Ian Cameron:
You can’t even get a call. Nothing can go right.
T.J. Rives:
At home, in a huge game. And I looked just before the show began, the ACC has not… And maybe you guys have seen the update and maybe it’ll come during the show. They haven’t said anything thing about the butcher job by those refs, and whether there’s going to be disciplinary action for how bad it appeared to be in that game. North Carolina deserved, ultimately, to win. But the officials were way too prominent, way too prominent, guys, at the end of that game.
Jeff Nadu:
Roger Ayers was one of the officials, and look, I never give credit or credence to any official. He is a long time official though, and he needs to be better. And again, the problem that it also was, it wasn’t just both sides. It was really UNC-based. Every call went the way of UNC. It was rough, that call you’re mentioning. Also, let’s not forget, Armando Bacot absolutely tripped one of the Louisville players, Grayson Allen style, and nothing really happened. There was some bad technicals. Bacot flopped at one point, and they called a technical on Louisville. Again, I had UNC minus three and a half, so I was okay with it. But if I’m Mike Pegues, I would be disgusted. Because that is, as Ian said, the season in a nutshell for Louisville, that’s what they are. Now, they also give up 90 points, but again, it was rough at the end. I have every reason to believe they should have gripes for it.
T.J. Rives:
All right. Also, Kansas goes on the road without Agbaji, without a couple of guys, because of COVID-19. They win at Iowa State. Impressive, shot the ball well. And in a great Texas Tech game, I know it didn’t work out for you, Jeff, on the side of Texas. What an atmosphere. They were frothing in Lubbock for that one. And the Red Raiders get the win. Did I see correctly? Was this ever confirmed? There was apparently a dust up, a little bit, well before the game, between Chris Beard and Mark Adams. And Mark Adams was his longtime assistant. Mark Adams is a graduate of Texas Tech. Beard has been at Texas Tech, on and off, on two separate occasions, now at Texas. It got feisty even with the coaches, away from it.
Jeff Nadu:
I’m skeptical to believe that, personally. I think it was one of those young reporters, maybe TJ-
Ian Cameron:
Maybe overblowing something, I think.
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, maybe. Because again, they’ve been long time friends, as far as I know. But I will say, I didn’t get to see their handshake or anything, but I will go on my rant here, if I can. What a disgusting, disgraceful performance by Texas. I have had the wool completely pulled over my eyes with these clowns, really, since the beginning of the season. What a pathetic season it’s been for that team. I’ll tell you what. I love Chris Beard, but this has been a poor coaching season for him. We can’t keep falling back on, “Well, we’ve got a lot of new players, it’s all about cohesion.”
Jeff Nadu:
They’ve been bad defensively. Their offense has been hard to watch. It’s like watching my grandma’s friends at the old folks’ home play bingo. It’s rough. I just can’t do it. I’m out. This team has ripped so much of me. This is the same school that is so arrogant to believe that they should have their own network. They’re that big and they’re that good. They’re delusional. The fan base is delusional, in football and basketball. And I’m sick of these clowns not ever performing at the level they should perform at. What a pathetic effort, in a road game, that was so important and so big for them. And they just laid a complete egg.
Ian Cameron:
And it was their defense that let them down. It was terrible. You can’t give up over 40 points on the road in the first half against a pretty good basketball team and expect to win. And as far as the offense is concerned, one of the most underachieving, disappointing offenses. Think of who they brought in, in the transfer portal. Timmy Allen from Utah, really good player. Christian Bishop from Creighton, really good player. Marcus Carr from Minnesota, really good player. How is this offense not better? Look at these guys they brought in, this Texas team. They still have Courtney Ramey. What is going on with this team offensively? That talent should be better than this.
Jeff Nadu:
Well, I’ll tell you what’s happening, and I think I noticed it last night. When you look at Texas, I don’t know if anybody saw it, but Marcus Carr was just trying to do whatever he could. He’s taken bad, fadeaway shots in the lane. You look at some of…
Ian Cameron:
Too much Iso.
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, there was a shot, late in the game, that I think described Texas. They had it down to, I think, seven. They had the ball, Brock Cunningham, who should not be taking a shot late in the game, takes this weird, key jumper, on the side in the corner. And even the announcer says, “That’s a bad shot from a guy that shouldn’t be taking it.” He ended up bricking it. It was a bad shot. They’re down seven with the ball. They have the opportunity to, maybe, get back into the game with three or four minutes left. And then they end up taking the shot. He misses. Then he compounds it by fouling Texas Tech in the double bonus. And then it’s back up to nine.
Jeff Nadu:
They look poorly coached to me right now. And it seemed like Beard… And I said this on Twitter. He looked like Sammy Gravano walking into the courtroom, facing John Gotti for the first time. It’s almost like he was public enemy number one. And he completely melted in front of everybody. And they seemed to get on him a little bit. And I think it started to bother him a little bit.
T.J. Rives:
Well, and it was quite an atmosphere in Lubbock. Again, Beard was there. So you go back through his lineage, I just know this. Beard was actually at Texas with Tom Penders, back in the ’90s, as a graduate student, as a volunteer coach, just wanting to get into coaching. And Penders has told me, and many others, that story about helping him. He then was at Texas Tech with Bobby Knight, with Pat Knight, the son. Then he went elsewhere, came back to Texas Tech. But now, ultimately, has gone and taken the arch rival Texas job in Austin. And they were lit last night. There were 15,000 strong in that Lubbock arena. Again, we’ll get to the games for today. I know the peeps are going, “What about the games for today and the picks?”
T.J. Rives:
But they ran into the arena last night, the students’ section, on a Chris Beard doormat. If you guys didn’t know that, they had a likeness of Chris Beard on the floor, so everybody could trample him as they ran in. It began that way. Big night for Texas Tech, big win for them, one of the top teams in the Big 12. We’ll see if it sustains. We’ll see if Texas can turn it around.
T.J. Rives:
The big man certainly doesn’t think so. That was part of his plays for last night. Let’s take a look at the records from everything that went on last night. The big man, again, one and one for last evening. We see Ian’s record and he is going to try to climb back. By the way, he’s got several plays, but he made mention that he likes overs. If you like overs, get ready for today’s show. It’s all I’m going to tell you here, as we get underway, on the BetUS College Basketball Show. And without delay, let’s do that. Let’s get to Ian Cameron for game number one, which is a Southern Conference game. That is The Citadel and Furman, look at that line. The Paladins favored by 16 at home, the total at 150. Bobano, jump in. What do you like?
Ian Cameron:
Yeah, this is the first of the overs here on the card today. And look, we’ve got The Citadel, first in the conference in terms of tempo, leading the way in terms of 73 possessions per game. They play fast. I don’t think they’re quite as good offensively as we’ve seen in years past. But the one thing we’ve seen from The Citadel, we’ve seen some defensive games just get away from them, but particularly, of late. They’re now going up against an extremely efficient, just very balanced, Furman Paladins team. That’s just finding their way to 80, it seems, on a regular basis, in recent games. So I think when you look at it for Furman, they’re going to do their share of offensive damage here in this game. There’s some metrics that point out, when you look at the recent meeting with these two teams, that there’s been some shooting nights that would point to better results the next time around. Teams that may be underachieved a little bit, in terms of their offensive results.
Ian Cameron:
So I’d expect this game to find its way over the total. A lot of points to lay, but you would think Furman’s going to do whatever they want to here tonight against The Citadel. But on the flip side, I could see The Citadel finding their way, probably, to the mid-sixties in this game. Furman takes care of the rest, gets well into the eighties, and there you go. We get over this total of 150. It’s gone up a little bit already, but I think there’s still wiggle room here at 150 to go over the total.
T.J. Rives:
All right, big man. We’ve talked about both of these teams. If the peeps have been with us all the way back since the beginning in November, when we’ve been talking college basketball, we’ve talked The Citadel. We’ve talked Furman. I know you don’t have an official play here, but what’s your thought here on this game tonight?
Jeff Nadu:
Well, I’ll say this, over the last four games, it’s hard to step in front of Furman right now. 63 threes over the last four games made, that’s pretty incredible. Last four games as well, they’re winning by an average of 27 points per game. This team is a complete wagon right now. I will say, this last season, Furman and Citadel played some close games. In fact, some really close games. One of them was decided within six points. The other was decided within nine points. I’ve just noticed that I don’t want to get in the way of Furman right now.
Jeff Nadu:
I laid it the other night on this show, with them against… I forget who it was. But I was able to make money on it. I laid a big number. I would lean on laying a number. I’d also lean on some sort of team total. I think that’s a good way to play it, if I’m Ian Cameron, or even an over in general. The Citadel always plays with pace. They’re going to have the opportunity, I think, to hang in this game. But if I had to play it, I would probably just lay the number. The Furman Paladins right now are just hard to stop. And you look at Citadel, they’re not a good three-point defense. They’re going to play right into the hands of a machine-like offense. They don’t really do anything well. They miss free throws. They don’t make threes. They don’t really do anything to stay in games. This has 20-plus point win, to me, written all over it. Furman is rolling right now, and I have no interest in stepping in front of them.
T.J. Rives:
All right, good enough. We lock in the official play. It is Ian Cameron’s. He is on the over in this Southern Conference match up at Furman for later on tonight. Game number two. Busy show, as you see the schedule down there. And game number two is a Southeastern Conference game, Arkansas and Georgia. The Arkansas Razorbacks laying 10, a road favorite by 10 at Georgia. A Georgia team that does have a recent win over Alabama, but they haven’t done much else in the SEC schedule. The total at 151 for this one. We’re back to Ian Cameron again for an SEC play, sir.
Ian Cameron:
Yeah, this is over 151 for me in this game. Arkansas is just a terrific offensive team. They’re good defensively. But the thing that makes me believe Georgia can find their way to points in this game is what we’ve seen the last two meetings. Georgia put up nearly 70 last year in the meeting. And the last time they played at Georgia, they actually hung almost 100 points in the Crean versus Musselman coaching matchups. They’ve actually seen Georgia’s offense work a little bit. They’re on their home floor. I expect them to at least contribute enough. Arkansas will take care of the rest. They can score inside, their three-point shooting’s good. They force a lot of mistakes, obviously with pressure. And Georgia’s just terrible in terms of valuing the basketball at times. So it should lead to easy baskets as well for Arkansas.
Ian Cameron:
Can’t argue with series history. The last two meetings have gone over the total, and flown over the total. You had 99-69 in one game, 99-89 in the other game. I was a little mystified this total was in the low 150s. Felt that way about Alabama, Auburn last night, that that total was also a little bit lower than I expected. Same thing here. So I like Arkansas, Georgia over 151. I think it’s a fair number.
T.J. Rives:
JD Notae and the Arkansas Razorbacks looking good right now, as of late. Big man, any thoughts here, as Arkansas has now won, what? 2, 4, 6 games in a row in the Southeastern Conference and the SEC Big 12 Challenge win over West Virginia was a sixth straight. Any thoughts here on this tonight?
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, I’ll come out real quick and say it, I really like this Arkansas team. I really, really do. They are coming together at the right time. Defensively, they’ve looked really, really good. I have no real problem laying the 10 here on the road. I didn’t end up putting that as my [inaudible 00:16:27] went some other way. But this is a bad Georgia team. You look at the last 10 games overall for Georgia. They’re giving up 82 and a half points per game. And that’s come against teams like Eastern Tennessee State, Gardner-Webb, Vanderbilt. This team, when they play anybody with a pulse, pace-wise, [Hoosier 00:16:48], Central Arkansas, Gardner-Webb, South Carolina, they get shredded defensively. Tom Crean is throwing in the towel. This guy has never been able to defend. They’re a bad defensive team.
Jeff Nadu:
And this Arkansas group, 78 and a half points a game this season. They’re a very good offensive team. They haven’t even shot the ball real well. They’re not exactly firing away from three, at just 29 and a half percent this year. And they’re still getting up towards 80 per game. The pace is there. Georgia likes to play up tempo. Keep in mind, in last season’s game, Arkansas scored 99. 99. I don’t have much issue playing a road favorite here.
Jeff Nadu:
A lot of people are turned off by these types of games. These 10, 11, 12-point favorites on the road. I played Arkansas a couple of weeks ago, when they played South Carolina, that was a home game, but they were able to get it done. I don’t really have any issue with even laying the number here. I ended up just taking Arkansas’s team total over 80 and a half. I think they get into the eighties. Against anyone with a pulse, it seems like Arkansas has been able to turn the pressure up, and get into the teeth of the defense. And that’s one thing that Georgia just can’t defend. Arkansas gets into the eighties here.
Ian Cameron:
And Arkansas, guys, 89 and 99 in the last two meetings against Georgia. So that’ll get the job done tonight, if they hit that mark again.
T.J. Rives:
Yeah, so individually, looking at the Hogs. And again, Georgia, for all the struggles, they do have the two wins over Memphis in December, and then over Alabama, their first SEC win over Alabama as well. Do you get something out of them tonight? These guys don’t think so. So again, we lock it in for both of our handicappers on this game. The big man on campus has the Arkansas team total, as you just heard him say, to go over.
T.J. Rives:
And Ian Cameron on the overall play, the over total at 151. He likes the over in this matchup tonight in the SEC. Let’s swing to the Upper Midwest and the Big Ten, Purdue and Minnesota with the Boilermakers off of that great win, last second three, to help them beat Ohio State on the weekend. Now, they will play the Golden Gophers on a Wednesday night in the big 10. Here we go again, 10 and a half point favorites on the road against Minnesota in this matchup. The total at 140. Again, we’re back to Ian Cameron for another play. Ian’s got plays all over the place. Got another play in this Big Ten match up. What is it, Bobano?
Ian Cameron:
Yeah, this is a team total. We’re going to go with Purdue over 75 and a half, with their team total, in this one. There is some concern about a let down potential for Purdue, after the big fend off that furious rally by Ohio State, with Jaden Ivey hitting the game winner at the buzzer over the weekend. But when I look at the offensive matchup against Minnesota, this team’s probably going to score and score in bunches. They’ve got the perimeter firepower. They’ve just got a huge size mismatch in the paint against this Gophers team. And when I look at it in terms of rebounding the basketball, really offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding. Purdue’s really good. They’re going to get second chances. They’re going to layups. They’re going to get putbacks tonight against this Minnesota team. So that even if the initial shot doesn’t go in, they’re going to be able to make their miss, get their misses, and probably get points that way, here against an undersized, Minnesota frontline.
Ian Cameron:
I think that’s definitely a concern. How’s Minnesota going to contend with Zach Edey and Trevion Williams here in this game? I really don’t how they’re going to end up doing that in this game. They’re going to have a tough time matching up.
Ian Cameron:
Now, again, you look at what Minnesota’s done defensively now on their home floor. You know from a Minnesota standpoint, they’re going to have this game circled. They’ve got one of the premier teams in the country, and in the Big Ten, coming into their building. But you start to look at some of the Minnesota defensive performances here. When you look at some of the better teams they’ve played here, in conference play this year, they’ve definitely struggled at times. And that would bother me here, going into this game against the Gophers. You look at their results so far this year, when they’ve faced pretty good teams from this conference, at the defensive end, they gave up 81 at home to Iowa. That’s not very good. Ohio State got 75 against them on this floor. Illinois scores 76. These are all in Minnesota, by the way, all these games. Illinois scores 76. Iowa scores 81. Ohio State scores 75. Well, Purdue is just as good offensively, if not better, than all of those teams.
Ian Cameron:
So I think there’s a very reasonable chance Purdue gets to 76 or more in this game. The reason I like the team total is, I don’t trust Minnesota’s offense to score. But I also don’t trust Purdue’s defense at times. So I would rather not lay the points with Purdue in this spot, especially knowing they came off that buzzer beater win against Ohio State. So I don’t want to mess around with laying the points. Their defense is flighty at times, Purdue, especially of late. They’ve had problems letting teams back into games. I think tonight, after nearly blowing it against Ohio State, you will see this team clamp down on defense. It’s also why I’m staying away from the full game over in this game. Because I don’t know if Minnesota’s going to score baskets in this game. So that’s why I’m honing in, specifically, with this game on Purdue team total, over 75 and a half. And that’s what I’m going to go with.
T.J. Rives:
All right. Very good, Ian. Jeff, he makes the compelling case for Purdue on the road. This is a 6:00, local time, start in the Big Ten at The Barn, the almost 100-year-old building, Williams Arena on the Minnesota campus. Any quick thoughts, Jeff Nadu?
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, I’m not scared off by… In fact, if I can add this as a play, I’m going to add the over, full game. I don’t get this total at all, quite honestly. I don’t know why it’s not higher 140s, quite frankly.
T.J. Rives:
Has it moved? Has it moved, or has it been there since last night, around where it is?
Jeff Nadu:
I think it moved a little bit, as far as I know. I don’t understand the move though. Just like I didn’t understand the Davidson move last night. 140 and a half’s too low. It’s that simple. Ian Cameron said, he’s worried about Purdue clamping down on defense. When do they do that? They don’t do that against any team that can dribble drive and uses pick and roll. This team sucks to defensively. It’s that simple. They’re not any good. And that’s why, against teams like Indiana, they’ve gotten beat. Their offense will score. He’s a 100% right. I have them pegged at 80 here, at least 75. And I only, at that point, need 65 to 70 from Minnesota. Minnesota will score. I think there’s a lot of garbage time in this game anyway.
Jeff Nadu:
When we look at dribble drive and pick and roll, Minnesota is the most reliant team in the country on those metrics. They, I think, present some problems here. Minnesota’s been a decent team. We’ve got to give them some respect. They don’t turn the ball over. They’re very good from three. And I think they can score consistently. They don’t play a great pace. The good thing though, in this one though, is Purdue will dictate pace. And they play pretty fast on offense and they’re efficient. So I’m going to add the over of 140 and a half to my card, if I can. I think this is a 79-69 type of game. I don’t understand this total. I don’t understand why it’s at 140 and a half.
T.J. Rives:
I’m just here to help you. If it’s 79-69, you don’t get to the total. So we need it to be more than that. We need more offense on-
Jeff Nadu:
Yes, I do. If it’s 79, that’s 148.
T.J. Rives:
Oh my bad, my bad on this one, on the Purdue team total. I got you. So are you wanting the over? You’re wanting the over or the Purdue team total?
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, I want to play the over. Now, I will say real quick, if this total’s 151, I get it, because you’re right, that wouldn’t hit. But at 140, too low.
T.J. Rives:
Too low on that. All right. So we’ll lock in the official plays. We’re going to see one of them, that’s Ian Cameron, who’s on the Purdue team total. And the big man, just give me the check. Give me the check, big man. He’s check on the over for this game too, so both handicappers are on this one tonight, in the Big Ten. And we’ll see if Minnesota has anything for Purdue at home. Remember, this is a Purdue team that already lost to Rutgers on a half court shot at Rutgers. Conference play, for whatever it’s worth. Let’s see if Minnesota can hang in or not, as the guys laid out the case here.
T.J. Rives:
All right, let’s move on again. And you’ll see games from the Power conferences. Then you’ll see games from some of the smaller conferences as well on the BetUS College Basketball show. That includes Vermont, the Catamounts, who we’ve talked about frequently. They are taking on NJIT, New Jersey Institute of Technology. Thank you. The engineers are getting 20 points tonight in this one, against a Vermont team that is one of the top teams in the conference. 136 and a half is the total. We’re back to Ian Cameron on what you like for this one, for the official play, sir?
Ian Cameron:
Yeah, this is a mid-major, Jeff Nadu, Kyle Hunter special, this game. NJIT, Vermont, mid-majors. We follow them. We love them. New Jersey Institute of Technology, the Highlanders here, against the Vermont Catamounts. And really, I’m going to keep this simple. When you find a streak going on with a certain team, especially a conference that’s just not going to get the attention from odds-makers that other conferences will, you just ride it. And for Vermont, it’s 10 straight overs in their games going into this one. And that’s what we’re liking. We’re liking points here. Series history points that out, that this game should get there. We just had 140 points just a few weeks ago when these two teams played head-to-head. 140 will get the job done tonight, with this total being at 136 and a half right now. Vermont’s just an incredibly efficient team right now.
Ian Cameron:
What else is there to say? I guess you could say their worst offensive showing was their last game against Albany. Wasn’t nearly as good from them in that game. And it wasn’t as good as they’ve been in recent games, and they still got to 73 points in that game. So I’d expect a good offensive showing from them. NJIT, I think, will contribute enough as well. You’ve had three straight overs, head-to-head in the series history with these two programs, head-to-head, including a really high scoring… I think Vermont scored 92 in one of the meetings last year on their home floor, here in Vermont. So again, we’ve got a Vermont team that is 10 and 0 to the over in their last 10 games. Odds-makers have been completely fast asleep on this. There’s been very little, if any, adjustment made throughout these last few weeks to these Vermont totals. We’re just going to keep riding it, over 136 and a half here.
T.J. Rives:
All right. Vermont is the top team in the America East. We’ve got a little controversy in the American East that we’ll deal with in a second. Big man, do you have any thought here on this one? It’s a large line tonight with Vermont and New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey Tech.
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, I got to be honest. I don’t have any issue with either play, over or team total for Vermont. I do think that, in my opinion, I think they’re starting to catch up a little bit with the team totals with them. They’re starting to line them where I’d put them. I think against most teams in this conference, they’re 19, 20 point favorites. They’re just way better than most of these teams. But when you start to get up high seventies, the problem you have in this game is really the pace. NJIT just doesn’t play with any. They struggle to get to 60 in every game. That’s the concern. But I don’t have any issue.
Jeff Nadu:
I’ve said before, with plays like Ian’s, you just have to ride them. If they lose, they lose. It’s not like I’m going to be mad if they don’t get to 140 in this game. The only concern I have is NJIT. Vermont’s going to do high seventies in this game. You really just need NJIT to give you something. If they can give you 60, then you’re going to hit this. The problem is, this is a pretty bad offense. They don’t do anything well at all. They don’t even make free throws and stay games. It’s a constant struggle for this group to get to 60. They’ve only gotten to 60 once since January 8th. That’s a six game run, and now you’re playing the toughest team in this conference. You’re going to need Vermont to do most of the heavy lifting. And for me, that’s where I just focus on Vermont’s team total. But I think there’s better games on the card. I’ll root for Ian here.
T.J. Rives:
All right. We’ll lock in his official play. Again, Ian is over on the team total, once again, for the Vermont Catamounts hosting NJIT.
Ian Cameron:
One last point, guys, about that game, about NJIT. I get it about the struggles with their offense. They’re actually better on the road, shooting the basket. Their points per game are better on the road, their field goal percentage is better on the road. And their three-point percentage skyrockets from 32 for the season to 38 on the road. It’s kind of weird. They’ve actually been a better offensive team, NJIT, on the road. Hopefully, that’s the case. NJIT, five and four to the over on the road this year. Vermont, by the way, on their home floor, seven and one to the over this year. So I think they can do enough. We’ll see.
T.J. Rives:
All right. We will definitely keep that in mind. Great stat there on the over as well. So the old Western phrase, the Southern phrase, it really chaps my hide. I don’t know if that’s a phrase that Jeff, in the Philadelphia area, or Bobano in Canada, ever utilizes or hears. How about this from the America East Conference? Are you guys aware of this? That apparently the breaking news on a Wednesday is the American East… I’m not clear if it’s the presidents that did the voting, or the athletic directors of the other schools, besides Stony Brook. Stony Brook is the second place team in the America East, right behind Vermont. They lost to Vermont head-to-head a couple of games ago. They’re two games behind them in the loss column.
T.J. Rives:
They have now voted that they’re not going to let Stony Brook play in the post-season tournament to have a shot at the NCAA tournament. Which again, the decisions being made for them to leave the conference are made at the higher level, by the president, by the school board, or whatever. Stony Brook is leaving, I believe, for the CAA, the Colonial Athletic Association. So they’ve now voted that they’re not going to let the players, who are pouring it all out on the line, be part of March Madness and playing in the America East tournament. That chaps my hide, here on a Wednesday. You boys got any thoughts on that?
Ian Cameron:
It’s very unfortunate.
Jeff Nadu:
Well, I don’t know who made that decision. But listen, the truth is, and you know this, this league wants Vermont in the NCAA tournament. It’s that simple. They want them every year. They don’t want to see Hartford or Stony Brook go to the NCAA tournament. They have no shot to win. Vermont at least has a shot to do the damage. And look at your UNBC, a couple of years ago from this conference, they… And that just goes to show you that that doesn’t matter. Because UNBC wasn’t Vermont, and they went and beat Virginia. This conference wants to continue this storied past of being that team that can knock out the big boys. So yeah, they want Vermont.
Jeff Nadu:
I don’t know why Stony Brook’s gone to the Colonial. Good for them for doing it because that’s in their area. Hoosier’s in that area, Monmouth… Or not Monmouth, a couple of the other teams in the CAA. It makes sense geographically, but they’re going to get crushed. The same for Hampton for that matter. Hampton goes from the MEAC to the Big South, and now they’re going to the CAA. They can’t hack it in the Big South. What makes you think they’re going to hack it in the CAA? I get why they’re doing it. It’s a good thing for these schools to do. But yeah, Vermont and the America East, America East wants them to win every year. And if you can get rid of Stony Brook, do it.
Ian Cameron:
The CAA’s a notch or two above some of the lower level mid-major conferences. CAA cranks out some good basketball. There’s some good players in that conference. So the jump that Jeff’s referring to for teams like Stony Brook, Hampton, to the CAA, they’re going to be difficult for both of these teams. CAA, to me, has always been a conference I’ve followed closely. By the way, Wilmington has just been my darling from that conference for the last couple of weeks. But that’s a better conference than people often give it credit for.
T.J. Rives:
I have a problem with them doing this here on the eve of getting into the month of March. If they wanted to rule on that, shouldn’t they have ruled on it before now? But they’ve taken a vote, apparently. Stony Brook won’t be allowed in unless they reverse that decision. So there you go, with the news on that. Speaking of Hampton, they’re going to be the next team that we’re talking about. And by the way, get the questions and answers flowing here. We’ll try to get to a couple of those at the end of the show. First though, let’s talk Hampton and USC Upstate, University of South Carolina Upstate. This one tonight with USC Upstate, South Carolina Upstate, being a three-point road favorite. The total at 139 and a half. And Jeff Nadu, actually, has a side in this game. So what stood out for you for this one, big man?
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, I think for me, it’s wherever I can go to find value. And Upstate has been a team that I think people need to start keeping an eye on. Longwood in that conference as well has been a great ATS team. This Upstate group has been terrific against the number. 12 and five against the spread, eight and two ATS on the road. They’ve been a terrific road team all season. It has to do with just, really, a couple of four-pronged approaches here. Defensively, they’ve been decent, particularly against the three. They’ve been an awesome three-point shooting team. One of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. 39% on the season, guys, they have the number one three-point shooting player in the country, Jordan Gainey. 53% from three on 81 attempts. That’s pretty impressive. Bryson Mozone has been terrific for them.
Jeff Nadu:
I really like this team. They’re good on the road. They cover numbers. And they are playing a team tonight in the Hampton Pirates, that for Buck Joyner, it’s been a rough year. We talk all the time about bad offenses on this show. This is truly one of the worst offenses in the country. In fact, 353rd in offensive efficiency. They just can’t score. It’s just that simple. They struggle to make shots. They struggle to even put possessions together to create good shots. They are in over their head in this conference, and any conference they go to. They’ve got a hope to stay in this game defensively. But I think by the end of it, they have trouble. And this group, Upstate, just pull away. I like this team as an ATS play. And I like them as a road favorite, and in the road atmosphere as well. Upstate, keep an eye on them. They get the job done. I’ll lay the three with them tonight.
T.J. Rives:
Ian Cameron, any thoughts on this game here, including the South Carolina Upstate Spartans being the road favorite?
Ian Cameron:
Yeah, I was late to the party with SC Upstate, in terms of the point spread streak. Seven in a row, by the way, ATS that they’ve covered. And I only took it for the first time over the weekend, when they played North Carolina A&T, the Aggies. And they ended up as five… And think about it. They were five and a half point road dogs. They won that game by 20. 84-64, over the weekend. Because before that game, I noticed, “Wow, this team’s covered six in a row.” They’re playing good defensively. They’ve been solid. And I said, “We’re going to have to start riding this team.” And I took them then, and I have no argument with Jeff’s play here. I’m on it as well, actually. It’s not an official show play, but it is one of my sports bets tonight, Upstate, minus three.
Ian Cameron:
I like that they’ve got two really good guards leading them in that offense with Gainey and Bryson Mozone as well. Both of them, double digits and scoring. They are very, very solid from the three-point line as well. And guess what? Hampton, they cannot keep up, I think, offensively. All of their numbers, points per game. Jeff mentioned offensive efficiency. All of those rankings are in the low 300s in the country. Just not a very good offensive team. So it does feel like the number is fairly short. A win should cash your ticket. They’re only laying three in this game. I think they’ll get it done.
T.J. Rives:
All right. Let’s lock in the play officially for the big man on campus. He does have a side on this one, and that is with South Carolina Upstate and laying the three points. We’ll move along quickly. We will get to some question and answer. There are a couple of huge games as well that you don’t see on our schedule. But let’s go ahead and continue with what the handicappers have for plays tonight. And that includes an Atlantic 10 game, Virginia Commonwealth, VCU, hosting Dayton. VCU laying four and a half here. The total at 121 and a half for this matchup. Let’s go right back to Ian Cameron for what he likes. I believe you’re on a side here in this play tonight, correct?
Ian Cameron:
Yeah. In terms of the show, T.J., it’s my only side play. Everything else is totals tonight. But these are some of the situations that I like the most in college basketball. You have two fairly evenly matched teams. You have a team in Dayton that lost an absolute heartbreaker, on their home floor, just last month to VCU, 53-52. Again, two very evenly matched teams. Game could have went either way. Two pretty good defensive teams. Two teams that offensively at times go up and down. But in this spot, I like the points with the Flyers here. Four and a half, road underdogs, in revenge for a really, really tough loss at home against VCU. And while I like the VCU Rams defense, they are a very good defensive team, VCU, when they’re on top of their game, no question. And certainly, Ace Baldwin, an outstanding offensive catalyst for them. But they don’t always have consistent secondary offense outside of him.
Ian Cameron:
And there’s a big difference between VCU as a dog and VCU laying points. I still don’t fully trust VCU laying points. I think we’re going to get Dayton’s best here. They were just absolutely beside themselves they let that game slip away through their fingers, the first time against VCU. I think we’ve got, just like the first meeting, a down to the wire game. The total is low. You’re not going to see, really, an offensive explosion here. It’s going to be, I think, a one possession game. And the fact you can get four and a half points here with Dayton, in revenge, a solid team. Dayton hasn’t lost a conference game by more than this point spread this year. Even their losses, narrow margins, less than four points. I think we have a close game. I wouldn’t even rule out Dayton going on the road and winning in this revenge spot. I like the Flyers here. Plus four and a half.
T.J. Rives:
Jeff, any thoughts here? Again, VCU has gotten a couple of good wins. What about this?
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, I think this is an ugly rock fight. These two teams are really good on defense. A lot of length, a lot of ability in the front court. We look back to that game that he referred to, the first time, VCU had a buzzer beater, Ace Baldwin buzzer beater, in Dayton. Really right in the eye of the Dayton student section.
Jeff Nadu:
You look at that game though. It’s incredible that VCU won. They had 0.88 points per possession, which is bad. They shot two free throws. VCU shot two free throws. Dayton shot 27. How the hell did you win the game? But they did. That’s a game you just have no business winning and they found a way to do it. This team is tough. I agree with Ian. If I’m looking at a side, I’d lean with Dayton. I think it’s a close game either way. I think that the best play in this game’s probably under. I think it’s an ugly game. It’s really hard. This is like playing an under in college football. It’s hard to do. Unders are hard to play in general. But this game screams 58, 55. So I lean under if I had to play it.
T.J. Rives:
And again, VCU gets a couple of quality road wins recently. They’re both on the road.
Ian Cameron:
Dayton’s a free throw shooting team too, you guys. Let’s just hope they get some free throws tonight.
T.J. Rives:
Yeah, you were mentioning that. They got the big disparity on that in the first matchup. But again, for VCU, win at Davidson, midweek, last week. Win at Richmond earlier this past weekend. So give them credit on the road, now they’re back home against Dayton in this matchup tonight. And let’s go ahead and lock in the official play. Ian Cameron is believing in those Dayton Flyers, Anthony Grant’s team. He is on the side. He is taking the points with Dayton in the matchup tonight.
T.J. Rives:
By the way, you just saw there on the screen, we continue to march on with more and more subscribers. Again, we’re here Monday through Friday at 1:00 Eastern Time, live on the BetUS College Basketball show. It is only going to help us for you to share it out. Hit like, hit the bell. Share it out on social media, where we are and what we’re doing. And we get to feedback with you guys and some picks out of the chat, and as the conversation is going in the live show. So subscribe away. We certainly do appreciate the audience growth that we have seen so far.
T.J. Rives:
One official play left from the handicappers. It will come in the Missouri State game against Southern Illinois, matchup here in the Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri State is laying two. The total at 131 and a half. Have there been enough overplays by Ian Cameron on today’s show? The answer is negative, Ghost Rider. Bobano is back. And I think you got another over. Tell me more and why?
Ian Cameron:
We do, with the number one efficiency team offensively in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Missouri State Bears. Very, very good offensive team in this conference. Four straight overs in their last four games for Missouri State going into this game. And I think we’ll see another here. I’m a little mystified we’ve got a total. This actually opened 129, I believe, and it’s gone up to 131. I’m surprised it’s opened that low, to be quite honest with you. This is a very, very solid offensive basketball team here that Missouri State has. Number one in the conference in efficiency, which is terrific. In terms of shooting the three ball, 35%, 54% from inside three. And when you look this matchup here for Southern Illinois, they’re weaker defensively around the rim and inside the arc. So this could be an absolute feeding frenzy here for Missouri state in this game.
Ian Cameron:
You don’t have as much pace with either of these teams. They’re middle of the pack in the conference, in terms of tempo, Missouri State. Southern Illinois, just below that. But you get a very efficient Missouri State team. Southern Illinois did say they wanted to play with a little bit more pace after the back-to-back losses to Loyola Chicago. And really, when you look at those two games, Loyola Chicago is an outstanding defensive team. And we’ve got to give, certainly, Drew Valentine, a lot of credit for what he’s done. It’s not easy to follow Porter Moser and the job he did at Loyola Chicago. But it’s still a very good basketball team, still outstanding on the defensive end. And the fact the Salukis struggled against that team to score, it’s not a surprise. They bounced back offensively, scored 77 in their last game against Valparaiso.
Ian Cameron:
You look at the previous meeting, just recently, with Missouri State and Southern Illinois. It happened just a couple of weeks ago. It was 81-76, 157 points in that game. And the total was 130, right around the same range. And it should be pointed out that Southern Illinois didn’t even shoot great in that game. 41% from the field, that’s all right. That’s decent. It’s not great by any stretch of the imagination. I think there’s a lot of wiggle room here. Like I said, I’m surprised the total was this low. Talking about a very good offensive team. Mosley, Gaige Prim, leading the way from Missouri State. And I think Southern Illinois will get enough as well to contribute. So I like over 131 and a half here with the Salukis and the Bears.
T.J. Rives:
Big man, real quick, any thought, if no official play, here on this matchup?
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, Southern Illinois, just not very good offensively, to me either. Very reliant on three-point shots. Throw in the fact that, right now, offensively, they’re just not very good. Quickly, you mentioned the Loyola game. They had a game with Loyola a couple of days ago. It was 44-39. That was the final score, T.J. With 10 minutes to go, the score was 29-24. They scored 30 points over the final 10 minutes to get to 44-39. They also failed to get to 50 against Loyola in the other game. I actually like Southern Illinois. Their team total, at 65, seems a bit high. I think Missouri State could score to get this number over. I don’t think Southern Illinois, I think they’re poor. Their pace is slow. They’re very reliant on the three-point shot. That’s the quick ticket against teams like Missouri State to struggle to score. I think Southern Illinois team total under 65 makes a lot of sense. I think this game could, surely, be though 81-63, 84-65, something like that.
T.J. Rives:
A whole lot more than that other team total, or that other over, if you will, from both of those teams. When you said 44-39, it made me think, wasn’t there an Iowa game… Was it Iowa, Rutgers here recently that they were both in the 40s in the Big Ten? This is the shot clock era, with a three-point shot.
T.J. Rives:
I hearken back, I did a conference championship game for the Sun Belt Conference, 2015, Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Ron Hunter and Georgia State against Georgia Southern. This was the game where Ron Hunter, with his son, R.J. Hunter, Ron Hunter leaped off the bench and tore his Achilles at the final buzzer when Georgia Southern missed their shot. Final score of that game, brother Nadu? 39-37, neither team got to 40 points in a conference tournament championship game. We kept on the call saying, “What is this? 1977?” With a three-point shot and a shot clock, and you still couldn’t get there. And then Ron Hunter’s rolling around on the floor and can’t get up, with a torn Achilles, after it’s over. Quite a memorable moment in that one, and neither team got to 40 on that one. Crazy.
T.J. Rives:
All right. Again, the official play though tonight, in the Missouri Valley, is for Ian Cameron. Let’s lock him in as well on the over total for Southern Illinois and Missouri State. So we’ve got a ton of people asking questions in the chat.
Ian Cameron:
By the way, T.J., since you brought up Ron Hunter.
T.J. Rives:
Yeah, one more thing. Go ahead.
Ian Cameron:
I’m on two lane plus 17 tonight, and I don’t feel good about it. Because I know what I’m going against is that Houston team, but I cannot pass up 17 in my back pocket with that team right now. [crosstalk 00:46:18]
T.J. Rives:
Yeah, they have been playing better. They play good defense. Again, they’re going into the lion’s den, or the cougar’s den, I guess, against Houston and the 17 points. We will see. All right. So let’s get to a couple of these because a lot of people have been waiting, you’ve been asking questions, et cetera. I know Jeff has got to scoot here in a moment or two on the show. All right, rapid fires. So Illinois tonight and Wisconsin, Richard wants to know thoughts. He thinks the line is fishy for that game. Big man, you got a quick thought on that.
Jeff Nadu:
I need Illinois here. Whenever I think a line doesn’t make sense, I just go with the thing that doesn’t make sense. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Most of the time it works. As long as you’re not playing Providence, who seemingly never loses. By the way, the luckiest team on the face of the planet. I cannot wait for them to lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament. What a clown show team they are. So lucky.
T.J. Rives:
Wait, wait, wait, wait. On Groundhog Day, you’re calling a Providence first round loss in the NCAA tournament. They look really good right now. You’re calling a first round loss.
Jeff Nadu:
They’re so lucky.
Ian Cameron:
I did take St John’s last night in that game.
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, pathetic. Yeah, I lean Illinois here. I think Wisconsin’s starting to lose some. I know it doesn’t really seem like that, but they’ve beaten up on some bad teams recently. Now, they got to head into a tough atmosphere. This number seems a bit high. For that reason, I would lean on Illinois. I think they out-athletic Wisconsin.
T.J. Rives:
All right. Let’s go quickly here, because there’s only time for a couple more here. Michael wants to know about the big matchup in the Big East. Huge game. Almost a March feel with Villanova at Marquette. Ian Cameron give me a quick thought? No official play on that.
Ian Cameron:
I will never step in front of a Jay Wright Villanova team when they’re in revenge. Never. Do you want to look at the track record with Villanova when they’re avenging a loss, same season loss to the team? It’s unbelievable. And they not just win games, they pulverize teams in these spots. I’m laying the points.
Jeff Nadu:
It was on a buzzer beater, I think, they lost as well. So yeah, I agree.
T.J. Rives:
And interesting, they are the road favorite by four and a half. That is a 9:00 Central Time, 10:00 Eastern Time, game on Fox Sports 1, a national TV game. Mark wants to know about Florida State, Clemson. Any thoughts on that in the ACC? Not as high a profile a game.
Ian Cameron:
I did have thoughts because I put it on the sheet, initially. Florida State plus the points in the over were the ways I was leaning. But there’s a lot of question marks. Is Caleb Mills going to play? Is RayQuan Evans going to play? Malik Osborne’s already out for the year for Florida State. And I don’t trust their offense on the road. Their offense on the road’s been just bad. They should be able to feast inside against Clemson. And then Clemson should be able to shoot well from the… Florida State can’t guard the three-point line. So Clemson should be able… That’s why I leaned to the over as well in that game. But there are too many injury concerns for Florida State.
T.J. Rives:
All right. Just real quick, Jeff, Florida and Missouri are playing a makeup SEC game. It’s at 3:00 Eastern Time. It’s an afternoon game. Wednesday afternoon, 3:00 Eastern Time. [Sabino 00:49:19] wants to know, Florida laying six at Missouri, who’s done well at home. Almost, almost, almost beat Auburn at home. Any quick thought, big man, before we’re gone?
Jeff Nadu:
Yeah, I mentioned that individual. I have no interest in laying six points with Florida, especially in some matinee type of matchup. Missouri’s tough. They hang in game. I got to ask, is Ian Cameron on every game today? It’s incredible.
T.J. Rives:
He’s on a few.
Jeff Nadu:
He literally is on every game, he says, it seems like.
T.J. Rives:
It’s a buffet. It’s a barrage for him tonight. And to that end, let’s get to it. Here are the best bets online. I’m not going to go over all of them. It is interesting in a couple of the games that the guys, actually, are on the same game. Well, actually, in two of them. Arkansas, where Jeff has the team total over, Ian has the overall over. And again, Jeff on the show said, “Give me the over.” Correct? As an official play, along with Ian’s Purdue team total in that matchup. Ian’s got several overs that he’s looking for on a Wednesday. Guys, that’s it. We’ve done well for a Wednesday edition to the show. Final thoughts, anything in closing, real quick? Ian Cameron, real quick, before we’re done?
Ian Cameron:
Good to be on with you. We’ll see you next week.
T.J. Rives:
Good stuff. Big man, all good? Ready to go for a Wednesday?
Jeff Nadu:
Yep. Thanks as always for hosting. And we’ll see you tomorrow here on the show.
T.J. Rives:
All right. We look forward to that. A lot of action tonight. Good luck with your plays. We’ll talk to you tomorrow at 1:00 Eastern Time on the BetUS College Basketball show.
