Minnesota is also 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games |
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02-14-21 | Oregon State +5 v. Arizona State | Top | 73-75 | Win | 100 | 8 h 12 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit PAC-12 Play of the Day The leader of Hurley’s girlies, now 2-12-1 ATS, head coach Bobby, seems to be semi-delusional. After losing by 11 points at home to an Oregon team that’s barely played, he said: “To be that close is a statement to just how hard these kids are playing despite a ton of adversity.” There are teams with only eight available scholarship players who do just fine. And then there’s Arizona State, who was losing games, and money vs. the spread, when they had more of them. Beavers head coach Wayne Tinkle was extremely disappointed at how his players shied away from the paint and chucked the ball at Arizona, while fouling Arizona’s bigs on the other end for a 10-34 disparity in free throw attempts in Thursday’s 9-point loss (but they covered!). He will kick their butts and make sure they go that route in an easier match-up down there. |
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02-14-21 | Bradley v. Missouri State -10 | Top | 57-72 | Win | 100 | 5 h 2 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit NCAAB Mismatch of the Day Bradley announced on Saturday that all Elijah Childs, Danya Kingsby, Terry Nolan and Ja’Shon Henry had been suspended for the weekend series against Missouri State. That accounts for three starters and a key reserve for the Braves. Without that group of players, the Braves would trail by 44-24 at the half and lose by 80-58. While the spread has been adjusted for Sunday, it’s likely still too low for a decimated Bradley roster. |
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02-13-21 | Tennessee -2.5 v. LSU | Top | 65-78 | Loss | -110 | 5 h 52 m | Show |
SEC Game of the Week No. 16 Tennessee and LSU are both part of a tight battle for second place in the SEC as they prepare to meet Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. The Volunteers (14-4) and the Tigers (12-6) are 7-4 in league play as is Arkansas. Missouri and Florida are 6-4. First-place Alabama is 11-1. The Volunteers held a 44-26 halftime lead against Georgia and led by as many as 23 points in the second half before a sloppy finish. Barnes said he thinks Yves Pons, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year who has led the Vols in scoring in each of the last five games in which he played, will return from a knee injury that sidelined him against Georgia and play against LSU. Consider that LSU is 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games as a home underdog. |
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02-12-21 | Georgia Tech +3.5 v. Clemson | Top | 72-74 | Win | 100 | 8 h 51 m | Show |
ACC Play of the Day “No. 20 Clemson falls at Georgia Tech,” said a headline from Jan. 20. If they’d asked us, we’d have told them that the Tigers were beaten by the better team. “Number 20. Ha. Who they kiddin’? “The Tigers won the rebounding battle 28-18 and racked up 30 points in the paint,” they wrote. “The Tigers also collected 17 bench points and 16 assists.” Hey, they lost the game 83-65! The Yellow Jackets shot the lights out but even if they don’t do that again, we’ll take point guard Juan Alvarado making his way through Clemson’s D in a near pick’em. Consider that Georgia Tech is 22-9 ATS in their last 31 games following a ATS loss. |
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02-11-21 | Louisiana-Monroe v. UL - Lafayette -9 | Top | 72-66 | Loss | -104 | 6 h 24 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day The visitor has lost 10 straight and scored from 49 to 63 points in the last six. This is their fifth straight road game, prior to a home re-hook with ULL in two nights. Bob Marlin’s Ragin Cajuns are coming home off a pair of road losses at Arkansas State by 8 and 6 points. In the second, a back-to-back, they trailed 46-29 at haltime but ‘won’ the second half 48-37. Ah, some momentum to ride on, outta that loss and into the winner’s circle again. Consider that UL Monroe is 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. while the home team is 4-0 ATS L4 meetings |
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02-10-21 | Houston -12.5 v. South Florida | Top | 82-65 | Win | 100 | 5 h 46 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day South Florida is coming off a program pause, first game since Jan. 9. For their first assignment after it, they are forced to travel to the nation’s #8-ranked team, whose starters are coming off a loss at East Carolina. Kelvin Sampson didn’t play the “A” group in the next game, against NAIA’s Our Lady of the Lake. This means that five guys who’ve made serious contributions to a 16-2 team allowing only 57.5 points per game are playing for the first time since a ‘shocking’ defeat, and will be out to redeem themselves against a rusty foe that scored only 57, 68, 51, 69 points in its four games prior to the pause. Consider that UCF is 17-35-1 ATS in their last 53 Wednesday games. |
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02-08-21 | Gonzaga -10 v. BYU | Top | 82-71 | Win | 100 | 10 h 26 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day The Cougars nearly notched a backdoor cover the first time these teams met, losing “only” 86-69 back on Jan. 7. Gonzaga let its guard down in the closing minutes and BYU applied some serious make-up to help cosmetically conceal what really went down in Spokane since it trailed by as many as 32 points and fell behind 23-2. That was the first of what Mark Few’s Bulldogs can rightfully look at as their lone revenge games this season since the undefeated group still hasn’t lost since a 91-78 setback in Provo on BYU’s Senior Night last Feb. 22. Zags look to extend their streak of double-digit wins to 16 as they attempt to cover the lowest spread (-11) oddsmakers have saddled them with since their 98-75 rout over Virginia on Dec. 26. Look for them to get some revenge via sweep behind another lopsided win. Consider that BYU is 4-13-2 ATS in their last 19 games as a home underdog. |
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02-07-21 | Georgetown v. Villanova -13 | Top | 74-84 | Loss | -110 | 4 h 6 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit NCAAB Play of the Day Let’s do some zig-zagging. Georgetown is off an outright win at Creighton as +9.5 point road underdog. Villanova is off a road loss at St. John’s as -9.5-point road favorite. Jay Wright’s Wildcats shot 8-for-30 on three-pointers at St. John’s. Georgetown made 10 of their 21 three-pointers at Creighton (47.6%). The Hoyas average 35.5% from there. When they met in December, it took Villanova a while to figure out the Hoyas. They trailed by 18 in the first half, by 13 at halftime… and eventually won by 13 after a 43-17 second half. Highly ranked team comes home off loss; unranked team with losing record stays on road off win. Consider that Villanova is 34-16-1 ATS in their last 51 games following a ATS loss |
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02-06-21 | Arizona v. Colorado -5 | Top | 79-82 | Loss | -119 | 10 h 51 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit PAC-12 Game of the Week The Buffs couldn’t be more ready to play a game, at least from the mental standpoint and pretty much from the preparation situation, too. First of all, they hate Arizona. Secondly, they were beaten in Tucson, 88-74 on Dec. 28. (Revenge!) Next, their Thursday game vs. Arizona State was postponed due to a cooties problem in or around ASU’s Hurley girlie program. While Arizona was fighting (flailing, really) at Utah on Thursday, the Buffs got some extra time to make whatever use they could out of it, as they come off that stinging home loss to Utah that was probably 99.9% theirs with 8:46 remaining until the 31-9 run hit. Ya’ think maybe they’ll guard whomever it is on Arizona that might be hot, so he doesn’t stay hot, if he even gets hot? Consider that Colorado is 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games as a favorite. |
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02-06-21 | Marshall v. Old Dominion UNDER 144 | Top | 87-67 | Loss | -110 | 5 h 24 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Total of the Day The under is 4-1 in Monarchs last 5 overall, 8-2 in Monarchs last 10 home games vs. a team with a winning road record, 4-1 in Monarchs last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, and 5-2 in Monarchs last 7 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600. While the under is 7-3 in Thundering Herd last 10 games following a ATS loss. |
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02-06-21 | Nebraska v. Michigan State -11.5 | Top | 56-66 | Loss | -119 | 8 h 9 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-10 Play of the Day Leaving home following a lengthy layoff at 0-5 in the Big Ten, for a road game against a desperate home team with back-class that’s on a four-game losing streak, is not what Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg envisioned as being the state of his team with one month left in the regular season. Off three straight losses, the last two against Top 10 opponents, the Spartans return home, drop in class, and get what they need, with lessons learned from the 84-77 win at Nebraska on Jan. 2. Consider that Nebraska is 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games overall. |
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02-06-21 | Lipscomb v. Stetson UNDER 137.5 | Top | 69-61 | Win | 100 | 3 h 20 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Rebound Total of the Day The under is 4-0 in Bison last 4 Saturday games. While the under is |
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02-06-21 | Alabama v. Missouri +3 | Top | 65-68 | Win | 100 | 2 h 47 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit SEC Play of the Day ‘Tell me how will you score the upset that isn’t really an upset? Tell me, Cuonzo, Cuonzo, Cuonzo!’ Alabama has had an early “peak.” We were on them early, had Mississippi State against them recently when all MSU did was muck up the game, forcing Alabama play slow and ugly. At Oklahoma a week ago, it was basically the same thing. Missouri’s band has been together as long as anyone in the SEC and Cuonzo’s preferred game was always slow and ugly until this group finally got some cohesion and could play more up-and-down this season. Now, the Tigers are versatile but not to the point where they’ll try to trade threes in a fast-paced game, and they’ll run the Tide off the three-point line as often as possible. Consider that Missouri is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a home underdog. |
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02-05-21 | South Dakota v. South Dakota State -6.5 | Top | 64-56 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 34 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Summit League Play of the Day The visitor is 8-0 atop the Summit League, and also beat South Dakota State in a hastily scheduled, neutral site, third-game-in-three-nights situation for both sides back on Dec. 12, a game which did not count in the conference standings. Here we are in February for a re-match. South Dakota’s 8-0 was accomplished vs. the bottom four teams in the conference (who are 4-24 combined). The home side watched South Dakota’s Stanley Umide go for 41 points in the game that didn’t really count for much, and is thinking, ‘You only got 11 and 15 points against us last year.” SDS’ second-leading scorer, senior forward Douglas Wilson didn’t play in that game. Consider that South Dakota State is 29-9-1 ATS in their last 39 games following a ATS loss. |
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02-05-21 | Lipscomb v. Stetson UNDER 138 | Top | 68-73 | Loss | -117 | 8 h 13 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit NCAAB Total of the Day Notes to consider... This one gets re-scheduled for tonight after last Friday’s postponement, which caused some now-familiar re-shuffling of the A-Sun schedule last weekend. The Mad Hatters instead got FGCU and eventually broke a 4-game skid when beating the Eagles on Saturday, which also snapped a 5-game Stetson “under” streak. Prior to that 77-66 win, Stetson was only scoring 63 ppg in its previous six league games, as HC Donnie Jones has a tight rein on his troops, who often rely upon soph G Rob Perry (such as the win over FGCU, when he scored 30). Lipscomb not especially dynamic, either, scoring just 66 ppg its last six A-Sun games |
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02-05-21 | CS Bakersfield v. Cal-Irvine -6 | Top | 53-70 | Win | 100 | 6 h 11 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big West Play of the Day The Fabulous Bakersfield Boys have won four Big West road games and in a fifth, lost in overtime. They’ve also won at Pepperdine by 17 points, a team that beat Cal-Irvine by 15 points. Oh, if it was only that easy, right? The host Anteaters are the Big West’s top dog, never primed to play their best early in the season but usually ready to jump from the starting blocks when the conference light goes on. They’ve been forewarned about the uppityness of this visitor, and just had a seven-game winning streak snapped in overtime at Hawaii over the weekend. At 5-1 in conference to Bakersfield’s 7-3, the Anteaters need to make sure that when the visitor leaves here after tomorrow night, it will make the trip northward still with more losses than Irvine. Consider that Irvine is 20-6-2 ATS in their last 28 home games. |
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02-04-21 | Murray State v. Morehead State +3 | Top | 56-66 | Win | 100 | 4 h 12 m | Show |
NCAAB Play of the Day Heady times for the host Eagles, 10-2 in second place in the OVC, nine straight wins The play of 6’10," 235 freshman Johni Broome has helped them along and he didn’t even play when the Eagles beat these Racers 61-56 on the road last month. It was the only game Broome has missed this season and his teammates shot only 2-for-14 on three-pointers but still came out on top. That’s how good the overall team defense has been. They’ve covered seven in a row and are 13-4 ATS to Murray State’s 5-8-1 ATS. |
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02-01-21 | Oklahoma v. Texas Tech -6.5 | Top | 52-57 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 8 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-12 Play of the Day Despite playing without leading scorer Austin Reaves and starting guard Alondes Williams because of virus protocols, the Sooners took care of red-hot Alabama at home. But you knew that Alabama would have problems vs. Oklahoma (because it said so, in our paper!). The Red Raiders don’t mind Sooner style and as a familiar Big 12 foe, they’ll know what to do if Reaves and Williams are out again for the visitor. One player out of the three who came off the Sooners’ bench scored points vs. Alabama. The home team is 10-2-1 ATS in the last 13 meetings |
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01-31-21 | UNLV v. Nevada OVER 142 | Top | 60-89 | Win | 100 | 12 h 7 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day The over is 16-3 in Rebels last 19 Sunday games, 9-4 in Rebels last 13 games following a ATS loss, and 37-18 in Rebels last 55 games following a straight up loss. While the Over is 16-5 in Wolf Pack last 21 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400, 16-6 in Wolf Pack last 22 games as a favorite, and 15-7-1 in Wolf Pack last 23 overall |
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01-31-21 | Bradley v. Indiana State | Top | 57-60 | Loss | -110 | 6 h 33 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit MVC Play of the Day The Braves of Bradley enter off four straight losses. The Sycamores of Indiana State have won four straight. ‘Oh! Ohhh! It’s two teams headed in opposite directions!’ Ah, not so fast, my friend. Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing gives us the scout: “They’re going to be like a rabid dog in a cage and will be healthy as they weren’t in some of these losses. They’re two-time defending [MVC Tournament] champions for a reason. Elijah Childs is a handful, you can’t guard him with one guy and they’re one of the best defensive teams in the league, mostly man, but some zone. We’re going to have to play our best game of the year.” This, immediately after he suspended senior guard Tobias Howard (20.5 minutes per game) the other day. Therefore, we’ll figure it’s actually two teams about to be headed in directions opposite of their most recent. Consider that Indiana State is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog. |
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01-30-21 | Tennessee State v. Austin Peay -9.5 | Top | 56-71 | Win | 100 | 7 h 31 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Mismatch of the Day The Governors of AP have three games under their belt since a pause ended. They’re just 1-2 in those games but got a few players back on the floor in the third Thursday night, in which they were a tad unlucky when Belmont – now 11-0 in the OVC – shot 62.7% for the game against them to beat ’em by 5 points. Off two straight home losses and looking at four straight on the road after this, ya’ think maybe they can carry over the effort against the conference’s best team (against whom they put four players in double figures) and bury the last-place team they’ve already beaten on the road by 11 points? Consider that Austin Peay is 20-8-1 ATS in their last 29 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. |
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01-30-21 | Central Michigan v. Kent State -13 | Top | 76-83 | Loss | -110 | 6 h 42 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit MAC Game of the Week The Golden Flashes of Kent State are one of three MAC teams averaging greater than 80 points per game in league play. The Chippewas of CMU are not one of the three. But they are one of two teams giving up greater than 80 points per game in league play. Two-and-a-half weeks ago, Kent State scored 94 vs. CMU on the road despite a pair of foul-outs by starting forwards Tervell Beck and Justin Hamilton, who were limited to less than they average minutes. CMU allegedly couldn’t put enough guys in uniform to go to Buffalo on Wednesday. This game may or may not be played but the match-up favors the home side when CMU is at full strength, so… |
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01-30-21 | William & Mary v. Towson -4.5 | Top | 84-74 | Loss | -112 | 3 h 39 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CAA Play of the Day Seventh game off a long pause, 2-4 and off three straight road losses, Towson returns home determined for a much better beginning than the 43-25 deficit they faced at halftime at James Madison on Wednesday night. It was actually the second bad deficit vs. JMU they’ve had at the half, and JMU happens to be leading the CAA in scoring, and in three-point FG% (42.3%). The visiting Tribe hasn’t topped 67 points in any of its last four games, didn’t win any of the four before them scoring between 40 and 73 points. They’re shooting 38.9% overall in CAA play, just 27.1% on three pointers. A far cry from last year’s 46.8% and 33.4% numbers. |
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01-29-21 | Robert Morris v. Wright State -14 | Top | 70-79 | Loss | -110 | 12 h 1 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit NCAAB Game of the Week The home side averages 81.7 points per game. RMU’s leading scorer, 6’7”, 210 AJ Bramah, averages 21.5 points per game without making a three-pointer all season. (Nobody else averages more than 9.3.) Wright’s sticky-fingered zone would figure to deny Bramah the ball inside and even if he gets it in there, he’d still be up against a wide body in the home side’s 6’8”, 260 Loudon Love, no slouch on the offensive end himself with a 14.6 points per game average (and 10.3 rebounds). Tanner Holden leads Wright State with 16.9 points per game and four others are averaging 8.7 to 13.7 points per game behind Love, two of them grabbing 6.9 and 6.3 boards per game and Holden, a 6’6” guard, getting 7.7 boards per game. Too much all around for the home side, it would seem. Consider that Wright State is 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game. |
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01-27-21 | Ole Miss v. Arkansas -4.5 | Top | 59-74 | Win | 100 | 10 h 13 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit SEC Play of the Day With five kids averaging double figures and a 7’3” player like Connor Vanover who can step out, take and make three pointers, Arkansas has the potential to turn Kermit Davis’ Ole Miss defenders into Kermit the Frogs. Ole Miss enters off a pair of low-scoring wins (64-46, 61-50) against Mississippi State and Texas A&M, a pair of suspect-shooting grinders who can’t really spread the floor on offense. |
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01-27-21 | Virginia Tech v. Notre Dame | Top | 62-51 | Win | 100 | 9 h 47 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit ACC Play of the Day If Virginia Tech would like to remain ranked in the Top 25, then they’ll come out and forget about the 18-point loss at Syracuse in which Syracuse got 64 points of 78 in the lane or at the free-throw line. “We wanted to drive in on their center and make him play defense on Marek [Dolezaj],” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “When we got a mismatch, we got Quincy down in low. That’s what we wanted to do there.”And, they did. Which Notre Dame won’t. The Irish stay out on the perimeter and run their little ball screen for guards like Cormac Ryan, who make 1-for-5 on their threes and don’t rebound anywhere near enough of their misses. Consider that Virginia Tech is 14-2 ATS in their last 16 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400. |
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01-26-21 | Missouri +3 v. Auburn | Top | 82-88 | Loss | -108 | 5 h 7 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit SEC Play of the Day Tell me can you win yet another ***BEST BET so fine? Tell me, Cuonzo, Cuonzo, Cuonzo!’ While it may be asking a lot of the Mr. Martin’s Tigers to beat Tennessee-Auburn within four days on the SEC road, they have a team laden with upperclassmen who have become versatile in terms of how they are able to play and compete well. That’s why they’ve been able to win on the road at Arkansas and Tennessee already, two very different kinds of games. Cuonzo is actually “letting them play” this season instead of having his hands on their waistbands all the time. Of course, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers present challenges to Missouri’s defense that Tennessee did not. But Auburn’s defense leaves much to be desired and they are probably a little points-drunk after hanging 109 on five-guard South Carolina on Saturday, a team that couldn’t rebound enough to slow them down. |
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01-25-21 | Texas Tech v. West Virginia -1.5 | Top | 87-88 | Loss | -110 | 11 h 17 m | Show |
NCAAB Play of the Day When he was with VCU, Texas Tech’s 6’7” Marcus Santos-Silva wasn’t playing in the paint against many guys like West Virginia’s 6’10” Derek Culver. Away from that advantage-Mountaineers, West Virginia opponents are making only 29.1% of their three-pointers. Huggins’ fellas came off three postponements to get a good tune-up game under their belt at Kansas State on Saturday. “I thought we were a bit rusty offensively, but defensively we stepped up and played one of our best games of the year,” said guard Miles McBride. He had a big game vs. Tech last season and now the rust has been knocked off. Some of that rust may be transferred to the Red Raiders, who’ve had their last two games postponed. Rust never sleeps. |
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01-24-21 | Western Kentucky v. Middle Tennessee UNDER 138 | Top | 68-52 | Win | 100 | 5 h 1 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit NCAAB Total of the Day The under is is 7-1 in Hilltoppers last 8 vs. a team with a losing straight up record and 6-2 in Hilltoppers last 8 road games. While the under is 11-3 in Blue Raiders last 14 overall, 7-2 in Blue Raiders last 9 home games, and 13-5 in Blue Raiders last 18 vs. a team with a winning straight up record. |
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01-23-21 | Missouri +8 v. Tennessee | Top | 73-64 | Win | 100 | 10 h 26 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit SEC Play of the Day ‘Can you continue to win our ***BEST BETS on you so fine? Tell me, Cuonzo, Cuonzo, Cuonzo!’ After Tennessee won 73-53 at Mizzou in the SEC season opener, many will be hesitant to back the Tigers on the road in the same match-up. But something’s gone amiss with Tennessee since then, and head coach Rick Barnes is so furious lately about lack of effort, lack of little details and leadership that he promises lineup changes (they’re 10-2 but young, so…). While the Vols will no doubt come out breathing fire off the 26-point loss at Florida, Missouri has a margin for error in the line with some Cuonzo adjustments on the way – possibly getting Mr. Tillmon more involved than he was in the first meeting, after which Martin wasn’t all that disappointed with how the team played. Tennessee made a lot of the baskets Missouri asked them to make, at -2 that day. Now the Vols – with point guard Santiago Vescovi playing hurt and another ball-handler, guard Jaden Springer, still out by all accounts – have to win by much at least 9. |
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01-23-21 | Tennessee Tech v. Murray State -13 | Top | 63-72 | Loss | -110 | 10 h 22 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit Ohio Valley Conference Play of the Day It usually takes Murray State two seasons to lose five Ohio Valley Conference games but here they are at 2-5 after only seven have been played. All the losses have been close, to opponents that are among the top half of the conference. But the Racers blew away bottom-dweller UT-Martin by 22 points recently and Tennessee Tech is a fellow bottom-dweller. Off Thursday’s latest loss, it’s feeding time for the bottom feeder! Tech’s 72-69 loss at Austin Peay on Thursday night came as their host was short-handed off a program pause. They trailed 27-5 early. If they were a good team, we’d say that the 27-5 was an aberration. But they’re not a good team. Consider that the Racers are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games as a home favorite. |
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01-23-21 | Jacksonville State v. Austin Peay UNDER 140.5 | Top | 76-70 | Loss | -110 | 4 h 30 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Total of the Day The under is 5-1 in Gamecocks last 6 games as an underdog, 11-4 in Gamecocks last 15 Saturday games, 5-2 in Gamecocks last 7 games as a road underdog. While the under is 16-5-1 in Governors last 22 overall, 6-2-1 in Governors last 9 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, and 18-7-1 in Governors last 26 games following a ATS loss. |
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01-23-21 | Duke v. Louisville -3 | Top | 65-70 | Win | 100 | 6 h 5 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Blowout of the Day Look, things are tough all over the nation but look on the bright side. It’s late January, Duke is unranked, 1-8 ATS, Coach K is already on record as wanting to bail, and they’ve lost two in a row leading into this third straight road game against what is probably the best opponent of the trio. Without the home rout against Bellarmine, Duke would basically have a 73-73 PF/PA average. They’ve lost their one match-up with Louisville in each of the last two season, by 6 points at home last year. Louisville is angried up off two losses, most recently to a Florida State team that has had its number big-time the last few seasons – no big deal there. |
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01-22-21 | Charlotte v. Florida Atlantic OVER 126.5 | Top | 53-66 | Loss | -110 | 7 h 25 m | Show |
CBB Play of the Day The over is 12-3 in 49ers last 15 games as a road underdog, 12-3 in 49ers last 15 road games vs. a team with a winning home record, 6-2 in 49ers last 8 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600, and 7-3 in 49ers last 10 games following a ATS win. While the over is 4-0 in Owls last 4 games as a favorite, 6-1 in Owls last 7 overall, and 5-1 in Owls last 6 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game. |
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01-21-21 | Arizona -2.5 v. Arizona State | Top | 84-82 | Loss | -107 | 5 h 7 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit PAC-12 Play of the Day ASU is 1-9 ATS. There’s a reason we call them Hurley’s girlies. One of the most expectation-laden teams, every year, which can’t even win consistently in a conference that hasn’t been what it used to be for a while. The visiting Wildcats can’t play in the post-season this year, which should put an even greater emphasis on dealing with the rivalry games. Having last Saturday’s Oregon game postponed gave Sean Miller and staff extra time to get home and get ready, while ASU was stuck up in Corvallis, OR over the weekend losing another one. Although it was excusable to lose to USC and UCLA home, and even OSU on the road, remember that ASU lost by 13 points vs. UTEP in their final game before Pac 12 season began. |
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01-20-21 | Providence v. Creighton -9 | Top | 74-70 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 17 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Play of the Day Providence had their shot at the Blue Jays at home recently, couldn’t get it done. Their ability to prevent Creighton from swishing three-pointers through their own friendly rims is highly questionable. When the Friars lost 67-65 at home to Creighton they shot only 33.8% from the floor. But it’s not unreasonable to expect the same or worse off an eight-day break and playing in this place, where Creighton is known for getting quick separation that throws slower-paced opponents out of whack. Starting point guard Jared Bynum has been out for Providence. Head coach Ed Cooley: “I’ve never coached a team that wasn’t tough emotionally, mentally and, more importantly, physically. This team has got to get to that point. If we don’t get to that point, we’re going to have a tough time surviving in the Big East.” Thanks for the heads-up, coach! |
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01-19-21 | Tennessee -6.5 v. Florida | Top | 49-75 | Loss | -122 | 7 h 8 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit SEC Play of the Day The Vol1s have won four straight against the Gators. Can’t see how this Mike White-coached Florida group – weakened on the inside by injury absences – can score much against a Tennessee bunch that defends equally well inside and out. Florida prefers a quick pace; Tennessee probably won’t allow that to happen. Florida shot in the mid-30s percent range on two-point shots in their last two games. They are shooting a decent 37% from three-point range in SEC play. But – ah, always a but – they haven’t faced Tennessee yet. Clang-clang, rebound Vols. |
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01-19-21 | South Carolina v. Missouri -5.5 | Top | 70-81 | Win | 100 | 7 h 58 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Mismatch of the Day ‘Tell me why should we make a ***BEST BET on you again when South Carolina can score like Texas A&M can’t? Tell me Cuonzo, Cuonzo, Cuonzo!’ Could it be because Jeremiah Tillmon once again has nobody to go out and chase on the perimeter? This seems to be the case, given the tendencies of the South Carolina bigs, who also aren’t that big. Tilmon is averaging 18.5 pg and 9 rebounds in his last three games. “There’s not many in America that’s better,” Martin says. “There might be some that’s just as good. But high level of player on both sides of the ball, and then doing it efficiently without fouling. Really impressive.” Consider that Missouri is 14-6-1 ATS in their last 21 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400 while the home team is 4-1-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings. |
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01-17-21 | Virginia Tech -7 v. Wake Forest | Top | 64-60 | Loss | -110 | 7 h 26 m | Show |
ACC Play of the Day Head coaches Mike Young and Steve Forbes squared off in the Southern Conference when Wofford and East Tennessee State matched up. Young beat Forbes five of the last eight times and his Virginia Tech team has a one-season head start in his systems vs. the first-season Forbes, whose Demon Deacons endured a long pause recently that should continue to be an obstacle as he attempts to make something of the mess that Danny Manning left behind. Nowhere to go but up, but hopefully not yet, as one of their guards suggests: "It’s just going to take a little time. Hopefully it happens sooner or later, and we can maybe flip the switch, but it’s just a matter of time before we get to it." Another guard, Carter Whitt missed the Louisville game and should still be out. Va. Tech’s Jalen Cone has been giving them a starter’s production coming off the bench. |
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01-17-21 | Hofstra v. Delaware +3.5 | Top | 68-67 | Win | 100 | 2 h 30 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CAA Play of the Day Hofstra is now 0-5 ATS in the Colonial following Friday’s outright loss as the road favorite. We had that happy-happy back-to-back against them last weekend with Northeastern, and they followed up on that SU/ATS L-L with an outright loss here by 18 points. People are looking at them as if they already won the CAA, like they did last year, and as if their head coach is still there, which he hasn’t been. They have a short roster, play mostly 40 minutes of zone, are easy to prepare for, have a target on their backs and aren’t shooting as accurately as they did last season. |
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01-16-21 | Washington v. UCLA -14.5 | Top | 76-81 | Loss | -103 | 7 h 17 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit PAC-12 Play of the Day Undefeated in conference play and looking to move back into the national rankings, UCLA is set to put its much-improved offense up against visiting Washington today. The Bruins (10-2, 6-0 Pac-12) will enter off an impressive 91-61 victory Thursday over Washington State when the leaders of the conference shook off their tendency to play to the level of their opponent. UCLA has not gone 7-0 to open conference play since 1993-94. Washington (1-10, 0-6) will enter the game off a brutal 95-68 loss Thursday at Southern California. UCLA is 4-0 since the start of the new year, but Thursday was the first time the Bruins defeated an opponent by double digits in that time. Consider that Washington is 6-20 ATS in their last 26 games as an underdog. |
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01-16-21 | Arkansas v. Alabama -2 | Top | 59-90 | Win | 100 | 5 h 43 m | Show |
CBB Mismatch of the Day And, like we said before picking them at LSU (d-oh!), Arkansas is known for SEC road losses and losing a lot of games after recording 0- and 1-loss non-conference seasons. Alabama has a couple of injuries (Jordan Bruner, Herb Jones) that will no doubt draw Arkansas money but those folks can have ’em ‘cuz we don’t want ’em. Look at those injury chasers, driving the number down. |
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01-16-21 | Toledo v. Akron +4 | Top | 94-95 | Win | 100 | 3 h 19 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit MAC Play of the Day We could have a little zig-zaggy action here with Akron coming home off a road loss at 2-9 Northern Illinois (after a seven-hour bus ride), and Toledo coming in just a little too hot for us to sincerely believe it can continue, off 95-78 and 96-63 home wins vs. Ohio and Eastern Michigan. And, of course, there were the six straight wins before that. And the 99-89 win by Toledo on this floor last season. And yet, we go with the home dog coming off two road losses. It’s their only MAC home game in a five-game stretch. |
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01-16-21 | Missouri -4 v. Texas A&M | Top | 68-52 | Win | 100 | 2 h 22 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit SEC Play of the Day Tell me how will the virus pause affect the Tigers? Tell me Cuonzo, Cuonzo, Cuonzo!’ “I’ve been in leagues where you’ve had a week off. It’s not a bad thing in my opinion. I assume we’ll be fine.” Martin likes it when his 6’10”, 260 Jeremiah Tillman plays against opponents with traditional bigs who don’t step out and shoot three pointers. A&M’s Emanuel Miller and Kevin Marfo have combined to shoot 0-for-5 on three-pointers this season. There you go, coach. A&M has chances to win when they hold opponents to 50-something. Get to 60! |
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01-15-21 | Siena -6.5 v. Rider | Top | 78-69 | Win | 100 | 6 h 19 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Play of the Day The visitor – who won the MAAC last year and is the favorite to win it again -- has won 15 straight in MAAC play. The host – picked to finish last in the MAAC -- has lost three straight conference home games. Siena had every right to be behind the curve after a very long pause before they could play a single game. They had no non-conference tune-ups. But they’ve zipped past Monmouth and Fairfield for 4-0. Rider is 17-28 ATS in MAAC games the last two-plus seasons, which includes 0-3 ATS as a home underdog. |
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01-15-21 | Duquesne v. St Bonaventure -8.5 | Top | 48-62 | Win | 101 | 6 h 16 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Mismatch of the Day With only one day between the loss/no-cover at Dayton and this schlep from there up to Olean, NY, struggling Duquesne seems to be in a tough spot. Starting point guard Sincere Carry said ‘no mas’ earlier in the week and joined guard Lamar Norman, Jr. in the transfer portal. Another guard, Maceo Austin, is on leave for personal reasons. Carry did not leave for playing time reasons, which would seem to be a problem because it’s not like Dambrot was happier with somebody else when Carry – a junior playing a lot since his freshman season -- was getting 30.2 minutes per game. Consider that St. Bonaventure is 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 games as a favorite. |
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01-14-21 | Arizona -8 v. Oregon State | Top | 98-64 | Win | 100 | 11 h 24 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Mismatch of the Day The Wildcats’ Saturday game at Oregon has been postponed, so Sean Miller doesn’t have to play with an eye to Saturday. That wasn’t going to happen anyway, because Arizona is off two home losses and shooting guard Jemarl Baker, Jr. was lost for the season to injury in the most recent. Miller will shuffle the rotation some and Oregon State, forced to pause for seven days with seven players in isolation and back to practice only this Tuesday, can’t scout the shuffle. The Beavers have their own problems to worry about coming off the pause. |
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01-14-21 | Washington State v. UCLA -9 | Top | 61-91 | Win | 100 | 5 h 30 m | Show |
PAC-12 Play of the Day Washington State’s bigs have length, size and rebound well but they are butchers with the basketball. Head coach Kyle Smith is advertising starting four freshmen here. The loss of guard Chris Smith was supposed to hamper UCLA – according to others. Guess what? They’re 5-0 in the Pac 12, and have won all three games he hasn’t played. The last four wins by the Bruins have been close – by 2, 3, 6 in OT, 5 points. This doesn’t have to be |
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01-13-21 | Auburn +1.5 v. Georgia | Top | 95-77 | Win | 100 | 11 h 47 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit SEC Play of the Day He’s still flying a little under the radar so may as well try to leverage him, him being Auburn freshman guard Sharife Cooper, who became eligible late last week and played his first game for the Tigers in the 94-90 loss vs. Alabama. How’d he do? In 36 minutes, Cooper scored 26 points, 9 assists, 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, against a pressure-oriented Alabama group. Yes, the Tigers are still looking for their first SEC win (0-4). But given that Georgia is 0-3 in the SEC, turning it over 18 times per game, and not suddenly introducing a high-scoring freshman guard of their own, it’s not unreasonable for them to be Auburn’s first victim. |
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01-12-21 | Kansas v. Oklahoma State +4 | Top | 70-75 | Win | 100 | 3 h 20 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Play of the Day 6’9” and 6’10” scorers on TCU, Texas and West Virginia did damage against OSU in the Cowboys’ three Big 12 losses so far. Although KU’s 6’10”, 265 David McCormack is coming off 20- and 17-point games he’s averaging 11 ppg. Need to see more. The worst OSU has done so far after 40 minutes in a Big 12 game is trail by 3 points. NBA-bound Cade Cunningham gets only one chance in his life to play against Kansas in a home game. |
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01-09-21 | Texas v. West Virginia -1.5 | Top | 72-70 | Loss | -107 | 3 h 41 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers began putting the new plan in place during their road trip to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State over the weekend. It took a while for them to get going with a four-guard lineup but they eventually got the hang of it with huge second halves each time in their 1-1 split. Their centerpiece Derek Culver had a horrible time of it vs. Oklahoma but rebounded with 22 points, 19 rebounds at Oklahoma State. Texas hits Morgantown, WV ranked #4 to West Virginia’s #14 and the Mountaineers are thinking, ‘Those ranks should be reversed!’ 6’9” senior Royce Hamm should still be in virus protocol for the Longhorns. |
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01-09-21 | Ohio State v. Rutgers -4 | Top | 79-68 | Loss | -106 | 2 h 46 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-10 Play of the Day The Scarlet Knights have revenge for a 80-68 road loss on Dec. 23. This is a program that was 2-16, 1-17, 3-15 in its first three Big Ten seasons, which beat the Buckeyes here in their fourth during a 7-13 conference season, went 11-9 in conference last year when they lost only 72-66 at Ohio State. Guess what we’re saying is that Rutgers belong now. Rutgers led the earlier meeting 38-28 at halftime, got out-scored 52-30 in the second half. “I needed to do a better job of getting this team ready for the two things this team (OSU) does well — rebounding and shooting free throws,” said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. And, if you’re thinking he was being sarcastic about the second thing, you’re right. “I just have to do a better job with the officials. They’re great. They do a great job.” Senior guard C.J. Walker – leader on the Buckeyes in minutes per game – suddenly out with an injury |
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01-09-21 | Hofstra v. Northeastern +2 | Top | 56-67 | Win | 100 | 2 h 44 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CAA Play of the Day A match-up so nice, they’re doing it twice. Hofstra is now 0-3 ATS in CAA play while their head coach Joe Mihalic is out on medical leave. There isn’t much of an adjustment they can make, as a team that plays 40 minutes of zone defense. They play a short rotation that can’t press for long stretches for fear of foul and fatigue. They’re not shooting the rock as well as they did last season. Northeastern head coach Bill Coen can tell his team, “Listen, if you slackers hadn’t come out and trailed 46-29 at halftime at their place on Thursday, you wouldn’t have had to make those fine Winning Points people worry and you wouldn’t have had to sweat overtime just to get out of there with a win. Now, let’s go! From the get-go! Those guys beat us three times last year and we still owe them! |
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01-08-21 | Grand Canyon -9.5 v. Tarleton St | Top | 75-72 | Loss | -111 | 3 h 49 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day Tarleton State – located in the south of Utah -- moved up into Division 1 this season, has played only four games – none since Dec. 9 after eight straight postponements – and lost to Abilene Christian by 21 points in their most recent game against a D-1 foe. Off three straight losses to legit post-season tournament sides San Francisco, Colorado and Arizona State, in which they were undervalued going 3-0 ATS and out-rebounded all three, Bryce Drew seems to be in a Grand spot to right the ship and start WAC play A-OK. Since they last played, TSU assistant coach Steve Shields has resigned to become a parks department director in Arkansas |
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01-07-21 | UNLV v. Colorado State -9 | Top | 71-74 | Loss | -107 | 9 h 54 m | Show |
CBB Mismatch of the Day The host Rams were sharpening the saw at San Diego State earlier this week, “finishing” strongly in each second half of their two-game, back-to-back series (37-27 the first night in victory, 41-28 the second night in defeat.) Given that UNLV hasn’t played since Dec. 5 after a program pause, and is kind of a ratty team, anyway, for the Runnin’ Rebels to take the court after such a long break, to play at high altitude against an opponent that just finished strongly two nights in a row against a quality foe… |
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01-06-21 | Oklahoma v. Baylor -11.5 | Top | 61-76 | Win | 100 | 30 h 51 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-12 Play of the Day The Sooners caught West Virginia in the Mountaineers’ first go-round without power forward Oscar Tshiebwe, working four guards around Derek Culver, who got them a big 2 points in 22 minutes, with 7 turnovers. D-oh! Wrapped up in working their new arrangement, WVU missed a lot of shots early, which messed up their transition defense, and they fell behind the Sooners by a considerable amount (38-20) at halftime. Oklahoma was able to weather a late charge by West Virginia to get the win. They travel to Waco, TX to face an opponent with no such transitional learning curve in their game on either end of the floor. The Bears have won five straight over the Sooners over the course of the prior three seasons, when they weren’t unbeaten and ranked #1. For all the bitcoins. |
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01-05-21 | Connecticut v. Marquette +1 | Top | 65-54 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 3 m | Show |
Big East Play of the Day Welcome back to the Big East, UConn, Love, Marquette. This Huskies bunch was one of the nation’s worst long-trip travelers when it was in the American Athletic. They’ve been cuddled in their home-state bubble, and the confines of their friendly home floor, since the beginning of this season and have left the area for the first time. They shot only 35.8% when they lost by 2 points to an off-kilter Creighton team, then had the pleasure of facing pause-problem Depaul after that. Off a difficult stretch to open Big East season (at Creighton, Seton Hall, at Xavier, Villanova), Marquette got a reprieve at Georgetown and comes back home for what appears to be another. |
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01-03-21 | Wake Forest v. Georgia Tech -9.5 | Top | 54-70 | Win | 100 | 8 h 12 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day Wake played down in class on Nov. 25 and 27 vs. Delaware State and Longwood. Then, they paused for a while. They came back on Thursday to beat Division 2 Catawba, 70-62, without Ian Dubose (senior grad transfer guard) and Tariq Ingraham (6’9”, 255 freshman), each of whom led the team in scoring the first two games. Both will miss the rest of the season. “We had to find a game, at least one. It would have been nice to play four or five of those,” said first-season head coach Steve Forbes. How many times in the history of college basketball has a team played a couple games around Thanksgiving then not being to play or practice again until New Year’s Eve? That’s difficult. I don’t know the right answer for that one, but I know for us it’s been a tough and difficult path… We’re so far behind, it’s scary.” |
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01-02-21 | CS-Fullerton v. UC-Santa Barbara -15.5 | Top | 61-65 | Loss | -110 | 10 h 6 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day A match-up so nice, they’ll give it to us twice! UCSB didn’t even play with its real rotation last night, managed to win by 18 points. Head coach Joe Pasternack will probably take this second of back-to-backs more seriously, to complete a sweep and reverse what happened to them last weekend at Irvine. |
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01-02-21 | Purdue v. Illinois -8 | Top | 58-66 | Push | 0 | 8 h 13 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-10 Play of the Day Not sure how sustainable Illinois’ 42.6% three-point shooting is. But this should be a good day to be Kofi Cockburn, with Purdue opponents hitting 71.7% of their shots at the rim. Purdue is 0-2 ATS on the Big Ten road so far and lost both meetings vs. Illinois last season, by 26 and 17 points. “Purdue basketball still looking to build defensive foundation,” said a local headline yesterday. Look to Salt Lake City, where Haarms transferred. |
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01-02-21 | Missouri +7 v. Arkansas | Top | 81-68 | Win | 100 | 2 h 26 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit SEC Play of the Day Tell me can you, off a 20-point home loss vs. undefeated Tennessee, win a road game against a 9-0 Arkansas team that just scored 97 points on the road at Auburn? Tell me, Cuonzo, Cuonzo, Cuonzo!’ He didn’t seem too concerned about the Tennessee game, giving all the credit to the highly ranked Vols, who are probably the best defensive squad in the nation. Telling talk, perhaps, from Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman after the 97-85 win vs. Auburn, a team still being molded by Bruce Pearl (compared to a pretty set Missouri squad): “To be honest with you, this game tonight, knowing that we had two ranked teams in the top 15 in our next two games, since I’ve been at Arkansas, for a regular season game, this was by far the most important game that I have been a part of with this team.” |
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01-01-21 | CS-Fullerton v. UC-Santa Barbara -16 | Top | 63-81 | Win | 100 | 10 h 25 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day Off losses on back-to-back nights at Cal-Irvine, the Barbarians – who’ve beaten Loyola Marymount by 11 points and Pepperdine by 12, on the road -- return home ready to take it to whomever they’ve had all week to prepare against. It happens to be the Fullertons, who have a grand total of one game under their belt so far, played against San Diego Christian of D-2 on Dec. 13, in which ten players got 11-24 minutes of court time. You know how to proceed. |
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12-31-20 | Colorado v. USC -1.5 | Top | 72-62 | Loss | -114 | 11 h 60 m | Show |
PAC-12 Play of the Day The Trojans four games postponed or canceled, hadn’t played since Dec. 8 before beating Santa Clara 86-63 Tuesday night. The tall Mobley brothers are combining to average 27.5 ppg, 17.6 rebounds, 4 blocks per game. The team has the best field goal percentage among Pac 12 squads (49.2%). Tad Boyle doesn’t coach his Buffs to experience lop-sided halves against themselves on the road, but he has yet to prove that he can coach them to avoid having lots of them. Let’s have another, bud. |
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12-30-20 | George Mason v. Massachusetts -6 | Top | 93-92 | Loss | -105 | 26 h 27 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day UMass has beaten A-10 foe Lasalle by 19 points. George Mason is off a class-drop loss at home vs. Norfolk State, and had beaten Towson – who hadn’t played in a month – by only 5 points before that. Five double-digit scorers – four of them around 6’9”, 245 Tre Mitchell (21.5 ppg) is probably too much for GMU to guard and then match on the other end. |
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12-30-20 | SMU -8 v. Temple | Top | 79-71 | Push | 0 | 23 h 31 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Mismatch of the Day Temple has played two games. You’ll remember that we had Houston as a BEST BET against them in the second, laying a lot and winning by more (76-50). The Temple program seems like it’s been on the way down and still has a ways to go. As we noted Dec. 22, they haven’t had consistently accurate shooters for several seasons. One 50-point game at Houston doesn’t mean they can’t bounce back with many more in the next, but the capabilities haven’t shown, they haven’t played since, the Houston game was their seventh straight AAC defeat, SMU is 5-0 and allowing only 63 ppg |
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12-29-20 | Ole Miss v. Alabama -130 | Top | 64-82 | Win | 100 | 8 h 33 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day John Petty and James Rojas return for Alabama after being suspended for their win vs. ETSU a week ago. The Tide hasn’t looked as sharp as they did last season but they beat Ole Miss 103-78 on the road and it’s not like Ole Miss, en route to being 5-1, has beaten anybody that gives you the shivers. The number is just too short to pass up. |
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12-26-20 | Indiana v. Illinois -7.5 | Top | 60-69 | Win | 100 | 6 h 13 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-10 Play of the Day The Hoosiers have failed two serious tests already. Losing by 22 to Texas, falling behind badly at home vs. Northwestern. Illinois is the best foe they’ll have faced in nine games, and the reverse is not true for Illinois, who has played four of their last five games away from home vs. Duke, Missouri, Minnesota, Rutgers and Penn State. |
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12-23-20 | Northwestern v. Indiana -7.5 | Top | 74-67 | Loss | -113 | 11 h 3 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day What happens to Northwestern one game after they destroyed Michigan State in the Big Ten opener? How about a crash at Indiana? Izzo is infamous for failing to prepare Michigan State early in conference season, which then gives him an opportunity to remind his players that they are terrible and need to listen to him in order to improve. It’s all part of the master plan of peaking later on, because he is Mr. March, not Mr. December. Northwestern is mostly a five-out offense, the type that in the Big Ten, would figure to be the most volatile night in and night out, meaning much variance in performance. |
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12-22-20 | Temple v. Houston -16.5 | Top | 50-76 | Win | 100 | 8 h 38 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Units CBB Play of the Day Temple has played one game, three days ago, against NJIT. They won it 72-60, shooting 40% from the field on their home floor, with a 30-12 disparity in free throw attempts. They haven’t shot well for four years and should shoot it worse on this long road trip with a class rise into conference play against a ranked, unbeaten opponent that allows 55.6 points per game, had some virus issues, didn’t play for 15 days, but got players cleared recently and returned for a good tune-up win vs. Alcorn State on Sunday |