College basketball knowledge
Saturday’s games
Florida State crushed Clemson 109-61 at home Feb 5; Seminoles were 17-30 on arc, led by 26 at the half. FSU is 4-3 in last seven series games; they won last three games in Littlejohn, by 5-15-4 points- they lost by 9 to Clemson LY in a different arena. Florida State lost five of its last six road games; they’re 0-3 as a road favorite, with only road wins by 2 at Virginia, 18 at Miami. Clemson lost lost five of last six games, is 2-4 at home, 0-2 as a home underdog. ACC road teams are 12-7-1 vs number in games where spread was 2 or less points.
UConn is 7-2 since they lost 69-49 at SMU Jan 19; game was 36-15 at the half. Mustangs are 7-2 in last nine series games, but they lost by 8-6 points in last two visits to the Nutmeg State. Huskies won last six home games; they covered last three games as an underdog. SMU won its last ten games, covering eight of last nine; Mustangs are 6-0-1 as an ACC road favorite- their only AAC road loss in eight games was by hoop in Cincinnati. AAC road favorites of 6 or less points are 8-6 against the spread.
VCU won its last nine games, last four by 10+ points; they’re 5-2 on A-14 road, with two wins in last second- they’re an A-14 underdog for first time this season. Rhode Island won six of its last eight games, but the two losses were their last two home games. URI is 4-3 in A-14 home tilts, 3-4 vs spread as a home favorite. VCU grabs 34.5% of its own missed shots, best in A-14. URI is #12 in A-14 on defensive boards. VCU is 4-0 vs URI in A-14 games, winning by 6-5 points in last two visits here. A-14 home favorites of 3 or less points are 4-9 vs spread this season.
Florida was 10-26 on arc in 88-66 home win over Kentucky Feb 4, Gators’ first win in last six games with Kentucky. Florida lost 67-50/80-61 in last two visits here. Gators won last eight games, are 6-1 on SEC road, with only loss by 4 at South Carolina- they’re 0-4 vs spread as an underdog in all games this season. Kentucky is 5-0 since losing in Gainesville; they’re 4-3 as an SEC home favorite- Wildcats are 2-6 against spread in their last eight games overall. SEC home favorites of 4 or less points are 6-17 vs spread this season.
Duke beat Miami 70-58 at home Jan 21; ‘canes led by 11 at half, were outscored 24-4 in first 10:00 of second half. Miami is 4-3 in its last seven games with Duke, winning two of last three series games in this gym. Blue Devils had 7-game win streak snapped at Syracuse in last game; Duke is 3-4 on ACC road, 1-3 as a road favorite- their road wins are by 2-10-10 points. Miami won seven of last nine games; they’re 6-2 at home, losing to Notre Dame/FSU. ACC road favorites of 3 or less points are 7-4-1 against the spread this season.
Baylor is 3-4 in its last seven games, losing two of last three on road; Bears are 4-3 on Big X road, 2-1 as a road underdog, with losses by 21-6-5 points. Iowa State won/covered its last four games, scoring 80+ points in all four; Cyclones are 5-2 at home- favorites covered six of those seven games. Baylor beat Iowa State 65-63 at home Jan 4, after trailing by 6 with 5:33 left; Bears won last five series games, winning by 1-5 points in last two visits to Ames. Big X favorites of 3 or less points are 3-8 against the spread this season.
Oregon won its last four games (3-0-1 vs spread); they’re 5-2 on Pac-12 road, 4-1-1 as a road favorite- they were down 10 with 4:10 left at Cal in last game, won by 3. Stanford won its last three home games; they’re 5-3 at home, 2-1 as a home underdog- their home losses were by 5-39-7 points. Oregon was 11-25 on arc, beat Stanford 69-52 at home Jan 21 in game that was 40-22 at half. Ducks lost two of last three visits to Stanford- they lost 76-72 here LY. Pac-12 road favorites of 7+ points are 9-7-1 vs spread this season.
Michigan won four of its last five games; they’re 6-2 at home in Big 14, losing to Maryland by 7, Ohio State by 4. Wolverines are 3-2 as a Big 14 underdog. Purdue won its last six games; they are 5-2 on Big 14 road, 2-5 as a road favorite, with wins by 1-11-6-5-4 points on foreign soil. Purdue won three of last four games with Michigan; Boilermakers lost last three games in Crisler Arena, by 15-9-5 points.- they beat Michigan 76-59 in Big 14 tourney LY. Home favorites of 3 or less points are 14-11 against the spread this season.
Cal-Davis is 6-0 at home in Big West, 4-1 as a home favorite; five of their six home wins were by 9+ points. Long Beach State is 3-4 on Big West road, 0-3 as a road dog, with losses by 15-7-10-5 points. Davis lost 78-69 in OT at Long Beach nine days ago after leading by 7 with 8:24 left in game where teams combined to go just 31-58 on foul line. 49ers are 21-3 in last 24 series games, winning last three by 12-9-9 points- they’re 10-1 in last 11 visits here, but got swept by Aggies two years ago. Big West home favorites of 4 or less points are 5-8 vs spread.
Louisiana Tech won its last six games; they’re 5-1 on C-USA road, 2-2 as a road favorite- their only road loss was by 10 at Middle Tennessee. Rice won six of its last seven games, is just 4-4 at home (5-2 on road) in C-USA. Tech never trailed in 74-64 home win over Rice Jan 19; Tech led by 24 with 8:16 left. Bulldogs are 7-0 vs Rice in C-USA play, winning both visits here, by 22-12 points. Tech forces most turnovers in league; Owls turn ball over 19.8% of time, worst in C-USA. C-USA home teams are 9-5-1 vs number in games where spread was 2 or less points.
Colorado State won/covered five in row, eight of last nine games; they’re 5-2 at home, losing by 13 to New Mexico, 3 to Boise State. San Diego State won five of last seven games; they’re 3-4 on MW road, 1-2 as a road underdog. Colorado State won 78-77 at San Diego State Jan 28; Rams were 10-18 on arc in game they trailed by 13 with 16:16 left to play. Aztecs won four of last five series games; they’re 2-3 in last five visits to Fort Collins. Mountain West home favorites of 3 or less points are 8-13 vs spread this season.
Gonzaga is only 4-3 in its last seven games with BYU, which won 73-70/69-68 in last two visits to Spokane. Zags beat BYU in last three WCC tourneys. Gonzaga won by 10 at BYU in first meeting this year; they were 24-34 on line, Cougars 21-26. Young BYU team is 4-4 in its last eight games, losing four of last six road games; they’re 2-7 vs spread in last nine games overall. Gonzaga is 6-2 as a home favorite, closest WCC home win was by 21 points. WCC home favorites of 15+ points are 8-6 against the spread this season.
Arizona made 9-20 on arc in 96-85 win at UCLA Jan 21; Bruins were just 10-31 on arc. Wildcats won four of last five series games, winning last two in Tucson by 10-12 points. Arizona won its last four games, is 8-0 at home in Pac-12, 1-5-2 vs spread as a home favorite- they’re 2-6-1 vs spread in last nine games overall. UCLA won its last six games, is 6-2 on road- they‘re a dog for just second time all season. Bruins (+9) won 97-92 at Kentucky back on Dec 3. Pac-12 home favorites of 3 or less points are 3-7 vs spread this season.