College Basketball Handicapping Articles

NCAA Tournament Projections and Bracketology
by Robert Ferringo - 2/1/2016

Selection Sunday is usually painted as this wild, controversial day on the sports calendar. But the reality is that by that Sunday afternoon the NCAA Tournament field is generally pretty clear. There are always three or four teams battling for the final one or two spots. But beyond that the other 66 positions are pretty cut-and-dry. And at the end of the day we get a tournament field that is relatively problem free.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Feb. 2 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 2/1/2016

Here's something I certainly didn't expect to write this season: "unranked Duke." The defending National Champions dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday (and USA Today poll) for the first time since 2007-08. Duke had been in the poll for 167 straight weeks, the fifth-longest run since the AP poll debuted in 1948-49. The record is UCLA's 221 straight polls from 1966 to 1980. It's actually possible that Duke misses the NCAA Tournament entirely with five games left against teams currently ranked as well as a potential loss at Pittsburgh on Feb. 28.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 30 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/29/2016

Interesting decision by ESPN, the Big 12 and the SEC to stage their annual Big 12/SEC Challenge entirely this Saturday -- every game televised on some member of the ESPN family -- instead of in December with all the other nonconference events. I actually like the idea of breaking up the monotony of conference play with a one-day Challenge, and it certainly will get more publicity now, with no football at all on Saturday, then it does in December with the NFL and NCAA football still going. If the ratings are really good, we might see other such events also moved after football season.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 28 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/27/2016

I'm not sure what the best athletic season in University of Iowa history is when considering the football and men's basketball teams, but I can't remember a better one in my memory than this season. The football squad was unbeaten entering the Big Ten Championship Game, a Top-5 team and played in the Rose Bowl for the first time since Jan. 1, 1991. Yes, the Hawkeyes were crushed by Stanford in Pasadena, but still a great season. The basketball team is atop the Big Ten standings and off to its best start in years. If things break right the rest of this week, Iowa could be No. 1 in next Monday's polls. Alas, I see a loss on Thursday...

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 1/27/2016

The Big East started the week with three teams ranked in the Top 10 of both major national polls and featuring one of the biggest matchups in college hoops on Tuesday's slate. The No. 7 Xavier Musketeers prevailed as 1.5-point road favorites in a huge 75-68 victory against the No. 10 Providence Friars. The 17-3 Villanova Wildcats are still the highest-ranked team in the conference at No. 6 in both major polls, but that could very well change come next week with Xavier's big win.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 27 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/26/2016

Could Duke actually miss the NCAA Tournament? That was a question posed on ESPN on Monday night following the Blue Devils' 80-69 loss at Miami, Duke's fourth defeat in five games. Obviously talk of Duke missing the Big Dance is ridiculous right now as the team is 15-6 overall and 4-4 in the ACC. That said, you can easily see at least five more regular-season losses with two games each against ranked Louisville and North Carolina and one against Virginia.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 26 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/25/2016

Chances are, you didn't pay any attention to Saturday's Ball State at Eastern Michigan game unless you are an alum of one of those schools or perhaps of another Mid-American Conference university. If not, I urge you to Google the end of that game, in which Ball State hit a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left in double OT for the win. I'm not sure I've seen a more poorly officiated possession than what happened there.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/25/2016

It's time for the seventh installment of the College Basketball Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks article. Last season was the first for this article. Parity is the name of the game in college basketball this year. There is no standout team like there was a year ago. It means there are a lot of good teams who can beat each other, and both the conference tournaments and March Madness should be a lot of fun this season!

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 23 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/22/2016

I mentioned earlier this week that I felt obligated to preview every game played by No. 8 SMU going forward as the Mustangs are college basketball's only unbeaten left. And I actually think Coach Larry Brown's team had a good shot of falling Saturday evening at Temple. Alas, that game was postponed by that winter storm crushing the Northeast -- as have some others, including No. 16 Providence at No. 4 Villanova -- so it will now be played Sunday.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 21 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/20/2016

Everyone assumed that Kentucky would win the SEC in a landslide again this season, and I'll admit I was one of those people. The SEC looked like the worst of the Power 5 Conferences in terms of depth (Power 6 if you want to include Big East) as it was last year. As of now, the Cats might not even be the third-best team in the improved league and they could fall out of the Top 25 with a loss Thursday at Arkansas, which is quite possible.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 1/20/2016

The big game on this week's Big East slate was a Tuesday night showdown between the No. 18 Butler Bulldogs and the No. 16 Providence Friars. The Friars prevailed 71-68 in a game that closed as a "pick'em" with 5Dimes to get back on track after losing to the Seton Hall Pirates 81-72 last Saturday as six-point home favorites.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/20/2016

The sixth edition of the College Basketball Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks article is ready to go. Last season was the first for this article. Though it is hard to believe, we are only two months away from March Madness and the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 20 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/19/2016

The top spot in the polls is back up for grabs in college basketball. In the Jan. 19 Opening Line report, I wrote that I expected No. 1 Oklahoma to lose at Iowa State on Monday night. The Sooners did, 82-77, so their first week at No. 1 since 1990 will last just the one week. Those top teams really need to avoid the state of Iowa as three No. 1s have gone down there, with North Carolina losing at Northern Iowa and Michigan State falling at the University of Iowa. Those Tar Heels, the preseason No. 1 in both polls, now are first in line to return to the top spot.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 19 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/18/2016

If you enjoy upsets, then good luck finding a more interesting week in college basketball's 2015-16 regular season than last week. A total of 12 teams that entered last week ranked in one of the two major polls lost and three Top-10 teams, Michigan State, Miami (Fla.) and Duke, lost twice. One of those schools that lost was No. 1 Kansas, which made Oklahoma the new No. 1 on Monday. And I think the Sooners lose Monday night at Iowa State. So we could have a sixth different No. 1 team next Monday. March Madness can't get here soon enough.

NCAA Basketball Betting Advice: Best Mid-Majors
by Trevor Whenham - 1/15/2016

As football action slows down for the year, this is the time when a lot of bettors start to look towards college basketball - to catch up on what they have missed so far. The hardest thing for a lot of casual bettors to deal with is keeping track of mid-majors. They get little media attention for the most part, and unless you live in the footprint of a conference you probably don't get a lot of exposure to it.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 1/13/2016

The 14-2 Villanova Wildcats were the highest-ranked team in the Big East at No. 11 when the AP released their preseason poll, and, following a few ups and downs earlier in the season, they are back on top in the conference as the No. 6 team in the nation in the AP's current Top 25. The next-highest-ranked team in the Big East is the 15-1 Xavier Musketeers at No. 7. Their only loss of the season was against Villanova in their conference opener.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/11/2016

The College Basketball Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks article's fifth edition is here. Last season was the first for this article. With college football finishing up now, and the NFL in the playoffs, college basketball will now get a lot more attention for many bettors.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 9 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/8/2016

Our first Saturday without college football in months -- well, the FCS National Championship Game between Jacksonville State and North Dakota State is Saturday. So now college basketball takes over the betting weekends through the beginning of April. What would ESPN fill all those channels with on Saturdays without all those NCAA basketball games? Bovada has odds up for the National Player of the Year, and to no surprise Oklahoma's Buddy Hield is the even-money favorite followed by LSU freshman Ben Simmons at +200.

College Basketball Betting Advice and Handicapping: ATS Studs and Duds
by Trevor Whenham - 1/7/2016

We have turned a key corner in college basketball. Nonconference play is mostly wrapped up, and we are easing into conference play. Now this is where things get really good. Transition times are good times to look at where you have been and where you are headed. That makes it a very good time to look at some of the more interesting ATS Studs and Duds of the early portion of the season:

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 7 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/6/2016

And then there were two ... unbeaten teams that is. There were three schools without loss entering this week, and one of them, No. 2 Oklahoma, lost its first game Monday night in a triple-overtime thriller at No. 1 Kansas. Certainly no shame in that. The second, surprising South Carolina, improved to 14-0 with a win at Auburn in USC's SEC opener on Tuesday. So the Gamecocks could be the last one standing if SMU is upset at home by Cincinnati on Thursday night.