Should be a great day for college hoops. . . several great matchups and its difficult to stay away from the high profile games but probably the smartest move that anybody could make. Still though I have a few of them in my early looks:
Nevada taking 3.5 over UTEP
UTEP is averaging below 40% and does not rebound as much as they need to in order to solve their low shooting percentage woes. Nevada should have a fairly easy time up front which is their bread and butter as they only average 11 shots from down town. . . UTEP's home court advantage will be huge and should keep the game close, but I like Nevada taking 3.5 with the chance of stealing a win.
Xavier laying 5 over George Washington
Was chatting with Ironlock tonight and told him that at first look, I liked George Washington taking points at home. Then I had a chance to crunch the numbers and came up with the opposite side! Both teams are fairly similar regarding their offensive performance on average. The difference comes on the defensive end where Xavier has held opponents to under 40% from the field. I also found a small rebounding edge to Xavier which should slow down GW on the offensive end. The points just felt like a gift at home, but not anymore. Xavier should get the job done and take a nice win on the road.
La Tech taking 2 over Tulsa
The key to this game will be Tulsa's ability to knock down the three point jumper. If they can, then this will spread LA Tech's defense and prevent them from establishing a consistent rebounding edge (which they should have) in this game. That being said, La Tech defends the 3 fairly well and since Tulsa is on the road, they may not hit their just above 40% average in this game shooting the long ball.
Maryland taking 9 over Duke
Definite public line move in favor of Maryland so far. . . and I'm gonna ride along with them! I feel that both teams match up well on both sides of the ball with Maryland having the slightly better defense and rebounding edge. Will probably tread lightly here, but I do not see anything wrong with taking 9 points in a game that should be an absolute battle to the finish.
UCLA laying 1 over ASU
Likely another small play as it reeks of a line that is too good to be true. Ironlock made an excellent point that the Bruins may have a slight letdown after the Kansas victory and a potential look ahead to playing Arizona on Saturday. ASU is excellent at home so far this year despite a few slip ups to horrible teams. That being said, ASU does not have the defense to slow down the Bruins.
Opinions:
BC laying 5.5 over St Johns
Delaware taking 9.5 over Penn (even though Penn has been $$)
USC taking 4 over Arizona
Cal laying 11 over Washington
Nevada taking 3.5 over UTEP
UTEP is averaging below 40% and does not rebound as much as they need to in order to solve their low shooting percentage woes. Nevada should have a fairly easy time up front which is their bread and butter as they only average 11 shots from down town. . . UTEP's home court advantage will be huge and should keep the game close, but I like Nevada taking 3.5 with the chance of stealing a win.
Xavier laying 5 over George Washington
Was chatting with Ironlock tonight and told him that at first look, I liked George Washington taking points at home. Then I had a chance to crunch the numbers and came up with the opposite side! Both teams are fairly similar regarding their offensive performance on average. The difference comes on the defensive end where Xavier has held opponents to under 40% from the field. I also found a small rebounding edge to Xavier which should slow down GW on the offensive end. The points just felt like a gift at home, but not anymore. Xavier should get the job done and take a nice win on the road.
La Tech taking 2 over Tulsa
The key to this game will be Tulsa's ability to knock down the three point jumper. If they can, then this will spread LA Tech's defense and prevent them from establishing a consistent rebounding edge (which they should have) in this game. That being said, La Tech defends the 3 fairly well and since Tulsa is on the road, they may not hit their just above 40% average in this game shooting the long ball.
Maryland taking 9 over Duke
Definite public line move in favor of Maryland so far. . . and I'm gonna ride along with them! I feel that both teams match up well on both sides of the ball with Maryland having the slightly better defense and rebounding edge. Will probably tread lightly here, but I do not see anything wrong with taking 9 points in a game that should be an absolute battle to the finish.
UCLA laying 1 over ASU
Likely another small play as it reeks of a line that is too good to be true. Ironlock made an excellent point that the Bruins may have a slight letdown after the Kansas victory and a potential look ahead to playing Arizona on Saturday. ASU is excellent at home so far this year despite a few slip ups to horrible teams. That being said, ASU does not have the defense to slow down the Bruins.
Opinions:
BC laying 5.5 over St Johns
Delaware taking 9.5 over Penn (even though Penn has been $$)
USC taking 4 over Arizona
Cal laying 11 over Washington
