College Basketball Handicapping Articles

Expert College Basketball Predictions: Weekly MAC Betting Report and Picks
by Chris Vasile - 2/13/2017

There are six games left in the MAC regular season, and teams are starting to feel the effects of a rigorous campaign. To break down the MAC, you must first place the teams into three categories - good, inconsistent and bad. The only good team in the MAC is the Akron Zips. They own an 11-1 conference record. They are guaranteed a double-bye, and I really like their chances at getting an auto bid to the NCAA tournament by way of winning the MAC title.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/13/2017

It's already the middle of February, and we are a little less than three weeks away from the first conference tournaments tipping off. The March Madness action will be here before you know it. We'll try to make some money before it rolls around.

NCAA Basketball Handicapping: Gonzaga Unbeaten Record May be Bad Sign in NCAAs
by Trevor Whenham - 2/13/2017

The Gonzaga Bulldogs soundly dismantled St. Mary's for the second time this season on Saturday night to move to 26-0. The Gaels are their toughest conference rival by far, so the path is now set for the Bulldogs to run the table and be undefeated heading into the postseason. They are now the 11th team in the last 40 years to open with at least 26 wins.

2017 NCAA Tournament Field Projections and Predictions for March Madness
by Robert Ferringo - 2/10/2017

Selection Sunday is March 12, and the NCAA Tournament begins with the play-in games set for Tuesday, March 14, in Dayton. The first round begins on Thursday, March 16, and the Final Four will take place on April 1 in Phoenix. I know that "bubble speculation" is one of the most hyped up, annoying, and integral parts of the NCAA Tournament season. Speculating about who will make the field is a cottage industry (and the genesis of articles like this one). However, by my count the bubble field is pretty shallow right now.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Feb. 11 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/10/2017

A reminder that on Saturday, CBS will air the March Madness Bracket Preview show at 12:30 p.m. ET time, where the NCAA Tournament committee will unveil its top-four seeds in each region as things stand now. It's the first and last time this preview will take place this season. Selection Sunday is then 29 days from Saturday. My predictions for the top seeds in each region are Villanova in the East, Baylor in the South, Kansas in the Midwest and Gonzaga in the West. No huge surprises there and pretty much what every expert has. I think Baylor is the weakest of those four and won't finish as a top seed. Either the ACC or Pac-12 champion will take that one.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Under-the-Radar Teams that Could Make Noise in March
by Trevor Whenham - 2/10/2017

Now that football season is over, attention for many bettors starts to shift - at least somewhat - towards college basketball. And just in time - soon enough we'll be into conference tournaments and then the Big Dance. In anticipation of that great time of year, this is a good time to look beyond the high-profile teams and pick out some of the under-the-radar teams from smaller conferences that, if they make the field, could do some damage.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Feb. 9 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/8/2017

Get ready for wall-to-wall promotions on ESPN for the next 24 hours or so - I'm sure they started a few days ago - as college basketball's best rivalry is renewed Thursday night for the first time this season when North Carolina visits Duke. The schools are just eight miles apart on Tobacco Road, with UNC the state's flagship public university and Duke a private school that's probably 85 percent comprised of rich kids from the Northeastern USA. I get tired of all the hype around the rivalry, but I always end up watching - some of the pranks between the student bodies are legendary -- and surely will Thursday.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Feb. 8 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/7/2017

The record for the number of teams from one conference to reach the NCAA Tournament in a season is the Big East when 11 of its 16 members reached the field in 2011. That conference has since been watered down with teams like Syracuse and Louisville leaving for the ACC. And it's the ACC that could potentially tie or break that mark this year with I think 11 schools currently having a shot - and maybe an unlikely 12th wins the conference tournament. The ACC already holds the record for the greatest percentage of its league members in the Big Dance. It put six out of nine teams in the tournament in both 1996 and 1997.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/7/2017

With the football season now in the rear view mirror, the action on the hardcourt will be getting most of the attention over the next few months. It's only six weeks until the NCAA Tournament. Be ready for some bigger lines on the public favorites as more bettors jump into the college basketball betting market in the weeks ahead.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Feb. 7 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/6/2017

If we are being honest, a lot of success in life is simply because of who you know. Or what type of family you come from. I mention this because I wonder how much rope John Thompson III will get at Georgetown simply because he's the son of the former Hoyas coaching legend. Barring a miracle run to the Big East Tournament title, the Hoyas are going to miss the Big Dance for the third time in four years. There's really no excuse for that at Georgetown with its history and all the excellent high school basketball players in that area of the country. If the Hoyas don't close the regular season with some momentum and at least an NIT berth, Thompson III could be gone.

Expert College Basketball Predictions: Weekly MAC Betting Report and Picks
by Chris Vasile - 2/6/2017

Last Tuesday's MAC action started off so promising in terms of wagering. I was looking dead set on going 2-0 with my free picks, until disaster struck and the Ohio Bobcats forgot how to play defense and score the basketball. Ohio held a 19-point advantage at one point in the first half before allowing Western Michigan to pull to within six at the break. From there, it was all Broncos as they poured in 52 second-half points en route to a five-point win. To make matters worse, the late game followed a similar script.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Feb. 4 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/3/2017

As with some of this weekend's NBA games, BetOnline is offering cross-sport props on a few top college basketball players against Super Bowl LI between the Patriots and Falcons. I won't go through them all, and I recommend you go check them out. Here are a couple of examples: The total number of points, rebounds and assists by North Carolina star Justin Jackson (-115) vs. Notre Dame against the longest reception by Patriots receiver Chris Hogan (-115); or the number of points by Kentucky star freshman Malik Monk (-115) at Florida vs. the number of receiving yards for Patriots running back Dion Lewis (-115).

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Feb. 1 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/31/2017

Maybe I'm just paying more attention this season, but I can't remember a college basketball year where there have been so many key injuries to potential Final Four teams. The latest has struck Xavier, which has never made a Final Four in 26 previous NCAA Tournament appearances and probably won't this spring now. Point guard Edmond Sumner has been lost for the season to a torn ACL suffered late in a win at St. John's on Sunday when he landed awkwardly on a drive to the basket. Sumner was projected as borderline first-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft had he declared; now I'd think he would return to school.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/31/2017

Gonzaga became the fifth different No. 1- ranked team when this week's AP Top 25 came out. The Bulldogs are definitely deserving. Yes, they play in a weaker conference, but they beat some very good teams in their nonconference schedule, and Mark Few's team has been sharp every single game. Oddsmakers haven't been able to catch up to how good the Bulldogs are this season. Kentucky's home loss to Kansas this past Saturday was a big surprise. Also, UCLA has had a rough run of late, and they have fallen out of the Top 10.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 31 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/30/2017

I don't think it's particularly fair that a head coach get fired because injuries torpedoed his team, but I believe Indiana's Tom Crean is in some trouble with his Hoosiers certainly on the NCAA Tournament bubble and now having lost another key player. A couple of weeks ago, potential NBA lottery pick OG Anunoby was lost for the season to a knee injury, and now junior guard James Blackmon Jr., the team's leading scorer, is out indefinitely with a lower leg injury.

Expert College Basketball Predictions: Weekly MAC Betting Report and Picks
by Chris Vasile - 1/30/2017

Saturday was a crazy day in the MAC conference as underdog and "over" bettors were the beneficiaries. The undefeated Akron Zips almost succumbed to their first loss of the season but pulled out a 91-90 win over the reigning MAC champion Buffalo Bulls. The Zips needed two late free-throws with 2.3 seconds left to not only tie but take the lead and keep their double-digit win streak intact. Over at the Memorial A&C Center in Kent, Ohio, bettors were treated to a 200+ point game thanks to a 105-98 Central Michigan win over Kent State.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 28 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/27/2017

I'm sure it's not news to you that all of the good nonconference matchups in college basketball's regular season take place in November and December. Things like the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. However, to stand apart a bit, the SEC and Big 12 decided to move their one-day Challenge to the middle of the season last year. I think that's a great idea for a break from the monotony of conference play, and that returns this Saturday with 10 games -- there are only 10 Big 12 teams, so four SEC teams are out of luck. You can see all 10 on some form of ESPN, and one clearly stands above the rest. The Big 12 has won the previous three Challenges.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 26 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/25/2017

The weekly unveiling of the College Football Playoff Top 25 -- weekly starting around midseason -- has been a pretty big success both from a ratings perspective for ESPN and in terms of generating buzz for the sport. So in no surprise, the NCAA men's basketball committee will unveil its Top 16 overall seeds next month as they stand at the time. The Top 4 in each region will be shown on the March Madness Bracket Preview Show on CBS on Feb. 11 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

College Basketball Betting Advice: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/24/2017

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are always really good, but no one knew they were going to be this good. Gonzaga is a whopping 13-4 against the spread this year as the books struggle to rate them highly enough. Mark Few's team might be able to make that Final Four run this season. How about the mid-major darling from last year's NCAA Tournament? The MTSU Blue Raiders are 14-5 ATS so far this year.

NCAA Basketball Expert Predictions: Three Interesting Jan. 25 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/24/2017

It's a good news/bad news situation for Oregon star Dillon Brooks. He was forced to leave last Thursday's game against Cal and was feared to have suffered a season-ending broken foot. Brooks had missed the team's first four games of the season due to rehabilitation from surgery on the same foot. He originally declared for the NBA Draft before choosing to return to school, but he injured his foot during a workout soon after he was back on campus.