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#769 CSU Bakersfield +17½ -106 over ARIZONA
10:00 PM EST. Remember Cal State Bakersfield and how they were a #15 seed last year in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament? Well that same team was an absolute menace against a Final Four qualifier in Oklahoma in the first round. Now, it’s a new season and the Roadrunners are back with a vengeance sporting an ensemble of starters that were integral in their qualification into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament last season. The Roadrunners come in off a 94-56 win, sporting their signature blend of physical defense that garnered their reputation in the 2015-16 season. Now, the Roadrunners get an opportunity to square up to a team that they match-up well against.
First and foremost Arizona is a name brand school, thus, casual college basketball bettors are acutely aware of the Wildcats while seasonal fans for the most part are not even vaguely familiar with CSU-Bakersfield. What that means of course is a premium will be paid to back the Wildcats.
Arizona is the antithesis of a team like Bakersfield. It loves to score and it loves to play a typical fast-paced, finesse West Coast style of basketball. Some might argue that perhaps the Wildcats have changed their approach toward the game with a 65-63 win against Michigan State to kick off the 2016-17 season but we insist the jury is still out on this unit. Arizona was knocked out of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament last season by virtue of running into a roadblock in the mid-major juggernaut known as Wichita State. Arizona was shut down by the Shockers’ physical defense, as they were limited possessions and curtailed in scoring. Bakersfield models their game after the strategy that the Shockers employ. While Arizona may have beat Michigan State, let us not forget that Michigan State is perhaps still in recovery from laying one of the biggest eggs in tournament history when they fell to Middle Tennessee State in the First Round as a #2 seed after being regarded as one of the favorites to win the tournament outright. More than enough points here for Bakersfield to keep this close enough to stay within range.
#734 CREIGHTON -105 over Wisconsin
8:30 PM EST. The word on the street is that you don’t f**k with the Badgers. Wisconsin comes in ranked 9th in the country and they return all five starters and 99.8% of their minutes. That’s rather impressive when you consider that the Badgers made a run to the Elite Eight last year before being knocked out by the Tar Heels. The Badgers 79-47 opening game victory over Central Arkansas did nothing to lower their stock. Now the hyped up Badgers are evenly priced against a squad that played in the NIT last year and didn’t win it.
Creighton has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2014 but that should change this year. Coach Greg McDermott’s strong recruiting classes are about to pay off in a big way. Senior point guard Maurice Watson Jr. will again lead the way after averaging 14.1 points and 6.5 assists last season. There are plenty of other scoring options returning and joining the program too. Kansas State transfer-guard Marcus Foster comes over to form one of the best backcourt tandems in the country alongside Watson Jr, who is attracting plenty of attention from NBA scouts. The Bluejays are loaded with talent and depth in the backcourt. They’re a threat to win the Big East this year but most are focusing on how good Wisconsin might be instead of the Bluejays.
Some publications are calling the Badgers to win a National title. Time will tell and perhaps they are that good or perhaps they greatly overachieved last season. Remember, this was a young team last year that was only 12-6 at one point and lost to Western Illinois and Milwaukee among others. When a team greatly surpasses expectations, lofty expectations get attached to them the following year and often the team cannot live up to the hype. Now the Badgers will be put to the test in one of the most difficult venues to win in the country. A capacity crowd of 16,000+ will show up at CenturyLink Center here, providing the Bluejays with a great home-court advantage that we trust they will take advantage of.
#711 Dayton +101 over ALABAMA
1:15 PM EST. Note the early start time here. These two last played one another, also in the second game of the year last season for both clubs and the Flyers whacked the Tide, 80-48. It is almost one year later and not much has changed. In fact, Dayton might be better. Kevin Pollard played just 17 minutes against Alabama last year after being injured early on. Dude was never the same for the rest of the year but he’s back, he’s a game changer and he’s healthy. Four of five starters are back for the Flyers and their depth was on display from the early minutes in its opener, a 96-68 thrashing over Austin Peay. After having only six or seven players to call on most of last year, head coach Archie Miller has a strong 10-man rotation this year. The Flyers are a tournament team and unless we’re missing something, they should have no trouble with the Crimson Tide again.
The Tide went 18-15 last year and missed the Dance. They were knocked out of the NIT by Creighton in the first round and it doesn’t look like much improvement is in the cards. Coach Avery Johnson insists his team will be entertaining, which translates to, “We’re going to try and catch some teams off guard”. Johnson wants to play faster and has the bodies he needs to keep his team running up and down the floor. The Tide has experience and versatility too. What they don’t have is the talent to compete day in and day out against teams that are better than they are. Losing a player like Retin Obasohan, who was easily the best player on the team and top scorer is a tough blow, so it may take some time for Alabama to find a new player who they want to take all of those big shots. The Tide opened the year with a 70-53 win over Coastal Carolina but they’re about to find out what a real team looks like here. We also love the 1:15 PM start because the arena will lack the same atmosphere it has when students fill the joint up.
2 plays are to win 2 units. Dayton is a 2 unit wager
| Range | W | L | P | +/- (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | -4.18 |
| Last 30 Days | 2 | 2 | 0.00 | +0.72 |
| Season to Date | 2 | 2 | 0.00 | +0.72 |
#769 CSU Bakersfield +17½ -106 over ARIZONA
10:00 PM EST. Remember Cal State Bakersfield and how they were a #15 seed last year in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament? Well that same team was an absolute menace against a Final Four qualifier in Oklahoma in the first round. Now, it’s a new season and the Roadrunners are back with a vengeance sporting an ensemble of starters that were integral in their qualification into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament last season. The Roadrunners come in off a 94-56 win, sporting their signature blend of physical defense that garnered their reputation in the 2015-16 season. Now, the Roadrunners get an opportunity to square up to a team that they match-up well against.
First and foremost Arizona is a name brand school, thus, casual college basketball bettors are acutely aware of the Wildcats while seasonal fans for the most part are not even vaguely familiar with CSU-Bakersfield. What that means of course is a premium will be paid to back the Wildcats.
Arizona is the antithesis of a team like Bakersfield. It loves to score and it loves to play a typical fast-paced, finesse West Coast style of basketball. Some might argue that perhaps the Wildcats have changed their approach toward the game with a 65-63 win against Michigan State to kick off the 2016-17 season but we insist the jury is still out on this unit. Arizona was knocked out of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament last season by virtue of running into a roadblock in the mid-major juggernaut known as Wichita State. Arizona was shut down by the Shockers’ physical defense, as they were limited possessions and curtailed in scoring. Bakersfield models their game after the strategy that the Shockers employ. While Arizona may have beat Michigan State, let us not forget that Michigan State is perhaps still in recovery from laying one of the biggest eggs in tournament history when they fell to Middle Tennessee State in the First Round as a #2 seed after being regarded as one of the favorites to win the tournament outright. More than enough points here for Bakersfield to keep this close enough to stay within range.
#734 CREIGHTON -105 over Wisconsin
8:30 PM EST. The word on the street is that you don’t f**k with the Badgers. Wisconsin comes in ranked 9th in the country and they return all five starters and 99.8% of their minutes. That’s rather impressive when you consider that the Badgers made a run to the Elite Eight last year before being knocked out by the Tar Heels. The Badgers 79-47 opening game victory over Central Arkansas did nothing to lower their stock. Now the hyped up Badgers are evenly priced against a squad that played in the NIT last year and didn’t win it.
Creighton has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2014 but that should change this year. Coach Greg McDermott’s strong recruiting classes are about to pay off in a big way. Senior point guard Maurice Watson Jr. will again lead the way after averaging 14.1 points and 6.5 assists last season. There are plenty of other scoring options returning and joining the program too. Kansas State transfer-guard Marcus Foster comes over to form one of the best backcourt tandems in the country alongside Watson Jr, who is attracting plenty of attention from NBA scouts. The Bluejays are loaded with talent and depth in the backcourt. They’re a threat to win the Big East this year but most are focusing on how good Wisconsin might be instead of the Bluejays.
Some publications are calling the Badgers to win a National title. Time will tell and perhaps they are that good or perhaps they greatly overachieved last season. Remember, this was a young team last year that was only 12-6 at one point and lost to Western Illinois and Milwaukee among others. When a team greatly surpasses expectations, lofty expectations get attached to them the following year and often the team cannot live up to the hype. Now the Badgers will be put to the test in one of the most difficult venues to win in the country. A capacity crowd of 16,000+ will show up at CenturyLink Center here, providing the Bluejays with a great home-court advantage that we trust they will take advantage of.
#711 Dayton +101 over ALABAMA
1:15 PM EST. Note the early start time here. These two last played one another, also in the second game of the year last season for both clubs and the Flyers whacked the Tide, 80-48. It is almost one year later and not much has changed. In fact, Dayton might be better. Kevin Pollard played just 17 minutes against Alabama last year after being injured early on. Dude was never the same for the rest of the year but he’s back, he’s a game changer and he’s healthy. Four of five starters are back for the Flyers and their depth was on display from the early minutes in its opener, a 96-68 thrashing over Austin Peay. After having only six or seven players to call on most of last year, head coach Archie Miller has a strong 10-man rotation this year. The Flyers are a tournament team and unless we’re missing something, they should have no trouble with the Crimson Tide again.
The Tide went 18-15 last year and missed the Dance. They were knocked out of the NIT by Creighton in the first round and it doesn’t look like much improvement is in the cards. Coach Avery Johnson insists his team will be entertaining, which translates to, “We’re going to try and catch some teams off guard”. Johnson wants to play faster and has the bodies he needs to keep his team running up and down the floor. The Tide has experience and versatility too. What they don’t have is the talent to compete day in and day out against teams that are better than they are. Losing a player like Retin Obasohan, who was easily the best player on the team and top scorer is a tough blow, so it may take some time for Alabama to find a new player who they want to take all of those big shots. The Tide opened the year with a 70-53 win over Coastal Carolina but they’re about to find out what a real team looks like here. We also love the 1:15 PM start because the arena will lack the same atmosphere it has when students fill the joint up.
2 plays are to win 2 units. Dayton is a 2 unit wager
