College Basketball Handicapping Articles

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/23/2015

It's time for the 11th edition of the schedule spot fade plays weekly article in college basketball. Yet another bad week last week for the fade plays. Idaho State was a winner for those who took it at +13 on BetOnline's opening lines, but the Bookmaker opening line was +11, and that is how we are grading these plays. Cal Poly was a solid winner. UNC Wilmington fell apart in the second half. Maryland won but failed to cover the number. Butler was in a good spot, but they were freight trained by an impressive Xavier team on Saturday.

NCAA Basketball Handicapping: Wisconsin Badgers a Serious Title Contender?
by Trevor Whenham - 2/22/2015

The NCAA Tournament this year is shaping up in the eyes of many as a coronation for the ridiculously-loaded Kentucky Wildcats. Being contrary by nature, I am on the ongoing search for teams that legitimately have a chance to knock off John Calipari’s squad. The problem is that there just aren’t many out there. Duke gets the most attention. In many ways, though, Wisconsin and their older, experienced roster may have the best chance of anyone.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Sunday
by Alan Matthews - 2/21/2015

Many believe the Big Ten is rather down this season outside of Wisconsin, yet the conference could lead the nation potentially with eight bids to the NCAA Tournament. Part of that number might depend on what happens in Sunday's matchup between bubble teams Michigan State and Illinois. The Illini are 12-1 at home, their best start there under Coach John Groce. Illinois is attempting a home-and-home sweep of the Spartans for the first time since 2006.

College Basketball Odds for Saturday with Preview and Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 2/20/2015

Who is mailing it in and who is making a move? That’s one of the important questions to focus on over the final two weeks of the college basketball regular season. Some teams are honing in on a postseason run, whether it be their conference championships or an invitational tournament. Other teams can’t wait for this long, cold, disappointing season to be over, and they show no signs of coming together to make some noise in March.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Saturday
by Alan Matthews - 2/20/2015

Top-ranked Kentucky isn't the only team that can go unbeaten in conference play this season. If No. 3 Gonzaga wins at Saint Mary's on Saturday night, then the Zags should run the table in the West Coast Conference, including the conference tournament. That should be enough for the top seed in the West Region considering Gonzaga's only loss was in overtime at Arizona. Currently the Zags are the fifth-favorites at Sportsbook.ag to win the national title at +1400. Here's a look at their game and two others that caught my eye on Saturday.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Thursday
by Alan Matthews - 2/18/2015

I'm taking a look at three games involving NCAA Tournament bubble teams on Thursday's schedule. I use ESPN's Bracketology for my guide not because I'm an ESPN homer -- honestly the network irritates me at times -- but because Joe Lunardi is usually dead on with his projections. He currently has Purdue among the "First Four Out." Here's a look at the Boilers' big game against rival Indiana and two others that caught my eye.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 2/18/2015

The No. 6 Villanova Wildcats have been the team to beat in the Big East all season long, and they took a huge step towards locking up the regular season title with last Saturday’s 68-65 victory against Butler as two-point road favorites. This completed the season sweep of the Bulldogs while opening up a two-game lead in the standings with the tiebreaker in hand. Butler remains the only other nationally-ranked team in this conference coming in at No. 19 in the AP’s latest Top 25.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Wednesday
by Alan Matthews - 2/17/2015

Two of college basketball's best rivalries take center stage on Wednesday night as Xavier visits Cincinnati for city bragging rights and North Carolina is at Duke. I think ESPN might run a commercial or two in order to hype the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. Just a guess. Honestly, Xavier-Cincinnati might be more heated. Of course, those schools had a huge brawl when they played at Xavier in 2011, which was the last time the Crosstown Shootout was staged on campus. It was moved for two years to a neutral site (US Bank Arena) so things could calm down a bit.

NCAA Basketball Betting: Handicapping the Bubble Watch for Profit
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

Once the second half of February rolls around, a whole lot of media and public attention shifts towards the fast-approaching NCAA Tournament. We are about a month away from tip-off, and that month will be filled with an almost infinite amount of speculation about which teams will make the field and how they will be seeded. The Bubble Watch.

NCAA Basketball Handicapping: Gonzaga Chances for No. 1 Tourney Seed
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

With Arizona’s loss at rival Arizona State on Feb. 7, the door is wide open for Gonzaga to secure their second No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in three years. Given their talent they could also be poised to make their first trip beyond the Sweet 16 since that 1999 run to the Elite Eight that first brought them into the national consciousness. As always, though, there are as many people who are skeptical of the Bulldogs because of their conference and other factors as there are those who are truly optimistic.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Tuesday
by Alan Matthews - 2/16/2015

With the NBA's extended All-Star Break this season, the only basketball action on Tuesday is of the college variety. So I'm sure the lead to SportsCenter, barring some big news, will be whatever Kentucky does Tuesday night in Knoxville, especially if the Cats lose. (As an aside, I think that UK could beat the New York Knicks now that they have bought out Amare Stoudemire and are likely to shut down Carmelo Anthony.) On Sportsbook.ag's updated odds, UK is +220 to finish the entire season unbeaten and -300 not to. This might be their toughest road test left, although a March 3 trip to Georgia won't be a walk in the park.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/16/2015

The 10th edition of the Schedule Spot Fade Plays weekly article is ready to go. It was a second straight bad week for the schedule spot fade plays last week. After an 0-3 week, the plays went just 1-4 last week. TCU cashed in easily as a four-point underdog in their win over Oklahoma State, but that was the only bright spot. Belmont won the game but couldn't cover the number. Baylor was upset on their home court and didn't come close to covering the number.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Sunday
by Alan Matthews - 2/14/2015

It's time to start getting geared up for March Madness because the NCAA Tournament's Selection Sunday is exactly one month from Sunday, March 15, with the First Four starting two days later in Dayton. Right now your No. 1 seeds look to be Kentucky in the Midwest, Duke in the South, Virginia in the East and Gonzaga in the West. The first team on the outside looking in? That would be Wisconsin, which plays Sunday afternoon.

College Basketball Odds and Analysis: Saturday Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 2/13/2015

Saturday is THE DAY in college basketball, and this weekend is no exception. There are 137 games scheduled for Valentine’s Day, and the overwhelming majority have big fat bull’s eye spreads attached to them. There are several marquee Top 25 games stealing the headlines, such as Baylor-Kansas and Duke-Syracuse. But there is plenty of value to be found for intrepid bettors looking to dip below the surface for other games of import.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Saturday
by Alan Matthews - 2/13/2015

With all due respect to the Big East, I don't consider it a power conference in college basketball any longer after losing Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Louisville. It's probably the next-best one after the Power 5, sure. So what a surprise it is, then, that the best game on Saturday's schedule is for first place in the Big East, with Villanova all but locking up the conference's regular-season title for the second year in a row with a win over Butler. The Wildcats are +3000 on Sportsbook.ag to win the national title.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Thursday
by Alan Matthews - 2/11/2015

Wow, it has been a rough few days for the college basketball world. First, former North Carolina coach Dean Smith died on Saturday night, then fellow Hall of Famer Jerry Tarkanian passed away Wednesday at age 84. Tark's.790 win percentage is Top 10 all-time for men's basketball. I'll never forget his 1990-91 UNLV team as that was club was unbelievable and must-see TV, usually on at midnight on ESPN. Of course, the Runnin' Rebels were upset in the Final Four by Duke in an incredibly memorable game. RIP Tark. Here's a look at three games in college hoops that caught my eye on Thursday.

NCAA Basketball Handicapping: Possible Long Shots for National Championship
by Trevor Whenham - 2/11/2015

The UConn Huskies, of course, are the defending NCAA Tournament champions. If you looked back a year ago from now, though, you would have really struggled to see them coming. On Feb. 11 last year they were a decent 18-5, but their 6-4 record in the American conference was far less impressive. They weren’t ranked, and they didn’t scare anyone. Of course, they got things figured out when it mattered -- and rewarded the bettors that had faith in them in March and early April very handsomely.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 2/11/2015

Villanova remains the class of the Big East this season after pasting Georgetown 69-53 this past Saturday as a 9.5-point home favorite on 5Dimes’ closing betting odds for that game. The Wildcats are ranked No. 6 in the AP’s latest Top 25 and still in the running for a possible No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament with a straight up record of 21-2. The only other nationally-ranked team in the Big East right now is No. 18 Butler, which is riding a SU five-game winning streak into this Saturday’s huge showdown at home against the first-place Wildcats.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Wednesday
by Alan Matthews - 2/10/2015

I don't really consider Gonzaga a "mid-major" anymore because the Zags have been so good for so long. Thus I would say that No. 13 Northern Iowa has the best shot of any mid-major to reach the Final Four as the Panthers are just a few points from being unbeaten. Of course another Missouri Valley Conference team, Wichita State, did enter last season's NCAA Tournament without a loss. NIU already has beaten the Shockers this season. However, the Panthers are still +20000 long shots at Sportsbook.ag to cut down the nets in April in Indianapolis. Here's a look at Northern Iowa's game Wednesday and two more intriguing matchups.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/9/2015

The ninth edition of the Schedule Spot Fade Plays weekly article is here. The plays fell flat on their face last week, going 0-3. All three of them weren't particularly close, so the scheduling spots weren't enough to help the teams out. Texas is a team that I worry about at this point in the season. The Longhorns continue to disappoint compared to expectations, and this late in the season you would expect the team to have better chemistry. Montana and UC Irvine both split during the week, but we had them in the wrong game in both instances.