College Basketball Betting Guide

The Vanderbilt Commodores are a part of the NCAA Division 1, and are members of the SEC, or Southeastern Conference.  They have been in the NCAA Tournament a total of ten times, and have made it as far as the Elite Eight in 1965.  They have been to the Sweet Sixteen six times, and have won three SEC regular conference titles in 1965, 1974, and 1993.  They have been in the NIT tournament nine times and actually won the championship in 1990, and were runners-up in the 1994 tournament.

Vanderbilt University is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Commodores play in the Memorial Gymnasium.  It is a historical venue and was built in the 1950’s as a memorial to the alumni that went and served in World War II.  In the north lobby of the gym, there is a large plaque hanging there with the names of those that served, and those that were killed in action.  In the history of the NCAA, Vanderbilt is one of only three different teams to have scored a three point field goal in every game since the 3-point shot was introduced in 1986-87.  Their current 3-point record is now at 698 games and has been kept alive so far in the 2009-2010 season.

There have been a number of Vanderbilt players that have made it to the NBA, including Shan Foster, Derrick Byars, Dan Langhi, Bill McCaffrey, and Will Perdue, but only two players have ever had their jerseys retired in the stadium.  These two players are Clyde Lee (#43), and Perry Wallace (#25).

The Butler Bulldogs men’s basketball team represents Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The team’s nickname was originally the “Christians”, but after a poor football season in 1919 they grew tired of the name.  It then changed a few more times including the nickname the “Baptists”, until one day a bulldog from a local fraternity wandered into the office and the bulldog craze was created.  They are part of the NCAA Division 1 league, and are currently in the Horizon League.  Their current coach is Brad Stevens.

The Bulldogs have won a championship prior to the development of the NCAA Tournament.  The first championship was in 1924 but they didn’t have another post-season win until 1958 when the team went to the NIT quarterfinals.  When it comes to the NIT, the Bulldogs have made seven appearances, and have reached the quarterfinals twice.

In past years the Butler Bulldogs men’s basketball team has been known for its mid major basketball programs.  This means that they have won over 20 games per season and also gotten to the postseason in 11 of 13 seasons.  During this stretch they had 8 different appearances in the NCAA Tournament and have reached the Sweet Sixteen twice (2003, 2007).

The Bulldogs have had some talented players come through the program including AJ Graves and Mike Green.  Graves was the Wooden Award National Player of the Year finalist in 2007, and Mike Green was the Chip Hilton Player of the year in 2008.  They have struggled to have any real runs at the National Championship, but have established a style of play that is promising and is warmly known as the “Butler way”.

There are a lot of good college basketball teams out there, but few have the heritage and prestige of the Michigan State Spartans men’s basketball team.  Located in East Lansing, MI, Michigan State has had a long history of winning seasons and conference titles.  The Spartans are in the NCAA Division 1 and are members of the Big Ten Conference.  They play in the Breslin Student Events Center on campus.

The Michigan State Spartans have won two NCAA Championships; one in 1979 and the other in 2000.  In 1979 it was projected to Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird.  The 1979 team included players such as Magic Johnson, Greg Kelser, and Jay Vincent.  They played the undefeated Indiana State Sycamores who were led by Larry Bird.  They ended up winning the game and Magic Johnson got the MVP.  In 2000 the team was composed of Morris Peterson, Charlie Bell, A.J. Granger, Mateen Cleaves, and Jason Richardson.  They beat the FLorida Gators and Mateen Cleaves got the MVP award.

Other than that, the Spartans have also won 11 Big Ten Championships and selected for 12 back-to-back tournament bids.  They have attended the Final Four 7 times, and have been in the Tournament itself, 22 times.  They are one of nine schools that have that many or more NCAA appearances.  Other than championships, the Michigan State Spartans also have a record for the most attended college basketball game.  When they played Kentucky in 2003 there were over 78,000 people in attendance to watch the outcome of the game.

The West Virginia Mountaineers men’s basketball team is part of NCAA Division 1 basketball and is currently in the Big East Conference.  West Virginia University is located in Morgantown, WV, and their basketball team has made quite a few appearances in the NCAA tournament.

They have been the runner up to the NCAA National Championships once in 1959, and have made it to the Final Four only once in 1959.  Most recently, they got to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2008 season.  The West Virginia Mountaineers have also won a couple of NIT Championships.  The latest was in 2007 with the help of Frank Young and Da’Sean Butler.  They defeated Clemson 78-72 in a thriller.

West Virgina has also produced some legendary players like “Hot” Rod Hundley, and Jerry West.  Rod Hundley played his senior season in 1957 with the team, and he helped the team move up to #4 in the rankings.  They ended up winning the Southern Conference Championships that year and Rod ended up leaving for the draft after that season.  The next season, it was time for Jerry West to shine.  He finished his season leading the Mountaineers to a 26-5 season.  They went on to finish a strong season, but were not able to get a National Championship. Both of these players went and had very memorable careers in the NBA and continued the legacy of the West Virginia Mountaineers men’s basketball team.  They look to have a decent team this season and to fare well down the stretch.

The New Mexico Lobos men’s basketball organization is frequently considered one of the top 30 NCAA teams in the country. The University of New Mexico is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has had a basketball program since 1899.  They didn’t hire a new coach, however, until almost 1920.  Since then they have had a number of great coaches and players and have been legitimate competitors.

They play Division 1 NCAA basketball and are currently in the Mountain West Conference.  They have never won a National Championship but they have captured the Conference Tournament Championship three times. They have also been the regular season conference champions 9 times.

Some of the great players that have come out of New Mexico include Danny Granger who was selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 2005.  He was a star in college, and we have yet to see what he will do in the NBA.  Other greats that have come from the New Mexico Lobos include Mel Daniels and Larry Bird.

Throughout the years the New Mexico Lobos have often gotten on both the AP poll and Coaches Poll for the top 25 teams.  In 1963 they were ranked #3 and in 1967 they were ranked #4.  During the 90’s they were ranked in the top twenty five multiple times.  Since then, this is the first year that they have been ranked in either of those polls.  They currently have been as high as the eighth spot during the 2009-2010 season.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are well known for their sports. One of their most prestigious sports programs is their men’s basketball team, which is a part of the Big Ten Conference, one of the premier conferences in college sports.
Ohio State University is located in Columbus Ohio, and started its first basketball team in 1898. Since then they have gone on to win a National Championship in 1960 and have frequently attended the NCAA Tournament throughout the years. They have made it to the tournament 20 times and have captured a number of Big Ten Conference Titles. Their biggest rivals are still the Michigan Wolverines, and they currently are winning the overall series at 83-70.
Over the years the Ohio State Buckeyes have produced some great players from their organization. Some of the notable players who have achieved some great numbers in a single season include Dennis Hopson who holds the record amount of points scored at 958, Mike Conley, Jr. who is the University assists leader at 238, and Curtis Wilson who holds the record for steals at 74.
Each year the Ohio State Buckeyes are contending for a championship, and each year they show incredible progress. This is a top school for recruiting, and is constantly being filled with talent and potential college all-stars. Many of their players end up making it to the NBA, which is at testament to the legacy that has been created at Ohio State University. Keep your eye on this team to watch some fun and exciting basketball throughout the season.

This week at Madison Square Garden, the powerful Big East Conference will host their annual Championship Tournament, which includes all sixteen teams. The bottom eight teams play on Tuesday. The most likely upset in this round is St. John’s over Connecticut. St. John’s lacks on offense, but they have a solid defense, as well as wins versus Temple, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Siena.

On Wednesday, the fourth-eighth teams play the winners of Tuesday’s games. Seton Hall’s offense, led by Jeremy Hazell, may be enough to pull of an upset in this round. Notre Dame has arguably the best offense in the Big East, but they will need to rely on their mediocre defense to come through. Georgetown needs to limit their turnovers to advance.

Louisville has beaten Syracuse twice this season, which makes them a legitimate contender.

Marquette has a well-balanced team and an efficient scorer in Jimmy Butler, but they struggled against the top competition this season.

The top four teams enter play on Thursday. The champion will likely come from this batch. Syracuse boasts the best defense in the conference, and they have minimal struggles on offense as well. However, the only two teams to beat Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Louisville, are likely to still be in the tournament at this point.

West Virginia, whose biggest strength is offensive rebounding, split games with Pittsburgh and Villanova this year, but lost to Syracuse. Pittsburgh has beaten three top five teams this season, which places them as a contender yet again.

It should be a really exciting March Madness this year.

The nationally ranked basketball teams at Kansas University and Kansas State will meet for the second time this season on Wednesday, March 3. KU is ranked number-one in the nation and K-State is ranked sixth in the latest polls.

KU won the first game in Manhattan (81-79) in overtime; it could have gone either way. Kansas had five players score in double figures, with center Cole Aldrich leading the way with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. K-State’s superb guard, Jacob Pullen, scored 22 points for Kansas State.

Kansas has the longest home-court winning streak in the nation with 58-straight wins in Allen Fieldhouse. In addition, the Jayhawks have held the number-one national ranking for most of the season, it will be Senior Day, and KU has a chance to go undefeated in the Big 12.

This sets the stage for K-State; the Wildcats will have everything to gain and nothing to lose when they take the floor against the Jayhawks. The KU-K-State rivalry has been intense over the years and Wednesday will be no exception.

KU center Cole Aldrich (6-11, 245) is the biggest difference between the two teams. Aldrich is the best defensive center in college basketball and he’s a leading candidate to be national Player of the Year.

It’s not inconceivable that Wednesday in Lawrence could be a preview of the national championship game to be played on April 5 in Indianapolis.

During this time of the year, schools are positioning themselves for their upcoming conference tournaments, and next Tuesday’s (Feb. 23) contest in Gainesville will be no different.

The winner between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators will have secured a higher seed for next month’s SEC Tournament. Currently, both are tied for third place in the SEC Eastern Division, as the Vols will be seeking their sixth straight win over the Gators and making things interesting in basketball betting.

Since arriving in the SEC, Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl has dominated Florida with an impressive 8-1 record in head-to-head meetings, including a perfect 5-0 mark on Tennessee’s homecourt. But this year has been a struggle, as Pearl had to throw off his best player (Tyler Smith) from the squad early in the season. The Vols continue to misfire from the 3-point line, as they shot only 25 percent from beyond the arc, but Pearl is convinced that his team is finally making big shots to win important conference games.

In their first match-up on January 31st, the Volunteers won a highly-contested 61-60 victory over the Gators, as they scored the winning bucket with just under 25 seconds remaining in the game. They overcame a sluggish first half, as the Vols held the talented Gator backcourt tandem (Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton) to a combined 13 points on the afternoon. Usually, they account for 50 percent of Florida’s total offensive production.

Gators head coach Billy Donovan could continue to use a more pressing defense that limited Tennessee to a combined 36 percent shooting percentage in their last meeting. Offensively, Donovan will need F Alex Tyrus to score closer to his season average of 14.9 points than his career mark of 4.8 points against Tennessee in order for Florida to be successful.

Two of the top teams in the Southeastern Conference East Division take to the court on Saturday, February 13th, and it’s a safe bet that there will be no love lost between the two squads. The 3rd-ranked Kentucky Wildcats will face off against the No. 12 ranked Tennessee Volunteers in what may well be an early preview of the SEC Tournament Championship game.

Kentucky has fared better than almost anyone could have imagined under new coach John Calipari. Despite some of the best talent in the country, the Wildcats underachieved a year ago, and there were some who believed UK would need some time to rebuild. Instead Kentucky blasted out of the gate, and clawed its way to the #1 ranking in the country, before being upended in a huge upset against conference foe South Carolina.

Meanwhile, the Volunteers have been chugging along at their normal pace since former Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl arrived on campus. Except for a few trip ups here and there Tennessee has taken care of business, including against that same Gamecocks team that knocked off Calipari’s squad.

Kentucky freshmen DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall will do battle with the veteran Tennessee duo of Scotty Hopson and Wayne Chism in what should be a high scoring slugfest that could very well help determine what road the conference championship must take.