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<p>The Dukes and Flames are set to face off at 11:00 ET on Ball. The Flames will host the game at Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL. James Madison comes into this non-conference matchup as the -3.5 point favorite. The over/under line currently sits at 146.5 points.</p><h3>JAMES MADISON DUKES VS UIC FLAMES BETTING PICK</h3><p>The Pick: UIC Flames +3.5</p><p>This game will be played at Ocean Center at 11:00 ET on Thursday, November 21st.</p><h3>WHY BET THE UIC FLAMES:</h3><ul><li>We have this one finishing with a projected score of 76-70 in favor of the Flames.</li><li>Not only will UIC pick up the win, but look for them to cover at +3.5.</li><li>The over/under is currently sitting at 146.5 points, and we like the under with a projected 146 points.</li></ul><h3>Does James Madison Have a Shot at a Road Win?</h3><h3>James Madison Dukes Recent Game/Games</h3> 

<p>James Madison fell 67-63 to Towson on Saturday, November 16th. The Dukes were +2 point underdogs going into the game and didn’t cover the spread. The total points for the game were 130, which was under the O/U line of 137.5.</p> 

<p>James Madison led 36-31 at halftime but struggled in the 2nd half, scoring only 27 points while allowing Towson to score 36. The Dukes will need to address their 2nd half performance moving forward.</p><p>James Madison's offense struggled in their recent game, shooting just 39.7% from the field and 32.1% from beyond the arc, finishing with 63 points. They did manage to hit 88.9% of their free throws, though they only attempted 9.</p> <p>Dylan Williamson led the way with 22 points, hitting 4 of 6 from deep and shooting 66.7% overall. Mark Freeman added 20 points, connecting on 3 of 6 from three-point range, while Xavier Brown contributed 16 points, hitting 4 of 10 from beyond the arc.</p><p>James Madison's defense held their opponent to 67 points, with the opposition shooting 43% from the field on 24 of 55 attempts. Inside the arc, they allowed 15 two-point baskets on 34 attempts, a 44% shooting rate.</p> <p>From three-point range, James Madison's opponent hit 9 of 21 shots, shooting 42%. They also sent them to the free-throw line 13 times, where they made 10, shooting 76%. The Dukes gave up 6 offensive rebounds.</p><h3>Does UIC Stand a Chance at Home?</h3><h3>UIC Flames Recent Game/Games</h3> 

<p>UIC fell 83-74 to Northwestern on Tuesday. The Flames were +15.5 point underdogs but managed to cover the spread.</p> 

<p>After trailing 31-29 at halftime, UIC scored 45 points in the 2nd half but allowed 52. The total points of 157 exceeded the O/U line of 141.5.</p><p>In their last game, the UIC Flames put up 74 points, shooting 46.3% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 55.6%. They connected on 43.5% of their three-point attempts, going 10-for-23 from deep, while hitting 48.4% of their two-point shots. At the free-throw line, they made 14 of 22 attempts, good for 63.6%.</p> <p>Nick Martinelli led the way with 27 points, shooting 71.4% from the field and hitting both of his three-point attempts. Javon Jackson added 17 points, knocking down 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, and Jalen Leach contributed 16 points, also hitting 50% from three. Filip Skobalj was efficient, making 5 of 6 shots overall and 3 of 4 from three-point range.</p><p>Despite UIC's defensive efforts, they gave up 83 points, allowing their opponent to shoot 50% from the field. The Flames couldn't contain the inside game, as they allowed 51% shooting on two-point attempts (20/39).</p> <p>UIC also struggled to defend the perimeter, with their opponent hitting 46% of their threes (7/15). The Flames sent them to the line 33 times, where they converted 66% of their free throws (22/33). UIC gave up 8 offensive rebounds.</p>

James Madison Dukes vs UIC Flames NCAA Basketball Betting Pick & Prediction 11/21/24

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By now it has become no surprise that the Syracuse Orange might handcuff opponents to a considerable extent when it comes time to play in the NCAA Tournament. If you're a hoops fan, you know that they played a 2-3 matchup zone, which has become the trademark defense of Jim Boeheim.

And now they are handcuffing opponents once again, and pretty good ones, we might add. So after victories against San Diego State and West Virginia, the team with nine losses this season has a chance to go to the Elite Eight.

For that, they'll have to get by the Houston Cougars, who have been one of the top teams in the nation all season long.

This game begins at 9:55 PM ET and will be televised on TBS. Customers at <a href="http://bangthebook.com/sportsbooks/betonline"><strong>BetOnline</strong> </a>can engage in Live Betting throughout the game. It's easy to find in the sportsbook interface. And remember that there are literally tons of props to wager on for each of the games.

<strong>NCAA Tournament - Sweet Sixteen @ Indianapolis</strong>
<strong>SYRACUSE ORANGE vs. HOUSTON COUGARS, 9:55 PM ET (TBS)</strong>

<strong>NCAA Tournament Odds: Syracuse -6.5 / Total 140.5</strong>

Generally speaking, the Syracuse zone is well-coached enough that it is extremely difficult for opponents to prepare for, and to make adjustments against once the game has started. The results in this tournament are stunning. San Diego State tried a lot of three-pointers in an effort to shoot over them, and they made just eleven of 40. After a while, you could see that they were just throwing up desperation shots, not seeming to know what they were doing.

And then West Virginia, a team that has gone toe-to-toe with some of the best in the nation, couldn't even make TWO-point shots, as they were held to 34% inside the arc.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson has experienced the misery caused by the matchup zone before. In 2003 he took his Oklahoma team into the Elite Eight against Syracuse. The Sooners shot 18% from beyond the arc and 31% overall and were held to 47 points.

So the Cougars have their work cut out for them.

But let's not forget that Syracuse has to make its shots as well. The Orange have gone 53.5% from the field over their two games, and obviously Buddy Boeheim (the coach's son) has been a focal point of the offense. Buddy has averaged 28.3 points over his last four games, hitting 56% of his triples.

Let's make the assumption that Sampson is drawing up a decent game plan to combat Syracuse's shooters. And he's had some time to do it. Houston is fully capable on this end, allowing just 29.3% from three-point territory and 42.9% from two-point range. Both of those figures are among the top twelve in the country.

We understand that Houston is second best in the nation in the area of offensive rebounding, pulling down an insane 39.9% of available caroms. And that is their best shot here against Syracuse, since the big weakness of the matchup zone is that it does not do a good job of blocking out under the boards. In fact, the Orange are 340th out of the 357 Division I teams at doing just that.

But let's remember that a team like Houston is very careful and deliberate on the offensive end. They chew up an average of 19.1 seconds on the shot clock, and that means they aren't trying too hard to beat Syracuse down the floor.

Thus, with neither side likely to operate at full throttle when they have the ball in their hands, we'd say that our principal play here should be on the UNDER.

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NCAA Tournament Picks -- Sweet Sixteen: Syracuse is in 'the zone' and Houston may have a problem

The UFC heads to Raleigh for the first time for UFC Fight Night 166. Also known as UFC on ESPN+ 24, this event has a tough act to follow after UFC 246, but we have a really good set of fights for an ESPN+ event and just enough to keep fight fans satiated while they wait on UFC 247 with the return of Jon Bones Jones on February 8.

In all, we have 11 fights on the card and the odds from <a href="http://bangthebook.com/sportsbooks/5dimes"><strong>5Dimes Sportsbook</strong></a> will help us navigate through the card. There are a lot of well-known fighters, but also some newcomers and prospects, so this card has something for everyone, including three women’s fights, one from each division.

Action begins in the featherweight divison with UFC debutant Herbert Burns at +105 against UFC debutant Nate Landwehr at -125. Landwehr was a rare American-born fighter participating in M-1, where he was the champion and also had two title defenses. The 31-year-old Landwehr is fighting one of the many Dana White Contender Series finds speckled throughout the UFC divisions in Burns. Burns has a nice 9-2 record of his own, but this looks to be a step up in class, as M-1 is considered one of the top international promotions. The price looks a touch cheap on Landwehr here.

Bantamweights Brett Johns and Tony Gravely are next up on the card, with Gravely the -120 favorite at 135 pounds. Gravely is giving up a little size and a little reach here, but he is the more active of the two fighters and the deserving favorite. Gravely is yet another DWCS find and his performances in CES coupled with his win over Ray Rodriguez back in August was enough to get him a contract. Johns is coming off of a long layoff here, with his most recent fight at UFC 227 against Pedro Munhoz. Johns was a UFC fixture for a while, but took a lot of time off following consecutive losses. Cage rust could be a real thing, but Johns is more experienced at this level and the even money price looks good on the small dog.

Lina Lansberg is +135 to Sara McMann’s -155 odds in the first of three women’s fights on the card. The 39-year-old McMann is nearing the end of the line, with consecutive losses to Marion Reneau and Ketlen Vieira. In fact, this is McMann’s first fight in nearly two years. It sure says a lot about Lansberg that McMann is coming off of two losses and a long layoff and the line is still -155. This seems like a mispricing, though, as Lansberg had wins over Tonya Evinger and Macy Chiasson during an impressive 2019. She has to be the pick here at a plus price.

Montel Jackson is the biggest favorite on the card with a line of -630 against Felipe Colares. Colares is 1-1 in his UFC career with a split decision win over Domingo Pilarte and a loss over 15 minutes to Geraldo de Freitas. Jackson is a big prospect in this division as a strong, lanky, athletic fighter. He should overwhelm Colares here and the odds suggest the same.

Justine Kish looks to snap a two-fight skid at +155 against Lucie Pudilova. The -175 price on Pudilova makes her the biggest favorite in a female fight on this card. The 25-year-old is coming off of three straight losses, including the first stoppage loss of her career against Antonina Shevchenko. It hasn’t been a good look lately for either fighter. Once round props come out, the over 2.5 will be heavily juiced here, but it will be a good open parlay piece for this card and I’d wait on that since neither fighter is particularly consistent of late.

Nik Lentz and Arnold Allen were originally set to face other fighters. Now they will face each other in the featherweight division. Lentz is +240 to Allen’s -300 in this scrap. Allen is an up-and-coming prospect and he draws an interesting assignment here against a very experienced fighter in Lentz. There are some thought reminiscent of the most recent fight that we saw between Roxanne Modafferi and Maycee Barber, in the sense that the younger, more exciting fighter is facing a very experienced combatant. Allen has shown a lack of finishing ability at this level and that does seem a little bit concerning. I’m not rushing to back Lentz, but I wouldn’t lay the -300 on Allen here either, even if he is going to be the aggressor.

Dequan Townsend is +360 to Bevon Lewis in middleweight action to finish out the preliminary card. Lewis’s -450 price tag makes him the second-largest favorite on the card behind Jackson. Lewis was originally slated to fight Alen Amedovski, but Townsend now slots in. This is a step up in class for Townsend, who spent a good portion of his fight with Dalcha Lungiambula on the mat. Eventually Townsend was knocked out in his UFC debut. He doesn’t stand much of a chance here either, even though Lewis hasn’t been impressive in his most recent fights.

<strong>Darko Stosic (+115) vs. Jamahal Hill (-135)</strong>

To the main card we go, where Dana White Contender Series find Jamahal Hill makes his official UFC debut against Darko Stosic. This line does look a little bit light here, given that Stosic is just 1-2 in his three UFC fights and took some punishment in his most recent fights against Devin Clark and Kennedy Nzechukwu. It is possible that Stosic would have had a different fate had he not lost points for illegal kicks against Clark.

Hill is pretty green with a 6-0 record, most of that coming in KOP. He is stepping up in class here against a legitimate UFC caliber fighter, which has likely depressed this price a little bit. Stosic can control the Octagon and make Hill come to him. At that point, we’ll find out all about Hill’s defense. He hasn’t had to show a lot of it in his fights to this point. Ultimately, this looks like one of the tougher handicaps on the card. Do we bet on the promise and the record of the newcomer or do we take the safer, more predictable fighter?

<strong>Pick: Darko Stosic</strong>

<strong>Hannah Cifers (+140) vs. Angela Hill (-160)</strong>

Hannah Cifers is on a nice, little run. She’s got back-to-back wins over Jodie Esquibel and Polyana Viana. In fact, her only UFC loss is against Maycee Barber, who is a pretty darn good prospect in this division. Cifers will try to keep that going here against Angela Hill, who also has a win over Esquibel recently. Hill scored her fourth career knockout last time out over Ariane Carnelossi, as doctors decided she could no longer continue.

It seems unlikely that Hill will score the stoppage win here, as Cifers has only been knocked out once and it was at the hands of Barber. Hill is likely the better all around fighter, even if her record doesn’t show it. She’s been in UFC longer and has fought a much stronger list of opponents than Cifers. That reputation precedes her into this fight, hence the -160 line. She does look like the preferred fighter here, but that price is a little bit too steep.

<strong>Pick: Angela Hill</strong>

<strong>Jordan Espinosa (+220) vs. Alex Perez (-260)</strong>

Two-time Dana White Contender Series fighter Jordan Espinosa is looking to bounce back from his first loss in quite some time. He’ll have to do so as a sizable underdog against Alex Perez. Espinosa tapped out to Matt Schnell’s submission and that stunted a lot of momentum that had been building for the 30-year-old. He does have some reach on Perez in this fight, but we do have to worry about that takedown defense in this one.

Perez has 27 fights under his belt at the young age of 27. This will be his 28th and he will turn 28 in March. Perez had a nice bounceback effort against Mark De La Rosa to get back on track after the loss to Joe Benavidez at the TUF 28 Finale. He should get another win to keep that train rolling here in this one. It is a big surprising that more of Perez’s fights have ended in stoppages of late, as he only has 10 stoppage wins out of his 22. Espinosa hasn’t gone too deep in a lot of his fights, as 12 of 20 have ended via stoppage. Perez’s gas tank should carry him to the win here.

<strong>Pick: Alex Perez</strong>

<strong>Michael Chiesa (+225) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (-265)</strong>

This is a pretty solid lead-in to the main event as Rafael dos Anjos looks for a bounceback effort following the loss to Leon Edwards back in July. Michael Chiesa is looking to get a signature win and get back up towards where he was earlier in his career. There is a lot on the line for both fighters here.

Chiesa lost to Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis by submission before bouncing back for wins over Carlos Condit and Diego Sanchez. Chiesa recently moved to welterweight and has had some issues with the weight cut, so you’ll want to see how he looks for this one before jumping on board. He had fought at lightweight forever.

Dos Anjos seemed to have more success at lightweight than he has at welterweight since making the change in the middle of 2017. He is 4-3 in his seven fights. In his defense, he has lost to the likes of Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, and Leon Edwards. Chiesa is not in that category.

<strong>Pick: Rafael dos Anjos</strong>

<strong>Junior Dos Santos (+200) vs. Curtis Blaydes (-240)</strong>

The main event of the evening comes from the heavyweight division, where Junior dos Santos and Curtis Blaydes lock horns. Blaydes has two losses to his name and both of them have come against Francis Ngannou. Other than that, he is a perfect 12-0 against everybody else and has multiple paths to victory. He has nine knockouts and also three stoppage wins.

As far as the losses for Dos Santos, most of them have come against elite competition as well. He lost to Ngannou himself last time out. He also has losses to Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez twice, and then a loss early in his career against Joaquim Ferreira that remains the only submission loss of his career. Dos Santos looked really good in his fight against Derrick Lewis in early 2019 and I don’t think this line is fair for him. He has a better chance than what this line implies. Blaydes hasn’t fought the types of guys that Dos Santos has.

I generally gravitate towards the underdog in these heavyweight fights where one strike can end it. That is the case here, too.

<strong>Pick: Junior Dos Santos</strong>

UFC Fight Night 166: Blaydes vs. Dos Santos Betting Odds, Picks & Preview

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