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College Basketball Picks, Predictions and Best College Basketball Odds [Jan. 7]

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T.J. Rives:

Well, hello there and happy Friday. We are ready for another weekend of college basketball odds, and to get things off to a good start even with some Friday night action in both the Big East, the Ivy League, and some other conferences, I am merely the somewhat capable host of the program, T.J. Rives. These are the guys you are here for. Mid-Major Matt, Matt Josephs, the big man on campus, Jeff Nadu. Guys, great to be back with you.

T.J. Rives:

Mid-Major Matt, good to have you back aboard for the first time since Monday when you got that guaranteed no sweat, no worry cover by Texas Rio Grande Valley, I say sarcastically. They were down. Big Man, we were discussing this, weren’t we? They were down 26 with four minutes to go, and yet, the cover is never out of reach for Mid-Major Matt. How you feeling on a Friday?

Matt Josephs:

Feeling good. Really a big fan of what the Southland’s doing with this conference tournament. I think it’s fantastic. It gives us something to watch at noon. New Orleans is up 43-29 at halftime. It’s been a lot of fun games and one of the games we’ll talk about is involving the Southland a little bit later on in the show.

T.J. Rives:

All right. So, that’s fun. Fair enough. Big Man, off a Thursday night. Any thoughts here as we get ready to ramp up for a Friday show?

Jeff Nadu:

Nope. Just ready for another Friday show. Hopefully everyone had a good night last night. We’ll finish out the week hopefully on a high note.

T.J. Rives:

No doubt. Indiana had a good night on Thursday night. USC, by the way, off a long COVID pause, they looked good. UCLA hadn’t played a game I think since the Stone Age. They look good coming off the COVID pause against Long Beach. So, some teams that are coming back and getting back into the swing of things. All right. A one and one night for the Big Man and we’ll take a look now at the overall records, as you did have Tarleton State come in off the Thursday show to go one and one on the night. The Big Man’s still above 500. I know Ian Cameron had a couple of misses on the Thursday show. Mid-Major Matt is right at that 500 mark as you see there for his record and he’s trying to improve on that as we get things underway.

T.J. Rives:

Again, this is a lighter schedule for us, so make sure as we’re live here on Friday in the one Eastern time hour on the BetUS College Basketball Show, get some Q and A questions going for us in the chat. We’ll try to get to those as we go. Right away, though, let’s begin with a Big East basketball game and that will involve the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Georgetown Hoyas. This one coming up on a Friday night Big East special. So, now that we’re in conference play, the Big East will regularly have at least a game if not a couple of games on Friday nights sportsbook. Marquette laying two and a half. Our total is 153. Mid-Major Matt, begin us with what you like and why in this Big East battle.

Matt Josephs:

I mean, it’s Georgetown, so it’s a faster paced game filled with no defense and they’re coming off of a long pause. The last time they played was December 18th against TCU. I mean, I feel like… Look, there could be a little bit of rust in terms of their offense and we always may have a guy who might not be playing in this game for the Hoyas. But, to me, you look at these defensive numbers, they’re not very good and especially at home. The last four home games, the scores have been 100 to 71, 79-75, 85-73 and 80-73. And then, you’ve got a Marquette team that plays fast and they want to get some shots up early and they’re coming off a big home win against Providence, so there could be a little bit of a letdown here.

Matt Josephs:

I expect a lot of pace. I expect a lot of points. And, I think this could be a fun game. I will rarely miss the opportunity to take an over in a Georgetown home game, especially against a team that wants to go faster than Georgetown does, so give me the over here between these two teams.

T.J. Rives:

Fascinating for Marquette that they had lost, what? Four games in a row. Had missed out on a game, too, as well, because of COVID-19. Trying to play St. John’s. But, man oh man, did they come out on fire at home against Providence. Big Man, what do we make of that? I know you don’t have an official play on this game, but what do we make of Marquette earlier in the week and a 30 point win over a good Providence team and what it might translate into here on Friday night?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah. I had Marquette the other night and it was a… It was a great spot. It was one of those rocking chair winners that you look forward to. And, look, again, I mean, we could kind of see that coming. We’ve talked about this stuff before. You know, Marquette hadn’t played well. I think they’d lost five of six. Providence was rolling. And, you know, Marquette’s at home. They played spirited and played behind their coach and their fans and blew out that group.

Jeff Nadu:

Now, you got to go on the road against a team in Georgetown that… You know, let’s just be honest. I mean, everyone knows kind of where the pecking order is in the Big East, even the players. Georgetown is a team that’s rebuilding. They’re obviously a team that’s probably going to center towards the bottom of this conference. But, that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Again, when you’re a Georgetown team, you [inaudible 00:04:46]. You got young kids here. They played well this season. Six and five. I think that’s a lot better than where I thought they’d be. They have a decent win or two on their schedule.

Jeff Nadu:

I look at this game and I say this screams Georgetown to me. Marquette off a huge win, real kind of a letdown game on Friday night. Generally, you play on Saturdays. I will say this. I know Matt’s been pretty, pretty vocal in his not backing or having things that he says about teams off COVID, but I couldn’t care less anymore about this. I think this is… And, he might have some numbers to back it up, but from what I’ve noticed, I mean, all these teams that are off COVID pause roll. I mean, Belmont rolled the other night. They’ve run by 40 the last two games. UCLA rolled last night. USC rolled last night.

Jeff Nadu:

So, again, I think it’s… And, I guess maybe me and Matt could work on this together and go back and look at all these teams and how they’ve played off COVID pause. But, I think it’s, for most people, just something that they think matters. Not that I’m saying Matt does. I know Matt kind of can see through that stuff. But, I don’t think… I think Georgetown will come out with a spirited effort and this line I think tells you all you need to know.

T.J. Rives:

Well, I mean, yes and no. You bring up great points. We were talking on the shows you did yesterday or Wednesday that the Florida team that had been on pause for a couple of weeks, they were shaky at home. Some of that is Alabama, but they were shaky in the first half at home with Alabama. Just depends. But, you’re right. I saw a lot of that USC first half with Cal and they were dynamite and they hadn’t played a game in almost three weeks. This Georgetown team has not played since December the 18th. So, let me do my quick math. We’re working on a 20 day layoff for them. Matt, again, you’re looking at this game from a total standpoint. Do you expect that Georgetown will be rusty a little bit or might they look like USC looked in that game with Cal last night?

Matt Josephs:

So, the one thing I’ll say to what he just said is, I mean, Belmont coming off of playing Southeast Missouri State… I mean, the three of us and two other guys on the street could score 80 points on Southeast Missouri.

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, but it was off a pause and they won by 40.

Matt Josephs:

Oh, I know. I’m just saying, Southeast Missouri State’s terrible and Long Beach State’s terrible and if you get a cushy start… Like, this isn’t necessarily a cushy start for Georgetown and if this was… You know, if Georgetown was playing normally… As Jeff said, this spot screams Hoyas. I’m just worried about that five minutes before the game when they say Kaiden Rice isn’t playing and so-and-so’s not playing for Georgetown. And, you know it’s coming. That’s the only reason why I wouldn’t play Georgetown. But, I agree with him. The spot screams Georgetown on a normal five day rest period or if I knew they were going to be playing all their guys because Marquette… There’s not going to be an atmosphere for this game. It’s a Friday night in Washington, D.C. Nobody’s going to this game. So, therefore, I would love Georgetown if they were not coming off of what you just said in terms of a rest.

T.J. Rives:

All right. The official play though is on the over for Matt Josephs. We lock that in at 1:53 tonight for the Marquette-Georgetown Big East game. It is Georgetown’s Big East opener because they have four games right now… Big Man and Matt, they got four games they got to make up at some point here through the schedule if they’re going to make them all up, and I would think the Big East is going to try to do that over the next couple of months.

T.J. Rives:

Game number two is also in the Big East. It is at Hinkle Fieldhouse for the Butler Bulldogs as they will play Xavier. Xavier will come in as a six and a half point favorite. Boy, Butler was blown out earlier in the week. The total at 130 and a half, and the Big Man was looking at this one right away, jumping off the page. [inaudible 00:08:21] What do you like here in this matchup in the Big East, also on Friday night?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah. I like… I like X here. And, look, I’ve played this five and a half. It’s up to six and a half. Obviously, people are coming in and taking Xavier. I’m not real worried about… Look, there are different scenarios where I think we can kind of see what’s coming and these two games we’ve talked about are perfect indications of… I think the line kind of tells you what you need to know. As he and I just talked about, the spot kind of screams Georgetown. This is a line that just kind of screams double digit victory for Xavier. Okay?

Jeff Nadu:

Now, this is where the COVID pause stuff makes no sense. So, people will use… I’m sure people will use this today. “Xavier’s off a pause. I’m not backing them.” Okay. No one had COVID on Xavier, by the way. It was a team I guess they were playing that had COVID. They’ve been practicing. They’ve had a… This has basically been a rest. Right? They had Christmas. They had New Year’s. They’ve basically been off. And, it’s still the same thought. It doesn’t really matter if they had COVID or not. Either way, they were off and I guess you could use it as a way to go against them here, but…

T.J. Rives:

But, if some of those guys find energy. [inaudible 00:09:25] If some of those guys were sick, they would not be able to practice together.

Jeff Nadu:

Right. Right.

T.J. Rives:

And, that’s your point.

Jeff Nadu:

Sure.

T.J. Rives:

That’s not been the case for Xavier. Continue.

Jeff Nadu:

Right. Right. Right. And, again, I think this is a really good Xavier team. There’s a couple of things. Look, I don’t think Butler’s very good. I’ve said that before. I just don’t think this team’s real talented. They’ve had the same team. They just kind of screw around on possessions and don’t take a lot of good shots. They turn the ball over left and right and their offense is not crisp. I think their goal is really to just try to hold the ball as long as possible and hope that the clock goes from 40 minutes quite quick. But, you look at when they step up and play a good competition. I mean, they get blown out pretty much every game. The only game they didn’t get blown out that they lost was Texas A and M, who we can agree is not a real good team. But, against quality competition, they’ve lost every game by double digits.

Jeff Nadu:

When we look at Xavier, nine of their 11 wins have come by six or more points. So, I look at this spot. I just… I think this is a really solid Xavier team. They’re long and lengthy. They’re good offensively. They’re really going to, I think, get you into mistakes and really just kind of, kind of have at you. I like what I can see out of Xavier. They have two losses, Iowa State and Villanova. Nothing, again, wrong there. I think they take care of business on the road here and win by double digits. I think they’re just significantly better than Butler is.

T.J. Rives:

Matt Josephs, any thought? I know you don’t have an official play here.

Matt Josephs:

I mean, once again, this is still the time, and I’m sure Jeff looked this up. The students still aren’t back yet. I’m sure the Hinkle magic is not there yet and this is probably the last couple days. We might start seeing the students back on a lot of these campuses on Monday, so the home court advantage will not be as good. And, look, you know, I would have potentially considered them against Seton Hall, even a Seton Hall team that wasn’t 100%. They didn’t even play that well that game. It was a 71-56 loss.

Matt Josephs:

And, the other point that Jeff made is one that I’ve made and we’ll just do it for the new listeners, too. There’s a difference between a COVID pause that your opponents have had and you’re still practicing and the COVID pause that you’ve had and you’ve been kind of on lockdown. And, as he said, Xavier has had their opponents go through it, so it’s almost beneficial that they’ve had the holidays where they were able to go home and they were able to do things and kind of get away from basketball for a little bit.

Matt Josephs:

I like Xavier this year. You know, it’s interesting to see them playing with a little bit more pace. They usually are one of those teams that’s slower. If Butler can make it an ugly game, that’s the only chance they have in this one. But, if Xavier’s starting to go crisply on offense and if they can start fast and get out that rust against playing opponents, then this one… They should blow them out rather easily.

Jeff Nadu:

I think one thing that I have to say about Xavier, which has been impressive by their start here, why I think long term they could be really good. I mean, their best player, Freemantle, really hasn’t played very well. I mean, he hasn’t really done much of anything. I think he’s only had one game with double digits. Now, he didn’t play the first couple of games of the season, but they’ve had a lot of other players step up. And also, just to write home about Butler, one more thing. Most of their distribution points-wise comes from the three point line. I’m sure Matt knows that.

Jeff Nadu:

You look at, though, their three point percentage is 31.7%. Not a real great deal when they shoot a lot of threes but they don’t make them. That’s the sign, to me, of a bad offense that takes a lot of bad shots and that’s one of the reasons… You look at every step up game they’ve played. They’ve not gotten to 60 in any of those games. If Xavier can get to 70, they’ll win, I think, considerably. 72-57. I think that’s where this one kind of sits.

T.J. Rives:

Again, for the Butler team, I saw some of that game with Seton Hall the other night and even though it finished 71-56, Seton Hall was up 25 points in the second half. Butler just struggled all over the place. Will they be better tonight? We’re going to find out. Let’s lock it in officially. The Big Man on Campus is on Xavier and is laying the points here in this Big East matchup for a Friday night.

T.J. Rives:

Reminder again. Get a couple of questions in the Q and A. You see on our schedule there on the left side of the screen that we only have one more game officially on our schedule. I’ve got a couple of questions for the guys as well, but if you’ve got some, get them in the live chat. We’ll try to get to some Q and A questions coming up in a few moments.

T.J. Rives:

But, that is not before we’re going to talk about our next game, which is the Islanders of Texas A and M Corpus Christi taking on Nicholls, or Nicholls State, whichever you prefer. Nicholls is a three and a half point favorite. This one with a total of 148. We’re back to Mid-Major Matt. This is his cup of tea here with the mid-major schools. What do we like in this one on a Friday night?

Matt Josephs:

So, for those who are not familiar, the Southland Conference is basically in Katy, Texas and they’re playing a tournament. This is their start of conference play. They’re doing a tournament here and they’re basically taking the winners, letting them play each other, and then the losers are playing each other. That’s what the game is going on right now. Yesterday, Corpus Christi… I had the team total over in that one. It was an easy win because Northwestern State plays no defense. And, we got kind of a manageable number for today’s game for Corpus Christi.

Matt Josephs:

Now, look. If you look at their KenPom numbers, their offense isn’t exactly great, but they do a couple of things really well. A, they don’t take a lot of time to get into their offense. B, they’re a pretty good offensive rebounding team. And, C, they get to the free throw line. They’re seventh in free throw attempts per field goal attempts, and that’s huge because if you can get to the free throw line… And, they’re 109th. They hit 73% of their free throws. And, we saw yesterday that one of the reasons why I hit that thing was there were a ton of fouls in that game against Northwestern State. They were both in the bonus I think with about 12 minutes left to go in the contest and that was huge to get all those free throws in there.

Matt Josephs:

But, you look at this Corpus Christi team. They can score a lot of points and the pace will be there. The Colonels’ defense is good, but the one thing they do poorly is they foul a lot. They are 333rd in free throws attempted for their opponents per field goals attempted. If I get this right crew again for the refereeing, once again, we could be in the bonus pretty quickly. The Colonels’ defense is not very good, especially against offenses that push the pace against them. So, I like this manageable number in a back to back setting. I think Corpus Christi, once again, a team that’s been very impressive in some of their games, can go over their team total today.

T.J. Rives:

All right. Very interesting. Jeff, what is your thought on this, where the Southland is kind of being creative in saying, “Hey, let’s let our best teams have a chance to play at least one more game if not more early on in the conference season to help build the resume a little bit on in conference play?”? We could go down the rabbit hole about the NET ranking, the strength of schedule, how it’s manipulated, how you’re hurt if you’re in the smaller conferences. But, at least the Southland is trying something here with the tournament that Matt’s talking about, Jeff.

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah, and I think it also gives you an opportunity to negate possible COVID outbreaks by traveling and some things like that. I think it’s a good idea. I mean, going from Corpus Christi up to Natchitoches or something… Yeah. I don’t have an issue with that. You liked that Natchitoches drop there. I bet online you didn’t know that I knew where that was.

Jeff Nadu:

Listen, I [inaudible 00:16:22]. I wouldn’t mind [inaudible 00:16:24] either here. I obviously understand Matt’s point here. I think this game has all the markings of a high scoring game. He mentioned the tempo on both these teams. I mean, Christi’s going to press, as he kind of talked about. I think… I think plenty of offense is to be had. Neither defense is particularly good. And, when we look at the concern, though, at least for me with at least Nicholls State and I think that’s why I agree with Matt’s play. Ty Gordon didn’t play for Nicholls last night. He’s their best player. I wish he was in there. But, I don’t think they’ll have a ton of trouble scoring. They still have some kids that are good. Devante Carter played at Norfolk State. Transfer. He’s a good player. I think they can score.

Jeff Nadu:

And, remember, generally when you have a back to back, the first thing to go the night after is the legs. Defensively, you’re not going to be as strong. Look, the truth of the matter is 19, 20 year old kids would rather score than defend. It’s pretty simple. And, when you get lazy, the first thing to go is defense. So, for me, I wouldn’t have a problem with a full game over as well. I think Corpus Christi’s going to live at the foul line in this game. I think that’s good for Matt and I agree with his play, or even a full game over.

T.J. Rives:

Okay. So, I’m going to have fun with the Big Man because you love this. In Louisiana, they don’t call it Louisiana, because you’re a Philly guy. They call it Louisiana. And, it’s not… What did you say? Natchitoches? They call it Natchitoches, even though it’s not spelled that way. I know that because I know Louisianans that pronounce it that way. I’m not saying that’s how I would say it. I’m not even how that would be… They say Baton Rouge, for example, the same way with a Cajun atmosphere.

Jeff Nadu:

Well…

T.J. Rives:

Whatever’s that worth. I’m just… I’m just throwing it out there on a Friday.

Jeff Nadu:

It’s interesting. Over the years, I used to do work, content work, for another company that some of the same listeners have come over here. And, back in the day, I used to do… Well, I still kind of do it quite well. A pretty good Ed Orgeron impression, so.

T.J. Rives:

Are you…? You cannot… You cannot tease that and then not pay it off. Are you going to do a little Ed Orgeron now on the College Basketball Show? Come on. Give me a little bit. Give me a little bit.

Jeff Nadu:

Sure. Sure. Well, you know, we here on a BetUs College Basketball Show. I just got let go at LSU. I’m going to go see a nice blonde MILF here tonight. We got another dinner planned. We’re going to head down and get a little pep in the gumbo. [inaudible 00:18:44].

T.J. Rives:

That was outstanding. You got to end it with Geaux Tigers. Give me a Geaux Tigers. That’s what he always ends it with.

Jeff Nadu:

Geaux Tigers.

T.J. Rives:

Or, did. Yeah. Very good.

Jeff Nadu:

Geaux Tigers.

T.J. Rives:

That is beautiful. And, he walks off into the sunset with $17 million of their money to get fired for not doing enough to be there anymore.

Jeff Nadu:

Yes.

T.J. Rives:

We love that. [crosstalk 00:18:59]

Matt Josephs:

I would never coach again if I were him. I mean, why?

T.J. Rives:

He may not.

T.J. Rives:

The show has not completely gone off the rails, but it’s close. But, I love this educational stuff about Louisiana. The best part is our BetUS friends that are sitting back in the control room have to be horrified at this moment. However, we are going to bring it back to college basketball. That was outstanding, Nadu. Very well done on that.

T.J. Rives:

Let’s lock in the official play, by the way. Can we for Mid-Major Matt? Shall we? He’s on the team total of Corpus Christi on the neutral floor. 72 and a half for this game with Nicholls coming up tonight.

T.J. Rives:

So, that gets us to the Q and A period and what some folks are thinking watching this show with us live Friday, one Eastern time. We’re Monday through Friday. Will wants to know about Cornell. He says, “Hey, six and one against the spread in the last seven road games. An average top five point total in the nation.” He says, “I want to take them getting the four and a half tonight. Do you have thoughts?” Little Ivy League. We haven’t talked any Ivy League on the Friday show. Either one of you with something here for Will on Cornell?

Jeff Nadu:

I’ll let Matt go at this one.

T.J. Rives:

Matt?

Matt Josephs:

All right. Well, so.

Jeff Nadu:

He’s a big total guy, so.

Matt Josephs:

Well, I mean, I think… Yeah. I think then you kind of have an idea where I might look here. So, remember. For those who are not familiar, the Palestra is where Penn plays and they will not be having fans. It’s basically a friends and family crowd, so there will be no atmosphere for this game, which I think is important. Penn… The one thing you notice when you look at Penn is their defense is not very good. The worry is that they are a slower paced team. But, you look at this streak of games where somebody scored 70 or more. I… I looked at this game briefly. I kind of, not official, like the team total over for Cornell.

Matt Josephs:

I mean, you look at this team and how efficient they are on offense. I think I’ve hit on Cornell’s team totals a couple times here on the show. They’re fifth fastest in pace. They’re fourth shortest in terms of offensive possessions. They’re 20th in two point percentage. They’re 63rd in three point percentage. To me, the only play I would consider in this game is a Cornell team total over. I don’t think Penn can handle Cornell’s offense and we know how quick they are. Look, they’ve already played in Syracuse. They’ve already played in Virginia Tech. They’ve already played in Penn State. They’ll be used to an empty gymnasium, essentially. I think Cornell’s team total is the only thing I would consider in this game for this one.

T.J. Rives:

Interesting on that. Could I just add here? We do give a lot of different opinion. At this point, to me, it is silliness to say we can’t have anyone there. If you want to have vaccination proof, if you want to have negative COVID testing proof, if you go that far, or if you only want to do 50% capacity and spread people out, that’s great. I mean, I saw that UCLA game yesterday at Pauley Pavilion, and again, it’s eerie. We’re 18, 19 months into this.

Matt Josephs:

Yeah.

T.J. Rives:

And, we know so much more about vaccination and we know so much more about being able to take the negative COVID test. To not have anyone there just seems like an extreme and… And again, if you’re Penn, you want some kind of atmosphere. This is your home game on this. Jeff, any thought on that or anything else?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah. [inaudible 00:21:55]. Yeah. I mean, again, remember, you know, even if… As you said, even if you want to do you have to be boosted as well.

T.J. Rives:

Right.

Jeff Nadu:

Most of these kids at Penn have the booster or fans have it as well. Yeah. It’s crazy. Listen, I’ll tell you this. I agree with Matt’s play and I would advise… I know Matt’s in the Philly area. Look, if you enjoy college basketball, when all this nonsense is over, I highly urge you. Get to the Palestra. It is the greatest stadium for college sports in America. I’ve been there many times. And, if you could believe this, I was 13 years old, one of the first games I ever went to, LeBron James was at St. Vincent’s St. Mary’s Academy. They came to Philadelphia and played Simon Gratz. Or, so. Strawberry Mansion. It was Maurice Rice.

Jeff Nadu:

Maurice Rice, one of the best high school players in the history of this city, broke the record for most points in a season in his career. LeBron crushed them that night, but that was a great fourth quarter. You can actually find it on YouTube. It’s… They just went back and forth. It was great. It was a blowout. Nobody left, T.J. It was… Everybody was still there. A.I. was in the building. It was… It was awesome. One of the greatest things I’ve ever went to.

Jeff Nadu:

And, that kind of, I think, made me love basketball over the years. But, yeah. Get to the Palestra. It’s a great place.

T.J. Rives:

Palestra. Of course, legendary for those Big Five teams, including Villanova and Penn and St. Joe’s and company. So, that’s where that game is tonight.

T.J. Rives:

Continuing on the question and answer. Neil wants to know about Youngstown State tonight in the Horizon League laying five points. Again, this is in Matt’s wheelhouse as the mid-major guy. Any thoughts on the Penguins of Youngstown State tonight?

Matt Josephs:

By the way, also, Vanderbilt’s doing it wrong, too. Vanderbilt’s not letting the students in. I think they… Adults are allowed in, but the Vanderbilt… Especially for the Kentucky game coming up, which they could have a chance to win that game. That [crosstalk 00:23:46].

T.J. Rives:

Wait. Hold the phone. Where is the sanity in that?

Matt Josephs:

It makes no sense.

T.J. Rives:

I’m not even… Yeah. What are we even doing?

Jeff Nadu:

Well, I hate to tell you, but sanity’s left this country.

T.J. Rives:

Agreed.

Jeff Nadu:

For the most part.

T.J. Rives:

Agreed. We’re going to let some in, but we’re not going to let the students who have maybe the biggest impact. They’re going to make the loudest roar, the loudest noise. They’re fully invested. We’re not going to let them in. [crosstalk 00:24:05].

Jeff Nadu:

And, let’s be honest. They have… I mean, if we’re going to get technical, the likelihood of being significantly scarred by this disease is quite low.

T.J. Rives:

Of course. Well, but again, let some in and not all. Okay. Anyway, Purdue Fort Wayne is the opponent. Youngstown State is at home laying five. Any thought? I know no official play here for Matt. But, any thought on this Horizon League game?

Matt Josephs:

I don’t hate it. I don’t hate Youngstown State. You know, it’d be nice if Garrett Covington would come back. I don’t know if he’s out for the season or not. But, Fort Wayne doesn’t play any defense. Fun story. I actually got sent… Because, Purdue Fort Wayne, when they were IPFW, they were my team for a couple of years because they were covering machines and I used to talk about it a lot on Twitter and everything and then they sent me some gear.

T.J. Rives:

Max Landis, baby.

Matt Josephs:

Exactly. Max Landis. They had so much good… John Konchar. That was a great team. And, they sent me some gear and then I kind of disowned them when they left [inaudible 00:25:02] to the Horizon. John Kaufman actually messaged me at some point. Don’t want to say anything, no improprieties or anything, just saying that he was like, “Oh, glad to see you supporting us.”

Matt Josephs:

But, they play no defense. I do… You know, they’ve got the… They’ve got Damian Chong Qui, which I think was a fascinating transfer to go from where he was to this school. But, they don’t play any defense. They make things a little bit interesting, but I don’t really have a play in this one. Lean to Youngstown, but should be a fun one in that game.

Jeff Nadu:

2016 IPFW. That was the year, I believe. That was a great team. Mo Evans, Max Landis, Konchar. [inaudible 00:25:35].

Matt Josephs:

I believe they beat Indiana, too, that year.

T.J. Rives:

Could have been.

Jeff Nadu:

I think you’re… I think you’re right. It would have been one of those years. Yeah. [inaudible 00:25:44] [crosstalk 00:25:45]

T.J. Rives:

The Horizon League always seems to have an upset-minded team, whether it’s Oakland University out of that conference or Wright State or some others. Again, I’ve done some work with the Horizon League in their postseason tournaments in years gone by and their conference champions. So, let’s see. They play a lot on Friday night.

T.J. Rives:

Mario is watching us on the BetUS Friday College Basketball Show. He says Marist and Fairfield, that he is interested. We’re going deep into the weeds. Fairfield at home in this one tonight is laying three. I’m looking at the Big Man on Campus. Do I get a nod? Do I get an expression? Not really. Actually, Matt is pointing to you. Big Man, do you have any thought here? No official play. Marist Red Foxes, by the way, on the road. Any thought?

Jeff Nadu:

I mean, I was hoping you’d ask me about Robert Morris-Cleveland State, honestly. That was what I wanted to talk about.

T.J. Rives:

All right. Well, then, hold the phone. Matt, Marist-Fairfield. Marist-Fairfield [crosstalk 00:26:36].

Matt Josephs:

[crosstalk 00:26:36]. The Metro Atlantic Conference is the only conference I don’t do. I don’t get it. It’s not great basketball. So, I can’t even give you like any sort of information. It’s the one conference I don’t do, pretty much.

T.J. Rives:

I can give you the information that Marist is the Red Foxes. There’s the information that I gave you. And, Mario, we’re sorry, but neither one of these guys… Now, what game did you want to give us something on? You said Robert Morris, Big Man?

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah. Robert Morris. Yeah. Yeah. So… And, Matt, I think, knows this. Look, Robert Morris is in a world of trouble. Okay? This team is struggling to start the season. They were a NEC team. 2020, they come over to the Horizon as well like Fort Wayne did out of the Summit League. But, Robert Morris is struggling. They have two wins on the season, St. Francis of PA, and they beat the mighty Lancaster Bible College, which is actually about 15… This is about 15 minutes from where I live currently. Lancaster Bible College. It is a school for people that want to go into the seminary and all that stuff.

T.J. Rives:

There you go.

Jeff Nadu:

So, yes. I know where that is. Listen, Cleveland State’s really good. Dennis Gates is a great coach. They have the second most experienced team in the country. This team is formidable. They’re cohesive and they have chemistry. They’re going on the road tonight. I think they win by double digits. Cleveland State, weird situation last night. Or, not Cleveland State. Robert Morris, weird situation last night. Leading scorer, point guard Rasheem Dunn, left the team. Decided he didn’t want to play anymore.

T.J. Rives:

Wow.

Jeff Nadu:

And, is gone. And, this is not out of the realm for Dunn. He’s been at… This is his third different school. I don’t know what’s up with him. I guess he just decided he didn’t want to play for a bad team anymore. But, he’s gone. I’m a big fan of fading a team really at any level off of news like this. It just great with the fact that they’re just a bad team and I think Cleveland State has some distinct advantages here. Cleveland State might win by 20. I’ll gladly lay at eight and a half here. [inaudible 00:28:31].

T.J. Rives:

So, I’m wondering. You guys would know this. You keep track of it. When that news got out, did the line shoot up a couple of points at least for Cleveland State? Or, what did it shoot up to?

Jeff Nadu:

Yep. It opened seven. It’s like eight and a half. It’ll probably go to nine, nine and a half, I’d imagine.

T.J. Rives:

All right. So, that’s Cleveland State at Robert Morris. I actually have done a game at Robert Morris. In fact, they had a tournament. This is… Man, I’m feeling old. This is probably 20 years ago. They had a tournament where USF in Tampa, South Florida, under Seth Greenberg, who you now see on ESPN, were in the tournament as one of the big teams, one of the big teams, if you will. Pitt was the other big team and it ended up being USF and Pitt in the championship game in which Robert Morris’ entire gym became the Pitt gymnasium out in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, the suburb. And, USF still won the game. University of South Florida in Tampa won the game against Pitt on the neutral floor to win the three team or the eight team tournament, the three game tournament. So, I have been there, Robert Morris.

T.J. Rives:

Robert Morris also famously helped me here beat Kentucky, right? In the NIT in a game where Kentucky and Calipari went in the NIT and Robert Morris beat them on their home floor. So, that strikes me too. That was a long time ago right now in terms of basketball and the current situation, as Robert Morris is two and 11 as Jeff mentioned, with the best player saying, “Peace. I’m out.” All right. We’ll see what happens tonight in that matchup and I think that’s pretty much it in the chat, it looks like, from those that are asking questions, because we did cover Cornell. Somebody else was asking about Cornell.

T.J. Rives:

Can we look ahead and just peek to Saturday and a couple of the games that you guys are going to be watching? I know we don’t have a Saturday show, but Saturday is always loaded with top 25 action, big time conference matchups now in January. Anything stand out, guys, from what you’re looking at in advance on Saturday?

Jeff Nadu:

I mean, an absolutely sparkling card. I mean, you’ve got a little something for everybody. I mean, Kansas-Texas Tech, Tennessee-LSU, Michigan State-Michigan, Connecticut-Seton Hall, St. Mary’s-BYU. I mean, Baylor. Baylor’s obviously on the road. That could be a sneaky atmosphere down at TCU. Who knows? I mean, there’s just games everywhere. If you can’t find something on this card, there’s something wrong. This is the first big Saturday of the year. Obviously, have a little NFL, which none of those games really matter as far as I know. But, no college football. It’s the first big college basketball Saturday.

Jeff Nadu:

So, you know, again, a piece of wisdom, and I’m sure Matt will agree. Find conferences you’re good with and stick to them. Don’t be… Don’t be on KenPom just, “I like that one.” It’s going to be tough for you. You got a lot of games to look over. So, yeah. I am looking forward to it.

T.J. Rives:

That Michigan State-Michigan game. Michigan State looked really good. You mentioned about the students not being there or being there. I don’t think Michigan State is back in school, but the game the other night looked like it had still a couple thousand students or at least young people in the Izzone for that win over Nebraska. Now, they will play Michigan, a team that is suddenly reeling. Wasn’t…? Michigan was in the top 10 preseason rankings. They have now, what? Six losses on the ledger with the loss the other night in Big 10 play. And, now they got to bow their back against Michigan State. That’ll be a fascinating Saturday afternoon game in Ann Arbor coming up at Crisler Arena. Matt, anything else that you’re looking at for Saturday, looking ahead?

Matt Josephs:

Wake Forest may put up 100 on my alma mater, Syracuse. That might happen. And, Virginia and North Carolina. I mean, Virginia dominates North Carolina. It’s in Chapel Hill. Depending upon what the line is, I’ll probably be looking at the Cavaliers in this one. They… That style of defense that they play just seemingly matches up well with North Carolina and presumably they’re going to be a dog in that game, so I’ll probably be looking at Virginia in that one.

Jeff Nadu:

Real quick, T.J., one other one if I could throw it out. This is the depths of college hoops that I’m looking at. I’m not necessarily worried about the big boys. I, like Matt, enjoy the mid and low majors. Tomorrow, you got Prairie View A and M. Okay? They’re oh and 10. Oh and 10. But, it’s important to understand. It doesn’t matter. Go look at their schedule and tell me that you’re not surprised they’re oh and 10. You know who they get game one out of the gate tomorrow in SWAC basketball? Oh yeah. Home game against Mississippi Valley State, the worst team in college basketball.

Jeff Nadu:

Here’s what you need to know about Prairie View. They’re one of the fastest teams in America. They are going to score at will against Mississippi Valley. I’ll take it back to last year, T.J. I had Mississippi Va… I went against Mississippi Valley in this exact game. I took Prairie View. I laid the 20. Okay? At the half, Mississippi Valley State had 26 points. You know how many they ended up with, T.J.? Just say, “No, I don’t. Tell me, Jeff.”.

T.J. Rives:

Nope. No, I don’t. Tell me, Jeff.

Jeff Nadu:

They ended with 31. They scored five points in the second half.

T.J. Rives:

Wow.

Jeff Nadu:

77-31. This is the exact type of game if you were the Prairie View Panthers you want to see on your schedule if you get off just a [inaudible 00:33:34]. I mean, let me tell you something with these teams. St. Mary’s, San Francisco, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Grand Canyon, South Dakota State, Boise, and Wichita. How about that? This is the kind of team that needed a little COVID pause. I don’t think they had one, but they needed one. This is…

T.J. Rives:

Well, and again.

Jeff Nadu:

[inaudible 00:33:51]

T.J. Rives:

And, we should point out. The reason they’re playing all these games that a lot of the historically black colleges, the ones that are in the MEAC, the SWAC, they make no pretense about the fact this is paying for our athletic budget, to play all of these different buy games like mercenaries and go play these games. And, your point is that doesn’t mean that when they get into SWAC play they’re not going to be good or contend. It just means they’re not upper level good with the top 50 or top 20 caliber competition they are playing. Right?

Jeff Nadu:

Exactly. You know, this is a deep team. This is an experienced them. And, that’s the nice thing you like about this game because let’s say they do go to the bench. You’re up 25. This team has a pretty good comparable bench that will score. I think this is a great spot. This is ones you look for as a handicapper. I’m going to be looking towards Prairie View A and M here winning big.

T.J. Rives:

And, that is a three Central time game. Neither team has a win. Just while we’re having fun with this, Mid-Major Matt, Prairie View oh and 10. Mississippi Valley State is oh and 12. And, this may be one of the few times that you will see something odd like this where an oh and 10 team might be a 20 point favorite. At least, that’s what Jeff is hinting at home. They might be more than that. Right, Jeff? When the line comes out. At oh and 10, who knows.

Jeff Nadu:

I would say 19 and a half, something like that. Yeah.

T.J. Rives:

Wow, if that is the case. All right. So, I think we’re good on the Q and A to watch what’s going to happen for this afternoon, tonight, and a little bit about Saturday as well with college basketball. Let’s get back to our best bets and what the guys are playing. Three games on our card on the BetUS College Basketball Show for a Friday. Jeff, in the Big East, a matchup with Xavier and Butler is laying the points with the Musketeers. Matt, in another Big East game, has the over in the Marquette-Georgetown game and he also has a Texas A and M Corpus Christi over in a Southland neutral site game with Nicholls.

T.J. Rives:

With that, we have covered everything, I think, for a Friday. Anything else? A great Ed Orgeron impersonation by Jeff Nadu. We’ll give that a nine. The Russian judge gave it an eight point one. Anything else that we want to cover for a Friday? Mid-Major Matt, you good?

Matt Josephs:

I’m good. Let’s have a profitable Friday.

T.J. Rives:

We’re looking forward to that. Big Man, anything else? Any other impressions? You’re good?

Jeff Nadu:

I agree. Good luck. Have a great evening and a good weekend. Thank you.

T.J. Rives:

Yeah. There we go. All right. We got lots going on with the college hoops. We’ve got NFL playoffs. We’ve got the College Football Playoff Championship Game Monday night. But, we’re always here talking college basketball Monday through Friday on the BetUS College Basketball Show. For now, for the Big Man on Campus, for Mid-Major Matt, I’m merely T.J. Rives. Enjoy your weekend. Thank you for being with us.

Jeff Nadu:

Yeah.

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