College Hoops – Young Buffaloes take on Knight’s Red Raiders
BetUS NCAA Basketball Betting Odds: TEXAS TECH -10.5
Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* COL has lost five of its last six games SU
* COL is 0-4-1 ATS in its last five games * COL has played four of its last six games OVER the total
* COL has lost its last eleven road games SU
* COL is 5-2-1 ATS in its last eight road games
* COL has played seven of its last ten road games UNDER The total
* TT has lost four of its last five games SU
* TT is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 games
* TT has played five of its last six games OVER the total
* TT has won nine of its last 11 home games SU
* TT has played its last seven home games OVER the total
Also…
* TT has won five of the last six meetings SU
* TT has covered four of the last six meetings
* Seven of its last eight meetings have gone OVER the total
* TT has won the last four meetings SU as the home team
* COL has covered five of the last seven meetings as the road team
* TT has had the shooting edge in four of the last six meetings
* COL has had the rebounding edge in four of the last five meetings
Texas Tech had Pat Knight for the last ten games of last season, having taken over for his dad Bobby, who suddenly retired. Texas Tech finished 16-15 and missed the post-season, and has experienced the extreme highs and lows in this current campaign. For example, they set all kinds of records in a 167-116 win over East Central University, and have also been drubbed 111-66 by Stanford. Last time out they were positively non-offensive is losing a 71-49 decision to Texas, in which they were just 34% from the floor.
Alan Voskuil shot 50% from beyond the three-point arc last year. He is 46% this season, but is making more shots (3.2 per game). He’s gotten some support from John Roberson, who is averaging 14 points a game. Mike Singletary, a former top recruit, has done a good job mostly from the bench, tallying 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Voskuil and Roberson are the only real bona fide three-point threats, but they can be very potent, as they are hitting more than five shots from beyond the arc between them.
The guy who has stepped up his game for Colorado is Cory Higgins, the son of Charlotte Bobcats GM Rod Higgins, who is the Buffaloes’ leading scorer (17.6 ppg) and often the guy literally carries this offense. Higgins scored 20 in Colorado’s 73-56 loss to Kansas on Saturday, and this was done with only one two-point field goal (he hit two three-pointers and 12 free throws). Higgins has gone to the line almost seven and a half times per contest, more than any three of his teammates combined.
Colorado is a team that relies a great deal on young players. Seven of their top nine scorers are either freshmen or sophomores, and coach Jeff Bzdelik made a nice recruiting haul with frosh stars like Austin Dufault (9.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Nate Tomlinson (8.2 ppg). They’re both starting, as Bzdelik is finding players who are more adaptable to his Princeton-style offense. The Buffs are hitting 47% as a team, so the patience they demonstrate has paid off, but they don’t get much in the way of second chances, with just 5.8 offensive rebounds per game.
Colorado struggles on defense, as might be expected from a team that is so young. Texas Tech at least has an opportunity to take advantage of that, and they should be able to work with more efficiency on the glass. We’re going to lay the points with Texas Tech, the 10.5-point home favorite in the BetUS NCAA college basketball sports betting odds.
