March Madness Odds
In the last five years, this sweltering system is 27-6 ATS, 81.8 percent and it has been even sharper in the past three seasons at 18-3 against the spread. The outcomes generally have been more comfortable than a Therapeutic Bed, with the home town team winning by 9.6 points per game.
Take a moment or two to review today’s top betting system.
CBB: Tennessee at Mississippi State (6:00 PM ET, ESPN)
2010-03-05
It shows how much the talking heads of ESPN and the rest of the bracketology world think of the SEC when a team like Mississippi State, at 21-9 on the season, still has work to do to escape from the proverbial bubble. That work might include just one small task though…beat Tennessee at home on Saturday evening. It should be a nip & tuck contest so be sure to follow the line moves all day long at Sportsbook.com then pounce when the moment is right.
The Bulldogs shocking loss at Auburn means they still have work to do to be outright West Division champions of the SEC. Mississippi State (21-9, 13-11 ATS) did not show their usual defensive tenacity, allowing the Tigers score the most points against them all season (89) and surrender highest shooting percentage for a the year at 51.7. This is extremely important contest for the Bulldogs since they are not secure for NCAA bid. Despite having 22 victories, a perusal of those accomplishments has Old Dominion as best win. Mississippi State needs a W and be playing in the SEC championship to give them their best chance for an invite. The Bulldogs are 11-5 ATS off a SU loss and spread failure.
Tennessee’s fate for now is set, finishing third in the SEC East and playing LSU in the first league tournament game. Coach Bruce Pearl wants his Volunteers (22-7, 11-15 ATS) to look at the bigger picture. A win at Starksville and at least a couple victories next week in Nashville could have Tennessee climbing to possibly a third seed when the NCAA bids are announced. Scotty Hopson’s more aggressive offensive manner and Brian Williams energy, make the Vols a tougher team to knock off. Wagering wise not so much, having covered only three of last 12 SEC conflicts.
The underdog has been the correct side in seven of the last 10 head-to-head meetings.
The StatFox Power Line shows Mississippi State by 1, while the Outplay Factor Line indicates Bulldogs by 3.
CBB: Ohio State at Michigan State (12:00 PM ET, CBS)
2010-02-19
The Sunday college basketball action gets off to fast start with a dandy of a contest from East Lansing, Michigan, with the Ohio State Buckeyes taking on the Michigan State Spartans. The winner takes a big step towards a possible Big Ten title. Oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com expect that to be Michigan State, installing them as the home favorite.
The Big Ten Conference has taken on the appearance of one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends, loaded at the top. Two teams fighting to gain control of the league lead are the Buckeyes and Spartans. Ohio State (20-7, 13-14 ATS) has been like a stealth bomber, occasionally seen but seldom noticed. Coach Thad Matta compares this group to the year before Greg Oden and company arrived to advance be NCAA runner-up. “I think this team is probably more efficient than that (2005-06) team was offensively,” Matta said. Led by forward Evan Turner, a player of the year candidate, the Buckeyes are a robust 23-10 ATS when they force 14 to 18 turnovers in a game.
Michigan State (21-6) plays three of last four games at home and has to win all three if they want to maintain Big Ten title hopes. The Spartans are surprisingly not mentally sturdy, especially when Kalin Lucas isn’t on the floor. Durrell Summers, Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe have not been come back better players after finishing second to North Carolina last season, which is why coach Tom Izzo’s club has been play against club at 10-16 ATS, in spite of their lofty preseason status. Sparty is 13-1 at home, but just 4-9 ATS this year.
Michigan State has won eight of last 10 over Buckeyes at the Breslin Center and can effectively end OSU’s conference title hopes, yet have an uneasy 3-5-2 ATS record against the Buckeyes.
The StatFox Power Line shows Michigan State by only 2. However, StatFox Steve had this to say in the Platinum Sheet: The shooting woes in Madison a few weeks back combined with the injury to PG Kalin Lucas really threw HC Tom Izzo’s team for a loop recently. However, with the win last Saturday at Penn State, it appeared that the Spartans were finding their footing again. People forget, this team was in the national title game a year ago, and the favorite to win the conference this season. This game vs. Ohio State will have a major impact on whether or not Michigan State is able to achieve that goal. The Buckeyes have struggled to score on the road for most of the season, and there are few places tougher to get it going at than the Breslin Center. That’s the difference in this one.
CBB: Villanova at Pittsburgh (12:00 PM ET, CBS)
The Big Ten isn’t the only conference with a big game on tap for Sunday, as the Big East has one scheduled for noon eastern as well, with Villanova visiting rival Pittsburgh. The Panthers have flown under the radar most of the season but will be coming into this game on a roll and hungry for a shot at the potential league champ. This figures to be a game where if you can pick the outright winner, you’ve got the pointspread too. Check the latest line on the LIVE ODDS page.
Villanova (22-3, 16-8 ATS) has been undaunted in its pursuit of the Big East regular season championship and look to continue the quest on the road. As good as the Wildcats amazing guards are, they couldn’t possibly have such a tremendous record without help inside. 6’8 Antonio Pena is masquerading as a center for Villanova and is their only true low post scorer but does excellent work as a reliable interior defender. Taylor King, Isaiah Armwood and 6’11 Maurice Sutton all bring something most games to negate opponents frontline, letting Nova’s guards control the contest. The Wildcats are 11-5 ATS having won eight or more of their last 10 games this season.
Pittsburgh (20-6, 13-8-2 ATS) flew by preseason presumptions starting 15-2, but once it was game after game in the Big East, the Panthers looked very much like the squad prognosticators believed they would be, losing four of five at one point. With a favorable slate the rest of the way, Pittsburgh has a four-game winning streak and can further change minds and attitudes with an upset win here. What doomed Pitt in that losing spell was the offense going stagnant, lacking ball movement, and settling for too many contested shots. Gilbert Brown and Brad Wanamaker have since recovered and Pitt is 10-1 ATS at home playing teams with a winning record after 15 or more games.
Pittsburgh has tamed the Wildcats at home with a 5-0 SU and ATS mark.
The StatFox Power Line shows Pittsburgh by 4, indicating value with the hosts.
CBB: Maryland at Duke (1:00 PM ET, CBS)
2010-02-12
Saturday’s college hoops betting board is loaded with 96 games, and Sportsbook.com will host the action for all of them. Be sure to stay tuned to the LIVE ODDS & GAME MATCHUPS pages throughout the day for all the late breaking updates. Some of the best games are on TV, some are not. One of the more compelling games is on CBS at 1:00 PM ET between ACC rivals Duke & Maryland.
Before the season began, the general feeling was the ACC might be more competitive from top to bottom than in recent years. Those beliefs have been prophetic and this will be a matchup that will help sort out the logjam. Maryland (16-6, 10-7 ATS) has a nice collection of players, but for them to emerge victorious, forward Landon Milbourne and guard Greivis Vasquez have to be the Terps’ top point producers. Look for Duke to play rough and do some talking, since Vasquez can get off his game, flapping his lips and being too emotional. Maryland is 16-7 AT in road games when facing a team with a winning record past the midpoint of season and is 5-2 and 5-1 ATS in true away games this season.
Duke (20-4, 15-8 ATS) looked like a tired squad in its loss to Georgetown at the end of January, playing four games in 10 days. Now this ACC clash will be their fourth in nine days, but at least they will have the crowd support to spur them on. The Blue Devils could really use Kyle Singler to begin filling the bucket with greater regularity, since the team has become too dependent on Jon Scheyer to do everything. Singler has to hit medium and three-point shots to open up the lane for players in the paint, which in turn opens up jump shooters to have clearer looks. Duke is 8-1 ATS vs. good passing teams, averaging 16 or more assists a contest.
Maryland is 8-1 ATS in 2010 and Duke is 13-0 and 9-3 ATS at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The outright winner is 13-0-1 ATS in last 14 head-to-head encounters for the only teams with two ACC losses. The StatFox Power Line shows Duke by 9. How does that compare to the actual at Sportsbook.com
CBB: Kansas at Tennessee (4:30 PM ET, CBS)
2010-01-09
CBS brings a huge college hoops contest to living rooms on Sunday afternoon, with top ranked Kansas traveling to Knoxville to take on Tennessee. The Volunteers are 7-0 at home this season and scoring over 90 PPG there. However, the Jayhawks are the holding opponents to just 34.4% shooting from the floor, second best in the country. It will be the classic offense vs. defense battle. Get more info on this game as well as the rest of the betting board on the LIVE ODDS, BETTING TRENDS, and TEAM STATISTICS pages on Sportsbook.com.
To date, Kansas (14-0, 6-5 ATS) has been right on schedule as the nation’s best team, but the schedule had failed to bring the necessary tests to assure the Jayhawks were cohesive on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes. The tough Cornell contest on Wednesday proved that. Kansas may be 23-8 ATS playing against a team with a winning record over the last two seasons, but playing in Knoxville with its fans is a demanding task. The emergence of Xavier Henry has overshadowed the personal problems Cole Aldrich has been dealing with family matters. This is precisely the kind of contest vets like Aldrich and guard Sherron Collins have to shine.
The Volunteers (11-2, 5-5 ATS) are 19-5 ATS as a home underdog or pick and master motivator Bruce Pearl will have his squad geeked. He’ll need that, with four suspended players, including All-SEC performer Tyler Smith not expected to play. The four were arrested on drug and weapons charges following a traffic stop after their 66-59 victory over the Tigers on New Year’s Eve. Tennessee has not been knocking down long distance shoots with any regularity (33.7) and it’s hard to imagine they clip Kansas without the three-ball swishing thru the nets. Pearl will look to Wayne Chism, J.P. Prince, and Scotty Hopson to pick up the scoring slack for the suspended players and hope Renaldo Woolridge can fill in admirably for Smith.
This is a top notch, March-like test for both teams, with Kansas 17-3 ATS vs. good defensive teams allowing 42 percent or less since last year.
The StatFox Power Line shows Kansas by 4.