February 2012 College Basketball Events

Calendar of College Basketball Events for February 2012 brought to you by collegebasketballprediction.com

College Basketball News

NCAA Hoops: Illinois vs. Texas betting odds and preview
2010-11-18

Sportsbook.com Illinois vs. Texas betting lines: Texas +3.5, O/U 139.5

After disappointing 2009-10 campaigns, which included a one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament, and a third-round NIT loss, Texas and Illinois are on a mission to prove that last season was a speed bump, and this season will be the express lane that will take them deep into the big dance.

The Fighting Illini returned all five starters from last season’s team, are off to a 3-0 start and are showing several good signs early this season. The guard trio of Demetri McCamey, D.J. Richardson, and Brandon Paul are shooting a combined 47.4% from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Illini as a team is shooting over 54% FG on the season. Head coach Bruce Weber has been impressed with his team’s defense, as Illinois is holding its opponents to just 36% shooting from the field. On the interior of that defense, senior center Mike Tisdale is averaging 7.7 RPG to go with 2.3 BPG.

The college basketball betting crowd over at Sportsbook.com think Illinois is the way to bet as an overwhelming 92 percent of the cash is on the Illini.

Texas head coach Rick Barnes spent much of the offseason revamping the Longhorns’ offense. Now he has put that new offense in the hands of the new kids on the block in Austin, freshman point guard Cory Joseph and fellow freshman Tristan Thompson. In the November 10 victory over Louisiana Tech, Joseph had eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Meanwhile, all Thompson did was tack on 17 points coming off the bench. Between the two freshmen, and sophomore Jordan Hamilton, who is averaging 22.5 PPG thru two games, the new offense seems to be working well.

Expect Texas to get a major test from the length of Tisdale, Mike Davis and the rest of the Illinois defense. In the backcourt, the challenge of the young Texas guards going against the experienced shooting trio of McCamey, Richardson and Paul from Illinois should be an equally intriguing match-up. Seeing it all play out on the Madison Square Garden stage will be a fitting backdrop for two teams who want nothing to do with returning to the Garden in March for that "other" postseason tournament.

To bet on this game or any other game on tonight’s college basketball betting board, head over to Sportsbook.com now.

CBB: Elite 8 Round Trends & Tidbits
2010-03-26

The Road to the Final Four has just one step remaining for eight lucky college basketball teams. A victory in the Elite 8 games on Saturday & Sunday will put four teams in Indianapolis for next weekend’s festivities. Who will it be though? Are there any trends or systems from past NCAA tournaments that will give us an idea of what to expect in the four games over the next two days? Of course there are, and we’re here to share some of those with you. After reading through the Elite 8 Trends & Tidbits, be sure to click over to the LIVE ODDS and GAME MATCHUPS pages on Sportsbook.com for the latest key game information.
* Lesser seeds hold an overall advantage in this round since 1998, going 29-17-2 ATS (63%).

* Since eight straight covers by lesser seeds in the Elite 8 round games of 2005 & 2006, better seeds, all #1’s, have gone 8-4 SU & 7-5 ATS.

* In Elite 8 games that have had pointspreads of 3-points or less, the lesser seeds are on an incredible run of 17-4 SU & 16-5 ATS (76%), including 13-3 SU & ATS as underdogs!

* Teams favored by 8-points or more in the quarterfinal round have lost just two of the last 12 games outright, but are just 3-9 ATS (25%).

* Teams seeded #4 or worse and taking on a better seed are on a 15-5 ATS (75%) run in the quarterfinal games.

* There has only been one upset in the Elite 8 round since ’98 when the difference between the seeds has been five or more. In such game, the better seeds are 12-1 SU but 4-8-1 ATS (33%).

* The Elite 8 round has been the highest scoring of any round over the last eight years, with games averaging a total of 147.5 PPG while going 28-15-1 OVER (65%).

* In games with totals less than 145, the OVER has been spectacular, 22-7 (76%). In games between “A” level conference teams, the OVER is 20-9 since ’99.

More Elite 8 Notes
• #1 Seed favs > 7 pts are 0-7 ATS vs foe off BB ATS wins

• #2 Seeds are 2-9-1 ATS off a DD ATS win

• #3 Seeds are 1-4 ATS

• #4 Seeds are 7-1 ATS

• #5 Seeds are 4-0 SU and ATS

• #6 Seeds are 0-6 SU

• #8 or higher seeds are 6-2-2 ATS

• Teams off BB ATS losses are 6-2 ATS

• Teams with Revenge are 12-4-1 ATS

• Favs who scored < 65 pts last game are 0-5 ATS

• Dogs off 3 straight DD wins are 1-4-1 ATS

• Dogs who scored 85 < pts last game are 1-4 ATS

CBB: NCAA Round Two Trends
2010-03-20

The NCAA tournament moves into the second round on Saturday and Sunday, as the field will be trimmed from 32 o 16 teams. Fans can only hope that this round offers up as many exciting games as the first round did. Bettors can follow the action all weekend long on the LIVE ODDS and GAME MATCHUPS pages of Sportsbook.com. For now though, be sure to give some consideration to these historical second round trends, straight from the 2010 StatFox College Basketball Tournament Handicapping Guide.
- There was only one upset last year in the second round, as the better seeds, all favored, went 15-1 SU & 11-5 ATS (69%). OVER the total was 12-4 (75%).
- Sunday is the more popular upset day of the opening weekend, with 36 of the 61 lower seed wins happening then. In fact, the worse seeds own a straight up record of 36-48 SU, or 42.9%. They are also 47-41 ATS, 53.0%.
- Double-digit favorites in the second round are on a he run of 23-0 SU & 17-6 ATS (74%) since ‘01.
- #1 seeds have really picked up the scoring in their second round games, going 28-15 OVER (65%) while scoring 80 PPG.
- #2 seed’s that win their opening round game are just 11-16 ATS (41%) in the second round. When favored by 6-points or less, they are just 6-14 ATS (30%) in their L20. Their last seven games have gone OVER the total.
- All eight #3 seeds have reached the Sweet 16 in the last two tournaments, boasting a 8-0 SU & 7-1 ATS record in Round Two. They are also 8-3-1 OVER the total since ’07 (73%).
- The #4 seeds should be on upset alert in the second round, with just a 16-18 SU & 11-23 ATS (32%) mark since ’98.
- Upset winners from the first round are just 4-11 ATS (27%) when trying to pull off another upset in the second round over the last two years.
- In second round games where a double-digit numbered seed has met one #6 or worse, the better seed is 9-0 SU & 8-0-1 ATS (100%) over the L10 years.

Top Four NCAA Seeds Set in Stone
2010-03-11

One of the most anticipated televised programs for college basketball fans is this Sunday’s Selection Show on CBS. This is where the entire field of 65 teams is announced and college basketball teams anxiously await to find who, where and if they are part of the illustrious field. In most years, the top seeds are in question, pending the outcomes of conference tournaments. Most of the time a couple of the top teams are considered safe during Championship Week, however anywhere from four to eight teams come down the stretch with at least an outside chance to snag a coveted No.1 seed. Until this year. Read on for a look at the teams figured to snare the #1's on Sunday then head over to the FUTURES page to get the tournament championship odds on all the teams.

All season we have listened to the offerings of ESPN’s Jay Bilas telling us there are no great teams, which is partially correct, but sometimes true greatness isn’t measured until we’ve had time to reflect.

For the last couple of weeks, we have also been told that this year’s NCAA tournament could be “one of the wackiest ever” (from Dick Vitale) and as many as eight to 12 teams are capable of putting together a six game winning streak and be crowned champions.

Unless a catastrophic injury occurs, like what happened to Purdue, the four number one seeds are already locked. Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke will be at the top of each of the four regions, thus saving you from having to watch the first five minutes of the Selection Show should you so choose.

You can put in the book, even if all your teams were to lose their first game of the conference tournament, they would all still emerge as No.1’s.

What makes me so sure, all you have to do is look up the odds to win the national championship at Sportsbook.com. This is how it currently reads.
Kansas +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
Kentucky +300
Syracuse +300
Duke +700

They are the top four teams in every legitimate ranking service and the next group down is for the near-sighted.

Until last week, Kansas State still had a argument, sort of an under the radar choice, but losing to the Jayhawks in Lawrence and carrying that baggage around to falter against Iowa State at home a few days later, takes them out of contention.

Purdue had a very legit chance to crack this cluster, however the unfortunate loss of Robbie Hummel still leaves the Boilermakers high in the polls, but not to those placing futures wagers. Purdue is down to +3500 to be crowned champions, placing them below Wisconsin (+2500), but above Tennessee (+5000).

I asked COO Ken White of Las Vegas Sports Consultants what he would speculate Purdue would have been with healthy Hummel and he said “Purdue opened (the season) at 12-1 and if Hummel had not been injured, the Boilermakers would likely have been 7 to 1 or 8 to 1”.

West Virginia and Ohio State are among the favorites to win the Big East and Big Ten conference tournaments, however even if they did come away as titlist’s, the Mountaineers have six losses and until knocking off Villanova last week, there most impressive road was against Seton Hall (?). The Buckeyes have suffered seven defeats and the loss at North Carolina back in November doesn’t help the resume now and they were also beaten by West Virginia. Both teams are +1200 to win it all.

A case could be made for New Mexico, if they were 31-0 instead of 28-3. Much like a non-BCS conferences in football, the Lobos spectacular surprise season is outstanding, just not good enough to be top seed unless they were unscathed. Interestingly, New Mexico is +4500 to be national champions.

In the end, if there are truly no great teams, than what is the rest of the field? Is this the year a Villanova (’85) or N.C. State (’74) from yesteryear comes out of nowhere to pull a Buster Douglas and shock the world? We are about to find out, backed with the knowledge whom the top four seeds already are.

CBB: Great Late Season Wednesday CBB Card
2010-03-03

While all the talk in college basketball is about seeds, brackets, who’s in and who’s out, the college basketball bettor is focused on one thing, what winners can I find today? Sports bettors live in two worlds, the present, trying to win, or the past, reflecting on the prior wins and losses. The former is a healthy trait, particularly when a number of consequential contests are on tap, which keep the Joe Lunardi’s of the world employed. In all, there are 34 board games set for Wednesday. Let’s take a look at the key contests. Got to Sportsbook.com’s LIVE ODDS page for the latest prices on all the games.

Luke Who?

Time to fess up, even if you are a Notre Dame fanatic, drinking the blue and gold kool-aid, the only basketball team that was going to play in the NCAA Tournament was the women’s once Luke Harangody went down. Three punch-in-the-gut losses left Notre Dame at 17-10, with ranked teams Pittsburgh and Georgetown up next, the dreaded acronym – NIT – was being used again. Yet, after suffering those defeats, senior guard Tory Jackson and sharp shooter Tim Abromaitis have taken the team on their backs and gotten other players to follow suit and all of the sudden the Irish are fighting for a NCAA Tournament bid.

Notre Dame (19-10, 12-10-1 ATS) isn’t necessarily a better team without Harangody, who will be honored on senior night, though is not expected to play with a bone bruise on his knee. What changed is Jackson and Abromaitis deciding to become more assertive and others like Tyrone Nash, Carlton Scott and seldom used Harangody look-alike Jack Cooley have followed their lead. The Fighting Irish are a confident club, fighting to be invited to the field of 65. Notre Dame has covered four of its last five and is 16-3 (7-6 ATS) at home.

Standing in their way is an even more desperate team in Connecticut (17-12, 11-15-1 ATS). The Huskies have to win their last two games in the Big East and probably a couple in the postseason tournament to have chance. From a purely talent perspective, the Huskies are probably the better team, but inconsistency has plagued UConn who is 17-33 ATS on the road after consecutive home games.
Sportsbook.com has Notre Dame as two-point choice and they are 7-17 ATS after covering the spread over the last two seasons. Connecticut is 5-2-1 ATS as an underdog and will look to derail the Irish’s hopes while enhancing their own dreams. The Huskies have won six of the previous seven head-to-head meetings with five covers for this 7:00 Eastern ESPN contest.

Dorothy, we are in Kansas

Coach Frank Martin might rub more than a few folks the wrong way with his barking dog delivery on the sidelines, Mike Singletary steely eyes and bluntness in describing what he sees. Let those people whine while Kansas State turns into Big 12 power and at least this year, Wildcats backers clean up. K-State is 22-4 and still harbors an outside chance to tie for conference crown and is 17-6 against the spread. The last time Kansas State was ranked fifth in the country was 42 years ago, when their coach was Tex Winter (accredited for the triangle offense) and Lakers coach Phil Jackson was 13 years old. Kansas State is 8-1 ATS vs. top caliber teams outscoring their opponents by 12 or more points a game this season.
Martin has shown to be an “everything” person, he wants to win the Big 12, win the national championship and whatever else he can accomplish. To have a chance, his club must beat Kansas (27-2, 10-15-1 ATS) in Lawrence.

The Jayhawks were removed from the No. 1 perch losing at Oklahoma State four days ago and will seek to reestablish themselves quickly against their in-state rival. This game will be rock, chalk, jayhawk full of emotion for guard Sherron Collins. The senior leader will be making his final appearance at Allen Fieldhouse and will want to maintain Kansas’ 58-game home winning streak, the longest in the country. Kansas is 12-3 ATS versus teams outscoring opponents by eight or more points a contest after 15 or more games over the last two seasons.

The Jayhawks are a nine-point favorite, with total of 149.5 and are 11-1 ATS after allowing 45 points or more in the first half last game. Kansas State is 10-2 ATS having won eight or more of their last 10 contests and 7-0 OVER in a road game where the total is 145 to 149.5 over the last three seasons.

ACC title on the line

The Atlantic Coast Conference has not received its usual acclaim this season, with North Carolina plummeting to unforeseen depths and many others being merely pedestrian. Duke and Maryland have managed to stay above the mediocrity and will battle in an important ACC clash.

Maryland (21-7, 14-9 ATS) is a game behind Duke in the standings and jacked-up for senior night. The Terrapins fans will salute seniors Landon Milbourne, Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes.

“In the beginning of year, when I looked at the schedule and saw Duke on Senior Night, I got pretty excited,” Milbourne said Tuesday. “Now, it’s even bigger because we’re fighting for the regular-season title. We’ve been trying to get this chance since I’ve been here, and it’s finally here.” The Terps have won five consecutive games, 11 of 13 and are 14-4 ATS at home off three straight wins against ACC rivals.
It’s difficult to fathom, but only in the last week or two has Duke (25-4, 17-10-1 ATS) been really considered in the hierarchy of college basketball this season. Perceptions are hard to break and the Blue Devils have been an overrated team the last few years. This team is different, with production in the paint, a +5 rebound margin and positive contributions coming off the bench. Duke isn’t going to win if two if their big three have off-nights (Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler), however they have found the answer when one of the trio hasn’t been in top form regularly. Duke is 9-0 ATS versus high-powered offensive teams dropping 77 or more points a game this season.

The Dukies are a short one-point favorite at the sold-out Comcast Center, with total of 146.5. Duke is 17-7 ATS after playing a game as a road favorite, which they were at Virginia (67-49) and is 12-3 UNDER after allowing 55 points or less. Coach Gary Williams might need two suits the way he perspires, yet he has to like his club’s chances since they are 17-6 ATS in home games after covering three of their last four against the spread.

This is the late game on ESPN and the Blue Devils have taken last five (4-0-1 ATS) during the regular season and are 8-4 and 7-5 ATS at College Park the last dozen years.

CBB: This Monday is Really Big
2010-01-19

The Texas Longhorns were voted No.1 in the rankings for the first time last week and found out how thorny that crown can be, holding on to win at Iowa State and being pushed to overtime at home by Texas A&M before surviving this past week. The next test could be the toughest, at No.13 Kansas State on Monday night. That is the late game on ESPN's Big Monday doubleheader. In the early contest, Syracuse, who just pulled an upset at West Virginia, faces a hungry Notre Dame team that always plays better at home and is off a heart-breaking loss. Here's a look at both contests. Be sure to check Sportsbook.com's BETTING TRENDS page to see where your fellow bettors are placing their trust for these and all of Monday's college hoops games.

Syracuse at Notre Dame 7:00E ESPN

Both the Orangemen and the Fighting Irish were engaged in close hard fought battles Saturday, the former emerged victorious, while the latter was beaten in the final seconds.

Syracuse held on at West Virginia 72-71, nearly blowing a 10-point lead in the final 80 seconds. That moved the Orangemen to 17-1 (11-3 ATS) on the year, as they continue to be one of the best shooting teams in the country at 53.4 percent, with the ability to score inside with Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku or the perimeter with a number of sharp-shooters from deep hitting 39.2 percent beyond the arc. This year's Orangemen are much better defensively than the previous couple of years and they are 8-1 ATS after three straight games allowing a shooting percentage of 40 percent or less.

Notre Dame (14-4, 7-4-1 ATS) had a nip and tuck affair with Cincinnati, succumbing late 60-58. It was rare off-game for Luke Harangody, making just 5 or 20 shot attempts. Harangody admitted he missed shots he usually doesn't, however did take more off-balance shots than he normally does. The Big East usually doesn't leave much room for error, as coach Mike Brey explained.

"I told our guys, in this league when you have a game on Monday, you can't dwell on it," Brey said after the loss. "We have to get back to South Bend and get our legs under us." The Irish are 20-35 ATS off a road loss against a conference rival.

Syracuse is going off as three-point favorite and are 6-0 ATS as visitors playing against a team with a winning record this season. The total is 158 and the Orangemen are 9-1 OVER after a win by six points or less over the last three seasons. Notre Dame is 6-0 UNDER at home off a Big East loss since last season and 6-17 ATS in South Bend when the total is 150 to 159.5.

The Fighting Irish are 3-7 and 4-6 ATS the last 10 times the 'Cuse has come calling.

Texas at Kansas State 9:00E ESPN

The Longhorns have played a number of very good clubs this season and has played at an extremely high level except for a couple blips here and there. This road encounter is against one of the best teams in the Big 12 who would savor the opportunity to take down one of the nation's No. 1 team. One edge Texas (17-0, 8-5 ATS) has is in the frontcourt with Damion James, Dexter Pittman and Gary Johnson.

Though Kansas State has solid players on the baseline, they don't matchup well in this department. That said the atmosphere will be electric at Bramlage Coliseum, which could offset the Longhorns talent edge with the emotion of the building. Coach Rick Barnes team has been an awful team in Big 12 play with 5-16 ATS record the last two years.

The Wildcats (15-2, 9-3 ATS) will depend on their puissant backcourt of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. With all the talent Texas has at the guard position, they don't have two individuals that complement one another as well as this duo. Pullen can drain the three-ball and Clemente has superior court presence. Kansas State has to play their game to upset Texas and that means being disruptive on defense, where they average nearly 20 points per game off turnovers.

"We understand we're getting ready to walk into a buzz saw," coach Frank Martin said about facing Texas. "That's why those kids signed up and came to play for us. Those are the kinds of games they wanted to be in." The Wildcats are 8-1 ATS at home having won four of their last four games over the last three seasons.

Sportsbook.com has this important matchup as Longhorns as 1.5-point underdogs with total of 159. Texas is off to their best start since 1932 and is just 1-11 ATS off a win against a conference foe and is 14-5 UNDER after failing to cover the spread in two or more consecutive games. K-State is 7-1 ATS playing against a team with a winning record this season and is 13-4 OVER after playing two consecutive games as favorite.

These Big 12 squads have split last six meetings in Manhattan SU and against the number.

StatFox Power Line - Syracuse by 8, Tex/K-State Pick