College Basketball Handicapping Articles

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 11 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/10/2017

Now that the college football season is officially over, most bettors really turn their focus to college basketball. I can promise you one thing: there won't be an Alabama-Clemson rematch in this year's basketball National Championship Game in Phoenix. The Crimson Tide haven't made the Big Dance since 2012 or won a game in it since 2006. Coach Avery Johnson has the program on the right track, but it's not likely to be an NCAA Tournament team this year. Ditto Clemson, which hasn't made the tournament since 2011. The Tigers definitely have sporting bragging rights now, however, as they also beat the Tide in basketball on Dec. 18 in Birmingham.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 10 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/9/2017

As I projected on Saturday, Baylor has risen to the No. 1 spot in the polls for the first time in school history and it is just the second team in the past 25 years (2009-10 Syracuse) to reach No. 1 after being unranked in the preseason. The Bears might not want to get too comfortable there as they visit No. 10 West Virginia on Tuesday night. Over the past 10 years, seven other schools (Villanova, Gonzaga, Texas, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Wisconsin) earned the No. 1 ranking for their first time ever like Baylor. And the longest winning streak for those first-time No. 1s was just four games. Baylor is the 59th school to be ranked No. 1 since the poll started in the 1948-49 season. The Bears are 6-point underdogs at WVU.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/9/2017

Baylor is the new No. 1, and it's the first time in the program's history they have been ranked at the top of the college basketball polls. Scott Drew has done a great job with this program. I don't think Baylor is the best team in the country, but they deserve a lot of credit for how they have played thus far in the season.

Expert College Basketball Predictions: Weekly MAC Betting Report and Picks
by Chris Vasile - 1/9/2017

Just like in college football, the best college basketball teams reside in the five major conferences: ACC, SEC, Pac-12, Big East, and the Big 12. However, some of the best (wildest) college basketball games are rarely broadcasted nationally and feature lesser-known teams from smaller conferences. For that reason alone, the lines for the "smaller" conference games are usually off by one or two points, thus creating value in the betting line.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 7 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/6/2017

Baylor might still be known as a football school, but that program is a mess right now with all the off-field issues and coaching overhaul. It's time to call Baylor what it is: a basketball school. Both the men's and women's teams are No. 2 in the polls, and the men should rise to No. 1 on Monday -- thanks to Villanova's loss on Wednesday at Butler -- as long as the Bears can hold serve Saturday vs. Oklahoma State.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Mid-Majors that Should be On Your Radar
by Trevor Whenham - 1/6/2017

Conference play in college basketball, especially early on, is when we tend to forget about mid-majors. We take notice again when talk of the tournament fires up and we are trying to forecast the bracket, but right now there is so much exciting action in the major conferences that it can be more work than many are willing to do to check in on the less-beaten paths to see which teams are worthy of attention. Some under-the-radar mid-majors, then, can be very useful for bettors who are willing to put in the extra effort to seek them out.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 5 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/4/2017

It's fairly unusual for a head coach to get fired at this point in the season as conference play has just begun around the country and there's still plenty of time to turn things around. But the University of South Florida has pulled the plug on Orlando Antigua. The former assistant to John Calipari at Kentucky was 23-55 in his tenure at USF, which started in the 2014-15 season. The Bulls are 6-7 this season, and their best player, Jahmal McMurray, transferred out of the program last month.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/3/2017

College football is winding down. The NFL is in the playoffs. That means college basketball will be taking center stage soon. Conference play is here, and that means the teams know each other well. We'll see more of the heated rivalries, and I think college basketball fans can look forward to three more months of great action. There are a lot of very good teams this year, and there is no clear favorite to cut down the nets.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 4 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/3/2017

Duke's chances of winning the ACC's regular-season title aren't looking great, although who really cares about regular-season championships. There's the whole Grayson Allen situation as he remains indefinitely suspended for his ridiculous tripping issue. And when Allen comes back is really up in the air now because Coach Mike Krzyzewski is going to coach Wednesday's game vs. Georgia Tech but then have back surgery Friday and miss about a month.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 3 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/2/2017

Welcome to my first college basketball opening lines story of the New Year, where I will provide you with some early next-day lines where we might be able to find solid betting value. I'll also of course try and keep on top of any relevant injuries around the nation -- that's not quite as easy to do as in the NBA, but that's what we're here for. I'll have these for you each Tuesday-Saturday but not some Thursdays because Friday is always the quietest NCAA basketball night on the schedule. We'll play it by ear there. More often than not -- but not always -- I'll look at ranked teams because those games draw more action.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 12/19/2016

Kentucky and North Carolina played in what I believe was one of the best college basketball regular-season games in the last few years. That game was played at a high level all the way. Most of the attention is still on football, but this game was a reminder of why college basketball is such a great sport.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Teams That Could Surprise in Conference Play
by Trevor Whenham - 12/16/2016

As Christmas nears thoughts turn to conference play in college basketball. Yesterday we looked at one team in each conference that has the potential to disappoint given the high expectations on them. It only makes sense, then, that we look at the other side. Here is one team from each major conference, and some others that are interesting, that is a long shot to win it all but which has the potential to surprise and make things interesting:

College Basketball Betting Advice: Teams that Might Disappoint in Conference Play
by Trevor Whenham - 12/15/2016

Conference play closely follows Christmas during the college basketball season. That's when games really start to matter and things really start to get interesting. It's also when bettors start to pay more attention. The premise here today is simple - we are going to look at the major conference and a few others of note, and we are going to pick out one team in each conference that has a real possibility to disappoint. It could be that they will disappoint based on sky-high expectations, or it could be that the nonconference schedule has made them look like something they aren't.

NCAA Basketball Betting Advice: Villanova Primed for Another Championship Run?
by Trevor Whenham - 12/15/2016

Defending a Final Four win is exceptionally hard to do. Florida did it under Billy Donovan in 2006 and 2007. They were the first since Duke, in 1991 and 1992, to repeat as champions. They were, in turn, the first to win two in a row since the Bruins finished their incredible seven-year run under John Wooden - which started only a year after they had won two straight.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 12/13/2016

The College Basketball Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks article returns for the third straight season here at Doc's Sports. We are now deep enough into the season to have some idea about most of these teams, and there are more difficult scheduling situations now than there were in the early going. The slate of games this week is a bit light since many schools have final exams this week, but there will be a much bigger slate of games to look at for next week's article.

NCAA Basketball Betting Advice: Differences Between Conference and Nonconference
by Trevor Whenham - 12/13/2016

We are getting close to that magical time of year. The time when people rejoice and life seems like it just couldn't get any better. I'm talking, of course, about the start of conference play in college basketball. Nonconference play can be fun, and we get some marquee matchups, games played in exotic locations, and other reasons for excitement. It all only barely matters, though. It's just an appetizer. The real season begins when conference play gets rolling and every game because crucially important. Lose in November and you can almost always shake it off. Lose in January, though, and it could be fatal.

College Basketball Betting Advice and Help: ATS Studs and Duds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/13/2016

We really don't know much yet when it comes to college basketball. Conference play is about to start, and until it does the schedules teams play make it so tough to draw real conclusions about which teams are any good and which aren't. The sample size is getting big enough, though, that it is worth at least taking a look at the best and worst teams to bet on so far. The best teams won't all stay profitable, and the worst won't all struggle, but there are trends and lessons here for sure. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of the betting season so far in college basketball:

College Basketball Betting Advice: Handicapping the UCLA Bruins
by Trevor Whenham - 12/9/2016

The UCLA Bruins can do no wrong this year - at least not on the basketball court. They are on a meteoric rise, starting the season ranked 16th in the AP poll but now all the way up to No. 2 in the most recent edition of the rankings. They got to that lofty height by opening 9-0 and, most significantly, by beating the Kentucky team that occupied that second spot in the preseason - at Rupp Arena, no less. It has been a heck of a start for the team.

College Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Michigan State Early-Season Struggles
by Trevor Whenham - 12/2/2016

Things have not gone according to plan for the Michigan State Spartans on the hardcourt this year. And that's an understatement. Heading into the season they were ranked No. 9 in one poll and No. 12 in the other, and several people suggested that they had upward mobility. Yet they lost their first game out of the gate and seemed to like that so much that they have kept doing it.

Big Ten - ACC Challenge Betting Advice and College Basketball Handicapping
by Trevor Whenham - 11/29/2016

November is the time for made up events is college basketball. Some of them are great. Others are ridiculous. For my money, though, the king of the pre-season spectacles in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. It's so simple yet elegant - every Big Ten team plays an ACC team, and the conference that wins the most games is the winner. The ACC has a 10-5-2 edge in the series but has lost the last two.