College Basketball Weekend Tripleheader
College Basketball Weekend Tripleheader
As the college football season runs out of time, the college basketball season is just starting to heat up as schools head into the conference portion of their schedules. On tap this weekend are three games from the Pac-10, Big East and ACC starting with UCLA at Oregon St. Friday night. A huge Pitt, Georgetown game is waiting for us on Saturday before Boston College takes on North Carolina Sunday. We’re rapidly running out of college football games. By this time next week, the attention on the campus scene will switch from the gridiron to the hardwood. That means there’s one week left to get the jump on the soft early-season college hoops betting odds. Let’s get cracking with these three top-flight matchups.
No. 9 UCLA at Oregon State (+14)
Friday, Jan 2, 10:30 p.m. (ET)
It’s been a slightly rougher ride than expected for Ben Howland’s UCLA Bruins at 10-2 SU and 5-6 ATS. The two losses themselves are not an issue; one was by four points at Texas (-6), and the other was by three points against resurgent Michigan (+8½) on neutral ground at Madison Square Garden. The problem is UCLA’s difficulty covering giant spreads – the Bruins are 3-5 ATS as double-digit favorites and 0-3 ATS laying anything more than 24 points.
Last year’s runaway elite team had the luxury of putting both center Kevin Love and forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute on the floor at the same time, with Lorenzo Mata-Real providing ample support in the paint. All three have moved on, leaving the Bruins defense ranked No. 30 in Division I according to Ken Pomeroy’s advanced rankings. The team’s strength is now on the perimeter with top superfrosh guard Jrue Holiday joining Final Four veterans Darren Collison at the point and Josh Shipp on the wing.
Oregon State (5-5 SU, 3-3 ATS) is in extreme makeover mode in its first year under first-year coach Craig Robinson – yes, that’s Barack Obama’s brother-in-law. After losses to the MEAC’s Howard Bisons and Robinson’s old Ivy League rivals from Yale (+9), the Beavers started to get with the program. Upsets of Fresno State (-6½) and Nebraska (-6½) and a revenge 90-54 pasting of Howard point at a hopeful future for Oregon State supporters.
No. 3 Pittsburgh at No. 8 Georgetown
Saturday, Jan 3, 12:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN
It’s the Big East’s world now. Pittsburgh is undefeated at 13-0 (4-3-1 ATS), but the real story in the conference is Georgetown at 10-1 and an impressive 5-2 ATS. The Hoyas are No. 1 on the Pomeroy charts with a bullet; their 74-63 triumph over the No. 2 UConn Huskies (-7 at home) was very much a “statement” game, one of several difficult conference games on the horizon.
Next up are the Panthers. They’re No. 5 on the Pomeroy rankings, playing a softer schedule than Georgetown up to this point and dropping the cash in two of their last three games. Pitt’s New Year’s Eve matchup at Rutgers (+14) turned out to be more of a struggle than advertised, as coach Jamie Dixon had to switch from his preferred man-on-man defense to a zone to hold off the Scarlet Knights 78-72. The Panthers are No. 56 in Division I defending the 3-point shot at 30.5 percent; Georgetown, however, gets only 34.2 percent of its points from the backcourt and shoots just 34.6 percent from downtown, No. 148 in the nation. Zone trickery might not bail Pitt out this time.
Boston College at No. 1 North Carolina
Sunday, Jan 4, 5:30 p.m. (ET)
North Carolina (13-0 SU, 5-6 ATS) is being stretched to the outer limits of chalk, even further than UCLA. The Tar Heels are 5-0 ATS when favored by anything under 19 points, as they were in victories over Notre Dame (+10½) and Michigan State (+10). Anything above that has simply been too much. But Sunday’s ACC opener against the Boston College Eagles (12-2 SU, 3-3 ATS) should be at least somewhat competitive.
The Eagles were one of the top candidates to finish near the bottom of the ACC standings this year. But BC was a thorn in then-No. 9 Purdue’s side last month, getting paid as 9½-point puppies in a 71-64 loss at the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Eagles are on a nine-game winning streak since then at 3-2 ATS. This is a big step up in weight class for Boston College, but if the line on the Tar Heels gets too chalky again, the non-con results harbor sufficient evidence that BC can bag the cash.
As the college football season runs out of time, the college basketball season is just starting to heat up as schools head into the conference portion of their schedules. On tap this weekend are three games from the Pac-10, Big East and ACC starting with UCLA at Oregon St. Friday night. A huge Pitt, Georgetown game is waiting for us on Saturday before Boston College takes on North Carolina Sunday. We’re rapidly running out of college football games. By this time next week, the attention on the campus scene will switch from the gridiron to the hardwood. That means there’s one week left to get the jump on the soft early-season college hoops betting odds. Let’s get cracking with these three top-flight matchups.
No. 9 UCLA at Oregon State (+14)
Friday, Jan 2, 10:30 p.m. (ET)
It’s been a slightly rougher ride than expected for Ben Howland’s UCLA Bruins at 10-2 SU and 5-6 ATS. The two losses themselves are not an issue; one was by four points at Texas (-6), and the other was by three points against resurgent Michigan (+8½) on neutral ground at Madison Square Garden. The problem is UCLA’s difficulty covering giant spreads – the Bruins are 3-5 ATS as double-digit favorites and 0-3 ATS laying anything more than 24 points.
Last year’s runaway elite team had the luxury of putting both center Kevin Love and forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute on the floor at the same time, with Lorenzo Mata-Real providing ample support in the paint. All three have moved on, leaving the Bruins defense ranked No. 30 in Division I according to Ken Pomeroy’s advanced rankings. The team’s strength is now on the perimeter with top superfrosh guard Jrue Holiday joining Final Four veterans Darren Collison at the point and Josh Shipp on the wing.
Oregon State (5-5 SU, 3-3 ATS) is in extreme makeover mode in its first year under first-year coach Craig Robinson – yes, that’s Barack Obama’s brother-in-law. After losses to the MEAC’s Howard Bisons and Robinson’s old Ivy League rivals from Yale (+9), the Beavers started to get with the program. Upsets of Fresno State (-6½) and Nebraska (-6½) and a revenge 90-54 pasting of Howard point at a hopeful future for Oregon State supporters.
No. 3 Pittsburgh at No. 8 Georgetown
Saturday, Jan 3, 12:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN
It’s the Big East’s world now. Pittsburgh is undefeated at 13-0 (4-3-1 ATS), but the real story in the conference is Georgetown at 10-1 and an impressive 5-2 ATS. The Hoyas are No. 1 on the Pomeroy charts with a bullet; their 74-63 triumph over the No. 2 UConn Huskies (-7 at home) was very much a “statement” game, one of several difficult conference games on the horizon.
Next up are the Panthers. They’re No. 5 on the Pomeroy rankings, playing a softer schedule than Georgetown up to this point and dropping the cash in two of their last three games. Pitt’s New Year’s Eve matchup at Rutgers (+14) turned out to be more of a struggle than advertised, as coach Jamie Dixon had to switch from his preferred man-on-man defense to a zone to hold off the Scarlet Knights 78-72. The Panthers are No. 56 in Division I defending the 3-point shot at 30.5 percent; Georgetown, however, gets only 34.2 percent of its points from the backcourt and shoots just 34.6 percent from downtown, No. 148 in the nation. Zone trickery might not bail Pitt out this time.
Boston College at No. 1 North Carolina
Sunday, Jan 4, 5:30 p.m. (ET)
North Carolina (13-0 SU, 5-6 ATS) is being stretched to the outer limits of chalk, even further than UCLA. The Tar Heels are 5-0 ATS when favored by anything under 19 points, as they were in victories over Notre Dame (+10½) and Michigan State (+10). Anything above that has simply been too much. But Sunday’s ACC opener against the Boston College Eagles (12-2 SU, 3-3 ATS) should be at least somewhat competitive.
The Eagles were one of the top candidates to finish near the bottom of the ACC standings this year. But BC was a thorn in then-No. 9 Purdue’s side last month, getting paid as 9½-point puppies in a 71-64 loss at the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Eagles are on a nine-game winning streak since then at 3-2 ATS. This is a big step up in weight class for Boston College, but if the line on the Tar Heels gets too chalky again, the non-con results harbor sufficient evidence that BC can bag the cash.