NCAA Basketball Tips

The Syracuse Orange will head to Georgetown to take on the Hoyas this weekend. These two teams are both ranked among the nation’s elite with the Orange sitting at 20th in the nation and the Hoyas at 11th in the nation. The Orange have a record of 23-6 on the season and the Georgetown Hoyas are at 21-6 this year.

College Basketball Odds have Syracuse at 35-1 to emerge from March Madness as the NCAAB champion, and Georgetown at 30-1.

The Orange started out the season on fire, but really started to fall apart about a month ago. They have lost 6 of their last 11 games. The truth is that they have played a number of ranked teams, but Syracuse is the type of team that people expect to come out on top in those games. The Orange are 4-4 this season against teams ranked in the top 25.

The Hoyas played against Syracuse recently and came out on top with an 8 point victory. They were in the middle of a long winning streak before falling to UCONN by 8 points on the 16th of February. They are now 5-3 on the season against teams ranked in the top 25.

The Hoyas’ biggest issue is in rebounding the basketball. They are just the 222nd best team in the nation in rebounds per game. They will really need to attack the boards in this game as the Orange are a much better team on the glass.

The Hoyas are the 2nd best team in the nation in terms of field goal percentage. The Orange need to try to force the Hoyas to take difficult shots to take them out of their rhythm in this game.

The Pittsburgh Panthers will travel to play the Villanova Wildcats this Saturday in a game that will have NCAA Tournament seeding implications. The Panthers two losses this season have come to ranked opponents but they have also beaten three ranked opponents this season. One of those victories against the Syracuse Orangemen will help Pittsburgh secure a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In college basketball lines, betting Odds will be available at sportsbooks on Friday night.

Villanova stumbled in the last few weeks by dropping three games in the Big East. Two of those games came against ranked Big East opponents No.8 UConn and No.20 Georgetown. Villanova does have a statement win on their resume with a victory over the No. 3 ranked Syracuse team led by Jim Boeheim.

Pittsburgh matches up well against the Wildcats in this game. The Panthers are one of the best rebounding teams in the country. They rank third in the NCAA on the boards and their best rebounding player is Gary McGhee averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. Aside from McGhee it is a team effort on the boards with the rest of the team pitching in.

Pittsburgh will be led by Ashton Gibbs in the scoring department. Gibbs is averaging 16.3 points per game and he will be expected to match the Villanova Wildcats pair of shooters Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes. Fisher is averaging 15.7 points per game and Stokes is averaging 14.8 points per game. Stokes is the deadly three point shooter of the two. He is hitting 41 percent from behind the three point line.

The North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Duke Blue Devils will square off as in-state rivals this weekend. The Blue Devils are the 5th ranked team in the nation at 19-2 on the season. The NC State has not had an extremely successful season, but all of the major teams in North Carolina seem to step up when they play against each other.

Betting Odds have not yet been posted.

The Blue Devils recently lost to FSU, but they looked like they were starting to turn things around after winning 4 games in a row. Unfortunately, Duke had another setback in their last game as they lost to St. John’s by 15 points.

NC State looked like a solid team early in the season, but they have absolutely fallen apart as of late. The Wolfpack has lost 5 of their last 6 games and they look like they will keep falling. These two teams actually squared off recently and the Wolfpack was beaten soundly by the Blue Devils.

The problem for NC State lies in their offense. They are just the 126th best team in the nation in terms of Field Goal percentage. The Wolfpack needs to work on moving the ball around to get better shots. They average just 14 assists per game.

The Blue Devils allowed more than 90 points against St. John’s on January 30th. They will need to tighten things up on defense if they hope to stay among the prominent names in the nation. The Blue Devils have not allowed even 80 points this season to any other opponent, but if other teams pick up on the strategy of St. John’s it may be cause for concern.

On Sunday January 30, one of the most exciting games of the 2010-2011 NBA seasons will take place as the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Boston Celtics. The Staples Arena is expected to be sold out and millions more will keep an eye on the live game on ABC. It is one of the greatest rivalries in the league’s history that has been recently revived in championship competitions. Doc Rivers and Phil Jackson hope that this will be a preview of this year’s NBA finals.

In college basketball betting lines, NBA Betting Odds are not yet available.

This will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2010 NBA finals. Game 7 is still fresh on everyone’s minds, as the Lakers won it 83-79 to claim the league title. The lineup for Sunday’s game will be similar to the squads that competed in the finals. Pierce, Garnett, Allen, Rondo, Bryant, and Gasol will bring back some bitter and sweet memories to Celtics and Lakers fans on Sunday evening.

The only new factor is Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq might get a cold reception at his former hometown in Los Angeles. An aging and injured Shaq is not a powerful force for Boston today as he was during his peak for the Lakers.

Boston is ranked first in the Eastern Conference, while the Lakers are second in the Western Conference. The Celtics are slightly better in the winning percentage department right now. When talking about momentum, both teams are not where they’d like to be because of some careless losses. The Lakers recently lost to Dallas, who are ranked fifth in the West. Meanwhile, the Celtics lost a close game to the Wizards, who have one of the worst records in the NBA.

The top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the 22nd ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. The Buckeyes inherited the top spot in the nation after top-ranked Duke fell last week. This game will be a good test of the mental toughness of Ohio State. It is a common occurrence for a team to reach the top of the rankings and then struggle once they are at the top.

NCAAB Betting Odds have not yet been posted.

The Buckeyes’ success can be largely attributed to their great field goal percentage. They have the 4th highest percentage in the nation at 50 percent. Their great ball movement has allowed them to get easy shots throughout the season. The Buckeyes are averaging nearly 18 assists per game.

While the Buckeyes have a great ranking, they have been largely untested. They have played just two teams in the top 25 this season. Their last game against a top 25 team was on January 9th. They played Minnesota and barely snuck out with a 3 point victory. The last 3 games for the Buckeyes have been decided by 4 points or less.

The Illini will take courage that Ohio State has been pushed to the edge so many times recently and can employ some of the same tactics that other teams have against the Buckeyes.

Illinois has two wins over top 25 teams this season, but they have lost three other games against top 25 teams. The Fighting Illini have a chance in this game, but they will need to step things up from how they have been playing recently. They have lost two consecutive contests.

The Marquette Golden Eagles will take on the Louisville Cardinals this weekend. These two teams are both enjoying solid seasons. The Cardinals are ranked 17th in the nation with a record of 13-2 on the season. The Golden Eagles are 12-5 to this point in the season and are currently unranked.

NCAAB college basketball odds have not yet been posted for this matchup.

Both of these teams rely on their efficient offenses to win games. The Cardinals score 82 points per game on 48 percent shooting. Much of their scoring success is due to their great ball movement within their offense. The Cardinals are 5th in the nation in assists per game at 18.4.

The Golden Eagles are an even better team in terms of field goal percentage so far this year. Marquette is shooting 50 percent on the season and they are 10th in the nation in assists per game at 17.9.

The issue for the Golden Eagles is their poor rebounding. Marquette is just 119th in the nation in rebounds per game. If they want to take this game from Louisville they will need to make a concerted effort to crash the boards against the Cardinals.

Marquette has gone just 1-3 against ranked teams to this point in the season. The Golden Eagles played tough against Duke, Gonzaga and Pittsburgh, but they fell short in each game. Most recently Marquette was able to take out 11th ranked Notre Dame. The Golden Eagles won in impressive fashion in a 79-57 victory.

Louisville will first have to play against Villanova before taking on Marquette. The way that Louisville plays against Villanova could affect their momentum entering this game.

The West Virginia Mountaineers will take on the Georgetown Hoyas this weekend. These teams have both suffered two losses in their last three games and they need to pick up a win in this one in order to turn things around. The Hoyas are ranked 13th in the nation with a 12-3 record. The Mountaineers are unranked with a 9-4 record this season.

NCAAB Odds have not yet been posted.

The Hoyas have really struggled since beginning their conference play. They will need to perform better in their conference if they hope to stay within the top 25 in the nation. They are currently just 1-2 in the Big East. The Mountaineers have had similar struggles in the Big East, going 1-2 to this point.

Both of these teams are led by a tandem of players that are solid scorers. The thing that will give the Hoyas the advantage in this game is their great Field Goal Percentage. They are shooting 52 percent on the season. This great shooting percentage has helped them compensate for their woes in rebounding. They are just 193rd in the nation in rebounds per game.

The key for the Mountaineers will be making the Hoyas take difficult shots. If they can force the Hoyas to shoot at a low percentage they will have a great chance at beating them on the boards.

These Big East teams both need a shot in the arm if they hope to move up the standings within the conference. A loss in this game would be a very damaging to their prospects in the tournament at the end of the regular season.

The Kentucky Wildcats will play against the Louisville Cardinals this Friday. These two teams are both ranked within the top 25 with the Wildcats sitting at 12 and the Cardinals at 20. The Wildcats are 10-2 on the season, while the Cardinals are currently 11-1.

NCAAB Odds have not yet been posted.

The Cardinals have shown that they are one of the top teams in the nation by beating ranked teams such as UNLV and Butler already this season. The Cardinals win games by using their great ball movement to get open shots and score points. They are 7th in the nation in both scoring and assists per game. They are also at 28th in the nation in field goal percentage at 48 percent.

The Wildcats have also had two big wins this season against ranked teams. They beat 11th ranked Washington and 23rd ranked Notre Dame. They are led by their young stars Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones. They are the two leading scorers for the team and have played well in big games. These two players are not yet at the level of Wall and Cousins from a year ago, but they definitely have potential to carry this team.

This game should be a great matchup as these teams are well coached and talented. The winner of this game will likely gain a lot of momentum as they transition to the middle part of the season.

The Cardinals will host the game in Louisville. The game will be nationally televised and should be a great one to watch.

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies will head to Ohio State to take on the Buckeyes. This may seem like a game where Ohio State will walk all over their opponents, but the Golden Grizzlies have played tough against some good teams this season already.

The Golden Grizzlies have loaded their schedule with top level teams. They have already played against the 7th.8th,9th and 17th ranked teams in the nation Ohio state is ranked 2nd in the nation. To this point the Golden Grizzlies have only managed to win one game against ranked teams (a 89-82 victory over Tennessee), but they also played tough against Michigan state, losing by just one point.

The Golden Grizzlies know how to score. They are 16th in the nation in points per game. Their high powered offense has allowed them to stay in the game against great teams. Ohio State has allowed just one team to score more than 64 points in a game this season. The Golden Grizzlies may be able to walk away with the victory if they can find a way to penetrate this tough Ohio State defense.

One of the reasons that Ohio State has been so dominant may be because of their weak schedule. While Oakland is a no name school that has played against so many ranked teams, Ohio State has played just one game against a ranked opponent this season. They beat 10th ranked Florida 93-75 earlier in the season.

While the Golden Grizzlies are just 7-7 on the season this could be a tough matchup between these two teams.

The USC Trojans will square off against the Kansas Jayhawks in NCAA College Basketball action on Saturday.

NCAAB Odds have not yet been posted.

These teams are not extremely evenly matched as the Jayhawks are ranked 4th in the nation. They have not yet lost this season and they have managed a record of 9-0 on the season. The Trojans are solid, but they have not nearly been perfect, going 6-4 to this point in the season.

The Trojans have struggled to score the ball and it is likely due to their poor passing. This team has only averaged 11.3 assists per game this season. They are 281st in the nation in assists. Without ball movement they struggled to shoot at a high percentage (they are shooting just .449 on the season) and they have only managed 68.9 points per game.

While the Trojans have struggled in those areas, the Jayhawks have been fantastic. Kansas actually leads the nation in assists per game with 20 this year. Their ball movement as provided for a lot of easy shots and they are also leading the nation in field goal percentage at 56 percent on the season. If they can continue with this sort of team play against USC they will be the heavy favorites to take this game.

While USC has not been great, it is important to realize that they have some great players and athletes on their team. With these athletes they have the potential to compete against any team if they are able to get things going.

USC beat 20th ranked Texas 10 days ago and that could be a sign of them turning things around and playing at a high level. This will be a real test for them on Saturday.