Duke looks to bounce back tonight in Syracuse, with or without their superstar forward Zion Williamson. That’s the biggest storyline heading into a packed Saturday of college hoops in this last weekend of February as we head to March Madness. Make sure you join Wannamakeabet.com today and join the monthly sports betting league. It’s free to enter and we give away cash based on how many people join. For those interested in watching the remainder of the season and March Madness online, you can check out ExpressVPN’s guide on live streaming NCAA basketball
ZION-LESS DUKE IN THE DOME
Unless you live in a cave, we’ve all seen the highlight at this point. Zion Williamson suffered a mild knee sprain after ripping his shoe just 33 seconds into Duke’s 88-72 home loss to rival North Carolina on Wednesday night. He will miss the Blue Devils’ Saturday encounter with Syracuse at the intimidating Carrier Dome. The Under might be the superior play in this one; Duke is 7-17-2 O/U for the season and could struggle to replace Zion’s 21.6 points per game, while Syracuse is 5-12-0 O/U at home. Duke’s opening line at Wannamakeabet.com was -4.5 and O/U 143.5.
PASS THE ROACH
Texas senior guard and leading scorer Kerwin Roach II has been suspended indefinitely the school announced Friday. Roach averaging 15 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The school would only reveal that Roach “violated team rules.” This is the second suspension Roach has received from the school and the third time in his career. The Longhorns will have to play on without him as they visit Oklahoma Saturday afternoon where they are currently 3.5-point road dogs.
NEXT UP FOR THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina’s 16-point road win over the rival Blue Devils puts the Tar Heels on the fast track to a major rankings boost. And they can not afford to take it easy Saturday as they host the nationally-ranked and very tough Florida State Seminoles. North Carolina saw its national title odds jump to +1,300 with the victory in Duke and are in good shape to make a run in the tourney. The eighth-ranked Tar Heels have covered seven of their past nine games and are 9-3 ATS in their previous 12 following a victory. But the 16th-ranked Seminoles are no slouch either. They come in on a five-game cover streak of their own.
GO OVER IN MICHIGAN
Oddsmakers often tab games between Michigan and Michigan State as low-scoring affairs. But the in State rivals have filled the bucket in their recent encounters and will look to do the same as they face off Sunday in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines and Spartans have converted the over in eight of their previous 10 meetings dating back to the start of 2014. Each won and covered by Michigan. The winning team produced 75 or more points in each of those eight overs, with the final score exceeding the total by double digits six times in that stretch.
IVY ALERT – YALE IS SUDDENLY (17-4 SU, 12-8 ATS, 9-11 O/U)
You won’t see many Ivy League teams on sites like ours but the conference will produce at least one NCAA Tournament entrant this year. The Bulldogs enter the weekend with the best shot at representing the Ivy League in the final 68, leading Harvard by one game – with its only conference loss coming to the Crimson earlier this month. There’s a decent chance Yale will be able to exact its revenge in Saturday’s rematch.
The Bulldogs have boasted a surprisingly potent offense, ranking 30th in Division I in field goal percentage (49.3) and 30th in scoring average (81.0 points per game). Throw in a top-15 rebounding attack (40.5 per game) and it’s easy to see why Yale has positioned itself to make just its second March Madness appearance in 57 years. The Bulldogs have a busy weekend ahead, facing off against Dartmouth on Friday before their hotly anticipated rematch with Harvard on Saturday.
DUKE WILL BE READY
Duke still has plenty of real estate between itself and the rest of the pack in terms of national championship odds, but the gap has shrunk a little. The Blue Devils are down to +225 to win the NCAA title, and could slip further depending on how they play with Williamson out for now. Gonzaga remains second in the odds race but has moved up to +850.
SOME MORE BETTING TRENDS
- Home underdogs are strong ATS options heading into one of the final weekends of the regular season, having converted at better than a 57-percent clip over the previous seven days worth of games. Home teams in general have been the superior cover option over the past week, making good nearly 53 percent of the time.
- Overs were the play earlier in the week, but the under has quickly regained its superiority with a 50.7-percent conversion rate over the previous week; non-overtime games went under 53.6 percent of the time. The under is at 52.2 percent on all games over the past 30 days and sits at a healthy 51.9 percent for the season.
- Ole Miss is turning heads as a sensational double threat. The Rebels own the second-best overall ATS record among Division I teams, having covered 19 of their 26 games so far this season to go along with an 18-8 SU record. But times have been a bit tougher of late, with Ole Miss having won outright and covered in just three of its past nine games. Seems like the tides are turning to even things out on the season.
Stay tuned to our blog as we finish the college basketball season and head toward March Madness.