College Basketball Handicapping Articles

Wisconsin Badgers Odds to Win the 2015 NCAA Tournament with Picks and Predictions
by George Monroy - 2/26/2015

The Wisconsin Badgers recently stumbled against No. 14 Maryland and suffered their third loss of the season. The blemish could drop the squad in the AP rankings, where it was sitting in the fifth spot, but might not sway the oddsamakers as Wisconsin was already receiving the second-best championship odds in the nation.

Duke Blue Devils Odds to Win the 2015 NCAA Tournament with Picks and Predictions
by George Monroy - 2/26/2015

Jahlil Okafor, the Duke Blue Devil freshman, has been nothing short of dominant this year, even though a recent ankle injury will limit him during the final weeks of the season. Duke is in position to grab a No. 1 seed heading into the NCAA Tournament but still must face North Carolina to end the regular season and may still have to play No. 2 Virginia in the ACC tournament. Coach Mike Krzyzewski, however, believes that the squad can win a national title no matter what position they end up in once the tournament begins.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 2/25/2015

As the month of February comes to a close, the No. 6 Villanova Wildcats continue to build their case for one of the top seeds in next month’s NCAA Tournament with a current nine-game winning streak. Bettors who have gotten on this money train over the past five weeks have cleaned up behind a perfect 9-0 record against the spread as well. Both No. 23 Butler and No. 25 Providence continue to cling to a spot in the current national rankings, but keep an eye on the surging Georgetown Hoyas to possibly make their way into next Monday’s updated AP Top 25.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Thursday
by Alan Matthews - 2/25/2015

Only four ranked teams in action on Thursday, and all four should have little trouble winning, although I suppose Memphis could knock off visiting No. 21 SMU. Thus, I'm taking a look at three unranked NCAA Tournament bubble teams on Thursday's schedule. All three are at home against teams they should beat -- and they will need to with the regular season coming to a close a week from Sunday. Neither Temple nor Purdue nor Stanford is winning its conference tournament, so only an at-large bid will get them in. Here's a look.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Wednesday
by Alan Matthews - 2/24/2015

I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I will include Kentucky in this space anytime the Wildcats take the court because they are far and away the most interesting story of the 2014-15 season. And on your updated Kentucky unbeaten odds (through NCAA Tournament) at Sportsbook.ag, that UK does it is down to +200 and not is -250. UK shouldn't have much trouble on Wednesday at struggling Mississippi State, but it might be a bit of a trap. Here's a look at that matchup and two others that caught my eye.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Tuesday
by Alan Matthews - 2/23/2015

Did you realize that Notre Dame has never won the NCAA Tournament? I would have thought maybe one of those Digger Phelps clubs had. In fact, the Irish haven't even made the Final Four since 1978, the club's only trip to the national semifinals. That was so long ago that there was still a third-place game then -- Notre Dame lost it to Arkansas. This year's Irish are off to their best 28-game start since the 1973-74 squad was 25-3. Yet they are +6000 long shots to win it all on Sportsbook.ag. Here's a look at their game and two others that caught my eye on Tuesday.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/23/2015

It's time for the 11th edition of the schedule spot fade plays weekly article in college basketball. Yet another bad week last week for the fade plays. Idaho State was a winner for those who took it at +13 on BetOnline's opening lines, but the Bookmaker opening line was +11, and that is how we are grading these plays. Cal Poly was a solid winner. UNC Wilmington fell apart in the second half. Maryland won but failed to cover the number. Butler was in a good spot, but they were freight trained by an impressive Xavier team on Saturday.

NCAA Basketball Handicapping: Wisconsin Badgers a Serious Title Contender?
by Trevor Whenham - 2/22/2015

The NCAA Tournament this year is shaping up in the eyes of many as a coronation for the ridiculously-loaded Kentucky Wildcats. Being contrary by nature, I am on the ongoing search for teams that legitimately have a chance to knock off John Calipari’s squad. The problem is that there just aren’t many out there. Duke gets the most attention. In many ways, though, Wisconsin and their older, experienced roster may have the best chance of anyone.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Sunday
by Alan Matthews - 2/21/2015

Many believe the Big Ten is rather down this season outside of Wisconsin, yet the conference could lead the nation potentially with eight bids to the NCAA Tournament. Part of that number might depend on what happens in Sunday's matchup between bubble teams Michigan State and Illinois. The Illini are 12-1 at home, their best start there under Coach John Groce. Illinois is attempting a home-and-home sweep of the Spartans for the first time since 2006.

College Basketball Odds for Saturday with Preview and Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 2/20/2015

Who is mailing it in and who is making a move? That’s one of the important questions to focus on over the final two weeks of the college basketball regular season. Some teams are honing in on a postseason run, whether it be their conference championships or an invitational tournament. Other teams can’t wait for this long, cold, disappointing season to be over, and they show no signs of coming together to make some noise in March.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Saturday
by Alan Matthews - 2/20/2015

Top-ranked Kentucky isn't the only team that can go unbeaten in conference play this season. If No. 3 Gonzaga wins at Saint Mary's on Saturday night, then the Zags should run the table in the West Coast Conference, including the conference tournament. That should be enough for the top seed in the West Region considering Gonzaga's only loss was in overtime at Arizona. Currently the Zags are the fifth-favorites at Sportsbook.ag to win the national title at +1400. Here's a look at their game and two others that caught my eye on Saturday.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Thursday
by Alan Matthews - 2/18/2015

I'm taking a look at three games involving NCAA Tournament bubble teams on Thursday's schedule. I use ESPN's Bracketology for my guide not because I'm an ESPN homer -- honestly the network irritates me at times -- but because Joe Lunardi is usually dead on with his projections. He currently has Purdue among the "First Four Out." Here's a look at the Boilers' big game against rival Indiana and two others that caught my eye.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Big East Handicapping Report
by Dave Schwab - 2/18/2015

The No. 6 Villanova Wildcats have been the team to beat in the Big East all season long, and they took a huge step towards locking up the regular season title with last Saturday’s 68-65 victory against Butler as two-point road favorites. This completed the season sweep of the Bulldogs while opening up a two-game lead in the standings with the tiebreaker in hand. Butler remains the only other nationally-ranked team in this conference coming in at No. 19 in the AP’s latest Top 25.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Wednesday
by Alan Matthews - 2/17/2015

Two of college basketball's best rivalries take center stage on Wednesday night as Xavier visits Cincinnati for city bragging rights and North Carolina is at Duke. I think ESPN might run a commercial or two in order to hype the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. Just a guess. Honestly, Xavier-Cincinnati might be more heated. Of course, those schools had a huge brawl when they played at Xavier in 2011, which was the last time the Crosstown Shootout was staged on campus. It was moved for two years to a neutral site (US Bank Arena) so things could calm down a bit.

NCAA Basketball Betting: Handicapping the Bubble Watch for Profit
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

Once the second half of February rolls around, a whole lot of media and public attention shifts towards the fast-approaching NCAA Tournament. We are about a month away from tip-off, and that month will be filled with an almost infinite amount of speculation about which teams will make the field and how they will be seeded. The Bubble Watch.

NCAA Basketball Handicapping: Gonzaga Chances for No. 1 Tourney Seed
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

With Arizona’s loss at rival Arizona State on Feb. 7, the door is wide open for Gonzaga to secure their second No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in three years. Given their talent they could also be poised to make their first trip beyond the Sweet 16 since that 1999 run to the Elite Eight that first brought them into the national consciousness. As always, though, there are as many people who are skeptical of the Bulldogs because of their conference and other factors as there are those who are truly optimistic.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Tuesday
by Alan Matthews - 2/16/2015

With the NBA's extended All-Star Break this season, the only basketball action on Tuesday is of the college variety. So I'm sure the lead to SportsCenter, barring some big news, will be whatever Kentucky does Tuesday night in Knoxville, especially if the Cats lose. (As an aside, I think that UK could beat the New York Knicks now that they have bought out Amare Stoudemire and are likely to shut down Carmelo Anthony.) On Sportsbook.ag's updated odds, UK is +220 to finish the entire season unbeaten and -300 not to. This might be their toughest road test left, although a March 3 trip to Georgia won't be a walk in the park.

College Basketball Betting: Weekly Schedule Spot Fade Picks
by Aaron Smith - 2/16/2015

The 10th edition of the Schedule Spot Fade Plays weekly article is ready to go. It was a second straight bad week for the schedule spot fade plays last week. After an 0-3 week, the plays went just 1-4 last week. TCU cashed in easily as a four-point underdog in their win over Oklahoma State, but that was the only bright spot. Belmont won the game but couldn't cover the number. Baylor was upset on their home court and didn't come close to covering the number.

NCAA Basketball Betting 3-Point Play: Three Interesting Opening Lines Sunday
by Alan Matthews - 2/14/2015

It's time to start getting geared up for March Madness because the NCAA Tournament's Selection Sunday is exactly one month from Sunday, March 15, with the First Four starting two days later in Dayton. Right now your No. 1 seeds look to be Kentucky in the Midwest, Duke in the South, Virginia in the East and Gonzaga in the West. The first team on the outside looking in? That would be Wisconsin, which plays Sunday afternoon.

College Basketball Odds and Analysis: Saturday Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 2/13/2015

Saturday is THE DAY in college basketball, and this weekend is no exception. There are 137 games scheduled for Valentine’s Day, and the overwhelming majority have big fat bull’s eye spreads attached to them. There are several marquee Top 25 games stealing the headlines, such as Baylor-Kansas and Duke-Syracuse. But there is plenty of value to be found for intrepid bettors looking to dip below the surface for other games of import.