West Virginia, Kansas face tough games on road
With the college football season finished, college basketball can take center stage on its way to March Madness. Two of the nation's top teams will be on the road and up against tough foes, starting with West Virginia's trip to South Bend on Saturday to meet Luke Harangody and the Fighting Irish. Sunday finds the top team in the land, Kansas, on the road as well with Bill Self's crew in Tennessee to take on the Vols.
So the USC Trojans made the first move in the O.J. Mayo scandal with some self-imposed sanctions. All 21 of their victories from Mayo’s lone season in 2007-08 have been vacated, and the program will not accept any postseason bids this year.
What, you’re going to turn down an invitation to the CBI?
Actually, it’s been a surprisingly decent start for the rebuilding Trojans at 10-5 (6-6-2 ATS). Coach Kevin O’Neill has put his stamp on this team by getting it to play the best defense in Division I, according to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency stats.
But will his very disappointed players continue to deliver that kind of effort now that there’s no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, there’s no lack of motivation in the talent-laden Big 12 and Big East. We’ll see three of the best teams in the country in action this weekend, including the preseason and current favorites to win this year’s NCAA men’s Tournament.
No. 8 West Virginia at Notre Dame
Saturday, Jan 9 - 8:00 p.m. (ET) ESPNU
When we checked in on the Mountaineers last week, they were undefeated and about to face the Purdue Boilermakers (-4). Purdue looked somewhat overvalued in that matchup, but that didn’t stop the Boilers from crushing West Virginia 77-62 at home.
The Mountaineers followed that up with an easy win over Rutgers (+19½) to sit at 12-1 SU and 5-7 ATS.
Notre Dame (13-3 SU, 5-4-1 ATS) had a similar record at this time last year: 11-3 SU and 4-4 ATS. Then everything went kablooey. The Fighting Irish went on to lose eight of their next nine games, dropping the cash every time. Just like then, the Irish are a one-dimensional team in 2010, excelling on offense and disappointing on defense. The OVER is 7-2 for Notre Dame after starting the season at 0-2.
The Mountaineers are also more gifted on offense, especially on the glass where they scoop up 43.4 percent of available rebounds, third-best in Division I. But West Virginia is much better at defense than the Irish, enough to rank No. 8 in the nation in overall efficiency – Notre Dame is No. 77. Looks like another long winter in South Bend.
No. 1 Kansas at No. 15 Tennessee
Sunday, Jan 10 - 4:30 p.m. (ET) CBS
No such problems in Lawrence, where the Jayhawks have moved from 4-1 to 3-1 favorites on the March Madness betting odds by winning all of their first 14 games (6-5 ATS). Ken Pomeroy has Kansas ranked No. 1 in overall efficiency with the second-best offense and the third-best defense in Division I. That’s a tough nut to crack. The Jayhawks are also loaded with depth and well balanced between the frontcourt and the perimeter.
Tennessee (11-2 SU, 5-4-1 ATS) is rocketing up the championship futures market as well, from 35-1 at the open to 18-1. This is the No. 18 team in the nation in efficiency with a preference for defense and a 4-2-1 'under' record.
Big wins for the Volunteers in the first semester included their New Year’s Eve victory over Memphis (-2½), and there was that narrow 73-72 loss to Purdue (-1). The Vols will have more competition in the SEC this year, but they can definitely hang with the likes of Kentucky.
Kansas, however, is king of the mountain right now. The arrival of 6-foot-6 shooting guard Xavier Henry (16.1 points, 4.1 rebounds per game) has been everything coach Bill Self could have asked for. Henry leads the team in scoring, adding enough punch for the ‘Hawks to beat the spread by an average of 2.15 points per game, compared to -2.81 points for Tennessee.
There is one caveat for Kansas bettors: Wednesday’s surprisingly close 71-66 victory over visiting Cornell (+20½). The Big Red were up six points with a little over eight minutes left on the clock before Kansas turned on the juice. The Vols might have just gotten the blueprint they need to beat the Jayhawks.
With the college football season finished, college basketball can take center stage on its way to March Madness. Two of the nation's top teams will be on the road and up against tough foes, starting with West Virginia's trip to South Bend on Saturday to meet Luke Harangody and the Fighting Irish. Sunday finds the top team in the land, Kansas, on the road as well with Bill Self's crew in Tennessee to take on the Vols.
So the USC Trojans made the first move in the O.J. Mayo scandal with some self-imposed sanctions. All 21 of their victories from Mayo’s lone season in 2007-08 have been vacated, and the program will not accept any postseason bids this year.
What, you’re going to turn down an invitation to the CBI?
Actually, it’s been a surprisingly decent start for the rebuilding Trojans at 10-5 (6-6-2 ATS). Coach Kevin O’Neill has put his stamp on this team by getting it to play the best defense in Division I, according to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency stats.
But will his very disappointed players continue to deliver that kind of effort now that there’s no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, there’s no lack of motivation in the talent-laden Big 12 and Big East. We’ll see three of the best teams in the country in action this weekend, including the preseason and current favorites to win this year’s NCAA men’s Tournament.
No. 8 West Virginia at Notre Dame
Saturday, Jan 9 - 8:00 p.m. (ET) ESPNU
When we checked in on the Mountaineers last week, they were undefeated and about to face the Purdue Boilermakers (-4). Purdue looked somewhat overvalued in that matchup, but that didn’t stop the Boilers from crushing West Virginia 77-62 at home.
The Mountaineers followed that up with an easy win over Rutgers (+19½) to sit at 12-1 SU and 5-7 ATS.
Notre Dame (13-3 SU, 5-4-1 ATS) had a similar record at this time last year: 11-3 SU and 4-4 ATS. Then everything went kablooey. The Fighting Irish went on to lose eight of their next nine games, dropping the cash every time. Just like then, the Irish are a one-dimensional team in 2010, excelling on offense and disappointing on defense. The OVER is 7-2 for Notre Dame after starting the season at 0-2.
The Mountaineers are also more gifted on offense, especially on the glass where they scoop up 43.4 percent of available rebounds, third-best in Division I. But West Virginia is much better at defense than the Irish, enough to rank No. 8 in the nation in overall efficiency – Notre Dame is No. 77. Looks like another long winter in South Bend.
No. 1 Kansas at No. 15 Tennessee
Sunday, Jan 10 - 4:30 p.m. (ET) CBS
No such problems in Lawrence, where the Jayhawks have moved from 4-1 to 3-1 favorites on the March Madness betting odds by winning all of their first 14 games (6-5 ATS). Ken Pomeroy has Kansas ranked No. 1 in overall efficiency with the second-best offense and the third-best defense in Division I. That’s a tough nut to crack. The Jayhawks are also loaded with depth and well balanced between the frontcourt and the perimeter.
Tennessee (11-2 SU, 5-4-1 ATS) is rocketing up the championship futures market as well, from 35-1 at the open to 18-1. This is the No. 18 team in the nation in efficiency with a preference for defense and a 4-2-1 'under' record.
Big wins for the Volunteers in the first semester included their New Year’s Eve victory over Memphis (-2½), and there was that narrow 73-72 loss to Purdue (-1). The Vols will have more competition in the SEC this year, but they can definitely hang with the likes of Kentucky.
Kansas, however, is king of the mountain right now. The arrival of 6-foot-6 shooting guard Xavier Henry (16.1 points, 4.1 rebounds per game) has been everything coach Bill Self could have asked for. Henry leads the team in scoring, adding enough punch for the ‘Hawks to beat the spread by an average of 2.15 points per game, compared to -2.81 points for Tennessee.
There is one caveat for Kansas bettors: Wednesday’s surprisingly close 71-66 victory over visiting Cornell (+20½). The Big Red were up six points with a little over eight minutes left on the clock before Kansas turned on the juice. The Vols might have just gotten the blueprint they need to beat the Jayhawks.
