UTA @ Bradley +11 1/2 (2)
UTA at 8-3 and 5-1 ats scoring 76.6 ppg giving up 67.7 ppg for a diff of 8.9
Bradley at 5-5 and 4-4 ats scoring 73.1 ppg giving up 72.9 ppg for a diff of 0.2
Diff of 9 and Bradley worth 3-4 at home. Line is definitely inflated most likely because of UTA success beating St Mary's 66-51 win at St Mary's and a W earlier at Texas. Of course they are good and playing really well. They very well may win this game and cover the spread. This Bradley team has really improved from last year and are also playing much better hoops than last year. Last year was bad!. Bradley averaged 56 ppg last year and this year they are scoring 73 for a +17 increase. Last year Bradley was beaten at UTA by a score of 97-61. So I understand why they pumped this spread up. Of course UTA is the team to bet on this game.
Why Bradley?
The fan base is something else. They bring a bunch of people over whenever they play at Terre Haute (ISU) and they can get pretty rowdy. At home most likely even more fired up. Like I mentioned earlier, most of the same players for Bradley, but very much improved. In their last game they beat Chicago St 85-48. Okay, Chicago St is not any good. (they just lost at Northwestern after leading late in the 2nd half.) Bradley has a freshman who has cracked the starting line up and leads them in scoring at 13.2 ppg and shooting 51.3 from downtown. Enough, as I don't have to sell the team I'm betting on because Bradley is not the kind of team to buy. I just think the line is 4-5 points to high for a team to just get done with school, after a major upset in their last game, and hit the road to Peoria, Ill to play a team they beat by 36 last year. I believe the situation is right for the dd home dog to bark.
South Dakota @ Portland -4 (2) 9game at Moda Center in Port Oregon
S. Dakota at 8-4 and 7-2 ats scoring 74.3 ppg giving up 68.0 ppg for a diff of 6.3
Portland at 5-3 and 3-3 ats scoring 81.0 ppg giving up 74.9 ppg for a diff of 6.1
Diff is so close I'll call it even. So the game is not on Portland's home court but close enough to give them a advantage on the travel situation and having more people cheering for them. SD having a decent season. Better thanexpected after losing all 5 starters form last season.3 of their losses were on the road to Houston, UMKC and Nebraska. They are a very nice 7-2 ats for the season. Portland is a exciting team to watch once again. Coach Terry Porter and his NBA mind for offense has made this team explosive.
Speaking of offense:
SD shooting 41.5% fg, 70.1% ft, and 30% from 3 pt land averaging 6.3 a game.
Port shooting 46.2% f, 77.4% ft, and 38.1 % form 3 pt land making 8.1 a game.
I'm hoping for a higher possession game which would favor Portland's tempo and with more attempts at scoring.
Samford @ South Alabama -2 1/2 (3)
SAMFD at 6-3 and 3-1 ats scoring 76.6 ppg giving up 70.1 ppg for a diff of 6.5
S. Bama 6-4 and 3-4 ats scoring 71.2 ppg giving up 64.5 ppg for a diff of 6.7
Diff just about right on the button. After looking over both teams past games and scores, I give the better schedule so fat to S. Bama. The combined records of the team that beat them were 27-16. Samford with padded stats playing Miles Beth Cook, Campbell, and a double overtime loss to the powerhouse Nichols St 106-101. Not taking anything away from Samford because they are at 6-3 and have better shooting stats than S Bama in every category. They just have a very poor history of winning on the road (4-11 straight up last 11 on the road).
Their history is much worse in this series. Samford is 2-17 and have lost 14 straight against S. Alabama in this series. That is domination. S. Alabama are led by 4 seniors in scoring and Williams at 14.1 and 83.8 from the ft line.
Make no mistake about it: the last 4 games in this series have BEEN CLOSE ( and all won by Bama ) 2, 5, 3, and 2.
I'll take the team that won last year with 4 of the same players on the court (Seniors) at home to continue the streak over a program that always seems to struggle to win on the road.
good luck
