NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES, NEWS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS THRU MARCH MADNESS !

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NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, January 22

Monday’s 5 interesting games
Wake Forest @ North Carolina (-8.5)
Wake Forest (13-5, 5-2)
KenPom rating: 36
Tempo: 148
Experience: 161
Continuity: 193
Wake Forest won 10 of its last 12 games.
Deacons lost their last two road games, by 5-7 points.
Wake is shooting 39.3% on arc (#12)
Deacons are 6-5 vs top 100 teams.


North Carolina (15-3, 7-0)
KenPom rating: 7
Tempo: 53
Experience: 6
Continuity: 189
North Carolina is 7-0 SU/6-1 ATS in ACC games.
Tar Heels have #14 eFG% defense in country.
North Carolina is #68 team on offensive boards.
Tar Heels are 8-3 vs teams in top 100.


Home team won last six series games.
Deacons lost their eight visits to Chapel Hill.
ACC home favorites of 8+ points are 6-7 ATS.


Cincinnati @ Kansas (-8.5)
Cincinnati (13-5, 2-3)
KenPom rating: 33
Tempo: 157
Experience: 140
Continuity: 268
Cincinnati lost three of its last four games.
Bearcats’ three Big X losses were by 1-3-4 points.
Bearcats are #18 on offensive boards, #7 on defensive end.
Cincinnati is 2-5 against teams in top 100.


Kansas (15-3, 3-2)
KenPom rating: 18
Tempo: 129
Experience: 17
Continuity: 130
Kansas split its last four games, after a 13-1 start.
Kansas is shooting 56.7% inside arc (#20).
Opponents are shooting 44.7% inside arc (#22)
Jayhawks are 7-2 vs top 100 teams.


This is teams’ first meeting as Big X rivals.
Big X home favorites of 6+ points are 6-7 ATS.


Hofstra (-3.5) @ Stony Brook
Hofstra (9-9, 2-3)
KenPom rating: 136
Tempo: 244
Experience: 19
Continuity: 63
Hofstra lost seven of its last ten games.
Pride is 3-3 vs teams ranked outside top 200.
Hofstra is #247 team on defensive boards.
Pride is 3-4 in games decided by 5 or less points.


Stony Brook (9-9, 2-3)
KenPom rating: 221
Tempo: 231
Experience: 48
Continuity: 194
Stony Brook lost three of its last four games.
All four games were decided by 6 or less points, or in OT.
Seawolves are 0-7 against teams in top 150.
Stony Brook is shooting 48.2% inside arc (#253)


Hofstra won seven of last eight series games.
Hofstra is 3-2 in last five visits to Stony Brook.
CAA home underdogs of 5 or less points are 4-3 ATS.


Weber State @ Montana (-1.5)
Weber State (12-7, 3-3)
KenPom rating: 110
Tempo: 333
Experience: 53
Continuity: 14
Weber State lost three of its last four games.
Three losses were by 2-3-2 points.
Wildcats are 4-2 vs teams ranked in top 150.
Weber State is #5 team in country on defensive boards.


Montana (12-6, 3-2)
KenPom rating: 127
Tempo: 192
Experience: 30
Continuity: 39
Montana won seven of its last nine games.
Last five games, Grizzlies scored 89.4 ppg.
Montana is 0-4 vs teams ranked in top 125.
Grizzlies are #25 team on defensive boards.


Weber State won three of last four series games.
Teams split their last four meetings in Missoula.
Big Sky home favorites of 4 or less points are 5-2 ATS.


Idaho State @ Montana State (-4.5)
Idaho State (7-12, 2-4)
KenPom rating: 299
Tempo: 341
Experience: 286
Continuity: 182
ISU is 3-2 in last five games, after a 4-10 start.
Bengals have #333 eFG% defense in country.
Bengals are 5-6 vs teams ranked outside top 200.
ISU is shooting 52.9% inside the arc (#86)


Montana State (8-10, 3-2)
KenPom rating: 261
Tempo: 198
Experience: 203
Continuity: 253
Montana State lost four of its last six games.
Bobcats are 4-3 vs teams ranked outside top 200
Opponents are shooting 56.1% inside arc (#346)
Bobcats are 3-4 in games decided by 6 or less points.


Montana State won last nine series games.
Bengals lost their last four visits to Bozeman.
Big Sky home favorites of 5 or less points are 6-2 ATS.

 

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NCAAB

Monday, January 22

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Trend Report
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NCAAB
Long Sheet

Monday, January 22

 

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NCAAB
Dunkel

Monday, January 22

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
— 76ers 133, Spurs 123- Joel Embiid scored 70 points in the win.
— Celtics 119, Mavericks 110- Boston was +27 with Tatum on floor.
— Hornets 128, Wolves 125- Towns scored 62 points in a losing cause.
— Bucks 122, Pistons 113- Detroit is 4-39; they must be having fun.
— Grizzlies 108, Raptors 100- Jaren Jackson scored 27 points, had 6 steals.
— Cavaliers 126, Magic 99- Cleveland shot 20-38 behind the arc.

Quote of the Day
“It’s hard to describe the week. Heartbreaking, devastating. It’s just the saddest thing I’ve ever been a part of in the NBA, where we lose someone who’s so close to us. And then, more importantly, seeing his family suffer. So this last week has been — last five days, I guess — has been full of all of the above. The shock, the emotion, the extreme outpouring of love from all over the world.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, after assistant coach Dejan Milojevic passed away last week

Tuesday’s quiz
Who was the Baltimore Ravens’ QB, last time they won the Super Bowl?

Monday’s quiz
On the classic TV show CSI, Jaclyn Smith played Hodges’ mother. She was one of the stars of Charlie’s Angels in the late 70’s.

Sunday’s quiz
Pat Riley won five NBA titles as a head coach; he broke into the NBA as a player with the San Diego Rockets, in 1967.

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Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….​

— Betting lines for this weekend’s conference title games:
Chiefs @ Baltimore (-3.5, 44.5)
Lions @ San Francisco (-6.5, 51)

— Patrick Mahomes is now 13-3 in NFL playoff games, and he’s only 28. Sunday’s game in Baltimore is the 6th time Mahomes’ Chiefs have opened as an underdog of 3+ points- they were 5-0 ATS in the first five games.
Chiefs ranked 14th in NFL this year in points per game; this was first year since 2016 that the Chiefs weren’t in the top 10 in points per game.

— Tennessee Titans are going to hire Brian Callahan as head coach; he was the Bengals’ OC the last five years, and is the son of former Raiders’ coach Bill Callahan- Bill Callahan is now the offensive line coach in Cleveland.

— Chicago Bears named Shane Waldron their new offensive coordinator; he was Seattle’s OC the last three years, after working with the Rams before that. Waldron replaces Luke Getsy, a scapegoat for the Bears dismal showing the last two years.
Of the nine coaches who interviewed for this job, four of them worked for Sean McVay in Los Angeles at one time or another.

— Las Vegas Raiders named Antonio Pierce their full-time head coach; Raiders went 5-4 under Pierce after they fired Josh McDaniels on Halloween.

— Ohio State hired former Houston Texans’ coach Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator; he worked for the Patriots this past season, for Alabama in 2021-22. He went 54-52 coaching the Texans from 2014-20.

— Minnesota Vikings fired their trainer, after an injury-riddled 7-10 season. Go figure. The guy had only been with Minnesota for two years.

— Arizona Cardinals had a cruddy season this year, going 4-13; they recently laid off three members of their front office on the non-football side, all of whom had been with Arizona for 15+ years.

— Baseball Note of the Day: In 2021-22, when defensive shifts were still a thing, lefty batters hit a combined .238. Last year, with no shifts, lefty batters hit .247.

— Word of the Day: Negotiation- a discussion aimed at reaching an agreement.

— Pittsburgh Pirates gave reliever Aroldis Chapman $10.5M on a one-year deal; Pirates are the sixth big league team for Chapman, who was 6-5, 3.09 in 61 games for Royals/Rangers last year, winning a World Series ring with Texas.

— Houston Astros signed Josh Hader to a 5-year, $95M deal; Hader has 103 saves the last three seasons, in 113 opportunities.

— Toronto Blue Jays signed Cuban P Yariel Rodríguez to a 4-year, $32M deal.

— St Louis Cardinals brought utility guy Matt Carpenter back on a 1-year contract; he played for St Louis from 2011-21, but played for Bronx/San Diego the last two years.
Next year, Carpenter will be paid $3.26M by the Braves, $1.5M by the Padres and $740,000 by the Cardinals. Braves traded for Carpenter this winter, kept him for three days, then released him.

— It has been a slow winter for baseball talk; 13 of the top 25 free agents are still unsigned. The top four remaining players are all Scott Boras clients, and Boras tends to drag negotiations out

— North Carolina 85, Wake Forest 64
Tar Heels are 8-0 SU/7-1 ATS in ACC games.
Carolina outscored the Deacons 52-30 in the second half.

— Kansas 74, Cincinnati 69
Game was 35-35 at halftime.
Jayhawks were +5 (16-11) in turnovers.
This was Cincinnati’s sixth straight game against a top 25 opponent.

— McNeese State 62, Corpus Christi 61
McNeese put in a missed foul shot at the buzzer for the road win.
Corpus Christi led this game by 18 with 12:57 left to play.
McNeese has now won 11 in a row, is 6-0 in Southland Conference.

— DePaul fired basketball coach Tony Stubblefield, who was 28-54 with the Blue Demons, 3-15 this year; Matt Brady will serve as the interim head coach the rest of the season.

— Isaiah Watts of Washington State is the grandson of Slick Watts, an excellent point guard for the Seattle SuperSonics back when I was a kid.

— St John’s/UNLV are two teams who always have their conference tournament at their home court, but it hasn’t helped either team very much.
Since 2008, St John’s is 10-16 in the Big East tournament; since 2014, UNLV is 6-10 in their conference tournament.

 

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NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, January 23

Tuesday’s 5 interesting games
Kentucky (-4.5) @ South Carolina
Kentucky (14-3, 4-1)
KenPom rating: 16
Tempo: 10
Experience: 162
Continuity: 321
Kentucky won eight of its last nine games.
Wildcats are 9-0 when they allow less than 80 points.
Kentucky has the #3 eFG% in country.
Wildcats are 6-2 vs top 100 teams.


South Carolina (15-3, 3-2)
KenPom rating: 63
Tempo: 348
Experience: 18
Continuity: 181
South Carolina split last four games, after a 13-1 start.
Opponents are shooting 44.6% inside arc (#21)
South Carolina is #40 team on offensive boards.
Gamecocks are 3-3 vs teams in top 100.


South Carolina is 4-3 in last seven series games.
Teams split last six meetings in Columbia.
SEC home underdogs are 6-4 ATS.


Texas @ Oklahoma (-3.5)
Texas (13-5, 2-3)
KenPom rating: 46
Tempo: 226
Experience: 7
Continuity: 185
Texas lost three of its last five games.
Longhorns are 11-0 when they allow less than 76 points.
Longhorns have #34 eFG% in country.
Texas is 3-4 against teams in top 100.


Oklahoma (15-3, 3-2)
KenPom rating: 21
Tempo: 214
Experience: 152
Continuity: 274
Oklahoma split its last four games, after a 13-1 start.
Oklahoma is shooting 56.8% inside arc (#18).
Sooners have #10 eFG% defense in country.
Sooners are 5-3 vs top 100 teams.


Texas won last five meetings, last three by 2-1-2 points.
Longhorns won their last four visits to Norman.
Big X home favorites of 6 or fewer points are 4-6 ATS.


Xavier @ Creighton (-8.5)
Xavier (10-8, 4-3)
KenPom rating: 34
Tempo: 62
Experience: 115
Continuity: 344
Xavier won last three games, scoring 85-85-92 points.
Opponents are shooting 45% inside arc (#29)
Xavier is #51 team on offensive boards.
Musketeers are 5-6 vs teams ranked in top 100.


Creighton (14-5, 5-3)
KenPom rating: 14
Tempo: 262
Experience: 11
Continuity: 35
Creighton won five of its last six games.
They won their last game in triple OT Saturday.
Bluejays are 6-5 against teams in top 100.
Creighton is forcing the fewest turnovers in country.


Xavier won five of last six series games.
Musketeers lost four of last five visits to Omaha.
Big East home favorites of 7+ points are 3-9 ATS.


Houston (-2.5) @ BYU
Houston (16-2, 3-2)
KenPom rating: 1
Tempo: 351
Experience: 101
Continuity: 125
Houston won last two games, giving up 54-42 points.
Cougars are 0-2 on Big X road, losing by 1-4 points.
Cougars are 6-2 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Opponents are shooting 38.9% inside arc (#1)


BYU (14-4, 2-3)
KenPom rating: 10
Tempo: 122
Experience: 139
Continuity: 34
BYU is 2-3 in Big X, after 12-1 pre-conference mark.
51.3% of their shots are 3’s (making 36.8%, #40)
BYU is 4-4 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Cougars have #17 eFG% defense in country.


This is teams’ first meeting as Big X rivals.
Big X home underdogs of 6 or less points are 6-1 ATS.


Missouri @ Texas A&M (-11.5)
Missouri (8-10, 0-5)
KenPom rating: 112
Tempo: 269
Experience: 15
Continuity: 147
Missouri lost eight of its last nine games.
Tigers are 0-5 in SEC, giving up 81.6 ppg.
Tigers are 2-9 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Missouri is #335 team on defensive boards.


Texas A&M (11-7, 2-3)
KenPom rating: 37
Tempo: 314
Experience: 49
Continuity: 50
A&M is 2-3 in SEC, with wins by 4-5 points.
Aggies are 6-1 vs teams ranked outside top 100
Aggies are shooting 26.8% on the arc (#353)
A&M is #1 team in country on offensive boards.


Texas A&M won five of last seven series games.
Mizzou won three of last four visits to College Station.
SEC double digit home favorites are 8-2 ATS.

 

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NCAAB
Dunkel

Tuesday, January 23

 

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NCAAB

Tuesday, January 23

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NCAAB
Long Sheet

Tuesday, January 23

 

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[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Mel Kiper’s first mock draft for 2024:
1- Bears- Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2- Commanders- Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
3- Patriots- Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4- Cardinals- Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State
5- Chargers- Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
6- Mailk Nabers, WR, LSU

Quote of the Day
“Typically, we don’t enforce policies that force loyalty. We want loyalty to be organic and natural. When you limit the ability to exercise your freedoms of transferring, there needs to be a very valid reason to do so. And to just blatantly enforce loyalty, I think it’s hard to argue that case.”
Former college QB JT Daniels, talking about the transfer process- he transferred three times and played for four schools in a six-year college career.

Wednesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing played 15 of his 17 seasons with the Knicks, but what team did he finish his career with?

Tuesday’s quiz
Joe Flacco was the Baltimore Ravens’ QB, last time they won the Super Bowl.

Monday’s quiz
On the classic TV show CSI, Jaclyn Smith played Hodges’ mother. She was one of the stars of Charlie’s Angels in the late 70’s.

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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….​

When I was a kid back in the 70’s, the Rams won their division seven years in a row, but the first six of those years, they lost in the playoffs- they lost the NFC Championship game four times in a five-year span, twice at home, before making the Super Bowl in 1979.
This came up because I’ve often wondered if a home playoff loss comes with a hangover effect the next season. Teams work so hard for the home field edge; if you get it, then lose a playoff game at home, are there long-term negative effects?
Since 2010 in the NFL, the road team has won 50 playoff games:
Of the 50 teams who lost at home, those teams, the next season…….

— 3 of them won the Super Bowl (Chiefs in 2019/2022), Broncos in 2015.
Helps to have Mahomes/Peyton Manning at QB.

— 4 of them lost the Super Bowl

— 20 of 50 teams missed the playoffs the next year.

— The 30 teams who made the playoffs went 20-10 in their first playoff game.

— The 20 teams who won that first playoff game went 7-13 in their next game.

Since 2000, #1-seeds are 34-14 in their first playoff game; of the 14 teams who lost that first playoff game……
— 7 0f 14 teams missed the playoffs the next year.

— 2006 Colts were only team to win the Super Bowl the next year.
Again, it helped to have Peyton Manning at QB.

— Two other teams lost the Super Bowl the next year.
Elsewhere in the world……..

— Hard to believe that Sports Illustrated has bit the dust; seems like it has been around forever. Last week they fired just about all their staff. Not good.
For my 9th birthday, a friend of my parents gave me a subscription to Sports Illustrated as a gift; the first issue that came in the mail had Bobby Orr on the cover, and I became a big hockey fan, and the Boston Bruins in particular. The magazine always came on Thursday, as I remember.

— Monday, they had 2.7 inches of rain in San Diego, of all places. It was one of the five wettest days in San Diego’s recorded history.

— Super Bowls won, by division:
13- NFC East
9- AFC East, AFC West
9- NFC West, AFC North
5- NFC North
3- NFC South
2- AFC South

— Lot of job interviews this time of year; I remember hearing a story about how Al Davis would interview people he had no intention of hiring, he just wanted to pick their brains, get new ideas on how to do things going forward.

— Comgrats to Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton on getting elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Manager Jim Leyland is also getting in this year; he was voted in last month.

— Other baseball stuff:
Milwaukee Brewers signed 1B Rhys Hoskins for two years,, $34M.
Washington Nationals signed OF/DH Joey Gallo for one year, $5M.
LA Dodgers signed P James Paxton, for one year, $11M.

— Long time ago, back when ESPN was more fun to watch, their Big Mondays were great:
7:00- Big East game
9:00- Big 10 game
midnight- Big West game
This was back when UNLV was a national power; they played in the Big West back then, when their top competitors were Cal-Santa Barbara, New Mexico State and Cal-Fullerton. Then they moved to the Mountain West, which has hurt both them and the Big West.
My suggestion to ESPN; add the midnight game again, whether it is Big Sky, Big West, WCC or the WAC (or a combination). People will watch, of that I am not uncertain.

— Baseball Fact of the Day: 2008 Florida Marlins were the first team where all four infielders hit 25+ home runs.
1B Mike Jacobs- 32
2B Dan Uggla- 32
SS Hanley Ramirez- 33
3B Jorge Cantu- 29

— Word of the Day: Narcissist- a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.

— South Carolina 79, Kentucky 62
South Carolina made 11-24 on the arc.
Gamecocks are 5-3 in last eight games vs Kentucky.

— Kent State 90, Bowling Green 84 OT
Bowling Green led by 3 with 1:38 left in regulation.
Falcons were 26-34 on foul line, but only 6-23 on arc.

— Creighton 85, Xavier 78
Xavier led by 7 with 11:56 left in the game.
Alexander scored 27 points, had 9 rebounds, 4 assists.

— TCU 74, Oklahoma State 69
Oklahoma State led by 17 late in first half.
Horned Frogs shot 64.3% inside the arc.

— Charlotte 76, UAB 70
Blazers led 35-15 late in first half.
Charlotte won its last six games, after a 6-7 start.

— Air Force 90, UNLV 58
UNLV trailed 39-24 at halftime, then it got worse.
Underdogs are 5-1 ATS in Rebels’ Mountain West games.

 

[Udog]

 

[Udog]

NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, January 24

Wednesday’s 5 interesting games
NC State @ Virginia (-5.5)
NC State (13-5, 5-2)
KenPom rating: 71
Tempo: 6
Experience: 13
Continuity: 250
NC State won six of its last eight games.
Wolfpack is 4-1 in games decided by 6 or fewer points.
Wolfpack has the #13 eFG% in the 15-team ACC.
NC State is 3-5 vs top 100 teams.


Virginia (13-5, 4-3)
KenPom rating: 63
Tempo: 360
Experience: 126
Continuity: 231
Virginia is 3-0 in ACC home tilts, winning by 22-24-8 points.
Opponents are shooting 45.7% inside arc (#40)
Virginia is forcing turnovers 22% of time (#16)
Cavaliers are 4-4 vs teams in top 100.


Wolfpack whacked Virginia 76-60 at home January 6th.
NC State won three of last four series games.
Teams split their last four meetings in Charlottesville.
ACC home favorites of 6 or less points are 9-12 ATS.


Auburn @ Alabama (-2.5)
Auburn (16-2, 5-0)
KenPom rating: 5
Tempo: 77
Experience: 123
Continuity: 84
Auburn won its last 11 games.
Auburn is 5-0 in SEC; all five wins were by 11+ points.
Tigers have #3 eFG% defense in country.
Auburn is 7-2 against teams in top 100.


Alabama (12-6, 4-1)
KenPom rating: 8
Tempo: 25
Experience: 65
Continuity: 277
Alabama won six of its last seven games.
Crimson Tide is shooting 57.9% inside arc (#11).
Alabama is #34 team on offensive boards.
Crimson Tide is 5-6 vs top 100 teams.


Alabama is 5-3 in last eight series games.
Tigers lost three of last four visits to Tuscaloosa.
SEC home favorites of 4 or fewer points are 3-5 ATS.


Villanova @ St John’s (-3.5)
Villanova (11-7, 4-3)
KenPom rating: 29
Tempo: 316
Experience: 16
Continuity: 145
Villanova lost three of its last four games.
Wildcats are 3-4 in games decided by 4 or less points.
Villanova is #12 team on defensive boards.
Wildcats are 4-5 vs teams ranked in top 100.


St John’s (12-7, 4-4)
KenPom rating: 42
Tempo: 86
Experience: 9
Continuity: 331
St John’s lost its last three games, two by one point.
They’re #5 team in country on offensive boards.
Red Storm is 6-7 against teams in top 100.
Opponents are shooting 46.9% inside arc (#60)


St John’s won 81-71 at Villanova January 6th.
Villanova won eight of last ten series games.
Wildcats won four of last five road series games.
Big East home favorites of 5 or less points are 3-4 ATS.


Illinois (-3.5) @ Northwestern
Illinois (14-4, 5-2)
KenPom rating: 9
Tempo: 66
Experience: 14
Continuity: 173
Illinois won three of its last four games.
Illini is #22 team in country on offensive boards.
Illini is 6-4 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Illinois has #5 eFG% defense in country.


Northwestern (13-5, 4-3)
KenPom rating: 61
Tempo: 337
Experience: 35
Continuity: 61
Northwestern is 3-0 in Big 14 home tilts, scoring 84 ppg.
Wildcats are forcing turnovers 21.4% of time (#28)
Northwestern is 4-4 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Wildcats are 5-2 in games decided by 6 or fewer points.


Illinois beat Northwestern 96-66 January 2nd.
Illinois won 10 of last 11 series games.
Illini won 3 of last 4 visits to Evanston (lost 73-60 LY)
Big 14 home underdogs of 6 or less points are 9-4 ATS.


Colorado State @ Nevada (-3.5)
Colorado State (15-3, 3-2)
KenPom rating: 32
Tempo: 251
Experience: 83
Continuity: 126
Colorado State lost last two road games, by 5-7 points.
Rams are shooting 59.5% inside arc (#5)
Rams are 6-3 vs teams ranked in top 100.
CSU is 4-2 in games decided by 4 or less points, or in OT.


Nevada (15-4, 2-3)
KenPom rating: 52
Tempo: 184
Experience: 4
Continuity: 37
Nevada lost last three games, after a 15-1 start.
Wolf Pack is 2-3 vs teams ranked in top 100
Wolf Pack is getting 23.9% of points on foul line (#17)
Nevada has #48 eFG% defense in country.


Teams split their last six meetings.
Rams lost seven of last eight visits to Reno.
MW home favorites of 4 or less points are 4-2 ATS.

 

[Udog]

NCAAB

Wednesday, January 24

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NCAAB
Dunkel

Wednesday, January 24

 

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NCAAB
Long Sheet

Wednesday, January 24

 

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[Cnotes53]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
Most saves in major leagues, since 2019:
153— Josh Hader
152— Kenley Jansen
126— Raisel Iglesias
115— Liam Hendriks
111— Emmanuel Clase
105— Ryan Pressly

Quote of the Day
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”
George McDonald

Thursday’s quiz
New Orleans Saints started playing in 1967, but they didn’t win a playoff game until 2000; who was their coach when they got that first playoff win?

Wednesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing played 15 of his 17 seasons with the Knicks; he finished his career with the Orlando Magic, after playing a year with Seattle.

Tuesday’s quiz
Joe Flacco was the Baltimore Ravens’ QB, last time they won the Super Bowl.

******************************************

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….​

— Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh as their new coach Wednesday; he played for the Chargers for two years (1999-2000).
Harbaugh just won a national title at Michigan; he was 86-25 in Ann Arbor, 144-42 overall in college ball. Before this season, Harbaugh had lost six bowl games in a row, but he won two of them this year and he leaves Michigan with a national title.
Harbaugh coached the 49ers from 2011-14, going 49-22-1, 5-3 in playoff games. His 49ers lost the Super Bowl 11 years ago- he lost to his brother John’s Baltimore team.
Next year, by the way, the Ravens will play the Chargers at SoFi in Los Angeles, which sounds like a Monday Night Football matchup.

— Football coaches are nomads, they move around a lot:
Packers fired defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
Dolphins fired defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Next year, Dolphins will have their third defensive coordinator in three years under head coach Mike McDaniel. Eagles will have their third offensive coordinator in three years.

— Four QB’s have started a Super Bowl for two different teams:
Craig Morton
Kurt Warner
Peyton Manning
Tom Brady
Jared Goff tries to join this list Sunday night.

— QB Will Rogers bolted from Mississippi State to Washington after the season, but when Kalen DeBoer bolted from Washington to Alabama, Rogers put his name back into the portal, but now he’s taken his name out of the portal and will play for Jedd Fisch at Washington.

— Must be an interesting story going on in Milwaukee; the Bucks fired rookie head coach Adrian Griffin, even though the guy had a 30-13 record.
According to the Ringer, “…….(Griffin made) head-scratching in-game decisions that made the franchise’s star players believe he’s not capable of leading them to a championship.”
Doc Rivers is the new coach in Milwaukee; he is 1,208-867 as an NBA coach, 111-104 in playoff games, with one title, but that was 16 years ago.

— Baseball Note of the Day: 25-year old Bubba Thompson is one of the fastest players in baseball; he’s had an interesting last few months:
He hit .170 in 53 at-bats with Texas last year.
August 13- Royals claimed him on waivers.
October 26- Reds claimed him on waivers.
January 4- Bronx claimed him on waivers.
January 24- Twins claimed him on waivers.
Not many players change teams three times in one offseason.

— Word of the Day: Nomad- a person who doesn’t stay long in the same place.

— Home team is 9-0 ATS in Nebraska’s Big 14 games this season.

— Creighton Bluejays are 15-5, 6-3 in the Big East; in their last four games, Baylor Scheierman has played 174:18 of a possible 175:00.
Creighton is #351 in the country in bench minutes; this will hurt them in the Big East tournament, when the games are on consecutive days. In the NCAA’s, the games are every other day, so players can have down time between games.

— Northwestern 96, Illinois 91, OT
Three weeks ago, Illinois beat the Wildcats by 30 at home.
Northwestern made 11-18 shots on the arc.

— Alabama 79, Auburn 75
Alabama led 44-30 at the half, held on in second half.
Both teams are now 5-1 in the SEC.

— Virginia 59, NC State 53, OT
Virginia led by 14 with 12:44 left in regulation.
Cavaliers out-rebounded NC State, 54-32.
Teams combined to shoot 8-31 on the arc.

— Missouri State 83, Drake 80, 2OT
Drake led by 16 late in first half.
Alston Mason scored 36 points for the victorious Bears.

— Furman 78, Samford 68
Fifth straight win for the Paladins.
First loss for Samford in eight SoCon games.

— Iowa State 78, Kansas State 67
K-State never led, but game was 61-61 with 4:40 left.
Cyclones were 27-39 on foul line, K-State 15-23.

 

[Udog]