| Range | W | L | P | +/- (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Last 30 Days | 10 | 11 | 0.00 | -2.68 |
| Season to Date | 12 | 11 | 0.00 | +2.22 |
Monmouth +155 over MEMPHIS
9:00 PM EST. The Tigers are 7-2 and in first place in the AAC. Their two losses occurred against Ole Miss and Providence and they’re also a more recognized program than Memphis. The Tigers actually appeared in the NCAA Tournament or NIT for 15 straight years before missing both last year and now they’re just a small price at home over a MAAC team. At first glance, the chalk looks appealing but we’re here to tell you it is not. Memphis has gone in a new direction. The Tigers finished last season with an 8-10 record in AAC play and brought in Coach Tubby Smith to replace Josh Pastner. Tubby’s first order of business was to schedule winnable games against cupcakes and that he did. Through nine games, the Tigers strength of schedule ranks 338th out of 356 Division I teams. The Tigers are seriously lacking depth and there is not nearly enough talent coming in to replace the talent that left, which included Shaq Goodwin, Ricky Tarrant, Trahson Burrell and Avery Woodson. Woodson was far and away the teams’ best outside shooter. While none of them are huge losses individually, collectively they leave Memphis with very little depth and huge holes that will be exploited and we absolutely trust Monmouth to come in here and do exactly that.
Monmouth returns 15 of their 16 players from a team that won 29 games last year. The Hawks won the MAAC regular season title and beat some good non-conference teams along the way. Justin Robinson will be the best player on the floor here, as he’s one of the most dynamic scorers and playmakers in the country. He averaged 19.3 points, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals, but even those impressive numbers do not tell the entire story. Robinson is a superb outside shooter. He’s very good at getting to the basket and finishing or finding a teammate and/or getting to the charity stripe. He went to the free-throw line 219 attempts and any time a player attempts 200 or more three-pointers and 200 or more free-throws, you know you have a great all-around scorer on your hands. Robinson is right back at it this year too. The Hawks are 8-2. They went into South Carolina against a ranked Gamecocks team and took them to OT before losing by a single point. They also played Syracuse and beat Cornell by 16 points. Monmouth has won seven straight. Last year, the Hawks with virtually this same team went on the road and defeated UCLA, #17 Notre Dame and Georgetown. They also played Dayton and USC. More battle tested, more talented and having played a tougher slate of games than the Tigers, Monmouth is the superior team here taking back a pretty sweet price. We’ll play it accordingly. Play: Monmouth +155 (Risking 2 units).
