Orange you glad you're Syracuse and not UCLA?
The 2009-10 season is in full swing and while the Kansas Jayhawks that remain atop the polls, it's the Syracuse Orange making headlines. Jim Boeheim's boys started the year outside of the rankings but have zoomed into the Top 10 with wins over Cal and North Carolina. Meanwhile out west, the UCLA Bruins are licking early wounds in what appears to be a very bad year for Ben Howland's bunch.
So here were are in Week 3 of the 2009-10 college basketball season. The Kansas Jayhawks are still the No. 1 team in the land at 5-0 SU and 2-1 ATS. Guess that’s a wrap. See you in March.
Whoa, Nellie. There have already been a lot of goings-on in college hoops, and if you were on the ball, then you’ve already taken advantage and cashed in.
But it’s still early, so don’t fret if you’ve missed out. It should be a while before the betting public catches up to the following teams.
Syracuse Orange
The Orange (7-0 SU, 5-1 ATS) have already made a big splash, defeating both the preseason Pac-10 favorites from California (pick ‘em) and the ACC favorites from North Carolina (-1½) at the 2K Sports Classic. Syracuse has rocketed from unranked to No. 8 in the college polls, so there is some recognition there for coach Jim Boeheim and the work he’s done restocking this team.
The advanced stats say it’s no fluke: Ken Pomeroy has the Orange rated No. 5 out of 347 Division I teams in efficiency. But they’ve got a big test coming up on December 10 at the SEC/Big East Invitational against the next team on out list.
Florida Gators
The former back-to-back champs are in a groove again at 7-0 SU and 4-1 ATS. This is a very hot start for a team projected to squeak into the Tournament this year. The Gators have victories over Florida State (+1½) and Michigan State (-3½), but in this case, Pomeroy isn’t quite as impressed, ranking Florida No. 33 in efficiency.
The sample size is a bit small to put too much stock into these numbers, but the Gators are No. 116 in offensive efficiency, having hit just 26.4 percent of their trey attempts. They could be in for a rough night against Syracuse (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN), but they’ll have the de facto home court advantage at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.
Connecticut Huskies
Jim Calhoun lost four starters from last year’s Final Four squad, but that didn’t stop pundits from calling for another deep Tournament run this year. The Huskies still have the credibility at No. 14 in the rankings. The results, on the other hand, are rather shaky at 4-1 SU and 1-4 ATS.
UConn started the season by failing to cover against three cupcakes, then the Duke Blue Devils (-3½) dumped the Huskies 68-59 last Friday to take the NIT Season Tip-Off. Pomeroy has the Huskies ranked No. 56 in Division I; opponents have blocked 23.5 percent of UConn’s 2-point attempts, the highest rate in the nation.
UCLA Bruins
We knew this would be a down year for the Bruins, but they’ve still found a way to perform below expectations at 2-4 SU and 1-3 ATS, losing to both Portland (+5) and Long Beach State (+4) at the 76 Classic in Anaheim. Like the Huskies, UCLA is down four starters from last year’s Tournament team. So how low can Ben Howland’s team go?
Pomeroy has UCLA pegged at No. 153 in the nation, with incredibly poor shooting from behind the arc (26.0 percent) and at the free-throw line (55.6 percent). The Bruins should be on “fade” watch until further notice, starting with Sunday’s hotly anticipated Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchup with Kansas (5:30 p.m. ET, FSN) at Pauley Pavilion.
New Mexico Lobos
The biggest money in college hoops is almost always found in the mid-majors, and for the moment, the Lobos are the most profitable team in Division I at 6-0 SU and ATS. Pomeroy is very big on this Mountain West squad at No. 13 in efficiency, winning each of its games by double digits and turning the ball over just 13.2 percent of the time, or No. 3 overall.
You won’t find the Lobos anywhere in the polls, but you will find them at the freshly renovated University Arena on Wednesday night (9:00 p.m. ET, CBS) playing the No. 25 Cal Golden Bears. Early betting odds had the Bears (4-2 SU, 2-3 ATS) getting four points with a total of 148
The 2009-10 season is in full swing and while the Kansas Jayhawks that remain atop the polls, it's the Syracuse Orange making headlines. Jim Boeheim's boys started the year outside of the rankings but have zoomed into the Top 10 with wins over Cal and North Carolina. Meanwhile out west, the UCLA Bruins are licking early wounds in what appears to be a very bad year for Ben Howland's bunch.
So here were are in Week 3 of the 2009-10 college basketball season. The Kansas Jayhawks are still the No. 1 team in the land at 5-0 SU and 2-1 ATS. Guess that’s a wrap. See you in March.
Whoa, Nellie. There have already been a lot of goings-on in college hoops, and if you were on the ball, then you’ve already taken advantage and cashed in.
But it’s still early, so don’t fret if you’ve missed out. It should be a while before the betting public catches up to the following teams.
Syracuse Orange
The Orange (7-0 SU, 5-1 ATS) have already made a big splash, defeating both the preseason Pac-10 favorites from California (pick ‘em) and the ACC favorites from North Carolina (-1½) at the 2K Sports Classic. Syracuse has rocketed from unranked to No. 8 in the college polls, so there is some recognition there for coach Jim Boeheim and the work he’s done restocking this team.
The advanced stats say it’s no fluke: Ken Pomeroy has the Orange rated No. 5 out of 347 Division I teams in efficiency. But they’ve got a big test coming up on December 10 at the SEC/Big East Invitational against the next team on out list.
Florida Gators
The former back-to-back champs are in a groove again at 7-0 SU and 4-1 ATS. This is a very hot start for a team projected to squeak into the Tournament this year. The Gators have victories over Florida State (+1½) and Michigan State (-3½), but in this case, Pomeroy isn’t quite as impressed, ranking Florida No. 33 in efficiency.
The sample size is a bit small to put too much stock into these numbers, but the Gators are No. 116 in offensive efficiency, having hit just 26.4 percent of their trey attempts. They could be in for a rough night against Syracuse (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN), but they’ll have the de facto home court advantage at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.
Connecticut Huskies
Jim Calhoun lost four starters from last year’s Final Four squad, but that didn’t stop pundits from calling for another deep Tournament run this year. The Huskies still have the credibility at No. 14 in the rankings. The results, on the other hand, are rather shaky at 4-1 SU and 1-4 ATS.
UConn started the season by failing to cover against three cupcakes, then the Duke Blue Devils (-3½) dumped the Huskies 68-59 last Friday to take the NIT Season Tip-Off. Pomeroy has the Huskies ranked No. 56 in Division I; opponents have blocked 23.5 percent of UConn’s 2-point attempts, the highest rate in the nation.
UCLA Bruins
We knew this would be a down year for the Bruins, but they’ve still found a way to perform below expectations at 2-4 SU and 1-3 ATS, losing to both Portland (+5) and Long Beach State (+4) at the 76 Classic in Anaheim. Like the Huskies, UCLA is down four starters from last year’s Tournament team. So how low can Ben Howland’s team go?
Pomeroy has UCLA pegged at No. 153 in the nation, with incredibly poor shooting from behind the arc (26.0 percent) and at the free-throw line (55.6 percent). The Bruins should be on “fade” watch until further notice, starting with Sunday’s hotly anticipated Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchup with Kansas (5:30 p.m. ET, FSN) at Pauley Pavilion.
New Mexico Lobos
The biggest money in college hoops is almost always found in the mid-majors, and for the moment, the Lobos are the most profitable team in Division I at 6-0 SU and ATS. Pomeroy is very big on this Mountain West squad at No. 13 in efficiency, winning each of its games by double digits and turning the ball over just 13.2 percent of the time, or No. 3 overall.
You won’t find the Lobos anywhere in the polls, but you will find them at the freshly renovated University Arena on Wednesday night (9:00 p.m. ET, CBS) playing the No. 25 Cal Golden Bears. Early betting odds had the Bears (4-2 SU, 2-3 ATS) getting four points with a total of 148