CBB: How to Bet a College Basketball Marathon

You have to hand it to the folks at ESPN, they have plenty of lame things they do with regular programming and senseless ideas with SportsCenter, but every now and again they sink a winner


2008-11-18

You have to hand it to the folks at ESPN, they have plenty of lame things they do with regular programming and senseless ideas with SportsCenter, but every now and again they sink a winner. Their College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, featuring 23 consecutive hours of college basketball-themed programming (their words), began at midnight Eastern Time this morning, with Memphis whipping UMass 80-57 and concludes with Kentucky at No. 1 North Carolina at 9 p.m. Eastern. Games will have been shown from five different time zones and include contests from 14 different conferences and other later games on ESPN2 make this extravaganza even longer, with ranked teams Davidson and Oklahoma a very good matchup later today.

How does one go about considering all the wagering possibilities hour after hour one this starts? Read ahead and make sure you have several liters of Mountain Dew, Red Bull and Visine available.

Tuesday 2:00p E – Liberty at UNC-Asheville ESPN

Second year coach Ritchie McKay has one of the most ballyhooed recruiting classes in the Big South in years, including Seth Curry, the younger brother of Stephen Curry. Liberty opens conference action at UNC-Ashville who is led by sophome stud John Williams.

Tuesday 4:00p E– Centenary at Baylor ESPN

Coach Scott Drew took what many believed was a dead-end job at Baylor and now they are presumed to be one of the best teams in the Big 12 this season. Few backcourts in the country will have the experience, depth and versatility of the Bears. Curtis Jerrells and Henry Dugat are the ringleaders of a Baylor team that is extremely explosive. Centenary was 10-21 last year and leading scorer Tyrone Hamilton transferred to NAIA school. Blowout.

Tuesday 6:00p E – Richmond at Syracuse (-16.5) ESPN

It’s not easy to get a solid read on this year’s Syracuse club, which might be a good for their fortunes. After suffering unprecedented injuries last season, many players who might not have seen much action like Jonny Flynn, welcome back Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins. Richmond had the appearance of a comer in the A-10 until Dan Geriot tore ACL over the summer. The vast majority of the top line talent returns for the Spiders, only weaker in the frontcourt. The Orangemen are 1-10 ATS versus the Atlantic-10 and Richmond is 12-4-1 ATS on the road.

Tuesday 7:00p E – Loyola-Chi. At Purdue (-19) ESPNU
Purdue has a surprise opponent in Loyola-Chic., who laid out Georgia 74-53 as 4.5-point underdogs. The Boilermakers will have to slow down senior guard J.R. Blount who has averaged 29 points in first two games. The Ramblers are 15-6-1 ATS on the road. Purdue has plenty of firepower of their own with E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel, who helped post 87-58 win over Eastern Michigan on Monday. The Boilermakers are 11-4-1 ATS after a win. Purdue is 8-3 all-time against Loyola, including a 5-1 mark at Mackey Arena.
Tuesday 7:30p E – St. John’s at Boston College (-7.5) ESPN2

Former Big East partners will collide at Chestnut Hill, just like the old days. Boston College star Tyrese Rice is the only senior on the Eagles roster (only one junior also) and he will try to lead the young charges again after beating 90-57 Loyola of Maryland. Boston College has covered four of last five following a victory. St. Johns hung on to defeat Cornell 86-75 as 4.5-point favorites, thou the defending Ivy League champs were without two key players. The Red Storm is believed to be a drizzle in the Big East this year, with forwards Anthony Mason Jr. and D.J Kennedy expected to be effective. St. John’s has lost six straight to B.C. and is 0-5 ATS versus the ACC.

Tuesday 9:00p E – Kentucky at North Carolina (-16) ESPN

Quite a bit of the crown jewel of this basketball marathon has been lost with no Tyler Hansbrough for North Carolina and Kentucky having lost at home to VMI, whose last winning season came in 1997. The top-ranked Tar Heels are also without the services of senior Marcus Ginyard still recovering from foot surgery. Roy Williams’ team still has plenty of firepower with the likes of Danny Green and others and is 15-3 ATS in non-conference games, including 86-71 win over Penn on Saturday. Kentucky has Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks, but no real point guard, this is their biggest weakness. The Wildcats are 2-10 ATS in non-conference games over the last two seasons.

Tuesday 9:00p E – Florida Gulf Coast at Kansas ESPNU

You’ll need a preseason magazine to know any of the players that are from Kansas Jayhawks championship season. Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are the two remaining players that saw minutes last season. Florida Gulf Coast University is located in Fort Meyers. FL and is in second season of D-1 basketball residing in the Atlantic Sun Conference. They have one returning starter in Delvin Franklin and arguably the top recruiting class in school history. (Not sure what that means)

Tuesday 9:30p E – Davidson at Oklahoma (-4) ESPN2

The most anticipated contest of the day involves a pair of ranked teams with star power. All-American Stephen Curry’s NBA future will rely on his ability to convert to point guard, which he has this season. Last night he dished out nine assists, while scoring 33 points in blowout of James Madison 99-64. For Davidson coach Bob McKillop, it was holding James Madison to 35 percent shooting that excited him. Davidson has not been ranked this high, this early in the season in 39 years and will have to find a way to contain the inside power of Oklahoma with Blake Griffith who had 20 points, 19 rebounds and six steals yesterday. Davidson is 9-3 ATS following a SU win of more than 20 points and the Sooners are 7-2 ATS in their last nine lined non-conference games.

Tuesday 11:30p E – UAB at Arizona (-4) ESPN2

The turmoil surrounding the Arizona program is on hold for now with talented returnees Chase Budinger and Nick Wise still in the fold. The Wildcats took down Florida Atlantic 75-62 before a far less than capacity crowd at home, with fan base suddenly disconnected by events and uncertainty. Arizona will have to be ready to face a UAB team that figures to challenge for Conference-USA title this campaign. Robert Vaden is NBA material and Lawrence Kinnard and Channing Toney are experienced players. The Blazers had to come from behind to win 64-61 as 10-point favorites to take down Santa Clara and are 5-1 ATS after failing to cover the number. Arizona is 5-2 ATS vs. C-USA.

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