College Basketball Preview 
Xavier Musketeers (9-0) at Duke Blue Devils (9-1) 
Saturday, 2:00PM Eastern 
 
Betting Line 
 
A pair of top ten teams meet center court in Durham, NC. The undefeated Xavier Musketeers will be trying to stay perfect in front of the Cameron Crazies at Duke. The Blue Devils were upset by Michigan two weeks ago 81-73 and they look to get back to their winning ways. The Blue Devils beat the Musketeers in their last meeting in the NCAA Tournament back in 2004. Xavier will look to make things result a little differently this time around. The winner of this game will likely make their claim as a legitimate front runner and quite possibly receive a top 5 ranking.  
 
Xavier has played very well in the early part of the season. The Musketeers have controlled the boards averaging 41 rebounds per game this season. Xavier has three players averaging double digit point totals. Junior forward Derrick Brown leads the Musketeers with 14 points per game with nearly 6 rebounds. Xavier will try and work the paint against the Blue Devils considering they will have a size advantage. If Xavier can control the boards as they have in many games this season, Duke could have their hands full. The Musketeers rank as the 40^th best defense in the country in terms of field goal percentage against. Xavier has held teams to only shoot 41% from the field this season and they will try to make that trend continue.  
 
The Blue Devils have shot well from the floor this season knocking down 47% of their attempts. Duke has also faired well on the boards this season ranking 25^th in the nation averaging 41.4 rebounds per game. Duke has 4 players that average 10 points or more led by the play of sophomore Kyle Singler. Singler is averaging 17 points per game this season along with 8 rebounds and 3 assist. The Blue Devils are averaging a fairly high 15 assist per game. The Blue Devils have averaged a 22 points margin of victory in their 8 wins this season and hope to have another big day against Xavier. Duke is in desperate need of a win after just falling to Michigan a little over a week ago and a victory could make the statement that Duke is a national power.  
 
What to watch for… 
Xavier’s inside presence should present problems for Duke. The Blue Devils are only shooting 30% from 3-pt range this season and they will take a lot of shots outside the arc. The game comes down to the Xavier game inside the paint vs. the outside shooting game of Duke 
 
Betting Trends… 
Duke has gone 5-4 ATS this season while going 4-2 ATS in their past 6 games. The Blue Devils have gone on the over total 5 out of 9 games this season as well. Xavier has gone on the over total in their past 3 games while splitting against the spread at a record of 4-4. 
 
Pick – Xavier controls this one 2 out of 5 units

College Basketball Betting Preview
 Siena (5-3) at Pittsburgh (10-0)
Wednesday, 9:30 pm Eastern – ESPN 2

SBG Global Opening Line: Pittsburgh   -  17.5  ,  Total  TBA

Third ranked Pittsburgh has left little doubt so far this season that they are a team to be reckoned with.  They have won every game this season by at least 13 points and that could be the case again on Wednesday as they host Siena.  Pittsburgh has the nation’s leading offensive rebounder in DeJuan Blair and he has set up a lot of easy shots for Sam Young.  Overall, the Panthers are ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in field goal percentage.  Pittsburgh is also shooting well from three-point range which makes them even more difficult to defend.  The Panthers hit 14 three-pointers in a rout of Maryland Baltimore County on Saturday. “Usually, we kind of throw it down low, bang it out and grind it out,” said Young, “But we couldn’t really get it down low like we wanted to because they were in a zone. That kind of forced us to shoot the 3 a little bit. We got hot, so we kept it going.”

SBG Global reports that early College basketball line has the public taking Siena on the Road.

Levance Fields leads the Big East with 6.7 assists per game, and overall the Panthers are 15^th in the country in assists per game. “We did a very good job of being unselfish throughout the game,” Head coach Jamie Dixon said. “I thought we attacked well and had good ball movement against their zone. We were passing well, which made me real happy.”

Siena has won their last three games, mainly with defense.  They force 19.4 turnovers per game which is 18^th in the country. Last week in the win over Marist they forced 26 turnovers. Junior forward Alex Franklin led the way with a season-high 22 points in the 77-60 win.  Siena has three players who score in double-digits per game.  Edwin Ubiles averages 14.8 points per game while Franklin averages 14.1 and guard Kenny Hasbrouck chips in

13.1.

Pittsburgh and Siena have not played since 1990. The Panthers lead the all-time series 2-1. Here are more College Basketball betting stats for Wednesday’s game. The Saints are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Wednesday games. The Saints are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 vs. the Big East. The Saints are 33-16 ATS in their last 49 road games.

The Panthers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 Wednesday games. The Panthers are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Panthers are 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 non-conference games.

SBG Global Current Line: Pittsburgh   -  18  ,  Total  TBA

The Under is 10-2 in the Saints last 12 overall. The Over is 5-1 in the Saints last 6 vs. Big East. The Under is 4-1 in the Saints last 5 non-conference games. The Over is 8-3 in the Panthers last 11 home games. The Over is 12-5 in the Panthers last 17 overall.

Pick: Siena 2 out of 5 units

College Basketball Betting Preview
Marquette (8-1) vs. Tennessee (6-2)
Tuesday, 9:30 pm Eastern – ESPN

SBG Global Opening Line: Tennessee  -  7   ,  Total  TBA

8^th ranked Tennessee will matchup with 24^th ranked Marquette at Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday night.  The Volunteers will try and bounce back from an 88-72 loss to Temple they suffered on Saturday.  Marquette and Tennessee have met just six times in history with the Golden Eagles holding a 4-2 series edge. SBG Global reports that early College basketball line has the public taking Marquette on the Road.

Marquette enters Tuesday’s game at 8-1. Senior guard Dominic James is leading the squad with an assist-to-turnover ratio that is 16^th best in the country. James is currently averaging 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.  Marquette has been very balanced this season, getting production from Lazar Hayward, Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal and James.

Tennessee did not play well on Saturday in the loss against Temple.  They were outrebounded for only the second time all season and scored a season-low 72 points. J.P. Prince, the second-leading scorer for the Vols did not play.  He is questionable for tonight’s game.

Tennessee is 35-41 all-time against the Big East Conference, including a 2-1 mark under head coach Bruce Pearl. The Vols under Bruce Pearl have played five games in the Sommet Center, posting a record of 4-1.  The Volunteer’s bench has outscored the opponent’s bench in all eight games this season.

Tennessee is 26-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl. Bruce Pearl is 17-9 against ranked teams while at Tennessee.  Here are more College Basketball betting stats for Tuesday’s game. The Golden Eagles are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games. The Golden Eagles are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the SEC. The Golden Eagles are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Tuesday games.

The Volunteers are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games following a loss. The Volunteers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Big East.

SBG Global Current Line: Tennessee  -  7   ,  Total  TBA

The Over is 4-0 in the Golden Eagles last 4 vs. the SEC. The Over is 41-19-2 in the Golden Eagles last 62 road games. The Under is 6-1 in the Volunteers last 7 vs. the Big East. The Under is 9-4 in the Volunteers last 13 non-conference games.

Pick:  Marquette +7 3units out of 5 units

College Basketball Betting Preview
TCU (6-3) at Indiana (4-4)
Wednesday, 8:00 pm Eastern – ESPN 2

SBG Global Opening Line: Indiana  -  1  ,  Total  121

Indiana and TCU will meet for the third time since 1950 when they meet in a nationally televised game on ESPN 2 on Wednesday. The Hoosiers are coming off a 70-54 loss to #5 Gonzaga while TCU has won six in a row. Indiana is 182-18 (.907) all-time in Assembly Hall against non-conference teams, including 3-0 this season. The Hoosiers are 12-1 all-time against teams from the Mountain West Conference.  SBG Global reports that early College basketball line has the public taking TCU on the Road.

Indiana has a lot of young talent in head coach Tom Crean’s first season. Tom Pritchard is the Big Ten’s top rookie scorer and rebounder. Freshman Daniel Moore leads rookies in steals and is second in assists. Six of the top seven scorers for the Hoosiers are true freshmen. Devan Dumes is the second leading scorer for the Hoosiers averaging 12.1 points per game.

TCU is looking to win their 7^th straight game on Wednesday. Defense has been leading the way for the Horned Frogs as they have held their last six opponents to a combined 38.9 shooting percentage. In each of the last five games the Frogs’ defense has held opponents to 15 points fewer than their season average coming into the game. TCU is being led by Kevin Langford who has started 70 consecutive games.  He has posted double-digits in 53 of those games.  He needs just 65 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone and become the 16th player in TCU history to reach the mark in less than three full seasons.

Here are the College Basketball betting stats for Wednesday’s game. The Horned Frogs are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games. The Horned Frogs are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.

The Hoosiers are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The Hoosiers are 5-15 ATS in their last 20 Wednesday games.

SBG Global Current Line: Indiana  -  PK  ,  Total  121

The Under is 7-2 in the Horned Frogs last 9 road games. The Under is 23-8-2 in the Horned Frogs last 33 overall. The Under is 36-15-1 in the Horned Frogs last 52 non-conference games. The Under is 4-1 in the Hoosiers last 5 home games. The Under is 6-2 in the Hoosiers last 8 overall. The Under is 7-3 in the Hoosiers last 10 non-conference games.

Pick: Indiana pk 2 out of 5 units

College Basketball Betting Preview
 Texas (6-1) vs. Villanova (8-0)
 Tuesday, 9:00 pm Eastern – ESPN

SBG Global Opening Line: Texas  -  3   ,  Total  TBA

Two Top 20 teams get together on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden as #15 Villanova takes on #6 Texas.  Villanova is unbeaten to start the season but really hasn’t been tested. “We’re 8-0, who knows what that means? Thirty teams could be better,” Villanova coach Jay Wright, “We could talk about it all we want. We’re going to know where we are.” The Wildcats will get a serious test on Tuesday night against a Texas team that is in the Top 10. “A lot of people say we haven’t really had a test, we haven’t really played anybody,” said Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds, “I think every time we step on the floor we have the mind-set that we’re playing for each other, we’re playing for our coaches.” SBG Global reports that early College basketball line has the public taking Texas on the Road.

Texas comes into the game at 6-1 but unlike Villanova, they have already been tested.  The Longhorns lost to Notre Dame 81-80 in the Maui semifinals and defeated #12 UCLA last week. A.J. Abrams hit five 3-pointers and finished with 31 points in the win over UCLA. “Coming back from the Notre Dame and winning one like this was big for us,” Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said. “Our guys made plays at the end. When we get settled into our defense, we’re a pretty hard team to score against. … We talked about going out there to scrap.”

Texas and Villanova have only met once in history and that was three years ago when Texas won 58-55.  Here are the College Basketball betting stats for Tuesday’s game. The Longhorns are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 Tuesday games. The Longhorns are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 vs. the Big East.

The Wildcats are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Tuesday games. The Wildcats are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Big 12.

SBG Global Current Line: Texas  -  3   ,  Total  TBA

The Over is 5-1 in the Longhorns last 6 road games. The Over is 8-3 in the Longhorns last 11 vs. the Big East. The Under is 4-0 in the Wildcats last 4 non-conference games. The Under is 4-0 in the Wildcats last 4 vs. the Big 12. The Under is 4-1 in the Wildcats last 5 Tuesday games. The Under is 20-7-1 in the Wildcats last 28 overall.

Pick: Nova +3 2 out of 5 units

College Basketball Betting Preview
Oklahoma (5-0) vs. Purdue (5-0)
Friday, 3:30 pm Eastern – ESPN 2

SBG Global Opening Line: Purdue  -  1  ,  Total  TBA

The Preseason NIT has an outstanding matchup in the Championship game as #11 Oklahoma meets #10 Purdue. Both teams are unbeaten, have excellent coaches, and superstar players.  The Sooners are led by preseason Big 12 player of the year Blake Griffin, who is averaging 27.2 points and 18.8 rebounds per game.  Purdue is led by E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel.  The Sooners rely upon Griffin for the bulk of their scoring while Purdue is more balanced. “We all look for each other. We don’t feel like one person is the man or one person is above one another,” Moore said, “We look for our open teammates and make a pass.”
SBG Global reports that early College basketball line has the public taking Purdue at Home.

“They’re really good,” Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel said about Purdue. “I got a chance to watch them earlier. They’re so well coached, they’re disciplined, they’re physical, they have such good guards.”  Oklahoma is also very good, specifically Griffin who may be the best player in the country. “Oklahoma, they’re definitely a good team,” said Purdue guard Keaton Grant. “There’s not another Blake Griffin in the NCAA. There’s only one of him in the United States, so it’ll definitely be a great challenge playing against them. We look forward to it.”

Here are the College Basketball betting stats for Friday’s game. The Sooners are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 non-conference games. The Sooners are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 vs. the Big Ten. The Sooners are 6-17 ATS in their last 23 neutral site games.

The Boilermakers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Friday games. The Boilermakers are 17-5-1 ATS in their last 23 games overall. The Boilermakers are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 non-conference games. The Boilermakers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.

SBG Global Current Line: Purdue  -  1  ,  Total  TBA

The Over is 8-2-1 in the Sooners last 11 non-conference games. The Under is 4-1 in the Sooners last 5 vs. the Big Ten. The Under is 6-2-1 in the Sooners last 9 neutral site games. The Under is 8-3-1 in the Sooners last 12 overall. The Over is 4-1 in the Boilermakers last 5 neutral site games. The Over is 9-4 in the Boilermakers last 13 Friday games.

Pick: Oklahoma 3 out of 5 units

The NCAA Championship Game
By Raji, Moderator BangTheBook.com

The time is finally upon us. We have watched an entire season of college basketball. We watched great young freshmen make their mark in the game and great in conference play. We watched the great conference tournaments and feverishly filled out our brackets as the tournament seedings were announced. We watched those same brackets get shattered as great underdogs made the early run but when the dust settled, for the first time in history, all number one seeds made it to the final four in San Antonio Texas. The story lines have played out and the players and the coaches have been acknowledged of the best of the best but now it comes down to just two teams playing for the championship in college basketball.

Memphis

The first team to make the big game is Memphis. Memphis has held the number one spot most of the year in the national polls and won the conference tournament grabbing a number one seed for the NCAA tournament. Yet they were one of the first number one seeds that were predicted to make an early exit. No one outside of Tennessee thought this team had a shot to go this far, especially when they ran into Texas heading to the final four and the answered the call with a thumping of Texas. The critics still shunned it off and said there would be no way they would beat UCLA. After all UCLA had the experience and had been to the final four and were led by Kevin Love so there would be no way they could lose to Memphis but indeed they did. Memphis thumped the Bruins by double digits and Derrick Rose showed that he may be the best player on the court. The critics are quieter but still out there and Memphis has one more game to play.

Kansas

Kansas was the opposite of Memphis because they won all year and got respect for it. They came into the tournament as a number one seed and plenty of so called experts called on them to get this far. As they went through the teams to get this far they mopped the floor with lesser talent and it led up to a meeting with the North Carolina tarheels in the final four. The story lines were abundant as Roy Williams would be marching the opposing side line and had some history with Kansas. For sure this would be one of the better games of the year, but it wasn’t. The hype was over played and the teams took the court and North Carolina promptly fell behind big early. They started a valiant comeback but it was Brandon Rush for the Jayhawks that held on to the win and pulled away for a huge win for Kansas. Now they face Memphis and there is no more questions, no more doubting just one more game to play.

The Winner

This line has opened up at Kansas -1.5 and slipped to Memphis as a chalk in some places. The thing to know here is to look around as this line is jumping with the amount of action coming in on it. The winner of this game will have to play all facets of the game and be fundamentally sound. Coaching is a sweet edge but I just can’t get over the fact that Memphis can’t hit free throws. It has not hurt them so far but if this game is close it will. I like Kansas to win this game and win the NCAA Championship!

Final Four Betting Preview
Kansas (35-3) vs. North Carolina (36-2)
Saturday, 6:05 pm Eastern – CBS

SBG Global Opening Line: North Carolina   - 2, Total 158

 

Two teams with a lot of Final Four experience meet on Saturday as Kansas takes on North Carolina.  The Tar Heels are making their 17^th Final Four appearance and that is tied for most in history with UCLA.  North Carolina head coach Roy Williams is making his fourth Final Four appearance in the least seven years and is facing his former team.  The Tar Heels have an all-time record of 13-14 in Final Four games.  They are 8-8 in national semifinal games and 4-4 in championships games and 1-2 in third places games that used to be played. Kansas has advanced to the Final Four for the 13^th time in school history and third time in the last seven years. The Jayhawks own a 9-12 record in the Final Four going 7-5 in semifinal games, 2-5 in championship games and 0-2 in consolation games. SBG Global reports that the public taking North Carolina at Home.

 

Kansas has won a school-record tying 35 games this season. Kansas leads the nation in scoring margin (+19.4), while ranking in the top five in the country in assists, field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense and win-loss percentage. The Jayhawks feature four players scoring in double figures. Brandon Rush leads the team with a 13.1 scoring average followed by Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers, both at 12.7 and Darnell Jackson at 11.2.

 

The North Carolina frontcourt has National Player of the Year winner Tyler Hansbrough leading the way.  He will score a lot of points and dominate inside.  Kansas will rotate players and try and throw bodies at him all night.  The backcourt matchup has Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins, and Russell Robinson for Kansas against Carolina’s talented point guard Ty Lawson.  Wayne Ellington can also shoot the ball for Carolina and he could be a major factor on Saturday.

SBG Global Current Line: North Carolina   - 3, Total 160

 

Here are the stats for Saturday’s game.  The Jayhawks are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog. The Jayhawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games. The Jayhawks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games. The Jayhawks are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 vs. the ACC.

 

The Tar Heels are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games. The Tar Heels are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. the Big 12. The Tar Heels are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 Saturday games. The Tar Heels are 42-17-1 ATS in their last 60 non-conference games.

 

The Under is 4-0 in the Jayhawks last 4 neutral site games. The Under is 6-0 in the Jayhawks last 6 NCAA Tournament games. The Under is 35-16-1 in the Jayhawks last 52 non-conference games.

 

The Over is 4-1 in the Tar Heels last 5 neutral site games. The Over is 4-1 in the Tar Heels last 5 vs. the Big 12. The Over is 8-3 in the Tar Heels last 11 non-conference games. The Over is 20-8-1 in the Tar Heels last 29 games as a favorite.

 

Pick: Take UNC -3 and Over 160 5units each! For more Final Four discussion visit the College Basketball Betting Forum.

Final Four Betting Preview
Memphis (37-1) vs. UCLA (35-3)
Saturday, 8:45 pm Eastern – CBS

SBG Global Opening Line: Memphis  - 1, Total 133.5

 

The high scoring Memphis Tigers will try and play a fast paced game on Saturday while the UCLA Bruins will try and slow things down.  It should be an interesting contrast in the second game of the Final Four.  The Tigers have the top scorer left in the tournament in Chris Douglas-Roberts (90 points) while UCLA has All-American Kevin Love who has scored 87 points.  The Tigers also have Derrick Rose who is right behind those two with 82 points scored in the tournament. SBG Global reports that the public taking Memphis on the Road.

 

This will be the third straight Final Four for UCLA while it is the Tigers first Final Four appearance since 1985.  The Tigers are taking this very seriously though as Joey Dorsey was seen practicing with former Memphis NBA star Penny Hardaway this week.  The Tigers don’t seem worried about UCLA trying to slow the game down. “It doesn’t really matter. They can’t really dictate the tempo unless we allow them to,” Douglas-Roberts said. The Tigers and Bruins met two years ago when UCLA took Memphis out of their game and won 50-45 in the regional final. Chris Douglas-Roberts was just a freshman in that game and didn’t play that well.  It is different now as Douglas-Roberts has more experience. “His ability to shoot balls. His ability to score in traffic. His physical play because he’s gained weight. You’re not going to throw him around and do stuff they did in that game,” Memphis head coach John Calipari said.  The Bruins will try and contain Douglas-Roberts with Russell Westbrook who is an outstanding defender.

SBG Global Current Line: Memphis  - 2, Total 133.5

 

Here are the stats for Saturday’s game. The Tigers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Pacific-10.

 

The Bruins are 22-7-1 ATS in their last 30 games as an underdog. The Bruins are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games.

 

The Over is 4-0 in the Tigers last 4 neutral site games. The Over is 4-0 in the Tigers last 4 non-conference games. The Over is 5-0 in the Tigers last 5 NCAA Tournament games. The Under is 4-0 in the Tigers last 4 vs. the Pacific-10.

 

The Over is 4-1 in the Bruins last 5 games as an underdog. The Over is 7-2 in the Bruins last 9 Saturday games. The Under is 6-2 in the Bruins last 8 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog. The Under is 16-6 in the Bruins last 22 NCAA Tournament games.

 

Pick: Take Memphis -2 5units! For more Final Four discussion visit the College Basketball Betting Forum.

With 3 games to go our overall Basketball Picks Record is now 23-25 -10.70 units. Its been an up and down season. Lets finish it on a positive note.

A side not we are moving all our daily picks over into the BTB blog, to find past College Basketball Picks please click here.