February 2012 College Basketball Events

Calendar of College Basketball Events for February 2012 brought to you by basketballcollegeline.com

February 2012 College Basketball Events News

2010 NCAA Basketball Championship: No. 5 Butler Bulldogs vs. No. 1 Duke Blue Devils
2010-04-06

The No. 5 seed Butler Bulldogs will be facing the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils; Monday April 5, 2010, tip-off is at 9:15pm on CBS. www.Sportsbook.com had the opening line of this game with the Duke Blue Devils as -6.5 favorites, as I write this preview the line has already moved to 7.5 and the over / under is at 128.5 points. The Blue Devils have proved that they have the talent to beat any opponent. The Duke Blue Devils are the only school to have a better scoring average then the Butler Bulldogs; I guess it was fate that these two teams met at the National Championship game.

When the 2010 NCAA national title game rolls on Monday night, the Duke Blue Devils will be making its first NCAA tournament title appearance since 2001 which is also the last time this prolific program won the championship. Standing in their way will be a team from a no named conference that nobody has cared to believe is a true basketball beast.

Whether the Butler Bulldogs win or lose when they meet the Duke Blue Devils as significant underdogs, they have proven their point. The Butler Bulldogs can attain that dream when they face, what everyone believes has been the best team in this year’s 2010 tournament thus far. If there is one sure bet that we know about Monday night, the Bulldogs will give it their all and even a moneyline bet on these guys wouldn’t be the worst bet you could make.

Now on to the important stuff: The final March Madness Betting Preview

First off let’s look at how good the Butler Bulldogs are they have 25 straight victories and are 33 - 4, 17 - 20 against the spread.

The Butler Bulldogs are 8 - 3 in their last 11 NCAA Tourney games and 5 - 1 against the spread in their last six.

The Blue Devils are 5 - 0 against the spread during this 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Both the Butler Bulldogs (15 - 20 over / under) and the Duke Blue Devils (16 - 22 over / under) have been good under plays this season. The under is 9 - 1 in Butler’s last 10 overall and 2 - 4 in Duke’s last six overall.

Bulldogs’ defense has made a fool of the over/under lines during the tournament. Bulldogs’ games have finished below the total by an average of 15 points in the last four games.

Butler’s tight defense against Duke’s on-point offense will be the tale of Monday night’s National Championship game. Of their last five games the Butler Bulldogs have not let their opponents score more than 60 points on them, a testament to their coach and their will to play. Add to that, the Bulldogs have limited 12 of their last 13 teams they’ve played against to less than 60 points. Even though the Bulldogs shot 30.6 percent from the floor they were still able to frustrate the Michigan State Spartans.

The Blue Devils have unsuccessful reached the 60 point mark only once this whole season, that is only once in 38 games. The Duke Blue Devils put in 78 points in each of their past two games, which were wins over the Baylor Bears in the South Region final and over the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Go to www.sportsbook.com to make your bet on the Duke Blue Devils at -7.5 point favorites, sorry Bulldogs, at least you made it this far.

CBB: North Carolina at Duke
2010-03-08

The ESPN Gameday crew will be in Durham on Saturday night for another installment of college basketball’s greatest rivalry, as Duke hosts North Carolina.

The Duke Blue Devils won the earlier meeting in Chapel Hill, somewhat comfortably, but could be hard pressed to beat a pointspread that more accurately reflects UNC’s struggles this time around. However, this could be one of those games where oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com over-adjust for the rivalry aspect while ignoring the obvious signs.

Given the choice, ESPN would probably rather telecast great moments in North Carolina and Duke history, since this doesn’t set up to be one. The UNC Tar Heels (16-14, 10-18 ATS) started the season with seven McDonald’s All-Americans and as the regular season closes, it appears Roy Williams picked up seven guys that ate at Micky D’s in his most frustrating season.

North Carolina has shown a pulse lately winning and covering last two contests, yet UNC is 0-9 ATS facing teams outscoring foes by eight or more points after 15 or more contests.

It’s senior night for starters G Jon Scheyer, C Brian Zoubek and F Lance Thomas and what better way to go out than ACC regular season champs (or co-champs) with a win over their most hated rival.

This is most versatile Duke (25-5, 17-11-1 ATS) team in a number of seasons as the year wore on, still needing Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler to score, but the contributions have been coming in from different areas on game by game basis. The Blue Devils are 16-0 and 10-5 ATS at Cameron Indoor Stadium this campaign, winning by super-sized 26.1 points per game.

This however is normally very competitive matchup, with the Dukies 7-5 with 2-10 ATS home record against Carolina Blue since 1997. The StatFox Power Line shows Duke by 16.

CBB: Two Top 5 Teams in Action
2010-02-26

Duke and Kentucky are both hopeful of being on the “top line”, where the four #1 seeds of the NCAA Tournament will reside in just over two weeks. However, neither can afford to take the upcoming action off, starting Thursday night on ESPN2. The Blue Devils and Wildcats will be the host teams in a evening doubleheader on the deuce, with both teams booked as heavy favorites at Sportsbook.com.

Tulsa at Duke 7:00E

The last several years, coach Mike Krzyzewski has scheduled one of these non-conference games in February with two things in mind. First, to break up the strain of playing in the ACC, and two, to give his players a chance to face a team fighting to earn a NCAA berth. This current collection of Blue Devils’ players has never won a ACC title and that is foremost on their minds, leading Maryland by a game, nonetheless this is great preparation, taking on an unknown opponent as his club is starting to gel, having won six straight and eight of nine (5-3-1 ATS).

Coach K knows what he’s going to get from his Big Three (Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler) and recently he’s been working on putting certain players like Lance Thomas, center Brian Zoubek and the Plumlee brothers in more comfortable positions on the floor for them to score. Duke (23-4, 16-9-1 ATS) is 15-0 and 10-4 ATS at home this season.

With Memphis presumably down at the start of the year, Tulsa (19-8, 7-16-1 ATS) believed this might be the opportunity to take charge of Conference USA, with its two senior leaders. Unfortunately the rest of the league has not cooperated and the Golden Hurricane is a distant fifth in the league, having lost four of their last five to teams that are ahead of them in the standings. Coach Doug Wojcik has never been able to develop a bench and possibly the heavy minutes the starters are playing is taking a toll. Tulsa has not covered a spread since Jan. 16, a span of 10 games.

Sportsbook.com has Duke as 18-point favorites and they are 12-2 and 8-5 ATS in non-conference action. The Blue Devils are 13-1 and 9-3-1 ATS with three or more days off. Tulsa is 0-7-1 ATS taking on a team with winning record and is 4-10 ATS off a spread loss, including eight failures in a row.

South Carolina at Kentucky 9:00E

The Wildcats will seek revenge for their lone defeat this season at the hands of the Gamecocks. In the 68-62 loss, Kentucky was “Downey-ized” by Devan Downey, who torched them for 30 points. One important element from the earlier matchup that played a key role was the undersized South Carolina squad held a +4 rebounding edge. Kentucky (26-1, 14-11 ATS) no doubt will seek redemption and is 13-4 ATS revenging a straight up loss vs. opponent as a road favorite.

Since their moment of the year, South Carolina (14-12, 9-14 ATS) has returned to mediocrity, a slightly above average squad with limited ability in the paint and dependent on Downey to score and distribute the ball to others. The Gamecocks have shriveled up as visitors, with a 1-8 and 2-7 ATS record away from Columbia. South Carolina will need an even better performance to sweep Kentucky, but they are 3-12 ATS vs. shooting teams making 45 percent or more of their shots this season.

Big Blue is 11-1 and 8-4 ATS against South Carolina in Lexington, with the last seven contests going OVER the number and they are a solid 16.5-point favorite to avenge the earlier loss.

CBB: Tennessee at Kentucky (9:00 PM ET, ESPN)
2010-02-12

Saturday’s feature game, as judged by the ESPN Gameday Crew’s visit to Lexington, pits Tennessee vs. Kentucky. The Wildcats are ranked #2 in the country and have been beaten just once all season long. The Volunteers have already beaten the #1 team in the country, Kansas, but at other times have looked just awful. Which of coach Bruce Pearl’s teams, Jekyll or Hyde, shows up for this showdown will have a major impact on which team wins and/or covers the pointspread. Speaking of which, get the latest price for this SEC dual on the Sportsbook.com LIVE ODDS page.

You have to tip your cap to coach Pearl. While most coaches and players talk about overcoming adversity, which many people never quite grasp, this Tennessee (18-5, 9-11 ATS) club really has with earlier suspensions that rocked the team. It says a lot about the coach and players. Though basketball is a team game, each individual had to make conscious decision to played better, work harder and the basketball world marvels at what the Volunteers have been able to accomplish since the New Year began. Pearl will need another trick up his sleeve at Kentucky; however the Vols are 6-3 ATS as road underdogs, including the rear-end kicking they received at Vandy this past Tuesday.

All the early discussion was how terrific guard John Wall was, the best point guard since Jason Kidd coming into college. Wall has not disappointed anyone with his singular play, but as the season has worn on, center DeMarcus Cousins has turned into a double-double machine, and perhaps even more important to the team’s success. He wants the ball when Kentucky (23-1, 11-11 ATS) needs a basket and as opposed to many 6’11 big guys, he’s got a good stroke from the free throw line. One of the most striking aspects of these two and fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe, they love to compete and when Big Blue is off a non-cover like what happened against Alabama the last time out, they are 20-8 ATS, including the current group at 10-0 SU & 7-1 ATS.

The Wildcats have taken 10 of last 12 at Rupp Arena vs. the Vols, though are just 6-6 ATS.

The StatFox Power Line shows Kentucky by 12, and many bettors may take particular interest in the total for this contest, since both clubs love to get up & down the court.

CBB: Wisconsin at Purdue (7:00 PM ET, ESPN)
2010-01-29

Annually one of the most confounding teams in the country is Wisconsin. Even though Bo Ryan can X and O with the best in college basketball, a look at the preseason roster never screams of Top 25 talent. Yet here the Badgers are, in second place the Big Ten Conference with a 6-2 record. On Thursday night, they’ll look for a season sweep of Purdue, a team that had owned them prior to the win in Madison a few weeks ago. Purdue is an 8-point favorite at Sportsbook.com, and being backed by most bettors.

Wisconsin (16-4, 10-8 ATS) leans heavy on guard Trevon Hughes, with versatile forward Jon Leuer out three to four more weeks with broken wrist. Wisconsin is 7-3 ATS vs. teams like Purdue allowing 64 or less points a game this season.

Last week, the Boilermakers (16-3, 9-10 ATS) broke their three-game losing skid at Illinois 84-78, getting a lift from unlikely source. John Hart, who had played all of 33 minutes and wasn’t even in official score book for that game, came off the bench to score 14 points (12 in second half) to lead the Purdue charge. Coach Matt Painter hopes this leads to continual production off the bench. Purdue is 15-7 ATS in home games after a conference game over the last three seasons.

Wisconsin has seen guard Jordan Taylor rise to the occasion with the absence of Leuer, scoring and displaying all around floor game. This could be a challenging spot the Badgers; since they are 4-9-1 ATS in road games vs. teams with a winning home record.

Purdue is still jittery home favorite, sporting a 9-1 SU but .500 spread record. The win at Champaign was followed up with a first half mauling of Michigan, 43-27, but they let backers down in the second half by being outscored by six points and failing to cover the 13-point spread.

The Boilers have normally blasted the Badgers at home and are on 8-1 SU and ATS run against them, which is why Sportsbook.com has them as 8-point favorites. Purdue is 9-2 when playing with three or more days rest, nonetheless is vile 3-8 ATS with this much time to practice.

Wisconsin took the earlier meeting 73-66 at the Kohl Center as one-point home underdogs and has covered six of its last seven Thursday throw-downs.

This Big Ten battle is in the 7:00 Eastern Time slot on ESPN with total of 126 and the Badgers are 1-10 UNDER on the road. Purdue is 6-2 OVER on Thursday nights.

The StatFox Power Line shows Purdue by 4, indicating a possible over-pricing.

CBB: Purdue at Northwestern (5:30 PM ET, BTN)
2010-01-15

Purdue was not expected to lose two games in the Big Ten all season long, yet after four league games, the Boilermakers are 2-2 and facing the prospects of falling behind further should they lose what figures to be a tough contest at Northwestern on Saturday. The Wildcats are always known as a pesky home underdog, and having reached the Top 25 earlier this season, actually have the talent to compete now. With Purdue playing as the road chalk, Sportsbook.com bettors figure to be embracing their chances. Be sure to check the latest breakdown on the BETTING TRENDS page.

Basketball prognosticators knew Purdue (14-2, 8-8 ATS) was going to be a very good team coming into the season. The Boilermakers had experience, continuity of playing together for a couple of years and a strong work ethic. What has transformed Purdue into a national power is the elementary aspects of basketball. They force almost eight more turnovers than they commit, they are much better rebounding team than a season ago and they make roughly 75 percent of their free throw attempts to ice away games. They have hit a bump the last couple of contests though, not playing 40 minutes of basketball in either game. Purdue will have to find itself quickly since they are on a skid of 3-8 ATS on the road.

Northwestern’s (12-4, 8-4 ATS) confounding start landed them in the Top 25 briefly; however conference play has brought about new challenges. The Wildcats, despite severe injuries had thrived because of the play of mighty mite, 5’8 Michael “Juice” Thompson. He ignited the offense by scoring and setting up teammates. Big Ten opponents have taken notice though, and have squeezed “Juice”, not allowing him to roam as freely. As a result, they are 1-3 in league play to date. Conference clubs have also been prepared for the Wildcats various zone defenses. Northwestern lost to Wisconsin at home in last encounter and is 5-9 ATS after a defeat.

The Cats have played well against Purdue with a 10-4 ATS record. The StatFox Power Line shows Purdue by 7.