NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Tuesday, December 1
Maui Classic (@ Asheville, NC)
Texas vs Indiana
Texas (2-0)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #9 by KenPom
— Texas beat Davidson 78-76 Monday; three starters played 31:00+.
— Texas shot 66.2% inside arc in its first two games.
— Longhorns start two juniors, two seniors.
Indiana (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 8th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #14 by KenPom
— Indiana won its first two games by 30-21 points.
— Hoosiers mainly play six guys; two played 30:00+ Monday.
— Indiana won 20 games last year, first time in four years.
Davidson vs Providence
Davidson (1-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 4th in A-14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #77 by KenPom; jumped six spots after Monday’s loss.
— Davidson lost 78-76 to Texas Monday.
— Wildcats played nine guys double digit minutes yesterday.
— Davidson made 69.5% of their shots inside the arc.
Providence (1-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #61 by KenPom
— Friars lost by 21 to Indiana yesterday, shooting 3-17 on arc.
— Providence was minus-9 on boards vs Indiana; they also have young guards.
— Providence was 12-6 in Big East LY, its best record in 23+ years.
UNLV vs Alabama
UNLV (0-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 3rd in MW by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #148 by KenPom
— Rebels lost first two games, by 13-27 points.
— UNLV led 13-0 yesterday, but was down by 33 eventually.
— Losing to North Carolina is no big deal, but they lost by 13 to Montana State.
Alabama (1-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 3rd in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #58 by KenPom- dropped 10 spots yesterday.
— Alabama lost 82-64 to Stanford, going 7-29 on arc.
— Crimson Tide starts three seniors, two sophs.
— Alabama wants to play fast, shoot 3’s; they’re 14-60 in two games.
Stanford vs North Carolina
North Carolina (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-19 team
— picked 3rd in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #15 by KenPom
— Carolina beat Charleston by 19, UNLV by 27 so far.
— Tar Heels start a freshman, two sophs.
— UNC was down 13-0 yesterday, but were up 7 by halftime.
Stanford (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 4th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #26 by KenPom
— Stanford used a 6-man rotation Monday, took only 15 3-pointers.
— Cardinal turned ball over 22 times; all five starters played 29:00+.
— Cardinal has an experienced team, is expected to make NCAA’s.
Elsewhere……
USC vs BYU (@ Mohegan Sun)
USC (2-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 22-9 team
— picked 8th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #59 by KenPom
— Trojans beat Cal Baptist in OT, beat Montana by 14.
— USC starts a freshman, two sophs; they were 24-39 on foul line vs Montana.
— Trojans were 2-0 vs WCC teams LY, winning by 11-7 points.
BYU (3-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 24-8 team
— picked 2nd in WCC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #79 by KenPom
— BYU beat New Orleans by 25, Utah Valley by 22 in its D-I games.
— Cougars turned ball over 23.9% of time in first three games.
— BYU starts two juniors, two seniors; they’re 21-52 on arc last two games.
Michigan State @ Duke
Michigan State (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 22-9 team
— picked 4h in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #12 by KenPom
— Spartans won first two games, over Eastern Michigan by 16, Notre Dame by 10.
— MSU starts four juniors and a senior.
— Spartans played 9 guys vs Notre Dame, none more than 26:00.
Duke (1-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 25-6 team
— picked 2nd in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #3 by KenPom
— Duke won its opener 81-71 over Coppin State.
— Blue Devils turned ball over 22 times (-14).
— 8 of their 10 guys who played are frosh/sophs.
Western Kentucky @ Louisville
Western Kentucky (2-1)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 20-10 team
— picked 1st in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #68 by KenPom
— WKU went 2-1 in Sioux Falls; all three games were decided by 6 points.
— Hilltoppers start four seniors, one junior; big man Bassey played only 19:00 vs WVU.
— WKU went 2-1 despite opponents shooting 34-71 on arc against them.
Louisville (3-0)
— Louisville has 4 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 5th in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #27 by KenPom.
— Louisville beat two stiffs, nipped Seton Hall 71-70.
— Cardinals start two frosh, two sophs; they used a 7-man rotation.
— Louisville lost 75% of scoring, 66% of rebounding from LY.
Oklahoma State @ Marquette
Oklahoma State (2-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 18-14 team
— picked 8th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #35 by KenPom
— Cowboys can’t go to NCAA’s this year; probation.
— OSU beat Tex-Arlington by 7, Texas Southern by 20.
— Cunningham is one of nation’s best freshmen; he’s so good they hired his brother as an assistant coach. Go figure.
Marquette (2-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 18-12 team
— picked 7th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #28 by KenPom
— Marquette beat couple stiffs by 42-25 points.
— Marquette starts three seniors; they got to foul line 34 times vs Eastern Illinois.
— Under Wojciechowski, Marquette is 49-57 in Big East conference games.
Kentucky vs Kansas (@ Indianapolis)
Kentucky (2-0)
— 0 starters back from LY’s 25-6 team
— picked 2nd in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #21 by KenPom
— Kentucky hammered Morehead St, lost to Richmond by 12.
— Kentucky was 0-10 on arc vs Richmond; they play 7 guys.
— Wildcats start four freshmen; there will be growing pains.
Kansas (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 29-3 team
— picked 2nd in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #5 by KenPom
— Kansas scored 92 ppg in splitting pair with Gonzaga, St Joe’s.
— Jayhawks have decent depth; talent may be down some this year.
— Kentucky won last meeting 71-63 at home two years ago; not many guys on either side are left from that day.
Omaha @ Creighton
Omaha (1-2)
— Creighton is in Omaha, but teams haven’t met since Omaha has been D-I, so this has to be a pretty big deal for Omaha.
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-16 team
— picked 5th in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #201 by KenPom
— Mavericks went 1-2 on Florida trip, scoring only 61.3 ppg.
— Omaha turned ball over 28% of time, shot 18.2% on arc; no bueno.
Creighton (1-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 2nd in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #17 by KenPom
— Won their opener by 11 over North Dakota State.
— Creighton was only 8-35 on arc in their opener, 7-9 on line.
— Bluejays have good guards; they only had 4 turnovers.
Oakland @ Purdue
Oakland (0-4)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-19 team
— picked 7th in Horizon by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #298 by KenPom
— Grizzlies scored 54 ppg in first three games, then took Michigan to OT before losing.
— Oakland led Michigan by 6 with 11:10 left.
— Oakland starts two freshmen, three juniors.
Purdue (1-1)
— Purdue has 3 starters back from LY’s 16-15 team
— picked 11th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #32 by KenPom
— Purdue split pair in Florida, beating Liberty, losing 81-70 to Clemson.
— All of Purdue subs who played so far are freshmen.
— A 7-foot-4 freshman scored 36 points in 37:00 in the two games.
Green Bay @ Wisconsin
Green Bay (0-1)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 17-16 team
— picked 7th in Horizon by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #267 by KenPom.
— Green Bay is coached by Will Ryan, Bo Ryan’s son; this will be a big deal for him.
— Phoenix lost their opener by 30 at Minnesota; was 53-22 at halftime.
— They’re changing styles; the last coach played fast tempo. Going from fast to slow tempo isn’t going to be easy.
Wisconsin (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 1st in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #8 by KenPom.
— Badgers won first two games, by 10-34 points.
— Wisconsin made 40.5% of its 3’s in first two, stress-free games.
— Badgers play Marquette Friday; will they look ahead?
South Dakota @ Nebraska
South Dakota (0-2)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 2nd in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #230 by KenPom
— Lost five of top six scorers from LY.
— Scored 57 ppg in losses by by 23-16 to Colorado/Drake.
— Coyotes made 5-34 on the arc in first two games.
Nebraska (2-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 7-25 team
— picked last in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #104 by KenPom
— Cornhuskers won two of three games, losing by 3 to Nevada.
— Nebraska made only 18-73 on arc in last two games; lot of 3’s.
— Nebraska starts three juniors and a senior.
Armadillo's Write-Up
Tuesday, December 1
Maui Classic (@ Asheville, NC)
Texas vs Indiana
Texas (2-0)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #9 by KenPom
— Texas beat Davidson 78-76 Monday; three starters played 31:00+.
— Texas shot 66.2% inside arc in its first two games.
— Longhorns start two juniors, two seniors.
Indiana (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 8th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #14 by KenPom
— Indiana won its first two games by 30-21 points.
— Hoosiers mainly play six guys; two played 30:00+ Monday.
— Indiana won 20 games last year, first time in four years.
Davidson vs Providence
Davidson (1-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 4th in A-14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #77 by KenPom; jumped six spots after Monday’s loss.
— Davidson lost 78-76 to Texas Monday.
— Wildcats played nine guys double digit minutes yesterday.
— Davidson made 69.5% of their shots inside the arc.
Providence (1-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #61 by KenPom
— Friars lost by 21 to Indiana yesterday, shooting 3-17 on arc.
— Providence was minus-9 on boards vs Indiana; they also have young guards.
— Providence was 12-6 in Big East LY, its best record in 23+ years.
UNLV vs Alabama
UNLV (0-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 3rd in MW by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #148 by KenPom
— Rebels lost first two games, by 13-27 points.
— UNLV led 13-0 yesterday, but was down by 33 eventually.
— Losing to North Carolina is no big deal, but they lost by 13 to Montana State.
Alabama (1-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 3rd in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #58 by KenPom- dropped 10 spots yesterday.
— Alabama lost 82-64 to Stanford, going 7-29 on arc.
— Crimson Tide starts three seniors, two sophs.
— Alabama wants to play fast, shoot 3’s; they’re 14-60 in two games.
Stanford vs North Carolina
North Carolina (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-19 team
— picked 3rd in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #15 by KenPom
— Carolina beat Charleston by 19, UNLV by 27 so far.
— Tar Heels start a freshman, two sophs.
— UNC was down 13-0 yesterday, but were up 7 by halftime.
Stanford (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 4th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #26 by KenPom
— Stanford used a 6-man rotation Monday, took only 15 3-pointers.
— Cardinal turned ball over 22 times; all five starters played 29:00+.
— Cardinal has an experienced team, is expected to make NCAA’s.
Elsewhere……
USC vs BYU (@ Mohegan Sun)
USC (2-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 22-9 team
— picked 8th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #59 by KenPom
— Trojans beat Cal Baptist in OT, beat Montana by 14.
— USC starts a freshman, two sophs; they were 24-39 on foul line vs Montana.
— Trojans were 2-0 vs WCC teams LY, winning by 11-7 points.
BYU (3-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 24-8 team
— picked 2nd in WCC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #79 by KenPom
— BYU beat New Orleans by 25, Utah Valley by 22 in its D-I games.
— Cougars turned ball over 23.9% of time in first three games.
— BYU starts two juniors, two seniors; they’re 21-52 on arc last two games.
Michigan State @ Duke
Michigan State (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 22-9 team
— picked 4h in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #12 by KenPom
— Spartans won first two games, over Eastern Michigan by 16, Notre Dame by 10.
— MSU starts four juniors and a senior.
— Spartans played 9 guys vs Notre Dame, none more than 26:00.
Duke (1-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 25-6 team
— picked 2nd in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #3 by KenPom
— Duke won its opener 81-71 over Coppin State.
— Blue Devils turned ball over 22 times (-14).
— 8 of their 10 guys who played are frosh/sophs.
Western Kentucky @ Louisville
Western Kentucky (2-1)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 20-10 team
— picked 1st in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #68 by KenPom
— WKU went 2-1 in Sioux Falls; all three games were decided by 6 points.
— Hilltoppers start four seniors, one junior; big man Bassey played only 19:00 vs WVU.
— WKU went 2-1 despite opponents shooting 34-71 on arc against them.
Louisville (3-0)
— Louisville has 4 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 5th in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #27 by KenPom.
— Louisville beat two stiffs, nipped Seton Hall 71-70.
— Cardinals start two frosh, two sophs; they used a 7-man rotation.
— Louisville lost 75% of scoring, 66% of rebounding from LY.
Oklahoma State @ Marquette
Oklahoma State (2-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 18-14 team
— picked 8th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #35 by KenPom
— Cowboys can’t go to NCAA’s this year; probation.
— OSU beat Tex-Arlington by 7, Texas Southern by 20.
— Cunningham is one of nation’s best freshmen; he’s so good they hired his brother as an assistant coach. Go figure.
Marquette (2-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 18-12 team
— picked 7th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #28 by KenPom
— Marquette beat couple stiffs by 42-25 points.
— Marquette starts three seniors; they got to foul line 34 times vs Eastern Illinois.
— Under Wojciechowski, Marquette is 49-57 in Big East conference games.
Kentucky vs Kansas (@ Indianapolis)
Kentucky (2-0)
— 0 starters back from LY’s 25-6 team
— picked 2nd in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #21 by KenPom
— Kentucky hammered Morehead St, lost to Richmond by 12.
— Kentucky was 0-10 on arc vs Richmond; they play 7 guys.
— Wildcats start four freshmen; there will be growing pains.
Kansas (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 29-3 team
— picked 2nd in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #5 by KenPom
— Kansas scored 92 ppg in splitting pair with Gonzaga, St Joe’s.
— Jayhawks have decent depth; talent may be down some this year.
— Kentucky won last meeting 71-63 at home two years ago; not many guys on either side are left from that day.
Omaha @ Creighton
Omaha (1-2)
— Creighton is in Omaha, but teams haven’t met since Omaha has been D-I, so this has to be a pretty big deal for Omaha.
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-16 team
— picked 5th in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #201 by KenPom
— Mavericks went 1-2 on Florida trip, scoring only 61.3 ppg.
— Omaha turned ball over 28% of time, shot 18.2% on arc; no bueno.
Creighton (1-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 2nd in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #17 by KenPom
— Won their opener by 11 over North Dakota State.
— Creighton was only 8-35 on arc in their opener, 7-9 on line.
— Bluejays have good guards; they only had 4 turnovers.
Oakland @ Purdue
Oakland (0-4)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-19 team
— picked 7th in Horizon by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #298 by KenPom
— Grizzlies scored 54 ppg in first three games, then took Michigan to OT before losing.
— Oakland led Michigan by 6 with 11:10 left.
— Oakland starts two freshmen, three juniors.
Purdue (1-1)
— Purdue has 3 starters back from LY’s 16-15 team
— picked 11th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #32 by KenPom
— Purdue split pair in Florida, beating Liberty, losing 81-70 to Clemson.
— All of Purdue subs who played so far are freshmen.
— A 7-foot-4 freshman scored 36 points in 37:00 in the two games.
Green Bay @ Wisconsin
Green Bay (0-1)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 17-16 team
— picked 7th in Horizon by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #267 by KenPom.
— Green Bay is coached by Will Ryan, Bo Ryan’s son; this will be a big deal for him.
— Phoenix lost their opener by 30 at Minnesota; was 53-22 at halftime.
— They’re changing styles; the last coach played fast tempo. Going from fast to slow tempo isn’t going to be easy.
Wisconsin (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 1st in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #8 by KenPom.
— Badgers won first two games, by 10-34 points.
— Wisconsin made 40.5% of its 3’s in first two, stress-free games.
— Badgers play Marquette Friday; will they look ahead?
South Dakota @ Nebraska
South Dakota (0-2)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 2nd in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #230 by KenPom
— Lost five of top six scorers from LY.
— Scored 57 ppg in losses by by 23-16 to Colorado/Drake.
— Coyotes made 5-34 on the arc in first two games.
Nebraska (2-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 7-25 team
— picked last in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #104 by KenPom
— Cornhuskers won two of three games, losing by 3 to Nevada.
— Nebraska made only 18-73 on arc in last two games; lot of 3’s.
— Nebraska starts three juniors and a senior.
NCAAB
Tuesday, December 1
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Tuesday, December 1
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Tuesday’s 6-pack
Some interesting Week 13 NFL spreads:
— Detroit @ Chicago (-3)
— Cincinnati @ Miami (-11)
— Indianapolis (-2.5) @ Houston
— Jacksonville @ Minnesota (-9.5)
— Las Vegas (-8) @ NJ Jets
— New Orleans (-3) @ Atlanta
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 267,600
PLEASE wear a mask when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“I know this: We better wake our tails up. Every freaking coach on the staff, every player, better wake up and start understanding where we’re at. Have some personal pride. Have a freaking sense of urgency. Know where we’re at. Have some pride into who we’re playing for and why we do this and then go find a way to win as a team. That’s my challenge to every single person in that building this week is that. Yesterday was flat-out embarrassing, and our guys know it. I’m not telling you something they don’t know. They know it.”
Bears’ coach Matt Nagy
Tuesday’s quiz
What fine actor played both Joey Knish in Rounders and coach Billy Sunday in He Got Game?
Monday’s quiz
UCLA coach Chip Kelly was the Eagles’ head coach before Doug Pederson.
Sunday’s quiz
Brad Johnson was QB for the Tampa Bay Bucs when they won their only Super Bowl title.
***************************
Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..
12) NFL pushed Ravens-Steelers game back to Wednesday at 3:40 in the afternoon, so maybe Baltimore can get in some practicing Tuesday. This also means Sunday’s Washington-Pittsburgh game will have to be moved back in the schedule.
Game is in the afternoon because NBC is showing the Christmas tree lighting in Rockefeller Center Wednesday night- that’s a lucrative gig they didn’t want to give up. What TV wants, TV gets.
11) 49ers are moving to Arizona for a few weeks, because of Santa Clara County’s ban on contact sports. 49ers will host Buffalo/Washington in the Cardinals’ stadium in Glendale.
10) Bad news for the Indiana Hoosiers; QB Michael Penix Jr is done for the year with a torn ACL. Indiana is having an excellent season; this puts a major damper on it.
9) Jacksonville Jaguars won their opener, haven’t won since; they fired GM Dave Caldwell Sunday, but kept coach Doug Marrone, at least until they have a new GM.
8) Last NFL team to shut out a divisional rival twice in same year? 2002 Falcons blanked Carolina 20-0/41-0.
7) One of the bad beats of last week was Pepperdine (+7) at UCLA. Visiting Waves were up 7 at the half, but wound up losing 107-98, in triple OT. The right side doesn’t always win the bet.
6) This season, there are 17 Division I basketball coaches who are coaching their son(s)
5) Texas 78, Davidson 76— They’re playing the Maui Classic this week in Asheville, NC; this was a good ballgame. Longhorns shot 68% inside arc, Davidson 78%. Game was 43-all at the half; Wildcats had couple of shots to tie/take lead at the end, but Texas prevailed and plays Indiana in the semifinal Tuesday.
4) Thru Sunday, these basketball conferences were doing well ATS:
7-3 ATS: MAC, Mountain West
5-3: SoCon
9-6: ACC
8-6: WCC
3) Thru Sunday, these basketball conferences were doing poorly ATS:
3-8: C-USA
3-6: AAC
2-4: Big West
4-6: SEC
2) Houston Texans WR Will Fuller has been suspended six games for violating the NFL’s performance enhancing drug policy.
1) Last year, Mississippi State beat Ole Miss 21-20 in the Egg Bowl rivalry game; Rebels scored a TD with 0:04 left, but missed a longer PAT after the Ole Miss player who scored the TD got an excessive celebration penalty for miming a dog peeing in the end zone. Not good.
After the game, both teams fired their head coach; those firings ended up impacting the jobs of nearly 300 coaches or staffers throughout the country, in a remarkable chain reaction.
52 I-A schools lost or hired a coach or off-field staffer as a result of the post-Egg Bowl shakeups. I-AA, Division II, D-III, junior college, high school and even six NFL staffs were affected.
Some interesting Week 13 NFL spreads:
— Detroit @ Chicago (-3)
— Cincinnati @ Miami (-11)
— Indianapolis (-2.5) @ Houston
— Jacksonville @ Minnesota (-9.5)
— Las Vegas (-8) @ NJ Jets
— New Orleans (-3) @ Atlanta
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 267,600
PLEASE wear a mask when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“I know this: We better wake our tails up. Every freaking coach on the staff, every player, better wake up and start understanding where we’re at. Have some personal pride. Have a freaking sense of urgency. Know where we’re at. Have some pride into who we’re playing for and why we do this and then go find a way to win as a team. That’s my challenge to every single person in that building this week is that. Yesterday was flat-out embarrassing, and our guys know it. I’m not telling you something they don’t know. They know it.”
Bears’ coach Matt Nagy
Tuesday’s quiz
What fine actor played both Joey Knish in Rounders and coach Billy Sunday in He Got Game?
Monday’s quiz
UCLA coach Chip Kelly was the Eagles’ head coach before Doug Pederson.
Sunday’s quiz
Brad Johnson was QB for the Tampa Bay Bucs when they won their only Super Bowl title.
***************************
Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..
12) NFL pushed Ravens-Steelers game back to Wednesday at 3:40 in the afternoon, so maybe Baltimore can get in some practicing Tuesday. This also means Sunday’s Washington-Pittsburgh game will have to be moved back in the schedule.
Game is in the afternoon because NBC is showing the Christmas tree lighting in Rockefeller Center Wednesday night- that’s a lucrative gig they didn’t want to give up. What TV wants, TV gets.
11) 49ers are moving to Arizona for a few weeks, because of Santa Clara County’s ban on contact sports. 49ers will host Buffalo/Washington in the Cardinals’ stadium in Glendale.
10) Bad news for the Indiana Hoosiers; QB Michael Penix Jr is done for the year with a torn ACL. Indiana is having an excellent season; this puts a major damper on it.
9) Jacksonville Jaguars won their opener, haven’t won since; they fired GM Dave Caldwell Sunday, but kept coach Doug Marrone, at least until they have a new GM.
8) Last NFL team to shut out a divisional rival twice in same year? 2002 Falcons blanked Carolina 20-0/41-0.
7) One of the bad beats of last week was Pepperdine (+7) at UCLA. Visiting Waves were up 7 at the half, but wound up losing 107-98, in triple OT. The right side doesn’t always win the bet.
6) This season, there are 17 Division I basketball coaches who are coaching their son(s)
5) Texas 78, Davidson 76— They’re playing the Maui Classic this week in Asheville, NC; this was a good ballgame. Longhorns shot 68% inside arc, Davidson 78%. Game was 43-all at the half; Wildcats had couple of shots to tie/take lead at the end, but Texas prevailed and plays Indiana in the semifinal Tuesday.
4) Thru Sunday, these basketball conferences were doing well ATS:
7-3 ATS: MAC, Mountain West
5-3: SoCon
9-6: ACC
8-6: WCC
3) Thru Sunday, these basketball conferences were doing poorly ATS:
3-8: C-USA
3-6: AAC
2-4: Big West
4-6: SEC
2) Houston Texans WR Will Fuller has been suspended six games for violating the NFL’s performance enhancing drug policy.
1) Last year, Mississippi State beat Ole Miss 21-20 in the Egg Bowl rivalry game; Rebels scored a TD with 0:04 left, but missed a longer PAT after the Ole Miss player who scored the TD got an excessive celebration penalty for miming a dog peeing in the end zone. Not good.
After the game, both teams fired their head coach; those firings ended up impacting the jobs of nearly 300 coaches or staffers throughout the country, in a remarkable chain reaction.
52 I-A schools lost or hired a coach or off-field staffer as a result of the post-Egg Bowl shakeups. I-AA, Division II, D-III, junior college, high school and even six NFL staffs were affected.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS
SFPA at UVA 04:00 PM
UVA -22.0
UCRV at WASH 04:00 PM
WASH -10.0
UNC at STAN 04:00 PM
STAN +4.5
VILL at HART 05:00 PM
VILL -26.5
WIGB at WIS 05:00 PM
WIS -24.5
NEOM at CREI 05:00 PM
O 146.0
NAVY at GTWN 06:00 PM
GTWN -10.5
WKU at LOU 06:00 PM
WKU +4.5
O 142.0
NCAT at CHSO 07:00 PM
O 145.0
OKST at MARQ 07:00 PM
MARQ -3.5
O 146.5
CLEVST at TOL 07:00 PM
TOL -9.5
DAV at PROV 07:00 PM
DAV +1.5
VALP at UIC 07:00 PM
UIC +2.0
O 139.5
MSU at DUKE 07:30 PM
MSU +3.0
O 149.0
HAMP at GW 08:00 PM
GW -12.5
SDAK at NEB 09:00 PM
NEB -12.0
MVSU at GRC 09:00 PM
GRC -32.5
KU at UK 09:30 PM
KU -4.5
U 146.0
UNLV at ALA 09:30 PM
ALA -10.5
O 155.5
NICH at SMC 10:00 PM
SMC -14.0
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS
SFPA at UVA 04:00 PM
UVA -22.0
UCRV at WASH 04:00 PM
WASH -10.0
UNC at STAN 04:00 PM
STAN +4.5
VILL at HART 05:00 PM
VILL -26.5
WIGB at WIS 05:00 PM
WIS -24.5
NEOM at CREI 05:00 PM
O 146.0
NAVY at GTWN 06:00 PM
GTWN -10.5
WKU at LOU 06:00 PM
WKU +4.5
O 142.0
NCAT at CHSO 07:00 PM
O 145.0
OKST at MARQ 07:00 PM
MARQ -3.5
O 146.5
CLEVST at TOL 07:00 PM
TOL -9.5
DAV at PROV 07:00 PM
DAV +1.5
VALP at UIC 07:00 PM
UIC +2.0
O 139.5
MSU at DUKE 07:30 PM
MSU +3.0
O 149.0
HAMP at GW 08:00 PM
GW -12.5
SDAK at NEB 09:00 PM
NEB -12.0
MVSU at GRC 09:00 PM
GRC -32.5
KU at UK 09:30 PM
KU -4.5
U 146.0
UNLV at ALA 09:30 PM
ALA -10.5
O 155.5
NICH at SMC 10:00 PM
SMC -14.0
Wednesday’s 6-pack
Week 13 NFL spreads:
— Cleveland @ Tennessee (-5.5)
— NJ Giants @ Seattle (-10)
— LA Rams (-3) @ Arizona
— Philadelphia @ Green Bay (-9.5)
— New England @ LA Chargers (even)
— Denver @ Kansas City (-14)
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 270,369
PLEASE wear a mask when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“Actually, we brought Coach (Bob) Stoops out of retirement today. He was on the field and coached with us today. It was great to have him out there.”
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, whose staff has some COVID issues
Wednesday’s quiz
Virginia is technically the defending national champ in college basketball, since they won the tournament two years ago; who did they beat in the championship game?
Tuesday’s quiz
John Turturro played both Joey Knish in Rounders and coach Billy Sunday in He Got Game.
Monday’s quiz
UCLA coach Chip Kelly was the Eagles’ head coach before Doug Pederson.
************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
13) Trevor Ariza has played for nine teams in his 16-year NBA career; he’s scored 11,215 points, banked over $103M in salary, but it had to be strange when he was traded twice Nov 24-27.
Rockets traded him to Detroit November 24, but his career as a Piston lasted around 72 hours- they dealt him to Oklahoma City. Its good to be wanted, if you look on the bright side.
Ariza has been involved in ten different NBA trades, more than any player ever; he’s been around so long, he was traded with Penny Hardaway in 2006— Hardaway is in his third year as a college head coach— he was a high school coach before that!!!
Bottom line is this: be a good teammate, shoot the ball well, be a good defender and you can last a long time/make serious money in the NBA, even if you’re not one of the biggest stars.
12) NBA training camps started Tuesday; the league’s health/safety protocol handbook is 139 pages long- they take this stuff very seriously.
11) Texas 66, Indiana 44– Longhorns held Indiana to 23.9% from the floor, advance to face North Carolina in the finals of the Maui Classic. Texas outrebounded the Hoosiers, 48-29.
10) North Carolina 67, Stanford 63— Cardinal led by 8 late in first half, but UNC had all five starters score in double figures, winning in their home state. Teams combined to made 9-32 on the arc; playing on consecutive days early in season can result in brickfests. Tar Heels controlled the boards 43-23, which is important in a brickfest.
9) Michigan State 75, Duke 69— Spartans were down 13-3 early, but they pulled ahead by the half, and then hung on at the end for a solid road win. Julius Marble scored 12 points in 12:00 off the bench, making all five of his shots from the floor.
8) Kansas 65, Kentucky 62:
— Kentucky was up 28-15 early, but couldn’t maintain it.
— Kentucky is 0-2 this season, shooting 3-31 on arc.
— Teams combined to go 8-42 behind the arc.
— Two proud programs who both might be little down this year.
7) Providence 63, Davidson 62: With 1:20 left in this game, Providence up 2, kid goes to line for Davidson for two shots, and play-by-play guy points out that he hasn’t missed a foul shot yet this year. No bueno.
Analyst Cory Alexander calls him out for saying that, without saying the word “jinx” but you could tell he was thinking it. Kid made first shot, missed the second. Davidson missed a driving layup with 0:03 left, lost by a point.
This season, Davidson has players from six different countries; in his career with the Wildcats, Bob McKillop has coached players from 24 different countries.
6) Navy 78, Georgetown 71— Patrick Ewing is in his 4th year as Georgetown’s coach; his Hoyas are 19-35 in Big East games the last three years. Losing to a service academy team here doesn’t help; losing Mac MacClung as a transfer to Texas Tech was a disaster.
5) Buffalo Bills are having a great season, but three weeks ago, they lost 32-30 in Arizona, on a Hail Mary TD on the last play of the game. Now, because of COVID rules in northern California, Bills will find themselves back in the desert Monday night to play the 49ers, who are sharing the Cardinals’ facilities for the next few weeks. What a weird year this is.
4) It is important to keep your nose pointed in a positive direction; Most baseball fans know that Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, but that was only two years after he went 3-21 pitching for the Orioles. Talk about going from the outhouse to the penthouse; its a long way from 3-21 to winning a World Series game, much less tossing a perfect game.
3) Shaquille O’Neal tried 22 3-point shots in his Hall of Fame career but made only one of them, which came in the 4th year of his 19-year career; apparently he also made two treys in exhibition games. In 216 career playoff games, Shaq never tried a 3-pointer.
2) Denver Broncos signed QB Kyle Shurmur, son of Denver OC Pat Shurmur; Kyle Shrmur played QB at Vanderbilt, was on the Chiefs’ practice squad previously. He gives Denver insurance in case COVID ravages their QB room again this season.
1) Current odds to win the NFC East:
+180— Giants
+225— Washington
+300— Eagles
+475— Cowboys
Week 13 NFL spreads:
— Cleveland @ Tennessee (-5.5)
— NJ Giants @ Seattle (-10)
— LA Rams (-3) @ Arizona
— Philadelphia @ Green Bay (-9.5)
— New England @ LA Chargers (even)
— Denver @ Kansas City (-14)
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 270,369
PLEASE wear a mask when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“Actually, we brought Coach (Bob) Stoops out of retirement today. He was on the field and coached with us today. It was great to have him out there.”
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, whose staff has some COVID issues
Wednesday’s quiz
Virginia is technically the defending national champ in college basketball, since they won the tournament two years ago; who did they beat in the championship game?
Tuesday’s quiz
John Turturro played both Joey Knish in Rounders and coach Billy Sunday in He Got Game.
Monday’s quiz
UCLA coach Chip Kelly was the Eagles’ head coach before Doug Pederson.
************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
13) Trevor Ariza has played for nine teams in his 16-year NBA career; he’s scored 11,215 points, banked over $103M in salary, but it had to be strange when he was traded twice Nov 24-27.
Rockets traded him to Detroit November 24, but his career as a Piston lasted around 72 hours- they dealt him to Oklahoma City. Its good to be wanted, if you look on the bright side.
Ariza has been involved in ten different NBA trades, more than any player ever; he’s been around so long, he was traded with Penny Hardaway in 2006— Hardaway is in his third year as a college head coach— he was a high school coach before that!!!
Bottom line is this: be a good teammate, shoot the ball well, be a good defender and you can last a long time/make serious money in the NBA, even if you’re not one of the biggest stars.
12) NBA training camps started Tuesday; the league’s health/safety protocol handbook is 139 pages long- they take this stuff very seriously.
11) Texas 66, Indiana 44– Longhorns held Indiana to 23.9% from the floor, advance to face North Carolina in the finals of the Maui Classic. Texas outrebounded the Hoosiers, 48-29.
10) North Carolina 67, Stanford 63— Cardinal led by 8 late in first half, but UNC had all five starters score in double figures, winning in their home state. Teams combined to made 9-32 on the arc; playing on consecutive days early in season can result in brickfests. Tar Heels controlled the boards 43-23, which is important in a brickfest.
9) Michigan State 75, Duke 69— Spartans were down 13-3 early, but they pulled ahead by the half, and then hung on at the end for a solid road win. Julius Marble scored 12 points in 12:00 off the bench, making all five of his shots from the floor.
8) Kansas 65, Kentucky 62:
— Kentucky was up 28-15 early, but couldn’t maintain it.
— Kentucky is 0-2 this season, shooting 3-31 on arc.
— Teams combined to go 8-42 behind the arc.
— Two proud programs who both might be little down this year.
7) Providence 63, Davidson 62: With 1:20 left in this game, Providence up 2, kid goes to line for Davidson for two shots, and play-by-play guy points out that he hasn’t missed a foul shot yet this year. No bueno.
Analyst Cory Alexander calls him out for saying that, without saying the word “jinx” but you could tell he was thinking it. Kid made first shot, missed the second. Davidson missed a driving layup with 0:03 left, lost by a point.
This season, Davidson has players from six different countries; in his career with the Wildcats, Bob McKillop has coached players from 24 different countries.
6) Navy 78, Georgetown 71— Patrick Ewing is in his 4th year as Georgetown’s coach; his Hoyas are 19-35 in Big East games the last three years. Losing to a service academy team here doesn’t help; losing Mac MacClung as a transfer to Texas Tech was a disaster.
5) Buffalo Bills are having a great season, but three weeks ago, they lost 32-30 in Arizona, on a Hail Mary TD on the last play of the game. Now, because of COVID rules in northern California, Bills will find themselves back in the desert Monday night to play the 49ers, who are sharing the Cardinals’ facilities for the next few weeks. What a weird year this is.
4) It is important to keep your nose pointed in a positive direction; Most baseball fans know that Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, but that was only two years after he went 3-21 pitching for the Orioles. Talk about going from the outhouse to the penthouse; its a long way from 3-21 to winning a World Series game, much less tossing a perfect game.
3) Shaquille O’Neal tried 22 3-point shots in his Hall of Fame career but made only one of them, which came in the 4th year of his 19-year career; apparently he also made two treys in exhibition games. In 216 career playoff games, Shaq never tried a 3-pointer.
2) Denver Broncos signed QB Kyle Shurmur, son of Denver OC Pat Shurmur; Kyle Shrmur played QB at Vanderbilt, was on the Chiefs’ practice squad previously. He gives Denver insurance in case COVID ravages their QB room again this season.
1) Current odds to win the NFC East:
+180— Giants
+225— Washington
+300— Eagles
+475— Cowboys
651DUQUESNE -652 UNC-GREENSBORO
DUQUESNE is 39-23 ATS (13.7 Units) in a road game where the total is 140 to 149.5 since 1997.
659MOREHEAD ST -660 OHIO ST
OHIO ST is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in home games after 2 or more consecutive wins over the last 2 seasons.
661MONTANA ST -662 PACIFIC
MONTANA ST is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in road games after playing a game as a road underdog over the last 2 seasons.
661MONTANA ST -662 PACIFIC
Danny Sprinkle is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in road games after playing a game as a road underdog (Coach of MONTANA ST)
663VA COMMONWEALTH -664 PENN ST
VA COMMONWEALTH is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) when playing only their 3rd game in a week in the last 3 seasons.
667SIU EDWARDSVL -668 N ILLINOIS
SIU EDWARDSVL is 19-31 ATS (-15.1 Units) as a dog in the last 3 seasons.
669TENNESSEE TECH -670 XAVIER
XAVIER is 2-11 ATS (-10.1 Units) in home games off a home win in the last 3 seasons.
671ORAL ROBERTS -672 WICHITA ST
WICHITA ST is 4-15 ATS (-12.5 Units) when the total is 150 to 159.5 since 1997.
673SETON HALL -674 RHODE ISLAND
RHODE ISLAND is 43-68 ATS (-31.8 Units) after covering 3 of their last 4 against the spread since 1997.
675W VIRGINIA -676 GONZAGA
GONZAGA is 22-7 ATS (14.3 Units) when the total is 150 to 159.5 in the last 3 seasons.
DUQUESNE is 39-23 ATS (13.7 Units) in a road game where the total is 140 to 149.5 since 1997.
659MOREHEAD ST -660 OHIO ST
OHIO ST is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in home games after 2 or more consecutive wins over the last 2 seasons.
661MONTANA ST -662 PACIFIC
MONTANA ST is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in road games after playing a game as a road underdog over the last 2 seasons.
661MONTANA ST -662 PACIFIC
Danny Sprinkle is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in road games after playing a game as a road underdog (Coach of MONTANA ST)
663VA COMMONWEALTH -664 PENN ST
VA COMMONWEALTH is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) when playing only their 3rd game in a week in the last 3 seasons.
667SIU EDWARDSVL -668 N ILLINOIS
SIU EDWARDSVL is 19-31 ATS (-15.1 Units) as a dog in the last 3 seasons.
669TENNESSEE TECH -670 XAVIER
XAVIER is 2-11 ATS (-10.1 Units) in home games off a home win in the last 3 seasons.
671ORAL ROBERTS -672 WICHITA ST
WICHITA ST is 4-15 ATS (-12.5 Units) when the total is 150 to 159.5 since 1997.
673SETON HALL -674 RHODE ISLAND
RHODE ISLAND is 43-68 ATS (-31.8 Units) after covering 3 of their last 4 against the spread since 1997.
675W VIRGINIA -676 GONZAGA
GONZAGA is 22-7 ATS (14.3 Units) when the total is 150 to 159.5 in the last 3 seasons.
NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Wednesday, December 2
Maui Classic (@ Asheville, NC)
Texas vs North Carolina
Texas (3-0)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #4 by KenPom
— Texas breezed past Indiana by 22 Tuesday, holding Indiana to 23% from floor.
— Texas allowed 58.3 ppg in its first three games.
— Longhorns start two juniors, two seniors; they played nine guys 12:00+ Tuesday.
North Carolina (3-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-19 team
— picked 3rd in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #15 by KenPom
— Carolina won first two games by 19-27; they beat Stanford by 4 Tuesday.
— UNC turned ball over 24 times (-11), but outscored Stanford 14-5 overt the final 7:08.
— Tar Heels start a freshman, two sophs (#235 in experience)
Indiana vs Stanford
Indiana (2-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 8th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #27 by KenPom
— Indiana scored 84 ppg in first two games, but got waxed 64-44 Tuesday.
— Hoosiers PG Durham got hurt late in game; check status.
— Indiana scored 0.66 ppp yesterday; it was their worst FG% in at least 10 years.
Stanford (1-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 4th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #28 by KenPom
— Stanford was up 4 at the half Tuesday; they’re good, but thin.
— Four of five Stanford starters played 29:00+ the last two days.
— Cardinal allowed only 65.5 ppg in its first two games.
Davidson vs UNLV
Davidson (1-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 4th in A-14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #76 by KenPom
— Davidson lost the last two days by a combined three points.
— Wildcats played four starters 31:00+ yesterday.
— Davidson is playing pace #353, very slow.
UNLV (0-3)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 3rd in MW by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #150 by KenPom
— Rebels lost first three games, by 13-27-12 points.
— UNLV took 35 3-pointers Tuesday, only four foul shots.
— Four starters played 34:00+ Tuesday.
— 6-11 Cheikh Diong has played 85:00, taken 4 shots; give him the ball?!?!?!
Providence vs Alabama
Providence (2-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #61 by KenPom
— Friars led by 19 yesterday, never trailed, but damn near lost.
— Providence played three guys 33:00+; they had only 4 turnovers (+9)
— Providence was 7-29 on arc the last two days.
Alabama (2-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 3rd in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #57 by KenPom
— Alabama outscored UNLV 48-36 in second half Tuesday.
— Crimson Tide took 40 3’s, only 20 2’s; they shot 70% inside arc.
— Alabama went 15-40 on arc Tuesday, after going 14-60 in first two games..
Elsewhere……
VCU @ Penn State
VCU (2-1)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 18-13 team
— picked 10th in A-14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #70 by KenPom
— VCU won two of three games in South Dakota LW, beating Memphis.
— Rams forced turnovers 25.7% of time last week.
— VCU forced 19 turnovers vs Memphis, shooting 60.9% inside arc.
Penn State (1-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 12th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #62 by KenPom
— Beat VMI by 21 in their first game Tuesday.
— Lions took 36 3’s, 36 2’s in the opener, forced 25 turnovers (+14)
— PSU starts two juniors, two seniors, usually a good thing.
Seton Hall @ Rhode Island
Seton Hall (1-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 21-9 team
— picked 3rd in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #48 by KenPom
— Pirates lost by a point at Louisville, waxed Iona by 22.
— Seton Hall starts three seniors, two juniors (#18 experience)
— Pirates made only 13-45 on the arc in first two games.
Rhode Island (2-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 21-9 team
— picked 7th in A-14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #80 by KenPom
— URI won last two games, scoring 84-84 points.
— Rams are already playing their 5th game; they didn’t play last two nites.
— URI starts two juniors, two seniors; they took 40 FT’s vs USF.
West Virginia vs Gonzaga (@ Indianapolis)
West Virginia (3-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 4th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #8 by KenPom
— West Virginia went 3-0 in Sioux Falls, scoring 75.7 ppg.
— Mountaineers rebounded 43% of their missed shots LW (#8)
— WVU start three juniors, two sophs; they play seven guys.
Gonzaga (2-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 31-2 team
— picked 1st in country by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #1 by KenPom.
— Zags beat Kansas by 12, Auburn by 20
— Gonzaga shot 70.3% inside arc in first two games.
— Gonzaga played first two games at pace #24, very fast.
San Francisco @ Nevada
San Francisco (2-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 22-12 team
— picked 3rd in WCC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #89 by KenPom
— Dons are playing their 5th game in eight nights.
— USF upset Virginia, also lost to Mass-Lowell. Go figure.
— Dons were outscored 34-10 on foul line in last game, a loss to URI.
Nevada (3-0)
— Nevada has 1 starter back from LY’s 19-12 team
— Wolf Pack starts four sophs, one junior.
— picked 6th in Mountain West by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #103 by KenPom
— Lost five of top six scorers from last year.
— Nevada allowed only 57.3 ppg in winning first three games.
— First three opponents shot only 37.1% inside arc vs Wolf Pack.
Tex-Arlington @ Arkansas
Tex-Arlington (1-2)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-18 team
— picked 8th in Sun Belt by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #157 by KenPom
— UTA lost to Oklahoma St by 7, La Tech by 5; they beat Northwestern St by 9.
— Mavericks are shooting only 43.8% inside arc, 29.0% on arc.
— Mavericks start three juniors, two sophs.
Arkansas (2-0)
— 1 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 7th in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #50 by KenPom
— Arkansas beat up on a stiff, then beat North Texas by 15.
— Razorbacks played only six guys more than 8:00 in last game.
— Arkansas beat North Texas 66-43 here last year.
Illinois vs Baylor (@ Indianapolis)
Illinois (3-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 4th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #22 by KenPom
— Illinois crushed two stiffs, then nipped Ohio U by a hoop.
— Illini has been best rebounding team in country so far.
— Illinois is an experienced team (#45 in continuity).
Baylor (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 2nd in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #17 by KenPom
— Beat Louisiana by by 30, Washington by 34 to start season.
— Bears start three juniors, two seniors.
— Baylor better not look ahead to Saturday’s Gonzaga game.
BYU vs St John’s (@ Mohegan Sun)
BYU (3-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 24-8 team
— picked 2nd in WCC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #92 by KenPom
— Cougars got crushed 79-53 by USC yesterday.
— BYU turned ball over 22.1% of time so far.
— BYU is #56 experience team; can they handle pressure?
St John’s (3-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 9th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #73 by KenPom
— Red Storm is 3-0, nipping Boston College by 4 here on Monday
— Johnnies are playing #3 pace in country.
— St John’s forced turnovers 25.9% of time in first three games.
Oregon vs Missouri (@ Omaha)
Oregon
— 2 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 1st in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #20 by KenPom.
— This is Oregon’s season opener.
— Ducks will use multiple point guards this year.
— Oregon won 20+ games each of the last 10 years.
Missouri (1-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 15-16 team
— picked 13th in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #55 by KenPom.
— Tigers won their opener by 27 over Oral Roberts last Wednesday.
— Mizzou starts three seniors and a junior.
— Tigers are 12-24 in SEC the last two years.
Oregon State @ Washington State
Oregon State (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 18-13 team
— picked last in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #110 by KenPom
— Beavers beat Cal by 8 at home, then whacked a stiff.
— OSU starts three seniors, two juniors.
— Beavers took only 11 3-pointers in the Cal game.
Washington State (2-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-16 team
— picked 11th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #138 by KenPom
— WSU beat Texas Southern/Eastern Washington by total of 7 points.
— Coogs start a freshman, two sophs; they were down 13 early vs EWU.
— Wazzu made only 15-58 3’s in first two games.
— This is a non-conference game, just to get some games in.
Armadillo's Write-Up
Wednesday, December 2
Maui Classic (@ Asheville, NC)
Texas vs North Carolina
Texas (3-0)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #4 by KenPom
— Texas breezed past Indiana by 22 Tuesday, holding Indiana to 23% from floor.
— Texas allowed 58.3 ppg in its first three games.
— Longhorns start two juniors, two seniors; they played nine guys 12:00+ Tuesday.
North Carolina (3-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-19 team
— picked 3rd in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #15 by KenPom
— Carolina won first two games by 19-27; they beat Stanford by 4 Tuesday.
— UNC turned ball over 24 times (-11), but outscored Stanford 14-5 overt the final 7:08.
— Tar Heels start a freshman, two sophs (#235 in experience)
Indiana vs Stanford
Indiana (2-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 8th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #27 by KenPom
— Indiana scored 84 ppg in first two games, but got waxed 64-44 Tuesday.
— Hoosiers PG Durham got hurt late in game; check status.
— Indiana scored 0.66 ppp yesterday; it was their worst FG% in at least 10 years.
Stanford (1-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 4th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #28 by KenPom
— Stanford was up 4 at the half Tuesday; they’re good, but thin.
— Four of five Stanford starters played 29:00+ the last two days.
— Cardinal allowed only 65.5 ppg in its first two games.
Davidson vs UNLV
Davidson (1-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 4th in A-14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #76 by KenPom
— Davidson lost the last two days by a combined three points.
— Wildcats played four starters 31:00+ yesterday.
— Davidson is playing pace #353, very slow.
UNLV (0-3)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 3rd in MW by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #150 by KenPom
— Rebels lost first three games, by 13-27-12 points.
— UNLV took 35 3-pointers Tuesday, only four foul shots.
— Four starters played 34:00+ Tuesday.
— 6-11 Cheikh Diong has played 85:00, taken 4 shots; give him the ball?!?!?!
Providence vs Alabama
Providence (2-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #61 by KenPom
— Friars led by 19 yesterday, never trailed, but damn near lost.
— Providence played three guys 33:00+; they had only 4 turnovers (+9)
— Providence was 7-29 on arc the last two days.
Alabama (2-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 3rd in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #57 by KenPom
— Alabama outscored UNLV 48-36 in second half Tuesday.
— Crimson Tide took 40 3’s, only 20 2’s; they shot 70% inside arc.
— Alabama went 15-40 on arc Tuesday, after going 14-60 in first two games..
Elsewhere……
VCU @ Penn State
VCU (2-1)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 18-13 team
— picked 10th in A-14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #70 by KenPom
— VCU won two of three games in South Dakota LW, beating Memphis.
— Rams forced turnovers 25.7% of time last week.
— VCU forced 19 turnovers vs Memphis, shooting 60.9% inside arc.
Penn State (1-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 12th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #62 by KenPom
— Beat VMI by 21 in their first game Tuesday.
— Lions took 36 3’s, 36 2’s in the opener, forced 25 turnovers (+14)
— PSU starts two juniors, two seniors, usually a good thing.
Seton Hall @ Rhode Island
Seton Hall (1-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 21-9 team
— picked 3rd in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #48 by KenPom
— Pirates lost by a point at Louisville, waxed Iona by 22.
— Seton Hall starts three seniors, two juniors (#18 experience)
— Pirates made only 13-45 on the arc in first two games.
Rhode Island (2-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 21-9 team
— picked 7th in A-14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #80 by KenPom
— URI won last two games, scoring 84-84 points.
— Rams are already playing their 5th game; they didn’t play last two nites.
— URI starts two juniors, two seniors; they took 40 FT’s vs USF.
West Virginia vs Gonzaga (@ Indianapolis)
West Virginia (3-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 4th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #8 by KenPom
— West Virginia went 3-0 in Sioux Falls, scoring 75.7 ppg.
— Mountaineers rebounded 43% of their missed shots LW (#8)
— WVU start three juniors, two sophs; they play seven guys.
Gonzaga (2-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 31-2 team
— picked 1st in country by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #1 by KenPom.
— Zags beat Kansas by 12, Auburn by 20
— Gonzaga shot 70.3% inside arc in first two games.
— Gonzaga played first two games at pace #24, very fast.
San Francisco @ Nevada
San Francisco (2-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 22-12 team
— picked 3rd in WCC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #89 by KenPom
— Dons are playing their 5th game in eight nights.
— USF upset Virginia, also lost to Mass-Lowell. Go figure.
— Dons were outscored 34-10 on foul line in last game, a loss to URI.
Nevada (3-0)
— Nevada has 1 starter back from LY’s 19-12 team
— Wolf Pack starts four sophs, one junior.
— picked 6th in Mountain West by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #103 by KenPom
— Lost five of top six scorers from last year.
— Nevada allowed only 57.3 ppg in winning first three games.
— First three opponents shot only 37.1% inside arc vs Wolf Pack.
Tex-Arlington @ Arkansas
Tex-Arlington (1-2)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-18 team
— picked 8th in Sun Belt by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #157 by KenPom
— UTA lost to Oklahoma St by 7, La Tech by 5; they beat Northwestern St by 9.
— Mavericks are shooting only 43.8% inside arc, 29.0% on arc.
— Mavericks start three juniors, two sophs.
Arkansas (2-0)
— 1 starters back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 7th in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #50 by KenPom
— Arkansas beat up on a stiff, then beat North Texas by 15.
— Razorbacks played only six guys more than 8:00 in last game.
— Arkansas beat North Texas 66-43 here last year.
Illinois vs Baylor (@ Indianapolis)
Illinois (3-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 4th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #22 by KenPom
— Illinois crushed two stiffs, then nipped Ohio U by a hoop.
— Illini has been best rebounding team in country so far.
— Illinois is an experienced team (#45 in continuity).
Baylor (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 2nd in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #17 by KenPom
— Beat Louisiana by by 30, Washington by 34 to start season.
— Bears start three juniors, two seniors.
— Baylor better not look ahead to Saturday’s Gonzaga game.
BYU vs St John’s (@ Mohegan Sun)
BYU (3-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 24-8 team
— picked 2nd in WCC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #92 by KenPom
— Cougars got crushed 79-53 by USC yesterday.
— BYU turned ball over 22.1% of time so far.
— BYU is #56 experience team; can they handle pressure?
St John’s (3-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 9th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #73 by KenPom
— Red Storm is 3-0, nipping Boston College by 4 here on Monday
— Johnnies are playing #3 pace in country.
— St John’s forced turnovers 25.9% of time in first three games.
Oregon vs Missouri (@ Omaha)
Oregon
— 2 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 1st in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #20 by KenPom.
— This is Oregon’s season opener.
— Ducks will use multiple point guards this year.
— Oregon won 20+ games each of the last 10 years.
Missouri (1-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 15-16 team
— picked 13th in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #55 by KenPom.
— Tigers won their opener by 27 over Oral Roberts last Wednesday.
— Mizzou starts three seniors and a junior.
— Tigers are 12-24 in SEC the last two years.
Oregon State @ Washington State
Oregon State (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 18-13 team
— picked last in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #110 by KenPom
— Beavers beat Cal by 8 at home, then whacked a stiff.
— OSU starts three seniors, two juniors.
— Beavers took only 11 3-pointers in the Cal game.
Washington State (2-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-16 team
— picked 11th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #138 by KenPom
— WSU beat Texas Southern/Eastern Washington by total of 7 points.
— Coogs start a freshman, two sophs; they were down 13 early vs EWU.
— Wazzu made only 15-58 3’s in first two games.
— This is a non-conference game, just to get some games in.
NCAAB
Wednesday, December 2
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Trend Report
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Wednesday, December 2
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Trend Report
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EVENING GAMES:
WVU at GONZ 07:00 PM
GONZ -8.5
TST at TAM 07:00 PM
TAM -25.5
TNTC at XAV 07:00 PM
TNTC +23.0
O 141.0
HALL at URI 07:00 PM
HALL -2.0
SIUE at NIU 07:00 PM
U 136.0
BALL at MICH 07:00 PM
BALL +16.0
PROV at ALA 07:00 PM
ALA -2.5
ORU at WICH 07:00 PM
ORU +10.5
MURR at MTU 07:30 PM
MURR -7.5
******************************
ULL at UNO 08:00 PM
ULL -5.5
HBU at SMU 08:00 PM
HBU +32.0
AMCC at UTRGV 08:00 PM
AMCC +9.0
SELA at CALBA 08:00 PM
CALBA -9.0
******************************
SF at NEV 09:00 PM
SF +3.0
ARPB at NW 09:00 PM
U 134.5
UTA at ARK 09:00 PM
O 148.5
DAV at UNLV 09:30 PM
DAV -6.0
ILL at BAY 10:00 PM
BAY -4.5
ORST at WSU 10:00 PM
ORST -2.5
WVU at GONZ 07:00 PM
GONZ -8.5
TST at TAM 07:00 PM
TAM -25.5
TNTC at XAV 07:00 PM
TNTC +23.0
O 141.0
HALL at URI 07:00 PM
HALL -2.0
SIUE at NIU 07:00 PM
U 136.0
BALL at MICH 07:00 PM
BALL +16.0
PROV at ALA 07:00 PM
ALA -2.5
ORU at WICH 07:00 PM
ORU +10.5
MURR at MTU 07:30 PM
MURR -7.5
******************************
ULL at UNO 08:00 PM
ULL -5.5
HBU at SMU 08:00 PM
HBU +32.0
AMCC at UTRGV 08:00 PM
AMCC +9.0
SELA at CALBA 08:00 PM
CALBA -9.0
******************************
SF at NEV 09:00 PM
SF +3.0
ARPB at NW 09:00 PM
U 134.5
UTA at ARK 09:00 PM
O 148.5
DAV at UNLV 09:30 PM
DAV -6.0
ILL at BAY 10:00 PM
BAY -4.5
ORST at WSU 10:00 PM
ORST -2.5
Thursday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the golf tournament in Mexico this week:
+725— Justin Thomas
+1900— Brooks Koepka, Harris English
+1950— Russell Henley
+2000— Abraham Ancer, Daniel Berger, Viktor Hovland
+2900— Tony Finau, Corey Conners
+3200— Brendan Todd
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 271,247
PLEASE wear a mask when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“We came in on that Tuesday and got some extra work in when no one was here, and we got too lackadaisical with [the protocols]. It ended up hurting us and it hurt this program and I apologize for letting that happen. We could have been better. That’s the point of the matter here. We needed to be perfect and we weren’t perfect. That’s something that we’ve got to be better at.”
Broncos’ QB Drew Lock
Thursday’s quiz
Where did John Wall play his college basketball?
Wednesday’s quiz
Virginia is technically the defending national champ in college basketball, since they won the tournament two years ago; they beat Texas Tech in the 2019 championship game.
Tuesday’s quiz
John Turturro played both Joey Knish in Rounders and coach Billy Sunday in He Got Game.
***************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
13) Pittsburgh 19, Ravens 14
— Ravens had ball on 1-yard line at end of first half, but didn’t score.
— RGIII threw a pick-6 for first score of the game in first quarter.
— Baltimore lost four of last five games, after a 5-1 start.
— Ravens are 9-3-1 ATS in last 13 games as a road underdog.
— Steelers won first 11 games (8-3 ATS), scoring 27.9 ppg.
— Pittsburgh scored only 13 points on four red zone drives.
— Only 2nd time in 12 years Steelers swept season series from Baltimore.
— Under is 4-1-1 in their last six games.
12) Last NFL team to start a season 11-0? The 2015 Carolina Panthers.
11) NFL teams with worst records in games decided by 6 or fewer points:
0-5-1: Cincinnati
0-3: Atlanta, Washington
0-2: Jets
1-5: Baltimore
10) NFL teams with best records in games decided by 6 or fewer points:
5-0: Cleveland, Pittsburgh
4-0: Kansas City, New Orleans
5-1: Tennessee
3-1: Buffalo, Seattle
Browns-Titans play Sunday; two team that have won lot of close games.
9) Texas 69, North Carolina 67:
— Longhorns win the Maui Classic
— UNC took 32 foul shots, Texas 14; Bill Walton wasn’t happy about that.
— Texas was 9-22 on the arc, Carolina 1-9.
8) Speaking of Walton, I say every year how I learn things from listening to him, but the things I learn usually aren’t basketball-related.
— Maui Classic was held in Asheville, NC; veteran umpire Joe West was born in Asheville.
— Davidson had the first college of forestry in this country.
7) Robert Griffin III was the 2nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, taken with a pick acquired from the Rams, who parlayed the draft picks they got from Washington into other picks, until they had essentially added eight players from trading that pick.
Griffin went 14-21 in three years as a starter for Washington- they made the playoffs his rookie year, but it was all downhill from there. When you trade four draft picks to take a QB, he damn well better be really good.
As for the Rams and the eight players they added, well, there’s a reason they sucked from 2013-16; except for Michael Brockers, those picks didn’t pan out. Janoris Jankins, Alec Ogletree were contributors, but the others didn’t do so well.
6) People on MLB Network were debating Hall of Fame possibilities this week, and Todd Helton’s name came up. Helton played his whole career for the Rockies, so the question of how playing at Coors Field helped him. Here are some facts:
Career at home: 4,841 PA, 874 runs scored, 859 RBI, 1.048 OPS
Career on road: 4,612 PA, 527 runs scored, 547 RBI, .855 OPS
His .386 career on-base %age on the road is still impressive, but he may have a hard time getting those lesser power numbers on the road into Cooperstown.
5) Kyle Schwarber (Cubs), Hansel Alberto (Orioles) were two of the more prominent players who were non-tendered Wednesday, which makes them free agents.
4) Gonzaga 87, West Virginia 82:
— Mountaineers led 39-34 at halftime
— Gonzaga shot 56.6% inside arc.
— Teams combined to make 9-33 on the arc; a brickfest.
High-level game, two NCAA-level teams.
3) Houston Rockets traded Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and a lottery-protected 1st-round pick. Westbrook is reunited with coach Scott Brooks, who was also one of his coaches in Oklahoma City.
2) NBA season will start December 22, with two games:
Warriors-Nets and Clippers-Lakers.
The next night, Bucks-Celtics, Mavericks-Suns will have the spotlight.
1) Baylor 82, Illinois 69— Flagler scored 18 off the bench for a Baylor team whose head coach is back in Waco, with COVID. This game easily could’ve passed for a Final Four game; Baylor plays Gonzaga next, which should be a very good matchup.
Odds to win the golf tournament in Mexico this week:
+725— Justin Thomas
+1900— Brooks Koepka, Harris English
+1950— Russell Henley
+2000— Abraham Ancer, Daniel Berger, Viktor Hovland
+2900— Tony Finau, Corey Conners
+3200— Brendan Todd
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 271,247
PLEASE wear a mask when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“We came in on that Tuesday and got some extra work in when no one was here, and we got too lackadaisical with [the protocols]. It ended up hurting us and it hurt this program and I apologize for letting that happen. We could have been better. That’s the point of the matter here. We needed to be perfect and we weren’t perfect. That’s something that we’ve got to be better at.”
Broncos’ QB Drew Lock
Thursday’s quiz
Where did John Wall play his college basketball?
Wednesday’s quiz
Virginia is technically the defending national champ in college basketball, since they won the tournament two years ago; they beat Texas Tech in the 2019 championship game.
Tuesday’s quiz
John Turturro played both Joey Knish in Rounders and coach Billy Sunday in He Got Game.
***************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
13) Pittsburgh 19, Ravens 14
— Ravens had ball on 1-yard line at end of first half, but didn’t score.
— RGIII threw a pick-6 for first score of the game in first quarter.
— Baltimore lost four of last five games, after a 5-1 start.
— Ravens are 9-3-1 ATS in last 13 games as a road underdog.
— Steelers won first 11 games (8-3 ATS), scoring 27.9 ppg.
— Pittsburgh scored only 13 points on four red zone drives.
— Only 2nd time in 12 years Steelers swept season series from Baltimore.
— Under is 4-1-1 in their last six games.
12) Last NFL team to start a season 11-0? The 2015 Carolina Panthers.
11) NFL teams with worst records in games decided by 6 or fewer points:
0-5-1: Cincinnati
0-3: Atlanta, Washington
0-2: Jets
1-5: Baltimore
10) NFL teams with best records in games decided by 6 or fewer points:
5-0: Cleveland, Pittsburgh
4-0: Kansas City, New Orleans
5-1: Tennessee
3-1: Buffalo, Seattle
Browns-Titans play Sunday; two team that have won lot of close games.
9) Texas 69, North Carolina 67:
— Longhorns win the Maui Classic
— UNC took 32 foul shots, Texas 14; Bill Walton wasn’t happy about that.
— Texas was 9-22 on the arc, Carolina 1-9.
8) Speaking of Walton, I say every year how I learn things from listening to him, but the things I learn usually aren’t basketball-related.
— Maui Classic was held in Asheville, NC; veteran umpire Joe West was born in Asheville.
— Davidson had the first college of forestry in this country.
7) Robert Griffin III was the 2nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, taken with a pick acquired from the Rams, who parlayed the draft picks they got from Washington into other picks, until they had essentially added eight players from trading that pick.
Griffin went 14-21 in three years as a starter for Washington- they made the playoffs his rookie year, but it was all downhill from there. When you trade four draft picks to take a QB, he damn well better be really good.
As for the Rams and the eight players they added, well, there’s a reason they sucked from 2013-16; except for Michael Brockers, those picks didn’t pan out. Janoris Jankins, Alec Ogletree were contributors, but the others didn’t do so well.
6) People on MLB Network were debating Hall of Fame possibilities this week, and Todd Helton’s name came up. Helton played his whole career for the Rockies, so the question of how playing at Coors Field helped him. Here are some facts:
Career at home: 4,841 PA, 874 runs scored, 859 RBI, 1.048 OPS
Career on road: 4,612 PA, 527 runs scored, 547 RBI, .855 OPS
His .386 career on-base %age on the road is still impressive, but he may have a hard time getting those lesser power numbers on the road into Cooperstown.
5) Kyle Schwarber (Cubs), Hansel Alberto (Orioles) were two of the more prominent players who were non-tendered Wednesday, which makes them free agents.
4) Gonzaga 87, West Virginia 82:
— Mountaineers led 39-34 at halftime
— Gonzaga shot 56.6% inside arc.
— Teams combined to make 9-33 on the arc; a brickfest.
High-level game, two NCAA-level teams.
3) Houston Rockets traded Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and a lottery-protected 1st-round pick. Westbrook is reunited with coach Scott Brooks, who was also one of his coaches in Oklahoma City.
2) NBA season will start December 22, with two games:
Warriors-Nets and Clippers-Lakers.
The next night, Bucks-Celtics, Mavericks-Suns will have the spotlight.
1) Baylor 82, Illinois 69— Flagler scored 18 off the bench for a Baylor team whose head coach is back in Waco, with COVID. This game easily could’ve passed for a Final Four game; Baylor plays Gonzaga next, which should be a very good matchup.
741CHICAGO ST -742 E ILLINOIS
CHICAGO ST is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) in road games after 1 or more consecutive unders in the last 3 seasons.
743WASHINGTON -744 UTAH
WASHINGTON is 6-18 ATS (-13.8 Units) in road games after 1 or more consecutive unders in the last 3 seasons.
745TENNESSEE TECH -746 N KENTUCKY
Darrin Horn is 11-3 ATS (7.7 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 (Coach of N KENTUCKY)
745TENNESSEE TECH -746 N KENTUCKY
N KENTUCKY is 11-3 ATS (7.7 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 over the last 2 seasons.
747MARSHALL -748 WRIGHT ST
WRIGHT ST is 18-8 ATS (9.2 Units) in home games in the last 3 seasons.
751CONNECTICUT -752 USC
USC is 12-3 ATS (8.7 Units) in road games vs. winning teams over the last 2 seasons.
753NIAGARA -754 SYRACUSE
SYRACUSE is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) in home games when the total is 140 to 149.5 in the last 3 seasons.
755LA-MONROE -756 LOUISIANA TECH
LOUISIANA TECH is 17-7 ATS (9.3 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 in the last 3 seasons.
757VMI -758 VIRGINIA TECH
Mike Young is 3-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting <=18 free throws/game (Coach of VIRGINIA TECH)
757VMI -758 VIRGINIA TECH
VIRGINIA TECH is 3-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting <=18 free throws/game over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO ST is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) in road games after 1 or more consecutive unders in the last 3 seasons.
743WASHINGTON -744 UTAH
WASHINGTON is 6-18 ATS (-13.8 Units) in road games after 1 or more consecutive unders in the last 3 seasons.
745TENNESSEE TECH -746 N KENTUCKY
Darrin Horn is 11-3 ATS (7.7 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 (Coach of N KENTUCKY)
745TENNESSEE TECH -746 N KENTUCKY
N KENTUCKY is 11-3 ATS (7.7 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 over the last 2 seasons.
747MARSHALL -748 WRIGHT ST
WRIGHT ST is 18-8 ATS (9.2 Units) in home games in the last 3 seasons.
751CONNECTICUT -752 USC
USC is 12-3 ATS (8.7 Units) in road games vs. winning teams over the last 2 seasons.
753NIAGARA -754 SYRACUSE
SYRACUSE is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) in home games when the total is 140 to 149.5 in the last 3 seasons.
755LA-MONROE -756 LOUISIANA TECH
LOUISIANA TECH is 17-7 ATS (9.3 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 in the last 3 seasons.
757VMI -758 VIRGINIA TECH
Mike Young is 3-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting <=18 free throws/game (Coach of VIRGINIA TECH)
757VMI -758 VIRGINIA TECH
VIRGINIA TECH is 3-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting <=18 free throws/game over the last 2 seasons.
NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Thursday, December 3
Washington vs Utah
Washington (0-2)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 15-17 team
— picked 10th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #99 by KenPom
— Huskies scored only 47 ppg in losing first two games.
— Washington made 8 of its first 44 shots on the arc.
— Losing by 15 at home to Cal-Riverside is a major red flag.
Utah
— 4 starters back from LY’s 16-15 team
— picked 5th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #56 by KenPom
— This is Utah’s season opener.
— Utes have 8 of their top 9 guys back from last year.
— Utah won seven of its last nine games with Washington.
— Huskies lost six of last seven visits to Salt Lake City.
Marshall vs Wright State
Marshall (1-0)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 4th in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #94 by KenPom
— Marshall won its opener 70-56 over Arkansas State.
— Thundering Herd shot 58.5% inside arc, 5-25 on arc.
— Marshall’s opener was 77 possessions, a very fast pace.
Wright State
— 3 starters back from LY’s 25-7 team
— picked 1st in Horizon by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #113 by KenPom
— This is Wright State’s season opener.
— Raiders won 111 games the last five years.
UConn vs USC
UConn (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 4th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #53 by KenPom
— UConn beat a couple stiffs, by 27-12 points.
— Huskies rebounded 48.6% of their own missed shots so far.
— UConn is moving up in class with this opponent.
USC (3-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 22-9 team
— picked 8th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #45 by KenPom
— USC won its first three games, beating BYU by 26.
— Opponents are shooting only 36% inside arc against the Trojans
— USC starts a freshman, two sophs.
Niagara @ Syracuse
Niagara
— 5 starters back from LY’s 12-20 team
— picked 4th in MAAC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #248 by KenPom
— This is Niagara’s season opener.
— Purple Eagles lost 71-57 here last year.
— Niagara coach Paulus played hoop at Duke, but played QB at Syracuse after that.
Syracuse (1-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 18-14 team
— picked 9th in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #47 by KenPom
— beat Bryant 85-84 in their opener; they were down 7 at half.
— Syracuse played five guys 33:00+; not a lot of depth.
— Last six years, Syracuse is 56-56 in ACC games.
UL-Monroe @ Louisiana Tech
UL-Monroe
— 1 starter back from LY’s 9-20 team
— picked 11th in Sun Belt by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #262 by KenPom
— This is ULM’s season opener.
— Had 3 guys transfer out, have several good JC players now.
Louisiana Tech (2-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 22-8 team
— picked 9th in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #109 by KenPom
— Tech scored 83.5 ppg in wins over Tex-Arlington, Northwestern State.
— Bulldogs made 20 of their first 46 3-point shots.
— Tech was 22-8, tied for 2nd in C-USA last year.
Western Illinois @ Iowa
Western Illinois
— 0 starters back from LY’s 5-21 team
— picked last in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #345 by KenPom
— This is Western Illinois’ season opener.
— Leathernecks’ new coach is Rob Jeter, who used to coach Milwaukee.
— WIU brought in five JC kids, three freshmen.
Iowa (2-0)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 20-11 team
— picked and in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #12 by KenPom
— Scored 100 ppg in beating couple stiffs, by 30-27 points.
— Hawkeyes made 40.7% of their 3’s so far.
— Iowa’s next game is against North Carolina Tuesday.
Omaha @ Drake
Omaha (1-3)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-16 team
— picked 5th in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #204 by KenPom
— Mavericks turned ball over 23.1% of time so far.
— Mavericks are shooting only 45.6% inside arc, 24.1% on arc.
— Omaha played nine guys 10:00+ in Tuesday’s 94-67 loss at Creighton.
Drake (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 20-14 team
— picked 7th in MVC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #134 by KenPom
— Upset K-State in Manhattan, beat South Dakota by 16.
— Bulldogs start two seniors, three juniors.
— Drake is 46-24 SU the last 2+ seasons.
Tex-San Antonio @ Oklahoma
Tex-San Antonio (1-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 13-19 team
— picked 7th in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #164 by KenPom
— UTSA beat up on a stiff, then lost to Rio Grande Valley by 17.
— Roadrunners lost 84-67 at Oklahoma last year.
— 8 of their 13 scholarship players are in their 4th year of college.
Oklahoma
— 3 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 6th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #32 by KenPom
— This is Oklahoma’s season opener.
— Shot 31.8% on arc LY, still went 19-12.
— Sooners are expected to be better this year.
Idaho @ Sacramento State
Idaho
— 3 starters back from LY’s 8-24 team
— picked last in Big Sky by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #338 by KenPom
— This is Idaho’s season opener.
— Idaho has three seniors, who all started 15+ games last year.
— Vandals brought in three recruits, but they never saw any of them play in person before they were signed.
Sacramento State (1-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 8th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #235 by KenPom
— Hornets beat an NAIA stiff by 44 in their opener.
— Sacramento was 5th in country in scoring defense (59.7 ppg) LY.
— May trap/press more than in past.
— Teams split last four series games.
— Teams split last four series games played here.
— Teams will meet again here on Saturday.
Montana @ Southern Utah
Montana (0-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 18-13 team
— picked 3rd in Big Sky by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #162 by KenPom.
— Fell behind 32-8, lost their opener 76-62 at USC.
— Grizzlies have lot of sophomores, several transfers.
— Last three years, Montana is 46-16 in Big Sky games.
Southern Utah (1-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 7th in Big Sky by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #187 by KenPom.
— Thunderbirds lost at buzzer at LMU, then beat a stiff by 48.
— SUU starts three seniors, two juniors.
— Thunderbirds were 11-25 on arc, led by 12 in the 85-83 loss at LMU.
— Montana is 13-1 vs Southern Utah in Big Sky play, but Thunderbirds beat the Griz in Missoula last year.
— Montana won its last seven visits here, five by 10+ points.
— Teams will meet again here on Saturday.
Florida vs Boston College (@ Mohegan Sun)
Florida (1-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #110 by KenPom
— Florida beat Army 76-69 in their opener yesterday; they were down 8 at half.
— Gators outscored Army 24-11 on foul line; no one played 30:00.
— Florida started three juniors, two sophs.
Boston College (1-2)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 13-19 team
— picked 14th in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #80 by KenPom
— BC lost by 9 to Villanova, 4 to St John’s; beat URI by 5.
— Eagles shot 59.6% inside arc so far; their last game was Monday.
— BC shot 65.6% inside arc vs St John’s, but had 19 turnovers.
Arizona State @ California
Arizona State (2-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 20-11 team
— picked 3rd in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #28 by KenPom
— Arizona St beat URI by 6, lost to Villanova by 9 at Mohegan Sun LW.
— ASU scored 89.3 ppg in its first three games.
— Sun Devils have played a very fast pace (#12) so far this season.
California (2-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-18 team
— picked 9th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #123 by KenPom
— Cal lost by 8 at Oregon State, then beat Nicholls State by 11.
— Golden Bears have turned ball over 23.3% of time so far, while playing pace #313.
— Cal starts three seniors and a junior.
— Arizona State won last five series games.
— Sun Devils won last two visits to Berkeley, by 8-14 points.
Armadillo's Write-Up
Thursday, December 3
Washington vs Utah
Washington (0-2)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 15-17 team
— picked 10th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #99 by KenPom
— Huskies scored only 47 ppg in losing first two games.
— Washington made 8 of its first 44 shots on the arc.
— Losing by 15 at home to Cal-Riverside is a major red flag.
Utah
— 4 starters back from LY’s 16-15 team
— picked 5th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #56 by KenPom
— This is Utah’s season opener.
— Utes have 8 of their top 9 guys back from last year.
— Utah won seven of its last nine games with Washington.
— Huskies lost six of last seven visits to Salt Lake City.
Marshall vs Wright State
Marshall (1-0)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 4th in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #94 by KenPom
— Marshall won its opener 70-56 over Arkansas State.
— Thundering Herd shot 58.5% inside arc, 5-25 on arc.
— Marshall’s opener was 77 possessions, a very fast pace.
Wright State
— 3 starters back from LY’s 25-7 team
— picked 1st in Horizon by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #113 by KenPom
— This is Wright State’s season opener.
— Raiders won 111 games the last five years.
UConn vs USC
UConn (2-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 4th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #53 by KenPom
— UConn beat a couple stiffs, by 27-12 points.
— Huskies rebounded 48.6% of their own missed shots so far.
— UConn is moving up in class with this opponent.
USC (3-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 22-9 team
— picked 8th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #45 by KenPom
— USC won its first three games, beating BYU by 26.
— Opponents are shooting only 36% inside arc against the Trojans
— USC starts a freshman, two sophs.
Niagara @ Syracuse
Niagara
— 5 starters back from LY’s 12-20 team
— picked 4th in MAAC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #248 by KenPom
— This is Niagara’s season opener.
— Purple Eagles lost 71-57 here last year.
— Niagara coach Paulus played hoop at Duke, but played QB at Syracuse after that.
Syracuse (1-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 18-14 team
— picked 9th in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #47 by KenPom
— beat Bryant 85-84 in their opener; they were down 7 at half.
— Syracuse played five guys 33:00+; not a lot of depth.
— Last six years, Syracuse is 56-56 in ACC games.
UL-Monroe @ Louisiana Tech
UL-Monroe
— 1 starter back from LY’s 9-20 team
— picked 11th in Sun Belt by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #262 by KenPom
— This is ULM’s season opener.
— Had 3 guys transfer out, have several good JC players now.
Louisiana Tech (2-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 22-8 team
— picked 9th in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #109 by KenPom
— Tech scored 83.5 ppg in wins over Tex-Arlington, Northwestern State.
— Bulldogs made 20 of their first 46 3-point shots.
— Tech was 22-8, tied for 2nd in C-USA last year.
Western Illinois @ Iowa
Western Illinois
— 0 starters back from LY’s 5-21 team
— picked last in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #345 by KenPom
— This is Western Illinois’ season opener.
— Leathernecks’ new coach is Rob Jeter, who used to coach Milwaukee.
— WIU brought in five JC kids, three freshmen.
Iowa (2-0)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 20-11 team
— picked and in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #12 by KenPom
— Scored 100 ppg in beating couple stiffs, by 30-27 points.
— Hawkeyes made 40.7% of their 3’s so far.
— Iowa’s next game is against North Carolina Tuesday.
Omaha @ Drake
Omaha (1-3)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-16 team
— picked 5th in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #204 by KenPom
— Mavericks turned ball over 23.1% of time so far.
— Mavericks are shooting only 45.6% inside arc, 24.1% on arc.
— Omaha played nine guys 10:00+ in Tuesday’s 94-67 loss at Creighton.
Drake (2-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 20-14 team
— picked 7th in MVC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #134 by KenPom
— Upset K-State in Manhattan, beat South Dakota by 16.
— Bulldogs start two seniors, three juniors.
— Drake is 46-24 SU the last 2+ seasons.
Tex-San Antonio @ Oklahoma
Tex-San Antonio (1-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 13-19 team
— picked 7th in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #164 by KenPom
— UTSA beat up on a stiff, then lost to Rio Grande Valley by 17.
— Roadrunners lost 84-67 at Oklahoma last year.
— 8 of their 13 scholarship players are in their 4th year of college.
Oklahoma
— 3 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 6th in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #32 by KenPom
— This is Oklahoma’s season opener.
— Shot 31.8% on arc LY, still went 19-12.
— Sooners are expected to be better this year.
Idaho @ Sacramento State
Idaho
— 3 starters back from LY’s 8-24 team
— picked last in Big Sky by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #338 by KenPom
— This is Idaho’s season opener.
— Idaho has three seniors, who all started 15+ games last year.
— Vandals brought in three recruits, but they never saw any of them play in person before they were signed.
Sacramento State (1-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-14 team
— picked 8th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #235 by KenPom
— Hornets beat an NAIA stiff by 44 in their opener.
— Sacramento was 5th in country in scoring defense (59.7 ppg) LY.
— May trap/press more than in past.
— Teams split last four series games.
— Teams split last four series games played here.
— Teams will meet again here on Saturday.
Montana @ Southern Utah
Montana (0-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 18-13 team
— picked 3rd in Big Sky by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #162 by KenPom.
— Fell behind 32-8, lost their opener 76-62 at USC.
— Grizzlies have lot of sophomores, several transfers.
— Last three years, Montana is 46-16 in Big Sky games.
Southern Utah (1-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 7th in Big Sky by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #187 by KenPom.
— Thunderbirds lost at buzzer at LMU, then beat a stiff by 48.
— SUU starts three seniors, two juniors.
— Thunderbirds were 11-25 on arc, led by 12 in the 85-83 loss at LMU.
— Montana is 13-1 vs Southern Utah in Big Sky play, but Thunderbirds beat the Griz in Missoula last year.
— Montana won its last seven visits here, five by 10+ points.
— Teams will meet again here on Saturday.
Florida vs Boston College (@ Mohegan Sun)
Florida (1-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 19-12 team
— picked 5th in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #110 by KenPom
— Florida beat Army 76-69 in their opener yesterday; they were down 8 at half.
— Gators outscored Army 24-11 on foul line; no one played 30:00.
— Florida started three juniors, two sophs.
Boston College (1-2)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 13-19 team
— picked 14th in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #80 by KenPom
— BC lost by 9 to Villanova, 4 to St John’s; beat URI by 5.
— Eagles shot 59.6% inside arc so far; their last game was Monday.
— BC shot 65.6% inside arc vs St John’s, but had 19 turnovers.
Arizona State @ California
Arizona State (2-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 20-11 team
— picked 3rd in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #28 by KenPom
— Arizona St beat URI by 6, lost to Villanova by 9 at Mohegan Sun LW.
— ASU scored 89.3 ppg in its first three games.
— Sun Devils have played a very fast pace (#12) so far this season.
California (2-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-18 team
— picked 9th in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #123 by KenPom
— Cal lost by 8 at Oregon State, then beat Nicholls State by 11.
— Golden Bears have turned ball over 23.3% of time so far, while playing pace #313.
— Cal starts three seniors and a junior.
— Arizona State won last five series games.
— Sun Devils won last two visits to Berkeley, by 8-14 points.
