College Basketball Handicapping Articles

Expert College Basketball Handicapping: Ranking the Conferences from Betting Perspective
by Trevor Whenham - 1/17/2019

If you just look at the AP Poll when you are trying to rank the conferences in college basketball, it comes down to a battle between the ACC and the Big Ten. The Big Ten has Michigan ranked second and Michigan State ranked sixth, so they have a strong case. But the ACC has top-ranked Duke - for now top ranked, at least - with undefeated Virginia fourth, and three more teams in the Top 13, so they come out on top.

NCAA Basketball Betting Advice: Top Teams Falling Short of Expectations
by Trevor Whenham - 1/17/2019

The biggest problem with betting on college basketball, especially if it isn't your primary passion, is that there are just too many teams. There are so many conferences, and so much competitiveness within conferences, that trying to stay on top of it all is overwhelming. And lines are typically only set a day or maybe two before games, so we don't have much time to evaluate the dizzying number of opportunities out there.

Expert College Basketball Handicapping: The Last of the Unbeatens
by Trevor Whenham - 1/8/2019

And then there were three. Being the last unbeaten college basketball team in the country doesn't really mean anything - unless your unbeaten streak continues through March and into April. But that doesn't mean that watching the ranks of unbeaten teams diminish and figuring out which will be the last one standing isn't a fun thing to do every year. And now that Nevada not only lost but was completely humiliated, we are down to just three teams - Houston, Michigan and Virginia.

Expert College Basketball Handicapping: Nonconference vs, Conference Play
by Trevor Whenham - 12/14/2018

This is the month of good cheer, presents and family - often too much family. And in college basketball it is also the time when we flip from the nonconference season to conference play. In so many ways it is like the conference season is a whole different sport. Nonconference play is about big challenges and incredibly easy games. About highs and lows. Ebbs and flows. It is hard for a rhythm of any kind to be established. But conference play is different. More stable. Steadier. And a lot easier to handicap, in a lot of cases.

Expert College Basketball Handicapping: The Last of the Unbeatens
by Trevor Whenham - 12/4/2018

It's pretty incredible if you think about it - there are 353 Division I college basketball teams, and less than a month into the season we are down to just 11 unbeaten teams. And by Friday we will have no more than 10. Some were expected to be this good. Others are various degrees of surprising. Here's a look at each of the squads, how they got here, and how far they might go before losing:

College Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Studs and Duds Against the Spread
by Trevor Whenham - 12/4/2018

We are almost a month into the college basketball season. In that time, we have seen some teams that have met or exceeded expectations and others that have been big disappointments. We know that what happens in November rarely has a big impact on what happens in March, when things really happen. But it is still a good idea to look at which teams have been kind to bettors and which ones are burning money.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Mid-Major Teams with Betting Value
by Trevor Whenham - 11/16/2018

When it comes to mid-majors, everyone knows how good Gonzaga is this year, and the hype around Nevada is intense as well. But that is pretty much it - or at least the amount of attention teams get beyond those two falls off a cliff. But there are more than just two mid-majors worthy of attention. And paying attention to these teams now when casual bettors aren't not only can give you an edge now but also in the tournament when the teams are more than just a name on a bracket to you and you can make informed decision in a pool of fish.

Expert College Basketball Handicapping: Marquee Teams Tough to Trust
by Trevor Whenham - 11/16/2018

We are only two weeks into the college basketball season, but already we have seen no shortage of impressive, surprising, and head-scratching results. And as a result, we are faced with realities surrounding some high-profile teams that are quite different than they were just two weeks ago when the season was about to start. In particular, there are three teams that were ranked in the Top 9 in the preseason poll that are a real puzzle.

2018 AAC Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/7/2018

The addition of Wichita State, a premium mid-major program with national name recognition, couldn't have come at a better time for the American Athletic Conference. Connecticut, one of the AAC's standard-bearers, is floundering. And injuries submarined last year's league champion SMU and this year's tournament hopeful Central Florida.

NCAA Basketball Expert Betting Advice: Three Interesting Opening Lines 3/8/2018
by Alan Matthews - 3/7/2018

Thursday could be the last game as UConn coach for former Huskies star player Kevin Ollie as his team faces SMU in the AAC Tournament. Ollie's star was incredibly bright after leading Connecticut to the 2014 national title, but things have pretty much gone downhill since and there are alleged recruiting allegations surrounding the school. Barring a miracle run, UConn (14-17) will finish back-to-back seasons with losing records for the first time since 1985-86 & '86-87.

2018 Big East Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/6/2018

This league is one of the most competitive and parity-driven in college basketball. Villanova and Xavier, two Top 10 teams, are clearly the two best squads. But the next five teams in the 10-team league all finished either 10-8 or 9-9, and this league should send more than half of its schools to next week's NCAA Tournament. Throw in the magic of The Garden, and this week's tournament could be anyone's ball game.

2018 SEC Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/6/2018

Instead of a Kentucky vs. The Field storyline, the SEC heads to the unfamiliar territory of St. Louis for its conference championship with as many as 10 teams jockeying for a postseason berth and as many as six teams harboring real hopes to win the league title. The league has experienced a resurgence. And an influx of top-tier coaching and player talent two years ago is finally reaping national rewards; the eight possible NCAA Tournament bids the SEC is projected to receive would match the combined total of the last two years.

2018 Big 12 Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/6/2018

Kansas vs. The Field has been a sucker bet in regards to the Big 12 regular-season championship. The Jayhawks have won (or shared) an astonishing 14 straight regular season titles and have dominated one of the best leagues in college basketball. But the Jayhawks came as close as ever to having their streak snapped, needed a late-year collapse by Texas Tech to earn the top seed in this week's tournament.

2018 Pac-12 Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/6/2018

The Pac-12 Conference has been under a microscope for all the wrong reasons this year. The regular season started with three highly-touted UCLA freshmen getting arrested in China, and it ended with Arizona coach Sean Miller answering questions about whether or not his career is over. In between there were injuries, suspensions, eligibility questions and a lot of poor play in what was a down season for the league.

2018 Mountain West Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/6/2018

The Mountain West might not be as tough as it once was - in 2013 it was the No. 4-rated league in the country and sent five of its nine teams to the NCAA Tournament. But what the league lacks in top-end talent it makes up for with intensity and experience. This year's field includes a dominant Nevada team that went 15-3 in league play and worked its way into the Top 25. But beyond the Wolf Pack there are six more teams that also host realistic hopes of knocking off the top seed and stealing another bid for this proud league.

2018 Conference USA Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/6/2018

I know you don't watch Conference USA basketball. I know you don't know anything about these teams and even less about these players. But believe me when I tell you: this year CUSA has been one of the best and most competitive mid-major leagues in the country.

2018 Sun Belt Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/6/2018

Louisiana dominated the Sun Belt this year, winning the regular-season title by four full games. However, there are three other teams chomping at the bit to get a shot at the Ragin' Cajuns, and there is nothing to guarantee that Bob Marlin's squad is going to leave this weekend's tournament unscathed.

NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Help: Expert Handicapping
by Trevor Whenham - 3/6/2018

For most people, conference tournaments are just a distraction while we wait for what really matters - the setting of the brackets and the start of March Madness. Smart bettors know, though, that watching conference tournaments can yield all sorts of valuable information about how ready teams are to shine in the main event. The big storylines in conference tournaments are obvious - top seeds, star players, and so on. Here, though, are three somewhat more under-the-radar storylines worth keeping an eye on this year:

NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament Expert Betting Advice: Vulnerable Top Seeds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/6/2018

The first major conference tournament of 2018, which happened a week before the rest, was a sound reminder of what can happen in these events. Michigan went into the tournament as the fifth seed and almost blew it with an overtime win in their opener against an underwhelming Iowa team. But then they shifted into another gear and beat up on the first- and third-seeded teams in the tournament, Michigan State and Purdue, en route to a conference title.

2018 ACC Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/5/2018

This year's Atlantic Coast Conference could become just the third league in history to send 10 teams to the NCAA Tournament. That could happen despite the fact that, by my estimation, the ACC is no better than the third-best conference in the country. (Take your pick between the Big 12, SEC and Big East for better leagues.)