UConn, Gonzaga ready for Battle in Seattle
UConn, Gonzaga ready for Battle in Seattle
The college bowl season kicks off this weekend with five gridiron contests to whet your betting appetite. But the best collegiate action on tap should be on the hardwood beginning with a pair of Top 10 matchups on Saturday. Duke and Xavier meet in The Meadowlands in one televised game followed by UConn and Gonzaga. Sunday's key tilt finds the Pitt Panthers visiting Florida State in a Big East/ACC fight.
There will be a lot of “human interest” stories coming out of this weekend’s college football bowl games. But there’s something particularly compelling about Saturday’s “Battle in Seattle” between the UConn Huskies and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Huskies forward Stanley Robinson will be playing just his second game of the season; coach Jim Calhoun threw Robinson off the team for the first semester and suggested he get a job. So he sorted scrap metal for five months. Now that’s tough love.
No. 7 Xavier vs. No. 6 Duke
Izod Center, The Meadowlands
Saturday, Dec 20, 2:00 p.m. (ET) CBS
Gonzaga’s not the only mid-major making big waves this year. The Xavier Musketeers (9-0 SU, 4-4 ATS) handed Memphis (-5) a 63-58 defeat at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off title game, after narrow wins over Missouri (+1) and Virginia Tech (+2). Then XU went to Cincinnati last week and dumped the Bearcats 76-66 as a 2-point road chalk. But the Pomeroy rankings have the Musketeers at No. 16 in the nation; their average margin of victory this year is 11.1 points, but only nine points if you take away their 71-43 season opener against IUPUI-Fort Wayne of the Summit League.
Pomeroy is much happier with Duke’s body of work so far. The Blue Devils (8-1 SU, 5-4 ATS) have an average winning margin of 21.1 points (albeit with a softer schedule), plus a 76-60 spanking of Purdue (-2 at home) as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. This is Duke’s second year playing in the shadow of the North Carolina Tar Heels; the Devils got off to a 12-6 ATS start last year before hitting the wall in February.
No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 8 Gonzaga
Key Arena, Seattle
Saturday, Dec 20, 4:00 p.m. (ET) CBS
Robinson wasn’t just any troubled teenager – he was one of Calhoun’s starters, putting up 10.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while also hitting 41.8 percent of his 3-pointers. And the Huskies still managed to open the 2008-09 season at 8-0 (2-2 ATS), including victories over Miami-Florida (+4) and Wisconsin (+5½) at the Paradise Jam tournament.
In his first game back against the Stony Brook Seawolves, Robinson played 16 minutes off the bench and scored seven points with five rebounds. UConn creamed the Seawolves 91-57; the America East representatives didn’t draw a betting line for Huskies supporters, nor did their previous three opponents. Ken Pomeroy has tagged UConn with the No. 224-ranked schedule in Division I.
Gonzaga, on the other hand, is ranked No. 5 in that department. The Bulldogs are 8-1 (5-2 ATS) after Thursday’s 84-42 evisceration of the Texas Southern Tigers – an even easier opponent than Stony Brook at 0-10 in the lowly SWAC. But the ‘Zags have also beaten a host of major programs, including the Tennessee Volunteers (+2). And while UConn is supposed to be the defensive giant in this contest, Gonzaga is No. 12 in the nation in effective field goal percentage allowed at 40.7 percent, while UConn is No. 26 at 42.6 percent.
No. 3 Pittsburgh at Florida State
Tucker Center, Tallahassee
Sunday, Dec 21, 5:30 p.m. (ET)
The Big East has a chance to muscle into the ACC’s territory as the top conference in NCAA hoops. Having 16 teams certainly helps create an upper class with the Pittsburgh Panthers (11-0 SU, 3-2-1 ATS) currently holding down the top spot in the standings. Pitt hasn’t really been tested yet this year, though – save for a 57-43 effort against Washington State (+6) to take the Legends Classic.
Sunday’s game might not be much of a test, either. The Florida State Seminoles have a gaudy record of 11-1 SU and 5-2 ATS, upsetting Cincinnati (-2½), Cal (-3) and Florida (-2) along the way. But none of those teams is playing particularly well right now. Northwestern’s 73-59 triumph earlier this month as a 3.5-point favorite (at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, and also part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge) is more indicative of FSU’s chances against the betting odds on Sunday.
The college bowl season kicks off this weekend with five gridiron contests to whet your betting appetite. But the best collegiate action on tap should be on the hardwood beginning with a pair of Top 10 matchups on Saturday. Duke and Xavier meet in The Meadowlands in one televised game followed by UConn and Gonzaga. Sunday's key tilt finds the Pitt Panthers visiting Florida State in a Big East/ACC fight.
There will be a lot of “human interest” stories coming out of this weekend’s college football bowl games. But there’s something particularly compelling about Saturday’s “Battle in Seattle” between the UConn Huskies and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Huskies forward Stanley Robinson will be playing just his second game of the season; coach Jim Calhoun threw Robinson off the team for the first semester and suggested he get a job. So he sorted scrap metal for five months. Now that’s tough love.
No. 7 Xavier vs. No. 6 Duke
Izod Center, The Meadowlands
Saturday, Dec 20, 2:00 p.m. (ET) CBS
Gonzaga’s not the only mid-major making big waves this year. The Xavier Musketeers (9-0 SU, 4-4 ATS) handed Memphis (-5) a 63-58 defeat at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off title game, after narrow wins over Missouri (+1) and Virginia Tech (+2). Then XU went to Cincinnati last week and dumped the Bearcats 76-66 as a 2-point road chalk. But the Pomeroy rankings have the Musketeers at No. 16 in the nation; their average margin of victory this year is 11.1 points, but only nine points if you take away their 71-43 season opener against IUPUI-Fort Wayne of the Summit League.
Pomeroy is much happier with Duke’s body of work so far. The Blue Devils (8-1 SU, 5-4 ATS) have an average winning margin of 21.1 points (albeit with a softer schedule), plus a 76-60 spanking of Purdue (-2 at home) as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. This is Duke’s second year playing in the shadow of the North Carolina Tar Heels; the Devils got off to a 12-6 ATS start last year before hitting the wall in February.
No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 8 Gonzaga
Key Arena, Seattle
Saturday, Dec 20, 4:00 p.m. (ET) CBS
Robinson wasn’t just any troubled teenager – he was one of Calhoun’s starters, putting up 10.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while also hitting 41.8 percent of his 3-pointers. And the Huskies still managed to open the 2008-09 season at 8-0 (2-2 ATS), including victories over Miami-Florida (+4) and Wisconsin (+5½) at the Paradise Jam tournament.
In his first game back against the Stony Brook Seawolves, Robinson played 16 minutes off the bench and scored seven points with five rebounds. UConn creamed the Seawolves 91-57; the America East representatives didn’t draw a betting line for Huskies supporters, nor did their previous three opponents. Ken Pomeroy has tagged UConn with the No. 224-ranked schedule in Division I.
Gonzaga, on the other hand, is ranked No. 5 in that department. The Bulldogs are 8-1 (5-2 ATS) after Thursday’s 84-42 evisceration of the Texas Southern Tigers – an even easier opponent than Stony Brook at 0-10 in the lowly SWAC. But the ‘Zags have also beaten a host of major programs, including the Tennessee Volunteers (+2). And while UConn is supposed to be the defensive giant in this contest, Gonzaga is No. 12 in the nation in effective field goal percentage allowed at 40.7 percent, while UConn is No. 26 at 42.6 percent.
No. 3 Pittsburgh at Florida State
Tucker Center, Tallahassee
Sunday, Dec 21, 5:30 p.m. (ET)
The Big East has a chance to muscle into the ACC’s territory as the top conference in NCAA hoops. Having 16 teams certainly helps create an upper class with the Pittsburgh Panthers (11-0 SU, 3-2-1 ATS) currently holding down the top spot in the standings. Pitt hasn’t really been tested yet this year, though – save for a 57-43 effort against Washington State (+6) to take the Legends Classic.
Sunday’s game might not be much of a test, either. The Florida State Seminoles have a gaudy record of 11-1 SU and 5-2 ATS, upsetting Cincinnati (-2½), Cal (-3) and Florida (-2) along the way. But none of those teams is playing particularly well right now. Northwestern’s 73-59 triumph earlier this month as a 3.5-point favorite (at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, and also part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge) is more indicative of FSU’s chances against the betting odds on Sunday.