Straight from Sherwood's Post, FWIW (which is a lot IMO)
#771 Stanford +9 over USC
11:00 PM EST. This is really a great time to be playing college basketball because the out-of-conference schedules are done and the result of it is an entire slew of teams with misleading stats and skewed numbers. USC is a great example of that with its 14-1 mark coming into this one. The Trojans are also 8-0 at home. According to Ken Pom, the Trojans are the 8th luckiest team in America while playing the 214th ranked schedule. The Trojans scheduled games against cupcakes and marshmallows and have rode it to a false ranking. However, USC’s true colors were exposed in its most recent outing when they were steamrolled in Oregon. The Trojans went into that game as a 9½-point dog and emerged as a 23-point loser. USC has not taken the court since this outing and who knows what effect it may have had on its psyche. USC was already punching above its weight heading into that tilt and they now go from a 9½-point dog to a 7½-point favorite in conference play in the span of six days. Let us remind you that USC barely escaped the clutches of Wyoming in the Las Vegas Classic where they would defeat the Cowboys by just two points in overtime despite being favored by nine. In the contests leading up to that one, USC would fail to cover against Missouri State and find themselves in dogfights with Cornell and Troy despite spotting at least 22 points to each.
The Cardinal sit above .500 this season at 8-6, but their stock is low because they have gone 2-5 in their previous seven. However, the Cardinal has faced teams such as Kansas and Miami on the road while also hosting an upstart St. Mary’s in Palo Alto. We can write an entire piece about the achievements of Kansas and Miami in 2015 and how this Stanford outfit was bold enough to take them on this year. Furthermore, St. Mary’s was a team that was undefeated at one point this season while sporting a #12 ranking. Kansas is ranked #4. Stanford also beat Seton Hall by 14 points and own a couple other quality wins against Colorado State and 2016 tourney qualifier Weber State. Stanford has played the 24th toughest schedule in America, which is 190 positions higher than USC’s 214th ranked schedule. What’s also driving this market is that Stanford is coming off a 39-point home loss to #18 Arizona. While there are no excuses for that loss, it did occur on New Year’s Day so who knows what a bunch of good-looking college kids were doing on New Year’s Eve. We will not put much weight whatsoever on that loss. Throw Stanford in some money line parlays because they can win outright but in terms of straight bets, invest on this very live dog to come in well under the number.
#771 Stanford +9 over USC
11:00 PM EST. This is really a great time to be playing college basketball because the out-of-conference schedules are done and the result of it is an entire slew of teams with misleading stats and skewed numbers. USC is a great example of that with its 14-1 mark coming into this one. The Trojans are also 8-0 at home. According to Ken Pom, the Trojans are the 8th luckiest team in America while playing the 214th ranked schedule. The Trojans scheduled games against cupcakes and marshmallows and have rode it to a false ranking. However, USC’s true colors were exposed in its most recent outing when they were steamrolled in Oregon. The Trojans went into that game as a 9½-point dog and emerged as a 23-point loser. USC has not taken the court since this outing and who knows what effect it may have had on its psyche. USC was already punching above its weight heading into that tilt and they now go from a 9½-point dog to a 7½-point favorite in conference play in the span of six days. Let us remind you that USC barely escaped the clutches of Wyoming in the Las Vegas Classic where they would defeat the Cowboys by just two points in overtime despite being favored by nine. In the contests leading up to that one, USC would fail to cover against Missouri State and find themselves in dogfights with Cornell and Troy despite spotting at least 22 points to each.
The Cardinal sit above .500 this season at 8-6, but their stock is low because they have gone 2-5 in their previous seven. However, the Cardinal has faced teams such as Kansas and Miami on the road while also hosting an upstart St. Mary’s in Palo Alto. We can write an entire piece about the achievements of Kansas and Miami in 2015 and how this Stanford outfit was bold enough to take them on this year. Furthermore, St. Mary’s was a team that was undefeated at one point this season while sporting a #12 ranking. Kansas is ranked #4. Stanford also beat Seton Hall by 14 points and own a couple other quality wins against Colorado State and 2016 tourney qualifier Weber State. Stanford has played the 24th toughest schedule in America, which is 190 positions higher than USC’s 214th ranked schedule. What’s also driving this market is that Stanford is coming off a 39-point home loss to #18 Arizona. While there are no excuses for that loss, it did occur on New Year’s Day so who knows what a bunch of good-looking college kids were doing on New Year’s Eve. We will not put much weight whatsoever on that loss. Throw Stanford in some money line parlays because they can win outright but in terms of straight bets, invest on this very live dog to come in well under the number.
