C-USA Tournament Betting Preview

03.11.2013 03:55 PM Andrew Lange Printer Friendly

Submitted by Andrew Lange

C-USA Tournament Preview

Top seed Memphis has won six of the last seven conference tournaments but five of those were in the friendly confines of the FedEx Forum. This year's tournament is in Tulsa and the champion will have to win at least three games. Memphis didn't lose a regular season conference game and is obviously headed to the Big Dance regardless of this week's outcome. No. 2 seed Southern Miss is in the at-large discussion but it'll need no less than a title game appearance to be considered. Central Florida would have been the fourth seed but is ineligible for the postseason.

First Round Pick/Darkhorse: Name a team in college basketball that endured more emotional highs and lows than Marshall. You probably could drum up a similar situation but the Thundering Herd have been there and back and then some this season. What we know about this squad is that on any given day they can beat anyone in the league. Despite its 6-10 league record, Marshall swept Central Florida, just beat No. 2 seed Southern Miss (after losing to the Eagles by 56 in late January), and went on the road to Memphis and lost by 1. They have absolutely Read more

WAC Tournament Betting Preview

03.11.2013 03:36 PM ICC Printer Friendly

Submitted by ICC

WAC Tournament Preview

The WAC Tournament will be held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas which is the same site as the WCC Tournament. It’ll be a 10-team field thanks to the additions of Denver, Seattle, UT-Arlington, UT-San Antonio, and Texas State. No. 1 seed Louisiana Tech was the class of this conference from start to finish but were exposed somewhat on a couple of very tough home courts, New Mexico State and Denver, to close out the regular season. The top six teams all receive byes to the quarterfinals – Louisiana Tech, Denver, New Mexico State, UTA, Utah State and Idaho. There will be two first round matchups on Tuesday with No. 7 Texas State vs. No. 10 Seattle and No. 8 San Jose State vs. No. 9 UTSA. On Thursday the 7-10 winner will play No. 2 Denver and the 8-9 winner will play No. 1 Louisiana Tech. Note that the off day on Wednesday due to the women's tournament may give the two lower seeded winners a slight boost.

First Round Pick: UT-San Antonio
Texas-San Antonio beating San Jose State would be a minor upset only based on seed. The Spartans have been a disaster since mid-January Read more

Tags: College Basketball Ian Cameron

Big East Tournament Betting Preview

03.11.2013 02:13 PM Rob Veno Printer Friendly

Submitted by Rob Veno

Big East Conference Tournament Preview

This is the final Big East Tournament so especially expect the eight original members to bring complete focus and effort to their matchups. The 15-team league will only have a 14-team field since Connecticut’s low APR scores prevent them from participating. As always, multiple upsets are extremely possible. My power ratings indicate that on this Madison Square Garden neutral site floor there are eight teams separated by only 9.5 points. However, none of the bottom four teams playing in the first round appear capable of duplicating Connecticut’s Cinderella five-day run in 2011. That being said, there are teams playing on the second day that could repeat Louisville’s four-win run to the title as last year’s No. 7 seed. The top of this league possesses a lot of power and it’s possible that either No. 1 Georgetown or No. 2 Louisville could grab a top seed in the NCAA Tournament if they win this championship. Last season, the favorites were very strong here going 11-4 against the spread while totals went 5-10 O/U. Just to show how volatile the ATS results can be here in MSG, two years ago Read more

Tags: College Basketball Rob Veno

MAC Tournament Betting Preview

03.11.2013 07:05 AM Andrew Lange Printer Friendly

Submitted by Andrew Lange

MAC Tournament Preview

As a result of Toledo's postseason ineligibility, this year's MAC Tournament format is pretty wild. Seeds 6-11 play at campus sites on Monday. The fifth seed, Ball State, received a bye into the second round. No. 4 Kent State and No. 3 Western Michigan received byes in the third round. And then top seeds, No. 1 Akron and No. 2 Ohio won't play until Friday in the semifinals. The big storyline of the tournament is the suspension of Akron point guard Alex Abreu. Heading into March, the Zips were off their second win over Ohio and in the at-large discussion with a stellar record of 23-4 and 13-0 in league play. Akron then lost at Buffalo, Abreu was busted for weed, and they suffered a devastating loss to Kent State at home in the regular season finale. The Zips are talented enough to overcome the loss of their star point guard and win two games but without him, they are far more vulnerable.

First Round Pick: Egads! Conference tournaments are a tough nut to crack and seemingly produce more random outcomes than any other situation in college basketball (If you have time, Google “Liberty” and Read more

Colonial Conference Tournament Betting Preview

03.08.2013 12:48 PM Andrew Lange Printer Friendly

Submitted by Andrew Lange

Colonial Conference Tournament Preview

What a year for the Colonial! Perennial heavyweight VCU bolted for the A-10. Old Dominion, who won back-to-back tournament titles in 2010 and 2011 and reached the semifinals last year, went 5-25 and fired its coach midseason. Preseason favorite George Mason finished fifth. Towson went from 1-31 to 18-13 but can't play in the postseason due to poor grades. UNC-Wilmington is also ineligible. Georgia State is leaving for the Sun Belt so wasn't invited. As a result of those three teams being out, Hofstra (7-23, 4-13) got in. And Northeastern won the regular season title despite being one of the luckiest teams on the planet for a month-long stretch. With the exception of George Mason (2008) and James Madison (1994), the remainder of the field has exactly zero Colonial Conference tournament titles.

First Round Pick: Delaware played a tough non-conference schedule, battling with the likes of Villanova, Duke, Temple, Pitt, Virginia, and Kansas State. They acquitted themselves fairly well in those games and opened conference play 3-0 SU, 3-0 ATS. Unfortunately, it was the kiss of the death. The Blue Read more

Metro Atlantic Conference Tournament Betting Preview

03.07.2013 02:05 PM Andrew Lange Printer Friendly

Submitted by Andrew Lange

Metro Atlantic Tournament Preview

After the three straight years of the No. 1 seed knocking off the No. 2 seed in the finals, the last two MAAC title games have featured a No. 2 vs. No. 4 matchup. The conference was highly competitive this season with five teams in the hunt for regular season crown. For example, Niagara, the regular season champ, had games decided by 3, 4, 1, 3 (OT), 2 (2 OT), 3, 4, and 3. The close nature of the league should make for a crazy tournament and perhaps a difficult handicap with nothing but the slimmest of margins separating most of these squads. Note that this will mark the first year the tourney will be held at the MassMutual Center even though no one in the MAAC resides in Massachusetts.

Darkhorse: Hard to pick a darkhorse when over half the field should all be priced the same the win the tournament. Bettors should be prepared for a lot of games lined -2.5 or less. Rider can hardly be considered a darkhorse as the No. 2 seed but the Broncs weren't even considered a contender with a league record of 6-5 heading into February. They got hot at the right time but drew a tough card with a potential Read more

Sun Belt Conference Tournament Betting Preview

03.07.2013 12:19 PM Andrew Lange Printer Friendly

Submitted by Andrew Lange

Sun Belt Conference Tournament Preview

The Sun Belt Conference Tournament has a long history of craziness. Upsets happen with regularity, like last season when the top two seeds were bounced in their first game and the finals featured a No. 5 vs. No. 7 matchup. Of the last 12 teams to participate in the championship game, seven were a fourth seed or lower. On paper No. 1 Middle Tennessee State is as close to a lock as you can get to cut down the nets this conference tournament season. The Blue Raiders rolled through league play (14-2) last year and lost to No. 9 Arkansas State in the quarterfinals but this year’s edition is even stronger; a veteran club on a mission.

First Round Pick: North Texas
For much of the season, North Texas was an easy bet against. Longtime head coach Johnny Jones left for LSU, they had a ton of injuries, and Tony Mitchell underperformed. But the Mean Green have talent and a little bit of confidence having won four of six to close out the regular season. The also got point guard Chris Jones back. Jones missed practically all of January and February but returned and played the last two Read more

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Betting Preview

03.06.2013 01:22 PM Andrew Lange Printer Friendly

Submitted by Andrew Lange

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Preview

Midway through January it looked as if the MVC was Creighton and Wichita State and everyone else. But the competitive nature of the conference took over and once in the hunt for a potential 5-7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Jays and Shockers slipped a bit the back half of the slate and now find themselves likely in but with no guarantees. Neither team, especially Wichita, can afford to get bounced in their opening game against a lower seeded team. There were a handful of teams that at times showed the quality needed to cut down the nets in St. Louis. Northern Iowa finished 7-1 including wins over Wichita and Creighton. Illinois State reeled off seven of eight after opening the year 0-6. Indiana State had wins against all four of those squads but faded down the stretch. And senior-laden Evansville quietly finished 10-8. Historically, the top seeds have fared well. Last year snapped a five-year streak of the No. 1 seed reaching the finals when No. 2 Creighton beat No. 4 Illinois State in overtime.

First Round Pick: Southern Illinois started conference play 1-10 but Read more

West Coast Conference Tournament Betting Preview

03.06.2013 12:05 PM Rob Veno Printer Friendly

Submitted by Rob Veno

West Coast Conference Tournament Preview

Overview: The WCC is another mid-major conference that goes to great lengths in order to assure their top teams have the shortest route possible to the championship. No. 1 seed Gonzaga along with No. 2 St. Mary’s get to sit and watch until the semifinals which will take place on the fourth day of tourney action. Because every team in the nine team conference qualifies, there is a No. 8 vs. No. 9 play-in game between Portland and Loyola Marymount which kicks off the tournament later this evening. Portland defeated LMU twice this season (68-64 Jan 12 @ LMU and 69-60 Feb 7 at home). Loyola has led each of the two games by double digits either at halftime or into the second half. The Orleans Arena venue in Las Vegas has been hosting this tournament since 2009 and it provides a very slight fan advantage to BYU. Gonzaga and St. Mary’s have won 12 of the last 14 conference tournaments rotating the last four. Last season, top seed St. Mary’s closed as a +2.5 point underdog to the Zags and won in overtime 78-74. San Diego is the only other team to capture the crown since 1999 winning twice Read more

Tags: College Basketball Rob Veno