College Basketball Handicapping Articles

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.)

2018 Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/5/2018

It has been a rough year for the Atlantic 10. This league is currently ranked No. 11 in the country, its lowest rating in over a decade and the first time since 2007 in which they weren't in the Top 10 conference in the country. And if form holds this could be the first season since 2007 in which fewer than three teams from the A-10 make the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Basketball Expert Betting Advice: Three Interesting Opening Lines 3/6/2018
by Alan Matthews - 3/5/2018

Some very interesting results in conference tournaments over the weekend. Michigan upset Michigan State and Purdue to repeat as Big Ten champion - the Wolverines now probably wish the Big Ten Tournament wasn't a week earlier this season so they could carry that momentum immediately into the Big Dance. Lipscomb upset Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun final to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

2018 NCAA Tournament Projections and Expert Bracketology
by Robert Ferringo - 3/1/2018

I know that speculating about who will make the field is seemingly part of the fun of college basketball. But, frankly, it drives me nuts. Snake-oil salesmen like Joe Lunardi, whom I've exposed as a loser time and time again, have tried to add a veneer of credibility to projecting the NCAA Tournament field. However, guys like Lunardi are nothing more than common trolls who use their invented positions as college basketball soothsayers to sway the national discussion about (and in turn have a real impact on) the NCAA Tournament.

2018 West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament Odds and Expert Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 3/1/2018

The only thing interesting about the West Coast Conference Tournament is the prospect of a rubber match between its two best teams, Gonzaga and St. Mary's. But then again, since Gonzaga is 4-0 against the Gaels in their last four league tournament meetings, can we even say that matchup would be all that interesting?

NCAA Basketball Expert Betting Advice: Three Interesting Opening Lines 3/2/2018
by Alan Matthews - 3/1/2018

Very interesting news Wednesday night from South Bend as Notre Dame star forward Bonzie Colson returned on Senior Night in the Irish's easy win over Pittsburgh after missing 15 games due to a left foot fracture. The Irish are now 12-3 with Colson, the preseason ACC Player of the Year, in the lineup but are squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. How much might the NCAA Tournament selection committee take the Irish's record with and without Colson into its decision-making? Notre Dame, currently listed among the "Next Four Out" on ESPN, could now be very dangerous Saturday to close the regular season at No. 1 Virginia on Saturday as well as in next week's ACC Tournament.

Missouri Valley Tournament Arch Madness Expert Betting Picks and Preview
by Tony George - 3/1/2018

My specialty conference is the Mo Valley along with the Big 12, and as March Madness fast approaches with conference Tourneys, with the Big 10 and many Mid-Majors this week and weekend, a quick breakdown of this tourney, which is played in St Louis every year, and "Arch Madness" from St Louis looks to be top heavy this season, with a massive amount of parity in between.

NCAA Basketball Expert Betting Advice: Three Interesting Opening Lines 3/1/2018
by Alan Matthews - 2/28/2018

The Big Ten Tournament started Wednesday and is held for the first time at Madison Square Garden in New York as the league looks to expand its footprint. The only reason Rutgers is in the Big Ten was so it could have a New York/New Jersey presence. The Big Ten had to start the tourney a week earlier than normal because the Big East wasn't about to move its tournament dates, and it has an ironclad contract with the Garden.