North Carolina, Wake Forest cap weekend action
North Carolina, Wake Forest cap weekend action
Conference action is the fare for the most part now that we've hit 2009, but this weekend's slate opens Saturday with a Big 12 - Big Ten matchup in East Lansing where the Michigan State Spartans host last year's champions from Kansas. Saturday continues with the Oklahoma Sooners traveling to face Big 12 rivals Kansas State and Sunday finds a whopper of a game in the ACC with North Carolina at Wake Forest.
So the mighty North Carolina Tar Heels are no longer No. 1 in the rankings. Losing 85-78 at home to the Boston College Eagles (+23) knocked UNC down to No. 3, leaving the Pittsburgh Panthers as your new top dogs. Can we say for certain now that the Big East has eclipsed the Atlantic Coast Conference?
Maybe not yet - as the Eagles have shown, there’s a lot more to the ACC than just North Carolina and Duke. One of the conference’s unheralded teams will take on the Tar Heels in our latest college hoops betting tripleheader.
Kansas at No. 12 Michigan State
Saturday, Jan 10, 1:00 p.m. ET, (CBS)
The defending champions from Kansas (11-3 SU, 5-3 ATS) have one more non-con game before they hit the Big 12 portion of the schedule. And it’s a big one versus the MSU Spartans (12-2 SU, 6-5 ATS).
Once again, we have an unranked team that deserves more recognition facing an opponent that is being judged on reputation and potential rather than current results. Kansas is No. 17 on the Pomeroy rankings, while Michigan State has moved up to No. 23 following a pair of tough Big Ten victories at Minnesota (-1) and Northwestern (+4½).
The Jayhawks don’t get off lightly in our judgment, though, not after losing 61-60 to UMass (no betting line) and getting rolled 84-67 at Arizona (-2½). Michigan State has the better 3-point shooting so far this year at 40.3 percent (No. 10 in Division I), while Kansas is struggling on perimeter defense, allowing opponents to hit 34.3 percent from downtown (No. 188). The Spartans should win this one at home or in any arena.
No. 6 Oklahoma at Kansas State
Saturday, Jan 10, 1:30 p.m. (ET)
We start in the Big 12, where conference play is just getting underway this weekend. The standings suggest the Sooners have had the better run of it in non-con play at 14-1 SU (5-5 ATS), with the Wildcats trailing at 11-3 SU (3-3-1 ATS). But look again at those schedules. Kansas State lost by two points each to Kentucky (-2) and Iowa (+5) at the Las Vegas Invitational, then dropped a 75-70 decision at Oregon (-2). Otherwise, the Wildcats have run the table.
Not that KSU’s other opponents were terribly good, and we certainly don’t mean to diminish Oklahoma’s victories over Purdue (-2) and Davidson (+5). But for the Sooners to be ranked No. 6 is a bit of a stretch, and their recent 0-3 ATS mini-slump (punctuated by a loss at Arkansas as 5½-point road faves) points at an overvalued team. Kansas State sits at No. 12 on the Pomeroy charts with Oklahoma at No. 20.
No. 3 North Carolina at No. 4 Wake Forest
Sunday, Jan 11, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
The Tar Heels (14-1 SU, 6-7 ATS) vented their frustrations on the College of Charleston (Southern Conference) Wednesday night, pummelling the Cougars 108-70 and cashing in as 27-point faves. That’s the biggest spread UNC has managed to cover this year. The second biggest was 18½ points, against both Kentucky and Nevada.
The betting odds for Sunday’s matchup with the Demon Deacons (13-0 SU, 5-4 ATS) are bound to be a little bit closer Ken Pomeroy had the Heels ranked sixth overall and the Deacons No. 10 after Tuesday’s games, close enough that Sunday’s matchup figures to be a coin flip on paper. However, there is a huge gulf between the schedules these two teams have played thus far. Wake Forest has fattened up on marshmallow opponents - but beware, the Deacs also have impressive upsets of Baylor (-3) and Brigham Young (-4) on their resume. BYU had won 53 straight at home before falling 94-87 to WFU.
"We say the right stuff in timeouts, everybody is in the game on the bench and I’m just seeing so much more basketball maturation," Deacons coach Dino Gaudio told ESPN’s Andy Katz after beating BYU. Pulling off the same feat against the Tar Heels would truly announce Wake’s arrival this season.
Conference action is the fare for the most part now that we've hit 2009, but this weekend's slate opens Saturday with a Big 12 - Big Ten matchup in East Lansing where the Michigan State Spartans host last year's champions from Kansas. Saturday continues with the Oklahoma Sooners traveling to face Big 12 rivals Kansas State and Sunday finds a whopper of a game in the ACC with North Carolina at Wake Forest.
So the mighty North Carolina Tar Heels are no longer No. 1 in the rankings. Losing 85-78 at home to the Boston College Eagles (+23) knocked UNC down to No. 3, leaving the Pittsburgh Panthers as your new top dogs. Can we say for certain now that the Big East has eclipsed the Atlantic Coast Conference?
Maybe not yet - as the Eagles have shown, there’s a lot more to the ACC than just North Carolina and Duke. One of the conference’s unheralded teams will take on the Tar Heels in our latest college hoops betting tripleheader.
Kansas at No. 12 Michigan State
Saturday, Jan 10, 1:00 p.m. ET, (CBS)
The defending champions from Kansas (11-3 SU, 5-3 ATS) have one more non-con game before they hit the Big 12 portion of the schedule. And it’s a big one versus the MSU Spartans (12-2 SU, 6-5 ATS).
Once again, we have an unranked team that deserves more recognition facing an opponent that is being judged on reputation and potential rather than current results. Kansas is No. 17 on the Pomeroy rankings, while Michigan State has moved up to No. 23 following a pair of tough Big Ten victories at Minnesota (-1) and Northwestern (+4½).
The Jayhawks don’t get off lightly in our judgment, though, not after losing 61-60 to UMass (no betting line) and getting rolled 84-67 at Arizona (-2½). Michigan State has the better 3-point shooting so far this year at 40.3 percent (No. 10 in Division I), while Kansas is struggling on perimeter defense, allowing opponents to hit 34.3 percent from downtown (No. 188). The Spartans should win this one at home or in any arena.
No. 6 Oklahoma at Kansas State
Saturday, Jan 10, 1:30 p.m. (ET)
We start in the Big 12, where conference play is just getting underway this weekend. The standings suggest the Sooners have had the better run of it in non-con play at 14-1 SU (5-5 ATS), with the Wildcats trailing at 11-3 SU (3-3-1 ATS). But look again at those schedules. Kansas State lost by two points each to Kentucky (-2) and Iowa (+5) at the Las Vegas Invitational, then dropped a 75-70 decision at Oregon (-2). Otherwise, the Wildcats have run the table.
Not that KSU’s other opponents were terribly good, and we certainly don’t mean to diminish Oklahoma’s victories over Purdue (-2) and Davidson (+5). But for the Sooners to be ranked No. 6 is a bit of a stretch, and their recent 0-3 ATS mini-slump (punctuated by a loss at Arkansas as 5½-point road faves) points at an overvalued team. Kansas State sits at No. 12 on the Pomeroy charts with Oklahoma at No. 20.
No. 3 North Carolina at No. 4 Wake Forest
Sunday, Jan 11, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
The Tar Heels (14-1 SU, 6-7 ATS) vented their frustrations on the College of Charleston (Southern Conference) Wednesday night, pummelling the Cougars 108-70 and cashing in as 27-point faves. That’s the biggest spread UNC has managed to cover this year. The second biggest was 18½ points, against both Kentucky and Nevada.
The betting odds for Sunday’s matchup with the Demon Deacons (13-0 SU, 5-4 ATS) are bound to be a little bit closer Ken Pomeroy had the Heels ranked sixth overall and the Deacons No. 10 after Tuesday’s games, close enough that Sunday’s matchup figures to be a coin flip on paper. However, there is a huge gulf between the schedules these two teams have played thus far. Wake Forest has fattened up on marshmallow opponents - but beware, the Deacs also have impressive upsets of Baylor (-3) and Brigham Young (-4) on their resume. BYU had won 53 straight at home before falling 94-87 to WFU.
"We say the right stuff in timeouts, everybody is in the game on the bench and I’m just seeing so much more basketball maturation," Deacons coach Dino Gaudio told ESPN’s Andy Katz after beating BYU. Pulling off the same feat against the Tar Heels would truly announce Wake’s arrival this season.