College Basketball Handicapping Articles

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Thursday
by Alan Matthews - 2/4/2015

No team from the Western region of the USA has won the NCAA Tournament since Arizona in 1997, but that drought could finally end this year as there are three legitimate contenders from that part of the country in No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 6 Arizona and No. 13 Utah. With a weak WCC schedule that features no ranked teams remaining, it's not hard to see Gonzaga running the table and earning the No. 1 seed in the Big Dance's West Region over Arizona even though the Wildcats own a close head-to-head win. The Zags shouldn't be lose Thursday night. Here's a look at that and two other matchups that caught my eye.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 2/4/2015

The Big East continues to try and remain relevant when it comes to talking about the major conferences in men’s college basketball with a trio of teams in the latest AP Top 25 led by No. 7 Villanova. The Wildcats are currently 19-2 straight up with a 6-2 record in Big East play heading into Wednesday’s home game against Marquette. BetOnline has listed them as heavy 15-point favorites to remain at the top of the heap with a win. No. 22 Butler remains hot with a SU four-game winning streak, and No. 24 Georgetown is set to face Providence on Wednesday as a seven-point favorite at home.

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

I realize that the University of Texas is always going to be a football school first, but there's really no excuse for not winning big there as a basketball coach because you still have all the resources in the world at your disposal. Thus I would not be surprised if Coach Rick Barnes is fired after this season if UT misses the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. Texas hasn't won more than one game in the Big Dance since 2008, and that should be unacceptable in Austin.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/3/2015

It's time for the eighth edition of the Schedule Spot Fade Plays weekly article. It was a good week for the plays last week as they went 2-1. Utah State was the best call of the week. The Aggies dominated throughout against a Wyoming team that just isn't the same away from their home court. Boise State was a bit of a fortunate cover. The Broncos caught fire at the end of the game and erased a double-digit deficit in the second half to win by four points.

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

And then there was one. With former No. 2 Virginia's loss at home to Duke on Saturday, that leaves only Kentucky without a defeat. Probably no surprise there and the Cats were back to a unanimous choice for the top spot in both polls this week as they should be. I would argue that Tuesday's home matchup with Georgia has the potential to be a trap game for the Cats because arguably their two toughest regular-season games left are after that: Saturday at Florida and next Tuesday at LSU. Here's a look at the UK matchup and two other games that caught my eye.

2015 NCAA Tournament Projections
by Robert Ferringo - 1/28/2015

I have been saying for years that ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is one of the biggest frauds and shills in all of sports. I’d like to think that I was one of the pioneers of the idea since I first wrote about it back in 2010 at a time when the rest of the country was still fawning over his inflated records at predicting the NCAA Tournament field with so-called “bracketology”.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Thursday
by Alan Matthews - 1/28/2015

Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie was the toast of college basketball last season in leading the No. 7 seed Huskies to the National Championship the year after UConn wasn't even eligible for the Big Dance due to academic issues. Well, the bloom might be off the rose for Ollie, who was rumored for some NBA jobs, if his team doesn't start winning regularly because Connecticut is on the outside looking in for the field of 68 right now. It is a +10000 long shot to repeat at Sportsbook.ag. Here's a look at big game for the Huskies on Thursday and two other interesting matchups.

NCAA Basketball Experts Talk Kentucky Hoops and Chances for a National Title
by Robert Ferringo - 1/28/2015

Right now there is no bigger story – and, quite literally, no bigger team – in college basketball than Kentucky. The Wildcats enter Wednesday at 19-0 straight up on the season, and they are 12 games away from completing an unblemished regular season en route to a potential perfect year.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 1/28/2015

Villanova has set the pace in the Big East all season long, and at 18-2 straight up it’s easy to see why the Wildcats are ranked No. 7 in the latest AP Top 25. A few other teams that have made their way into the national rankings are Georgetown at No. 21 and Butler at No. 25. Seton Hall and St. John’s spent some time in the polls earlier this season, but both teams are suffering through a rather rocky start in conference play.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Wednesday
by Alan Matthews - 1/27/2015

Nothing gets an opposing fan base riled up quite like a visit from hated Duke, so it should be a zoo at Notre Dame's Purcell Pavilion on Wednesday night in a Top-10 ACC showdown. The Irish have been very successful at home against Top-10 teams under Coach Mike Brey. Duke is the +800 second-favorite at Sportsbook.ag to win the national title while Notre Dame is way down at +7500. Here's a look at that matchup and two other games that caught my eye Wednesday.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Tuesday
by Alan Matthews - 1/26/2015

Will we have a mid-major program reach the Final Four this season? Certainly the top candidate is No. 3 Gonzaga, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Coach Shaka Smart's VCU Rams reach the national semifinals for the second time this decade. Smart hasn't gotten past the second round since VCU lost to Butler in the 2011 Final Four. VCU is a +10000 long shot at Sportsbook.ag to win the national title. Here's a look at the Rams' game on Tuesday and two others that caught my eye.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/26/2015

The seventh edition of the Schedule Spot Fade Plays weekly article is here. For the second straight week, the schedule spot fade plays split at 2-2. The first two plays were losers on Wednesday night as Wake Forest +8 and Loyola (Chicago) -1.5 both fell short. Loyola was dealing with some injury issues that ended up being too much to overcome. Wake Forest simply ran into a North Carolina team that was an absolute buzzsaw on that particular night. Hawaii humbled UC Davis on Thursday night as Hawaii -2.5 cashed in. On Saturday, Georgia State finally got some revenge on Louisiana Lafayette as the Panthers covered the eight-point spread.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Sunday
by Alan Matthews - 1/24/2015

Sunday could be a historic day in college basketball as Duke's Mike Krzyzewski can become the first Division I college basketball coach ever to win 1,000 games, which is just unfathomable. Fittingly, Duke will play for No. 1,000 at Madison Square Garden, the same arena that Coach K broke Bob Knight's record for career victories in November 2011. Knight is Coach K's mentor as Krzyzewski spent the 1974-75 season on Knight's staff at Indiana before being hired as the head coach at the U.S. Military Academy, Krzyzewski's alma mater, for the next season.

College Basketball Odds for Saturday with Preview and Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 1/23/2015

Saturday is The Day in college basketball, and this weekend is no exception. Packed wall-to-wall with interesting action, the entire college hoops machine will be going full throttle, and it is a gambler’s paradise for noon into the wee hours of the evening.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Saturday
by Alan Matthews - 1/23/2015

Three ranked teams in action on this list -- well technically four -- with potentially challenging road matchups on Saturday. And the good thing about basketball compared to football? We don't have to hear anything about whether the balls were inflated enough, although I can almost guarantee you the announcers will bring it up from a basketball perspective in every single telecast. Please let this story die! Here's a look at three intriguing matchups on the schedule.

2015 NCAA Basketball National Championship Futures Odds and Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 1/22/2015

Casual sports bettors don’t pay attention to college basketball until after the Super Bowl is over. That means that right now is a great time to look for value in NCAA Tournament futures before a bunch of money pours in, shifts things around, and potentially takes away some value. That being said, this is about the oddest season I can remember in college basketball.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Thursday
by Alan Matthews - 1/21/2015

Three potential Final Four teams are in action on Thursday night, and it wouldn't shock me if two of them, Arizona and Gonzaga, lost to quality conference opponents. Meanwhile, second-ranked Virginia should remain unbeaten against arguably the worst team in the ACC. The Cavaliers are +900 at Sportsbook.ag to win the national title, with Arizona at +1200 and Gonzaga at +1400. Here's a look at each matchup, and it's an underdog Thursday.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 1/21/2015

The Villanova Wildcats climbed all the way to No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25, but their stay near the top is likely to be brief after Monday night’s loss to Georgetown. The Wildcats came up on the wrong end of a 78-58 beatdown as four-point road favorites, and they are now just 3-6 against the spread in their last nine games. The only other Big East team in the national rankings is Seton Hall at No. 24 with a straight up record of 13-4 that includes a highly-profitable 13-3 record ATS.

College Basketball Handicapping: Kentucky Odds to Run the Table
by George Monroy - 1/20/2015

The Kentucky Wildcats, it seems, always end up in the middle of the ‘will they or wont they go undefeated’ conversation midway through every college basketball season. Coach John Calipari is nothing if not a master recruiter and seems to also produce the ‘greatest freshmen class of all time’ every summer. Yet, Kentucky loses games each year, and college basketball still has not seen an undefeated national champion in nearly 40 years.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 1/20/2015

The sixth edition of the Schedule Spot Fade Plays weekly article is ready to go. It was a four-play card last week for the fade plays, and those plays split at 2-2. Oakland and Texas were both great calls as Oakland pulled an outright upset and Texas covered by more than 20 points.