Purdue, West Va add hoops to day of bowls
Yeah, yeah, we know. The first day of every New Year is supposed to be devoted to the bowl games. But after having college football shoved down our throats by the networks, isn't it nice to have some basketball to enjoy? Friday's match in West Lafayette between Purdue and West Virginia will have a Final Four feel to it. Sunday finds Kyle Singler and Duke hosting the Clemson Tigers in an ACC clash.
Friday is a busy day in Morgantown. The West Virginia Mountaineers will be in full force on the gridiron, where they’ll take on the Florida State Seminoles at the Outback Bowl.
But they’ll also be doing their thing on the hardcourt, traveling to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette for a marquee college hoops matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers.
In honor of West Virginia University (est. 1867), we tip off the first weekend betting twinbill of 2010 with this juicy piece of trivia: Actor and Morgantown native Don Knotts graduated from WVU in 1948 with a degree in theater. Knotts was Phi Sigma Kappa.
No. 6 West Virginia at No. 4 Purdue (-4, 135)
Friday, Jan 1 1 - 2:30 p.m. (ET) ESPN
The Mountaineers are off to a rolling start at 11-0 (4-6 ATS), but they weren’t able to cover against their three toughest opponents: Texas A&M (+8½), Ole Miss (+11½) and Marquette (+12½). That’s a lot of chalk, but West Virginia is a very, very good basketball team on so many levels.
The Mountaineers are No. 6 in Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency rankings with the No. 10 offense in Division I. However, they’ve been hobbled by point guard Truck Bryant’s sprained ankle, prompting coach Bob Huggins to start a rotation of five forwards.
Purdue is higher up in the AP poll with a record of 12-0 (5-6-1 ATS), but Pomeroy isn’t quite as impressed, putting the Boilermakers in the No. 15 spot based on their much easier strength of schedule thus far. The Boilers have notable wins over Tennessee (+1) and Wake Forest (+10½), and that’s about it.
Purdue has also dropped the cash in three straight games. Scoring can be a problem for PU, ranked No. 260 in Division I at 31.0 percent from long range. The Mountaineers have a distinct rebounding advantage in this matchup.
Early betting odds have Purdue as a four-point favorite with a total of 135 points. ESPN takes a break from its bowl coverage to air this matchup starting at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. This is the first time these two programs have met since 1981; the Boilers are 4-0 lifetime against WVU.
No. 21 Clemson at No. 7 Duke
Sunday, Jan 3 - 7:45 p.m. (ET) FSN
Football won’t be taking any of the campus spotlight from Sunday’s contest; Clemson has already won the Music City Bowl, and hoops-centric Duke wasn’t bowl eligible.
The Tigers (12-2 SU, 7-4 ATS) suffered losses to Texas A&M (+6) and Illinois (+6), but also managed a victory over Butler (+3) to rank No. 16 overall in Pomeroy efficiency. Clemson has covered its last four games in a row, using stifling defense to put the UNDER at 6-3 on the season.
The top team in the ACC at the end of non-conference play is clearly Duke at 11-1 (7-4 ATS). The Blue Devils have yet to lose at home this year and had no trouble covering against UConn (+3½) and Arizona State (+10) to win the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The one loss was 73-69 on the road to a very good Wisconsin team (+4½) at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge – Duke’s first loss in that tournament, and the first time the Big Ten has won the tourney in its 11-year history. Store that one in the memory banks when you bet on the Big Ten this March.
These two teams played just once last year at Clemson, as the Tigers (+4) ran away with a 74-47 victory during one of Duke’s classic February slumps. The Devils appear to be much improved this year, ranking No. 3 in overall efficiency (No. 2 on offense, No. 7 on defense). The backcourt is turning the ball over just 15.6 percent of the time, and they’re hitting 42.9 percent of their trey attempts.
A full year of Nolan Smith (17.4 points, 3.7 assists per game) should work wonders in Durham, and Clemson’s backcourt will have trouble keeping up now that Terrence Oglesby (13.2 points per game) is playing pro ball in Italy. Fox Sports Net has the game at 7:45 p.m. ET on its national feed.
Yeah, yeah, we know. The first day of every New Year is supposed to be devoted to the bowl games. But after having college football shoved down our throats by the networks, isn't it nice to have some basketball to enjoy? Friday's match in West Lafayette between Purdue and West Virginia will have a Final Four feel to it. Sunday finds Kyle Singler and Duke hosting the Clemson Tigers in an ACC clash.
Friday is a busy day in Morgantown. The West Virginia Mountaineers will be in full force on the gridiron, where they’ll take on the Florida State Seminoles at the Outback Bowl.
But they’ll also be doing their thing on the hardcourt, traveling to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette for a marquee college hoops matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers.
In honor of West Virginia University (est. 1867), we tip off the first weekend betting twinbill of 2010 with this juicy piece of trivia: Actor and Morgantown native Don Knotts graduated from WVU in 1948 with a degree in theater. Knotts was Phi Sigma Kappa.
No. 6 West Virginia at No. 4 Purdue (-4, 135)
Friday, Jan 1 1 - 2:30 p.m. (ET) ESPN
The Mountaineers are off to a rolling start at 11-0 (4-6 ATS), but they weren’t able to cover against their three toughest opponents: Texas A&M (+8½), Ole Miss (+11½) and Marquette (+12½). That’s a lot of chalk, but West Virginia is a very, very good basketball team on so many levels.
The Mountaineers are No. 6 in Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency rankings with the No. 10 offense in Division I. However, they’ve been hobbled by point guard Truck Bryant’s sprained ankle, prompting coach Bob Huggins to start a rotation of five forwards.
Purdue is higher up in the AP poll with a record of 12-0 (5-6-1 ATS), but Pomeroy isn’t quite as impressed, putting the Boilermakers in the No. 15 spot based on their much easier strength of schedule thus far. The Boilers have notable wins over Tennessee (+1) and Wake Forest (+10½), and that’s about it.
Purdue has also dropped the cash in three straight games. Scoring can be a problem for PU, ranked No. 260 in Division I at 31.0 percent from long range. The Mountaineers have a distinct rebounding advantage in this matchup.
Early betting odds have Purdue as a four-point favorite with a total of 135 points. ESPN takes a break from its bowl coverage to air this matchup starting at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. This is the first time these two programs have met since 1981; the Boilers are 4-0 lifetime against WVU.
No. 21 Clemson at No. 7 Duke
Sunday, Jan 3 - 7:45 p.m. (ET) FSN
Football won’t be taking any of the campus spotlight from Sunday’s contest; Clemson has already won the Music City Bowl, and hoops-centric Duke wasn’t bowl eligible.
The Tigers (12-2 SU, 7-4 ATS) suffered losses to Texas A&M (+6) and Illinois (+6), but also managed a victory over Butler (+3) to rank No. 16 overall in Pomeroy efficiency. Clemson has covered its last four games in a row, using stifling defense to put the UNDER at 6-3 on the season.
The top team in the ACC at the end of non-conference play is clearly Duke at 11-1 (7-4 ATS). The Blue Devils have yet to lose at home this year and had no trouble covering against UConn (+3½) and Arizona State (+10) to win the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The one loss was 73-69 on the road to a very good Wisconsin team (+4½) at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge – Duke’s first loss in that tournament, and the first time the Big Ten has won the tourney in its 11-year history. Store that one in the memory banks when you bet on the Big Ten this March.
These two teams played just once last year at Clemson, as the Tigers (+4) ran away with a 74-47 victory during one of Duke’s classic February slumps. The Devils appear to be much improved this year, ranking No. 3 in overall efficiency (No. 2 on offense, No. 7 on defense). The backcourt is turning the ball over just 15.6 percent of the time, and they’re hitting 42.9 percent of their trey attempts.
A full year of Nolan Smith (17.4 points, 3.7 assists per game) should work wonders in Durham, and Clemson’s backcourt will have trouble keeping up now that Terrence Oglesby (13.2 points per game) is playing pro ball in Italy. Fox Sports Net has the game at 7:45 p.m. ET on its national feed.