College Basketball Handicapping Articles

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.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 1/6/2016

The early balance of power in the Big East has shifted back in favor of national power Villanova with a huge 95-64 rout of formerly-unbeaten Xavier in it conference opener on Dec. 31. Heading into this week's action, No. 10 Musketeers still had the slight edge over the No. 11 Wildcats in the latest AP Top 25, but the highest-ranked Big East team on the list was Providence at No. 8. Unfortunately for Friars' fans, that lofty status is sure to be short-lived following a stunning 65-64 loss to Marquette this past Tuesday as 9.5-point home favorites.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 6 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/5/2016

Good news for the San Diego State basketball team on Tuesday. The NCAA examination of potential rules violations by the program has ended without any finding of violations. Apparently it never got to the formal stage under the NCAA's definition because the university never received a letter of inquiry that allows enforcement officers to visit campus and interview coaches, players, staff or other personnel.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Jan. 5 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 1/4/2016

I had a solid Saturday of picks in this space, hitting on Minnesota +10 against visiting Michigan State and San Francisco +13 against visiting Gonzaga, which needed overtime to escape. Did miss on Butler +6 at Xavier. This week gets off to a great start on Monday night when the nation's top two teams, Oklahoma and Kansas, face off. It's only the 40th time ever that has happened (AP poll teams) and first since early in the 2013 season. Probably won't see it again this regular season unless it's the Sooners and Jayhawks when they meet in Norman on Feb. 13. Here's a look at three intriguing Tuesday matchups.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/4/2016

The College Basketball Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks article's fourth edition is ready to go. Last season was the first for this article. During the holiday season, we took a break from this article, but it will now be here on a weekly basis for the rest of the regular season.

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

With the college football bowls largely in the rearview mirror, I certainly will shift more attention to NCAA basketball through the Final Four in Houston. And I will provide these Opening Line stories near daily -- Fridays are hit-and-miss with generally a weak schedule that night -- to give you a betting head start for the next day's games and any potential relevant injury news. This Saturday marks the first where all the major conferences are underway.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 12/30/2015

Following a quiet week of action over the Christmas break, things are about to heat up in a hurry in the Big East with the start of conference play this Wednesday night. A few of the early front-runners in the conference are led by the 12-0 (straight up) Xavier Musketeers, who have ascended all the way to No. 6 in the AP's latest Top 25. The second-highest ranked team in the Big East is the 10-1 Butler Bears at No. 9 followed by the surprising 12-1 Providence Friars, who are sitting at No. 12 after a very successful run their nonconference schedule.

NCAA Basketball Betting Advice: Big East Conference Play Predictions
by Victor Ryan - 12/30/2015

The Big East has thrived the first six weeks of the college basketball season. The reconfigured conference, which now consists of just eight schools, has four teams currently ranked in the AP Top 20. The Big East is deep and talented, which means it should be a ding-dong battle all season long for the regular-season conference crown.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 12/24/2015

The nonconference portion of the schedule for most of the teams in the Big East has already come to a close in advance of the Christmas holiday and the conference as a whole remains in pretty good shape with four teams holding down a spot in the latest AP Top 25.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Dec. 19 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 12/18/2015

The college football bowl season begins on Saturday, and that's obviously a great thing. But the matchups aren't exactly all that exciting. However, in NCAA basketball there are several very good matchups in what is the final big nonconference Saturday of the regular season with the holidays coming up and then major conference play beginning. Here are three games that really caught my eye Saturday.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 12/16/2015

With the holiday season in full swing, college basketball continues to wrap up the final few games in the nonconference portion of the schedule. The Big East Conference has been able to make an early name for itself with four teams ranked in the current AP Top 25.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 12/14/2015

The College Basketball Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks article's third edition is ready to go. Last season was the first for this article. In the small sample size, last season's results weren't very good. Still, there is no doubt that looking closely at the schedule and looking for teams to fade is a very good strategy in college basketball.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Dec. 12 Opening Lines
by Alan Matthews - 12/11/2015

Welcome to my first NCAA 3-Point Play story of the new season. This will be a near-daily look at three games that caught my eye each day for whatever reason -- often involving ranked teams if possible, but it's all about value so if I see it on Canisius vs. Quinnipiac, well then that's where I'm going. It's still nonconference time in college basketball, so this won't start up in full yet as many ranked teams are still fattening up on cupcakes and a holiday break is coming. But after the New Year, look for this most days to give you a betting head start.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 12/9/2015

As the nonconference portion of the men's college basketball season presses on, the Big East is once again hanging its hat on the No. 9 Villanova Wildcats as the top-ranked team in the conference. However, with teams such as No.12 Xavier, No. 15 Providence and No. 18 Butler also showing up in the AP's Top 25, it's starting to draw some early attention from the betting public.