College Basketball Handicapping Articles

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 17 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/16/2016

Sure, Duke-North Carolina will get all the publicity on Wednesday night. But the Blue Devils aren't winning the ACC regular-season title and that game likely won't be the most consequential one on the board. That title should be reserved for game that will decide the top spot in the Atlantic 10 Conference, as Dayton visits Saint Joseph's for a big-time matchup. Have both teams done enough to earn at-large NCAA Tournament bids if they don't win the conference tournament? Regardless, someone is going to walk away with a major victory Wednesday night.

NCAA Basketball Handicapping: Betting on or Against Bubble Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 2/15/2016

Paying attention to how the NCAA Tournament bubble is setting up - which teams are in the field, which have little or no shot, and which ones have work left to do to dance - is always a productive way for college basketball bettors to spend their time in February. We can often find teams that will be particularly motivated to put out a big effort - and cover a spread as well - and others that could come out flat.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 16 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/15/2016

I picked Duke to beat No. 7 Virginia on Saturday, so I'm glad the Blue Devils did. But have you ever seen a more blatant travel than what went uncalled on Duke star Grayson Allen as he was drilling the fluke game-winning bank shot? The referees should let the players decide the games and not over-officiate, but that was so obvious. But you aren't going to get the call as an opponent in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke returned to the AP poll on Monday at No. 20.

NCAA Basketball Betting: Top-5 Teams Struggling Against the Spread
by Chris Vasile - 2/15/2016

To be the best, you have to beat the best. That saying has never been more accurate in a single college basketball season up until this year. There have been 13 teams to crack the AP Top 5 in the country; Duke, Iowa, Iowa St, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Villanova, Virginia and Xavier.

Worst College Basketball Teams for Betting Against the Spread
by Robert Ferringo - 2/12/2016

Value is a tricky thing to get a grasp on in betting markets. To understand value you need to have a baseline of what your own expectations for a team are, a keen understanding of what the general public's expectations are, and then a focused insight into how to explain their results in relationship to the pre-understood level of expectations. As we saw with the Top 10 best ATS teams this year there were several reasons as to why they had been so good at the window.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 13 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/12/2016

Thankfully the NCAA has come to its senses. Instead of insisting that the four play-in games be called the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the Round of 64 the second round, the organization this week announced it will simply call those first games in Dayton the First Four and the Round of 64 back to the first round and Round of 32 the second round. Not that many people were following the NCAA's "stylebook" anyway.

Best College Basketball Teams Against the Spread
by Robert Ferringo - 2/11/2016

College basketball can be an overwhelming sport to follow, either as a fan or as someone who bets on sports. Most casual fans I know adopt a simple, "I just like March Madness" approach to the game because they don't have the time or inclination to follow the hundreds of teams that make up Division I.

NCAA Basketball Betting Trends: Risky Business Backing Top-Ranked Teams
by Chris Vasile - 2/10/2016

The saying "don't judge a book by its cover" came to mind as I started writing this article. Many recreational bettors (squares) will be the first people in line to lay points with any team that has a "(1)" beside their name regardless of who that team is or when and where they are playing. The more informed handicappers of the world know better than to blindly lay points with the top-rated team in any sport - especially in college basketball this year.

College Basketball Handicapping: Under-the-Radar Teams to Bank On
by Trevor Whenham - 2/10/2016

We focus mostly on the big names and the ranked teams in college basketball. That only makes sense. There are so many teams, though, that there are plenty of teams out there quietly producing profits while operating well outside of the national spotlight. Of the 15 most-profitable betting teams in the country right now, for example, just three are from major conferences - South Carolina, USC, and Kansas State. On the other hand, there are the eight teams we'll discuss here that get no attention but are being very good to bettors' bankrolls:

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 11 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/10/2016

The usually-dominant Oregon football team had a down season, but the Ducks' basketball team is making Phil Knight proud as the Pac-12 leader and perhaps the best in school history. OK, modern history because Oregon did win the National Championship in 1939. No. 11 Oregon starts a tough two-game road trip through the San Francisco Bay area on Thursday night at a California team that needs an upset.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/10/2016

For this article throughout the year, I'll be looking at schedule spots that could be bad ones for teams throughout the course of the season and then recommending plays based on those spots. We'll track the weekly results throughout the course of the season. For games that don't have a line at the time each article is written, the Bookmaker opening line will be used for grading purposes. All plays will be one-unit plays.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 2/10/2016

Villanova put the Big East at the center of the college basketball universe this past Monday when the Wildcats ascended to top spot in both major polls. They got some help from some shocking losses in the ACC and Big 12, but nonetheless this is now the team to beat heading down the stretch run of the regular season.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 10 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/9/2016

Could a team that wins a Power 5 conference's regular-season title still be a bubble team for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid? That question could be asked about LSU right now as the Tigers are unlikely leaders of the SEC but certainly no lock for the Big Dance yet. A win at South Carolina on Wednesday night certainly will help things for freshman star Ben Simmons' Tigers.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 9 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/8/2016

Villanova has been a very good basketball program for many years, so I was surprised to hear that the Wildcats had never been the No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll until Monday. They jumped up from No. 3, with both previous No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 North Carolina losing last week (Heels did it twice). The Wildcats had been ranked No. 2 seven times, most recently in the final poll of last season. Of course, Villanova won the 1985 national title in upset fashion over heavy favorite Georgetown, but the AP doesn't do a poll after the season.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 6 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/5/2016

I'm really looking forward to that Duke vs. Kentucky NIT Championship Game! OK, I am kidding. The two powerhouses will both make the NCAA Tournament but each could be outside the Top 25 in the new polls. Duke already is there and may or may not get back in Monday depending on what it does Saturday at home vs. NC State. Kentucky is going to fall out for sure if it loses its third straight game as it hosts Florida on Saturday.

College Basketball Handicapping: Beware the North Carolina Bandwagon
by Robert Ferringo - 2/3/2016

Groupthink is the enemy of sports betting profit. Whenever there is a generally held consensus in the world of sports - Green Bay and Indianapolis are preseason Super Bowl favorites! The Nationals are going to dominate the N.L. East! - you can all but guarantee that consensus is not only wrong, but shockingly wrong. And it almost always costs common square bettors a lot of money before they realize that these communal delusions are inaccurate and misguided.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 4 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/3/2016

The basketball rivalry in Los Angeles hasn't been much of one over the years considering UCLA's storied history against the not-so-storied of Southern Cal's. The Trojans haven't even made the NCAA Tournament since 2011 or won a game in the Big Dance since 2009. But they will come a step closer to locking down at least an at-large berth with a win over UCLA on Thursday night. The Bruins are very much on the NCAA Tournament bubble. They haven't missed it since 2012.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 2/3/2016

The month of February ushers in the meat of the men's college basketball season as teams really start to jockey for position in their respective conference tournament early next month. The current standings in the Big East through Tuesday's action features three nationally-ranked teams holding down the top three spots followed by a logjam of solid contenders all the way down to Butler at 4-6 straight up in conference play.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/2/2016

It's time for the eighth installment of the College Basketball Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks article. Last season was the first for this article. The month of February is here, and that should be exciting for all college basketball fans since March Madness gets underway next month. After the Super Bowl this Sunday, college hoops will be in the spotlight through the end of the season.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 3 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/2/2016

Seriously, if the Big Ten could go back and decide against inviting Rutgers to join the conference, would league officials do so? The move wasn't made with the quality of the Rutgers football and men's basketball teams in mind but instead having the New York TV market for the Big Ten Network. But that entire athletic program -- the women's hoops team is OK I guess -- is a mess and has had several off-the-field black eyes of late. The men's basketball team might be the worst in modern Big Ten history. But if there's a win to be had this season, it might be Wednesday.