College Basketball Handicapping Articles

College Basketball Handicapping: Can Syracuse Stay Unbeaten?
by Trevor Whenham - 2/12/2014

The Syracuse Orange are one of just two remaining undefeated teams, and with all due respect to Wichita State, they are the only one playing in a conference that is a real challenge for them. The unanimous No. 1 team in the country has faced some real challenges and has overcome them without exception so far. But how far can they go without a loss? When are they most likely to fall? And is there an advantage to losing at some point along the way? Let’s take a look:

NCAA Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 2/10/2014

It's always nice when something clearly stands out from a weekend of college basketball for me to focus on in these weekly stories, and by far the big news last week was what happened to Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart in Lubbock on Saturday. It would probably still be dominating the news if not for the Michael Sam story.

College Basketball Handicapping: Possible Fade Opportunities
by Trevor Whenham - 2/7/2014

When betting on college basketball, one of the finest ways to generate a profit is to spot good teams that are vulnerable and could play below expectations for a stretch of games. Baylor was 12-1 and riding high in nonconference play. They have gone just 2-7 in the Big 12 and have delivered a lot of value for those who have bet against them. In the same conference, Oklahoma State was highly-regarded before they dropped four of their last five.

College Basketball Handicapping: Top 10 Struggles
by Trevor Whenham - 2/5/2014

There was carnage in the upper ranks of college basketball this past weekend. Top-ranked Arizona suffered their first loss at the hands of Cal, and four other Top-10 teams — Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas and Oklahoma State -- also lost. Oklahoma State had also lost their previous game during the week, too. So, what can we learn from the worst weekend of the season for Top-10 teams?:

Sports Betting Insights: College Basketball Totals Betting
by Dave Schwab - 2/5/2014

Wagering on the “over/under” in men’s college basketball is oftentimes an afterthought for many bettors who tend to mainly focus on the spread or moneyline bet. One of the reasons is total lines are often released well after the initial betting lines for games. Another is that many games involving mid-major teams will not even have a total line posted. Nonetheless, it is worth the time and effort to study total line betting trends as you can often find some golden opportunities to cash in on the games.

NCAA Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 2/3/2014

We had three college basketball teams enter February still without a loss for the first time since 1976, but we are guaranteed that no more than two will get to March that way, and I tend to believe that number will be zero.

College Basketball Betting: Saturday Odds and Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 1/31/2014

Below is a look at five games that aren’t in the same stratosphere as the SU-Duke game in terms of hype and national exposure. But these five games are each critical in their own way, involving teams either battling for conference championships or fighting to earn their way into the NCAA Tournament discussion.

NCAA Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 1/27/2014

This could be the week that determines whether top-ranked Arizona actually has a chance at running the table in the regular season. While I don't consider it likely, I do think UA has a shot because the Pac-12 really isn't all that great. Other than a scare at UCLA, the Wildcats have had little trouble against their conference foes thus far.

College Basketball Betting: Saturday Odds and Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 1/24/2014

Saturday is money day in college basketball. The games start at 11 a.m. on the East Coast and run well past midnight. In between is the overwhelming action of a thousand whistles, winners and those “what-the-hell-happened” moments that make college hoops such a spectacle each winter.

NCAA Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 1/20/2014

The Big Ten gets picked on from a football standpoint, and that's mostly been deserved as it usually looks pretty bad in bowl games. However, I thought the Big Ten might be the best basketball conference in the land this season. After what happened last week, I'm no longer sure of that.

Free College Basketball Picks: Creighton at Villanova Odds
by George Monroy - 1/20/2014

The No. 6 Villanova Wildcats are about to hit a rough patch in their schedule when they face Creighton, Marquette and Georgetown over the next seven days. The Wildcats’ lone loss of the season came at the hands of the No. 2 Syracuse Orange last month. The team has since been on a roll, winning five straight Big East games—three of them by double-digits—and moving up in the Associated Press Top 25 as the sixth-ranked squad in the nation.

College Basketball Handicapping: Big Ten Toughest Conference in Nation
by Trevor Whenham - 1/17/2014

The Big Ten is the toughest conference in college basketball right now, and it’s not even close. There are a lot of very good teams, and if early conference action is any indication then they are going to pound each other into the ground for the next two months. For bettors, a conference this deep and this tough is a major handicapping nightmare. It seems as if anything can happen, and getting a true sense of where any team stands is very challenging.

College Basketball Handicapping: Why Duke is Struggling
by Robert Ferringo - 1/13/2014

Duke’s demise would normally lead to glee for the overwhelming majority of college basketball fans, myself included. The Blue Devils are smug villains and the most reviled program in the country. But while their shaky start in the ACC should be the source of great enjoyment, I instead find myself annoyed that a team I projected No. 1 in the country in my preseason power rankings is faltering.

NCAA Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 1/13/2014

Are we seeing a balance of power shift already in the ACC? That conference obviously has been dominated by Duke and North Carolina for decades -- even though Florida State and Miami are the past two ACC tournament champions. It was presumed that the Blue Devils and Tar Heels would be ACC and national championship contenders as usual this season.

College Basketball Handicapping: the Last Unbeatens
by Trevor Whenham - 1/8/2014

And then there are five. When Ohio State lost at Michigan State on Tuesday night in one of the best college basketball games you could hope to see, they fell to 15-1. That means that just five teams from major conferences remain undefeated. The prospect of a perfect season is an alluring one. No team has gone unbeaten since Indiana way back in 1976, and the great 1991 UNLV squad was the last to enter the tournament without a loss.

NCAA Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 1/6/2014

I thoroughly enjoy college basketball, but we should all agree that the regular season is mostly worthless, especially for veteran teams like a Michigan State that has played together for years and knows it's going to be a Top-3 seed in the Big Dance.

College Basketball Handicapping: ATS Studs and Duds
by Trevor Whenham - 1/3/2014

As we get ready to transition from nonconference play to heated conference action in college basketball, it’s a good time to look at which squads have rewarded bettors so far, which have burned bettors’ money up, and what to expect going forward:

NCAA Basketball Betting and Handicapping: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 12/30/2013

The Big Ten opens conference play this week, and here's hoping you didn't put down heavy money on defending national runner-up Michigan to win the conference this season; it was the +300 third-favorite to start the year. Now I'm not convinced the Wolverines will reach the NCAA Tournament.

College Basketball Handicapping: Teams Worse Than Nonconference Records
by Trevor Whenham - 12/26/2013

As we head into the start of conference play in college basketball, it is very important that we don’t get fooled by records and rankings that can make us think that teams are better than they may actually be. If we give a team too much credit heading into conference play then we can be destined for struggles and losses early in conference play until we can adjust and adapt.

College Basketball Handicapping: Teams Better than Nonconference Record
by Trevor Whenham - 12/24/2013

We are nearing the end of the nonconference season in college basketball. As the calendar turns to 2014, the sport turns to the determination of conference champions over the next two months. We know a lot about teams because they have already played about a dozen games. In a lot of cases, though, the nonconference schedule doesn’t necessarily indicate what we can expect in conference play.