Announcement

**Udog** · 01-07-2021, 10:06 AM

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Order for the 2021 NFL Draft:
1) Jacksonville
2) NJ Jets
3) Miami (from Houston)
4) Atlanta
5) Cincinnati
6) Philadelphia

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 354,106
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

**********

Armadillo: Thursday's Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….

I feel kind of stupid posting this article about sports on such a depressing day for our country, but this is what I do, and maybe it can provide some distraction for a couple of minutes.

Prayers go out to police and military who are trying to keep the peace. We appreciate you.

13) I mention this every now and then because I’m fascinated by how nomadic some football coaches are. This is the career path of Jedd Fisch, new coach of the Pac-12’s Arizona Wildcats.

1997: PK Yonge HS (Florida)— Defensive coordinator
1998: New Jersey Red Dogs, Arena League— WR coach
1999-2000: U of Florida— Graduate assistant
2002-03: Houston Texans— Defensive quality control
2004-07: Baltimore Ravens— Offensive assistant
2008: Denver Broncos— WR coach
2009-10: U of Minnesota— Offensive coordinator/QBs coach

2010: Seattle Seahawks— QBs coach
2011-12: Miami, FL— Offensive coordinator/QBs coach
2013-14: Jacksonville Jaguars— Offensive coordinator
2015-16: U of Michigan— Passing game coordinator/QB-WR coach
2017: UCLA— Offensive coordinator/QBs coach, then interim head coach
2018-19: Los Angeles Rams— Assistant offensive coordinator
2020: New England Patriots— QBs coach

The guy must be great at packing. Now he makes $2.2M a year.

12) Quite a stat about the Green Bay Packers this year:
— Aaron Rodgers threw 48 TD passes.
— Green Bay’s punter punted 46 times.

11) Stephen Curry missed a foul shot the other night, ending a streak of 80 consecutive makes; last time an NBA player had made 80+ free throws in a row was Dirk Nowitzki, in 2010.

10) Washington QB Alex Smith is just the 5th quarterback in NFL history to lead three different teams to the playoffs; Chiefs, 49ers were the others.

9) Random fact of the day: More people live in DeKalb County (Georgia) than in the whole state of Wyoming.

8) QB JT Daniels will come back to play for the Georgia Bulldogs next fall.

7) OF Robbie Grossman banks $10M for two years from Detroit. The 8-year veteran has a .350 career on-base percentage. Detroit will be his fourth MLB team.

6) Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator Chan Gailey resigned/got fired Wednesday, meaning Miami will have its third OC in three years next season. Continuity helps NFL teams, especially where young QB’s are concerned.

5) NFL teams who played rookies the most snaps on offense this season:
1,130— Chargers, Cowboys
1,077— Broncos

4) PGA Tour starts Thursday, with the Sentry Tournament of Champions, so daytime TV gets a little bit better on Thursdays/Fridays.

3) Wednesday would’ve been Ralph Branca’s 94th birthday; Branca pitched in the major leagues for 12 years, going 88-68, mostly for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He made three All-Star teams, but is best known for giving up a walk-off homer to Bobby Thomson in a 1951 NL playoff game.

2) My dad grew up in New York City, was a huge Brooklyn Dodger fan; when I was a young person, I knew way too much about the Brooklyn Dodgers, seeing how they moved to LA three years before I was born. There is a still a ceramic dish on my kitchen wall, painted with the field at Ebbets Field on it.

1) One of the coolest things I ever did was in 1990 or so, on a weekday afternoon. Ralph Branca was doing an appearance at Mohawk **** in Niskayuna, a **** that no longer exists. So I call my dad and tell him to get ready, I was taking him somewhere, but didn’t tell him where.

It was eight miles from my dad’s house to Mohawk ****; on the way, I tell him we’re going to meet Ralph Branca, and confirm if all the stories he told me over the years were true.

We get to the ****, and Mr Branca is sitting at a card table, not many people around, which was perfect. I introduce my dad to Mr Branca, and then stepped back and watched them talk for the next 15-20 minutes, about Ebbets Field, the Dodgers, Ernie Lombardi, old baseball stuff. It was tremendously tremendous.

He confirmed all of my dad’s stories, and then when some other people showed up, we said our goodbyes and went home. It couldn’t have gone any better. Happy birthday, Mr Branca.

**Udog** · 01-07-2021, 10:15 AM

NCAAB
Dunkel

Thursday, January 7

**Udog** · 01-07-2021, 10:16 AM

NCAAB
Long Sheet

Thursday, January 7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 01-07-2021, 10:19 AM

NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, January 7

Northeastern @ Hofstra
Northeastern (3-5, 2-0)
— ranked #161 by KenPom
— Tempo: #244
— Experience: #316
— Continuity: #213
— Huskies swept Elon by 23-8 points to open CAA play.
— Northeastern is 0-5 on road, losing by 15-4 to teams outside top 100.
— Huskies are turning ball over 21.2% of time (#249)

Hofstra (6-3, 2-0)
— ranked #148 by KenPom
— Tempo: #143
— Experience: #183
— Continuity: #82
— Hofstra won five of its last six games.
— Hofstra won first two CAA tilts over Wm & Mary, by 5-9 points.
— Hofstra takes 42.7% of its shots on arc (#63), but is shooting only 29.1% on arc (#285).

— Hofstra won nine of last 12 series games.
— Huskies lost 75-72/75-71 in last two visits here.

Iowa @ Maryland
Iowa (9-2, 3-1)
— ranked #5 by KenPom
— Tempo: #88
— Experience: #210
— Continuity: #51
— Iowa gave up 99-102 points in its two losses.
— Hawkeyes split two road games; won by 2 at Rutgers, lost in OT at Minnesota.
— Iowa has #28 eFG% in country.

Maryland (6-5, 1-4)
— ranked #47 by KenPom
— Tempo: #300
— Experience: #155
— Continuity: #106
— Maryland lost five of its last seven games.
— Terrapins lost two of their last three home games.
— Maryland is shooting 36.6% on arc (#74).

— Maryland won five of last seven series games.
— Hawkeyes lost 91-73/82-72 in last two visits here.

Indiana @ Wisconsin
Indiana (7-4, 2-2)
— ranked #22 by KenPom
— Tempo: #297
— Experience: #286
— Continuity: #80
— Indiana is 0-2 on road, losing by 2 at Florida St, 9 at Illinois.
— Hoosiers won last two games, including an OT win over Penn State.
— To this point, Indiana has played schedule #17.

Wisconsin (9-2, 3-1)
— ranked #4 by KenPom
— Tempo: #333
— Experience: #22
— Continuity: #14
— Badgers’ only Big 14 loss was at home to Maryland.
— Wisconsin won six of its last seven games overall.
— Opponents are shooting 40.6% inside arc (#8).

— Wisconsin won seven of last eight series games.
— Hoosiers lost their last 14 visits to Madison last two by 10-20.

Cincinnati @ SMU
Cincinnati (2-6, 0-3)
— ranked #82 by KenPom
— Tempo: #111
— Experience: #200
— Continuity: #200
— Cincy lost its first three AAC games, by 3-5-4 points.
— Bearcats lost five in row overall, haven’t won since Dec 9.
— Cincy is shooting 26.0% on arc (#324).

SMU (6-1, 2-1)
— ranked #51 by KenPom
— Tempo: #124
— Experience: #63
— Continuity: #75
— SMU lost its last game by 14 to Houston.
— Mustangs’ two AAC wins are by 15-8 points.
— SMU has #24 eFG% defense in country.

— Cincinnati won last seven series games.
— Bearcats won last two visits here, 76-51/52-49.

UNLV @ Colorado State
UNLV (1-4, 0-0)
— ranked #141 by KenPom
— Tempo: #191
— Experience: #218
— Continuity: #247
— Rebels haven’t played since December 5th.
— Three of their four losses by 12+ points.
— UNLV hasn’t subbed much (#317 bench minutes).

Colorado State (6-2, 3-1)
— ranked #84 by KenPom
— Tempo: #55
— Experience: #314
— Continuity: #56
— Rams won a game last week after trailing 33-7.
— State’s losses are by 20 at Saint Mary’s, 13 at San Diego State.
— This is Rams’ third game in six nights.

— UNLV won four of last five series games.
— Rebels lost five of last seven visits to Fort Collins.

Washington @ Stanford
Washington (1-7, 0-3)
— ranked #127 by KenPom
— Tempo: #171
— Experience: #106
— Continuity: #208
— Huskies have Pac-12 losses by 14-3-27 points.
— Washington is shooting 24.3% on arc (#336)
— Huskies’ only win was over #280 Seattle.

Stanford (2-5, 1-3)
— ranked #42 by KenPom
— Tempo: #91
— Experience: #266
— Continuity: #41
— Stanford won five of its last six games.
— Cardinal scored 63-63-56 points in its losses.
— Stanford is shooting 29.6% on arc (#276)

— Stanford won five of last seven series games.
— Huskies lost five of last six visits to The Farm.

USC @ Arizona
USC (6-2, 1-1)
— ranked #27 by KenPom
— Tempo: #232
— Experience: #188
— Continuity: #326
— USC was held to 58-62 points in losses to UConn, Colorado.
— This is Trojans’ first true road game, though their UConn loss was at Mohegan Sun, which is in the Nutmeg State.
— USC has #5 eFG% defense in country.

Arizona (9-1, 3-1)
— ranked #29 by KenPom
— Tempo: #174
— Experience: #281
— Continuity: #317
— Wildcats’ one loss was by 3 at Stanford.
— Arizona won its last four games, scoring 81 ppg.
— Wildcats are grabbing 37.9% of their own missed shots (#11).

— USC won three of last four series games.
— Trojans lost their last ten visits to Tucson.

Illinois @ Northwestern
Illinois (8-3, 4-1)
— ranked #7 by KenPom
— Tempo: #53
— Experience: #216
— Continuity: #45
— Illini split four road tilts, losing at Missouri/Rutgers.
— To this point, Illinois has played schedule #8.
— Illinois is shooting 41.8% on arc (#6).

Northwestern (6-3, 3-2)
— ranked #55 by KenPom
— Tempo: #127
— Experience: #254
— Continuity: #53
— Wildcats lost their last two games, giving up 87-85 points.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Northwestern is shooting 40% on the arc (#13).
— To this point, Wildcats have played schedule #19.

— Illinois won last four series games, all by 8 or fewer points.
— Teams split last six meetings played here.

Nevada @ San Diego State
Nevada (8-3, 3-1)
— ranked #118 by KenPom
— Tempo: #102
— Experience: #330
— Continuity: #296
— Nevada won four of its last five games.
— Wolf Pack lost only top 100 game by 25 to San Francisco.
— To this point, Nevada has played schedule #226.

San Diego State (7-2, 1-1)
— ranked #29 by KenPom
— Tempo: #331
— Experience: #9
— Continuity: #139
— Aztecs split last four games after a 5-0 start.
— Last week, San Diego State lost a game they were leading 33-7.
— Aztecs are forcing turnovers 23.5% of time (#29)

— San Diego State won six of last seven series games.
— Wolf Pack lost their last seven games in Viejas Center.

Washington State @ California
Washington State (8-1, 1-1)
— ranked #128 by KenPom
— Tempo: #223
— Experience: #310
— Continuity: #187
— Coogs lost their last game to Arizona, in double OT.
— To this point, Wazzu has played schedule #323.
— This is Coogs’ first game outside of Pullman.

California (5-6, 0-4)
— ranked #142 by KenPom
— Tempo: #328
— Experience: #78
— Continuity: #96
— Cal lost first four league games, scoring 62.8 ppg.
— Golden Bears are 1-6 in top 200 games, upsetting San Francisco.
— Cal is turning ball over 21.3% of time (#251)

— Cal won last three series games, by 7-7-9 points.
— Coogs lost last two visits to Cal, by 7-7 points.

UCLA @ Arizona State
UCLA (7-2, 3-0)
— ranked #35 by KenPom
— Tempo: #341
— Experience: #208
— Continuity: #3
— UCLA’s Pac-12 wins are by 20-2-3 points.
— Bruins lost only true road game, 73-58 at San Diego State.
— UCLA won its two games last weekend by total of 5 points.

Arizona State (4-3, 1-0)
— ranked #57 by KenPom
— Tempo: #13
— Experience: #158
— Continuity: #134
— ASU hasn’t played since December 16.
— Sun Devils lost two of their three top 100 games.
— ASU is forcing turnovers 23.0% of time (#38).

— Arizona State won four of last five series games.
— Bruins lost 88-79/84-66 in last two visits to Tempe.

Oregon @ Colorado
Oregon (8-1, 3-0)
— ranked #15 by KenPom
— Tempo: #37
— Experience: #26
— Continuity: #302
— Ducks won eight in row, after an opening loss to Missouri.
— Last six games, Oregon has scored 75.5 ppg.
— Ducks have #47 eFG% defense in country.

Colorado (7-3, 1-2)
— ranked #20 by KenPom
— Tempo: #267
— Experience: #27
— Continuity: #107
— Buffs lost two of their last three games.
— Only two of their first ten games were at home.
— Buffs are forcing turnovers 21.3% of time (#88).

— Teams split last eight series games.
— Home side won last 11 series games.
— Ducks lost their last six visits to Boulder.

BYU @ Gonzaga
BYU (9-2, 0-0)
— ranked #67 by KenPom
— Tempo: #93
— Experience: #75
— Continuity: #259
— BYU won last four games, beating Utah/San Diego State.
— Cougars have two quality road wins (Utah State/San Diego State)
— BYU is shooting 55.1% inside arc (#43).

Gonzaga (10-0, 1-0)
— ranked #1 by KenPom
— Tempo: #7
— Experience: #255
— Continuity: #173
— Zags won their WCC opener, 85-62 over USF.
— Gonzaga is shooting 65.2% inside arc (#3).
— Zags already have six top 100 wins.

— Gonzaga won nine of last 11 series games.
— Cougars lost last three visits to Spokane, by 8-34-23 points.

**Udog** · 01-07-2021, 10:21 AM

NCAAB

Thursday, January 7

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 01-07-2021, 10:22 AM

723TENNESSEE TECH -724 MOREHEAD ST
MOREHEAD ST is 28-46 ATS (-22.6 Units) in home games after having lost 2 of their last 3 games since 1997.

725SE MISSOURI ST -726 BELMONT
BELMONT is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in home games after having won 6 or 7 of their last 8 games over the last 2 seasons.

725SE MISSOURI ST -726 BELMONT
Casey Alexander is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in home games after having won 6 or 7 of their last 8 games (Coach of BELMONT)

727NORTHEASTERN -728 HOFSTRA
HOFSTRA is 11-1 ATS (9.9 Units) after scoring 80 points or more over the last 2 seasons.

729IOWA -730 MARYLAND
IOWA is 14-3 ATS (10.7 Units) versus teams who average 6 or less steals/game on the season over the last 2 seasons.

731INDIANA -732 WISCONSIN
WISCONSIN is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) after covering 2 of their last 3 against the spread over the last 2 seasons.

731INDIANA -732 WISCONSIN
Archie Miller is 2-10 ATS (-9 Units) as a road underdog of 6.5 to 12 points (Coach of INDIANA)

733CINCINNATI -734 SMU
CINCINNATI is 7-19 ATS (-13.9 Units) after failing to cover the spread in 2 or more consecutive games in the last 3 seasons.

735JACKSONVILLE ST -736 E KENTUCKY
E KENTUCKY is 14-39 ATS (-28.9 Units) in home games versus good teams - outscoring their opponents by 4+ points/game since 1997.

737IDAHO ST -738 N ARIZONA
IDAHO ST is 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) in a road game where the total is 130 to 139.5 over the last 2 seasons.

Announcement

Thursday's NCAAB Trends and Indexes - 1/7

Thursday's NCAAB Trends and Indexes - 1/7

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment