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Thursday's Tip Sheet
January 8, 2015
**Michigan State at Iowa**
-- As of Wednesday night, most betting shops had Iowa (11-4 straight up, 5-6 against the spread) installed as a three-point favorite. The Hawkeyes have limped to a 1-3 spread record in four games as single-digit favorites.
-- Michigan State (10-5 SU, 9-6 ATS) has won eight consecutive games in this rivalry, going 6-2 ATS in the process. When these teams collided in Iowa City last year, Tom Izzo's squad won 71-69 in overtime as a 5.5-point road underdog.
-- Michigan State has won five of its last eight games, with all three defeats coming in overtime. After losing at home to Maryland by a 68-66 count on Dec. 30, the Spartans bounced back to spank Indiana 70-50 Monday as eight-point home 'chalk.' Izzo's bunch dominated the boards with a 46-24 advantage over IU. Denzel Valentine and Branden Dawson led the way for MSU. Valentine scored 15 points, pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists compared to just one turnover. Dawson finished with 14 points, 13 boards, two assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
-- Fran McCaffrey's squad has won nine of its 10 home games while compiling a 3-3 spread record. The lone defeat came against Iowa State
-- Iowa has won three in a row, including a pair of spread covers in its first two Big Ten games. The Hawkeyes went to Columbus and collected a 71-65 victory as seven-point road underdogs. Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff were the catalysts, scoring 18 points apiece. White made 8-of-10 from the free-throw line and grabbed nine rebounds, while Uthoff pulled down seven boards and dished out five assists. Iowa won the rebounding battle over the Buckeyes by a wide 36-27 margin.
-- Iowa hooked up its betting backers with a fortunate spread cover in Monday night's 70-59 win over Nebraska as a 9.5-point favorite. The Hawkeyes trailed Nebraska outright with 8:09 remaining, but they forced the Cornhuskers to miss their last 10 shots from the field. Meanwhile, Iowa hit eight in a row from the charity stripe when Nebraska starting fouling in the final minute. White had 23 points and nine rebounds for the winners, who went 31-of-38 from the line while Nebraska made just 13-of-21 from the stripe. Gabriel Olaseni produced 18 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes of playing time from off the bench.
-- The 'under' is 3-1 in the last four head-to-head meetings between these Big Ten rivals.
-- The 'under' is 5-2 overall for the Hawkeyes, but they have seen the 'over' go 2-1 in their three home games with a total.
-- Totals have been an overall wash for the Spartans (6-6-2). The 'under' is 2-0-2 in its last four games that had a total.
-- Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
**Arizona at Oregon**
-- As of Wednesday night, most spots had Arizona (13-1 SU, 7-7 ATS) favored by five. This is the third time Sean Miller's squad has played the role of road favorite. The Wildcats failed to cover in both previous road 'chalk' situations, including their only loss of the season at UNLV (71-67).
-- Oregon (11-3 SU, 7-6 ATS) has won six in a row, including a 71-59 win over Oregon State in its Pac-12 opener this past Saturday. The Ducks took the cash as 8.5-point home favorites. Joseph Young led the way with a game-high 27 points, while Elgin Cook finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
-- Young is averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The senior has made 50-of-54 free throws (92.6%).
-- Oregon has won 10 of its 11 home games, going 6-4 ATS. However, the Ducks are mired in a 1-3 ATS slump in their last four home games. They needed overtime to slip past both UC-Santa Barbara and UC-Irvine.
-- Oregon has been an underdog three times, compiling a 1-2 record both SU and ATS. The Ducks beat Illinois in Chicago, but they lost to VCU and Michigan in Brooklyn.
-- Arizona had a long layoff after losing to the Runnin' Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on Dec. 23. The Wildcats trounced Arizona State 73-49 in their return to the court for the first time in 10 days. They easily covered the number as 14-point home 'chalk.' Brandon Ashley , Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson scored 13 points apiece.
-- Arizona has four quality wins over RPI Top-100 foes like Gonzaga, San Diego State, Michigan State and UTEP. Also, the Wildcats have decent scalps of Kansas State and Missouri.
-- Totals have been an overall wash (7-7) for Arizona, but it has watched the 'over' hit in four of the last six games.
-- Totals have been an overall wash (6-6) for the Ducks, but they have seen the 'over' go 5-2 in its last seven outings.
**B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets**
-- South Carolina's first seven-game winning streak in 11 years ended Wednesday night when Florida went into Columbia and won a 72-68 decision as a one-point road favorite. Dorian Finney-Smith paced the Gators with 20 points and seven rebounds. Michael Frazier II dropped 37 on the Gamecocks last season at Colonial Life Arena and went for 17 this time around. However, Billy Donovan made Frazier come off the bench for the first time this season. UF was playing without senior center Jon Horford, who was left behind in Gainesville to serve a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
-- Seton Hall fell to 12-2 ATS when it lost 69-58 at Xavier as a 7.5-point underdog. The Pirates couldn't overcome the loss of Angel Delgado (12 points and six boards on 5-of-7 shooting from the field), who fouled out with more than six minutes remaining. Sterling Gibbs had a poor shooting night as well (3-11 FGs, 2-8 3PFGs) and didn't get his first points until the second half. Dee Davis scored a game-high 14 points for the Musketeers.
-- Davidson improved to 9-1 ATS by taking the money in a 71-65 loss at VCU as a 10.5-point underdog.
-- Air Force forward Kamryn Williams has been lost for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon. Williams was the Falcons' leading rebounder (6.0 RPG) and second-leading scorer (9.5 PPG).
-- Gonzaga was hoping to have Vanderbilt transfer Eric McClellan make his season debut Thursday against San Francisco. But according to reports out of Spokane, McClellan's return has been delayed for at least two weeks. He has a slight bone break in his right foot and will be reevaluated in two weeks. While playing in 12 games for the Commodores last year, McClellan averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
-- Illinois beat Maryland at home in its first game without leading scorer Rayvonte Rice, who has a broken hand and will miss 3-6 weeks. Rice was averaging 17.2 PPG.
January 8, 2015
**Michigan State at Iowa**
-- As of Wednesday night, most betting shops had Iowa (11-4 straight up, 5-6 against the spread) installed as a three-point favorite. The Hawkeyes have limped to a 1-3 spread record in four games as single-digit favorites.
-- Michigan State (10-5 SU, 9-6 ATS) has won eight consecutive games in this rivalry, going 6-2 ATS in the process. When these teams collided in Iowa City last year, Tom Izzo's squad won 71-69 in overtime as a 5.5-point road underdog.
-- Michigan State has won five of its last eight games, with all three defeats coming in overtime. After losing at home to Maryland by a 68-66 count on Dec. 30, the Spartans bounced back to spank Indiana 70-50 Monday as eight-point home 'chalk.' Izzo's bunch dominated the boards with a 46-24 advantage over IU. Denzel Valentine and Branden Dawson led the way for MSU. Valentine scored 15 points, pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists compared to just one turnover. Dawson finished with 14 points, 13 boards, two assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
-- Fran McCaffrey's squad has won nine of its 10 home games while compiling a 3-3 spread record. The lone defeat came against Iowa State
-- Iowa has won three in a row, including a pair of spread covers in its first two Big Ten games. The Hawkeyes went to Columbus and collected a 71-65 victory as seven-point road underdogs. Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff were the catalysts, scoring 18 points apiece. White made 8-of-10 from the free-throw line and grabbed nine rebounds, while Uthoff pulled down seven boards and dished out five assists. Iowa won the rebounding battle over the Buckeyes by a wide 36-27 margin.
-- Iowa hooked up its betting backers with a fortunate spread cover in Monday night's 70-59 win over Nebraska as a 9.5-point favorite. The Hawkeyes trailed Nebraska outright with 8:09 remaining, but they forced the Cornhuskers to miss their last 10 shots from the field. Meanwhile, Iowa hit eight in a row from the charity stripe when Nebraska starting fouling in the final minute. White had 23 points and nine rebounds for the winners, who went 31-of-38 from the line while Nebraska made just 13-of-21 from the stripe. Gabriel Olaseni produced 18 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes of playing time from off the bench.
-- The 'under' is 3-1 in the last four head-to-head meetings between these Big Ten rivals.
-- The 'under' is 5-2 overall for the Hawkeyes, but they have seen the 'over' go 2-1 in their three home games with a total.
-- Totals have been an overall wash for the Spartans (6-6-2). The 'under' is 2-0-2 in its last four games that had a total.
-- Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
**Arizona at Oregon**
-- As of Wednesday night, most spots had Arizona (13-1 SU, 7-7 ATS) favored by five. This is the third time Sean Miller's squad has played the role of road favorite. The Wildcats failed to cover in both previous road 'chalk' situations, including their only loss of the season at UNLV (71-67).
-- Oregon (11-3 SU, 7-6 ATS) has won six in a row, including a 71-59 win over Oregon State in its Pac-12 opener this past Saturday. The Ducks took the cash as 8.5-point home favorites. Joseph Young led the way with a game-high 27 points, while Elgin Cook finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
-- Young is averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The senior has made 50-of-54 free throws (92.6%).
-- Oregon has won 10 of its 11 home games, going 6-4 ATS. However, the Ducks are mired in a 1-3 ATS slump in their last four home games. They needed overtime to slip past both UC-Santa Barbara and UC-Irvine.
-- Oregon has been an underdog three times, compiling a 1-2 record both SU and ATS. The Ducks beat Illinois in Chicago, but they lost to VCU and Michigan in Brooklyn.
-- Arizona had a long layoff after losing to the Runnin' Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on Dec. 23. The Wildcats trounced Arizona State 73-49 in their return to the court for the first time in 10 days. They easily covered the number as 14-point home 'chalk.' Brandon Ashley , Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson scored 13 points apiece.
-- Arizona has four quality wins over RPI Top-100 foes like Gonzaga, San Diego State, Michigan State and UTEP. Also, the Wildcats have decent scalps of Kansas State and Missouri.
-- Totals have been an overall wash (7-7) for Arizona, but it has watched the 'over' hit in four of the last six games.
-- Totals have been an overall wash (6-6) for the Ducks, but they have seen the 'over' go 5-2 in its last seven outings.
**B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets**
-- South Carolina's first seven-game winning streak in 11 years ended Wednesday night when Florida went into Columbia and won a 72-68 decision as a one-point road favorite. Dorian Finney-Smith paced the Gators with 20 points and seven rebounds. Michael Frazier II dropped 37 on the Gamecocks last season at Colonial Life Arena and went for 17 this time around. However, Billy Donovan made Frazier come off the bench for the first time this season. UF was playing without senior center Jon Horford, who was left behind in Gainesville to serve a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
-- Seton Hall fell to 12-2 ATS when it lost 69-58 at Xavier as a 7.5-point underdog. The Pirates couldn't overcome the loss of Angel Delgado (12 points and six boards on 5-of-7 shooting from the field), who fouled out with more than six minutes remaining. Sterling Gibbs had a poor shooting night as well (3-11 FGs, 2-8 3PFGs) and didn't get his first points until the second half. Dee Davis scored a game-high 14 points for the Musketeers.
-- Davidson improved to 9-1 ATS by taking the money in a 71-65 loss at VCU as a 10.5-point underdog.
-- Air Force forward Kamryn Williams has been lost for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon. Williams was the Falcons' leading rebounder (6.0 RPG) and second-leading scorer (9.5 PPG).
-- Gonzaga was hoping to have Vanderbilt transfer Eric McClellan make his season debut Thursday against San Francisco. But according to reports out of Spokane, McClellan's return has been delayed for at least two weeks. He has a slight bone break in his right foot and will be reevaluated in two weeks. While playing in 12 games for the Commodores last year, McClellan averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
-- Illinois beat Maryland at home in its first game without leading scorer Rayvonte Rice, who has a broken hand and will miss 3-6 weeks. Rice was averaging 17.2 PPG.
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