MistaFlava's 2008 CBB Record: 1-5-2 ATS (-33.50 Units)
Not the kind of opening week I was looking for with the pre-season tournaments but 3 of my 5 losses came by 0.5 on the spread and I don't feel I did that bad a job capping games. I had some bad lines in those games and paid the price for it. I know things are going to turn around for me and now is a great time to get things going, having seen how some teams play and which direction some teams are going.
This should be an interesting first few weeks with a couple of potential big games coming up before Christmas. I wish everyone the best in 2008-2009 and let the march to the madness begin right here, right now.
1 unit = $100
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Not the kind of opening week I was looking for with the pre-season tournaments but 3 of my 5 losses came by 0.5 on the spread and I don't feel I did that bad a job capping games. I had some bad lines in those games and paid the price for it. I know things are going to turn around for me and now is a great time to get things going, having seen how some teams play and which direction some teams are going.
This should be an interesting first few weeks with a couple of potential big games coming up before Christmas. I wish everyone the best in 2008-2009 and let the march to the madness begin right here, right now.
1 unit = $100
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Monday, November 24
Texas Longhorns -10 (5 Units)
Texas Longhorns -10 (5 Units)
The St. Joseph's Hawks could surprise a lot of people this season, I just don't think they are going to impress anyone today. The Hawks have played only two real games (despite playing several exhibition games) and those games saw them beat Rider 69-57 as -11 point favorites but then lose in overtime against a pretty bad Holy Cross team. So we have seen two sides of these guys and I just don't know what to think. We all remember the Hawks crashing out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round last season in a big loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. I don't know that this team can be the same without Rob Ferguson this season and so far although Ahmad Nivins has played well, things just won't be the same. This is the first time these two teams will meet and the Hawks would have to play their best game in years to come out of here with a 'W'. This is a team that can definitely shoot the ball as they have knocked down 45.9% of their shots this season for 69 points per game. Won't be that easy today as Texas has allowed opponents to shoot only 28.7% from the floor and score only 44.5 points per game. If the Hawks can't shoot I don't know how they can do much of anything in this game because Texas is a much bigger team, with much better rebounders who should control the action from start to finish in this game.
The Texas Longhorns are one of the top teams in College Basketball yet again this season and it won't take long for the Nation to find out why. G AJ Abrams and a plethora of young players lead the way for this #8 ranked team that is off to a sizzling 2-0 SU (1-0 ATS in those games) start to the season. Texas opened their year with a 30 point win over the Stetson Hatters and then followed that up with a 25 point win over Tulane as -20.5 point favorites. The bottom line is tonight one of these two teams is coming out with a perfect ATS record and the Longhorns match up very well with St. Joseph's. Damion James is a force to be reckoned with in the middle and he is going to give the Hawks problems all night with his size and his speed on the inside and on the boards. Texas is shooting 50.9% from the floor this season averaging 72.0 points per game. My only concern has been their free throw shooting as they have hit only 51.0% of their free throw attempts despite going to the line 24.5 times per game. Things can only get better in a case like this right? I would think so. The big edge for me here, apart from rebounding where Texas has brought down 38.5 rebounds per game this season compared to St. Joseph's 31.0 rebounds per game, is the guard play and the ability to force turnovers as Texas has forced a whopping 22.0 turnovers per game so far this season. They have allowed their opponents only 5.5 assists per game which means other teams are forced to shoot from the outside. This should be a Texas rout.
It's too early to really be calling anything a public play. I know a good 80% of the public was on this play when I started the writeup and although this worries me a bit, its early in the season and I think the good teams are going to dominate. St. Joseph's has gone an impressive 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games versus non-conference opponents and they are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games that follow a loss. Sure it's tempting to back a team like that. Texas cannot take this Hawks team lightly because they are 0-4 ATS in their last four games versus teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference and a slow start is not really acceptable here. Like I said before, it does worry me that so many people are on the Horns here but they do have a lot more talent than St. Joseph's and I think this is a great opportunity to show everyone what they are made of this early on in this season. Lets kick things off with the Maui Invitational and a big Texas win in a game they are hopefully awake for.
Trend of the Game: Texas is 22-8 ATS in their last 30 Monday games.
Texas 77, St. Joseph's 56
The Texas Longhorns are one of the top teams in College Basketball yet again this season and it won't take long for the Nation to find out why. G AJ Abrams and a plethora of young players lead the way for this #8 ranked team that is off to a sizzling 2-0 SU (1-0 ATS in those games) start to the season. Texas opened their year with a 30 point win over the Stetson Hatters and then followed that up with a 25 point win over Tulane as -20.5 point favorites. The bottom line is tonight one of these two teams is coming out with a perfect ATS record and the Longhorns match up very well with St. Joseph's. Damion James is a force to be reckoned with in the middle and he is going to give the Hawks problems all night with his size and his speed on the inside and on the boards. Texas is shooting 50.9% from the floor this season averaging 72.0 points per game. My only concern has been their free throw shooting as they have hit only 51.0% of their free throw attempts despite going to the line 24.5 times per game. Things can only get better in a case like this right? I would think so. The big edge for me here, apart from rebounding where Texas has brought down 38.5 rebounds per game this season compared to St. Joseph's 31.0 rebounds per game, is the guard play and the ability to force turnovers as Texas has forced a whopping 22.0 turnovers per game so far this season. They have allowed their opponents only 5.5 assists per game which means other teams are forced to shoot from the outside. This should be a Texas rout.
It's too early to really be calling anything a public play. I know a good 80% of the public was on this play when I started the writeup and although this worries me a bit, its early in the season and I think the good teams are going to dominate. St. Joseph's has gone an impressive 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games versus non-conference opponents and they are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games that follow a loss. Sure it's tempting to back a team like that. Texas cannot take this Hawks team lightly because they are 0-4 ATS in their last four games versus teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference and a slow start is not really acceptable here. Like I said before, it does worry me that so many people are on the Horns here but they do have a lot more talent than St. Joseph's and I think this is a great opportunity to show everyone what they are made of this early on in this season. Lets kick things off with the Maui Invitational and a big Texas win in a game they are hopefully awake for.
Trend of the Game: Texas is 22-8 ATS in their last 30 Monday games.
Texas 77, St. Joseph's 56
Kansas Jayhawks -6 (5 Units)
The Washington Huskies are 2-1 SU and 2-1 ATS heading into this game but they have yet to play a real opponent away from home and this could be a hostile environment. Afterall, this semi-final matchup #2 is being played in front of all the Kansas Jayhawk fans in Kansas City, Missouri. Washington has done what they could in the games they have played at home but their one and only road games this season was a complete disaster as they walked into Portland as -11.5 point favorites and ended up losing the game 80-74 (what an embarassing way to kick the season off). They have since recovered and won home games against Cleveland State and Florida International but again those were home games against teams from out East and I don't think they can just walk into this place and steal a game from the Jayhawks. We all know this is a team that can score some serious points as they average 75.3 points per game this season and shoot 44.4% from the floor in those games. Having said that, they could have some serious problems putting the ball in the basket tonight against a Kansas team that has allowed 50.5 points per game this season and allowed those same opponents to shoot only 26.5% from the floor in those games. The Huskies do have the ability to get to the line quite a bit but they shoot only 63.0% from the charity stripe this season and they have a slight size disadvantage against the Jayhawks, something I think will be a big problem in this game. You also have to consider that the Kansas defense has forced 18.5 turnovers per game this season and this defense is relentless enough to keep the Huskies down in the low 60's for this game. I just don't see how Washington can sustain enough pressure up front to keep this game close in a hostile environment.
The Kansas Jayhawks know they had it all last season and they know how tough it can be for teams to come off National Championship wins and recover in time to play well at the beginning of the next seasons. Having said that, Kansas is already 2-0 SU despite losing quite a few guys to the NBA in the off-season but they have yet to face a real opponent and tonight should be a nice test for this bunch. You have to go all the way back to February 23, 2008 to find the last time the Jayhawks lost a basketball game and I can't even tell you the last time they lost in front of their hometown fans. Kansas won their two early non-lined games by 16 and 40 points this season and one has to wonder how game ready they are coming into this thing. Sherron Collins is the man around here nowadays and the team is going to rely in his leadership to get them going early and get them focused on yet another National Title. Right now the Jayhawks are ranked in the TOP 25 and a win here would definitely keep that intact. They have scored 78.0 points per game this season and shot 48.7% from the floor. This is a big team with some serious inside toughness. I would like to say Washington's defense is good but the Huskies did allow 80 points on the road against Portland and that has me thinking they are not all that good against better teams. Much like the Huskies, Kansas has had problems shooting free throws as they have been to the line 30.0 times per game this season but managed to make only 63.3% of their free throw shot attempts on the year. They do average 42.0 rebounds per game on the season and they are going up against a zone defense that doesn't create many turnovers, which should make it easier on the young Kansas guards. Defensively they are where they need to be as they average 10 steals per game on the season and have some serious speed on the perimeter. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Kansas is going to be jacked up for this game and they should win big against a pretty bad Washington road team.
This is the semi-final matchup of the O'Reilly's Classic being played in Kansas City, Missouri so right here, right now this Kansas team already has some sort of edge over the Huskies. Washington was good on the road last season and they have covered 4 of their last 5 road games but Kansas is 6-1 ATS in their last seven games dating back to last season's Championship run. I have always been one to back the Jayhawks when playing against teams that struggle on the road because they have covered the spread in 13 of their last 17 games at home versus teams that tend to lose on the road. I don't know that I have ever backed this team against a PAC 10 Conference opponent but I am ready to go here and I have no doubts in my mind that the Jayhawks are going to shine with their new young stars, proving that their National Title run last season was not all about the big name star players. SHOULD BE A GREAT ONE!
Trend of the Game: Kansas is 13-4 ATS in their last 17 home games versus a team with a losing road record.
Kansas 82, Washington 67
:toast:
The Kansas Jayhawks know they had it all last season and they know how tough it can be for teams to come off National Championship wins and recover in time to play well at the beginning of the next seasons. Having said that, Kansas is already 2-0 SU despite losing quite a few guys to the NBA in the off-season but they have yet to face a real opponent and tonight should be a nice test for this bunch. You have to go all the way back to February 23, 2008 to find the last time the Jayhawks lost a basketball game and I can't even tell you the last time they lost in front of their hometown fans. Kansas won their two early non-lined games by 16 and 40 points this season and one has to wonder how game ready they are coming into this thing. Sherron Collins is the man around here nowadays and the team is going to rely in his leadership to get them going early and get them focused on yet another National Title. Right now the Jayhawks are ranked in the TOP 25 and a win here would definitely keep that intact. They have scored 78.0 points per game this season and shot 48.7% from the floor. This is a big team with some serious inside toughness. I would like to say Washington's defense is good but the Huskies did allow 80 points on the road against Portland and that has me thinking they are not all that good against better teams. Much like the Huskies, Kansas has had problems shooting free throws as they have been to the line 30.0 times per game this season but managed to make only 63.3% of their free throw shot attempts on the year. They do average 42.0 rebounds per game on the season and they are going up against a zone defense that doesn't create many turnovers, which should make it easier on the young Kansas guards. Defensively they are where they need to be as they average 10 steals per game on the season and have some serious speed on the perimeter. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Kansas is going to be jacked up for this game and they should win big against a pretty bad Washington road team.
This is the semi-final matchup of the O'Reilly's Classic being played in Kansas City, Missouri so right here, right now this Kansas team already has some sort of edge over the Huskies. Washington was good on the road last season and they have covered 4 of their last 5 road games but Kansas is 6-1 ATS in their last seven games dating back to last season's Championship run. I have always been one to back the Jayhawks when playing against teams that struggle on the road because they have covered the spread in 13 of their last 17 games at home versus teams that tend to lose on the road. I don't know that I have ever backed this team against a PAC 10 Conference opponent but I am ready to go here and I have no doubts in my mind that the Jayhawks are going to shine with their new young stars, proving that their National Title run last season was not all about the big name star players. SHOULD BE A GREAT ONE!
Trend of the Game: Kansas is 13-4 ATS in their last 17 home games versus a team with a losing road record.
Kansas 82, Washington 67
:toast:
