So you’ve been out betting on the top-ranked college basketball teams and hoping to make a few bucks?
How’s that been working for you?
In case you’re out of touch, we’re here to provide a quick recap. The rankings are from The Associated Press for Feb. 10. Those rankings will be revised later Feb. 17.
In the game of the weekend, No. 1 Auburn turned back No. 2 Alabama, 94-85. The Tigers were +2 so obviously an outright win means a winning ticket.
“Look, you’ve got to play well early on the road,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. “If you’re going to win, you can’t give the home team any kind of momentum. As you would expect Alabama came you storming me back, and this place … I’ve never heard Coleman this loud.”
Also:
— No. 3 Florida, tied with Duke at that spot, beat South Carolina, 88-67, and handily covered -13.5.
— Duke blasted Stanford, 106-70, and covered -18.5.
— No. 5 Tennessee roared back to defeat Vanderbilt, 81-76, but failed to cover -12.
— No. 6 Houston beat Arizona, 62-58, and covered -2.
— No. 7 Purdue, -6, was upset by Wisconsin, 94-84.
— No. 8 Texas A&M defeated Arkansas, 69-61. The line was -8 at most shops and a push.
— No. 9 St. John’s beat Creighton, 79-73. That was also considered a push.
— No. 10 Iowa State beat Cincinnati, 81-70, but failed to cover -11.5
So there you have it. You can see by the results betting the top 10 ranked teams is no cakewalk but can deliver a few winners.
ELSEWHERE, THE NBA was on a break for games that more or less constituted All-Star Weekend. We didn’t follow the games between Teams Kenny, Chuck, Shaq and Candace that closely. Perhaps ardent NBA fans did and perhaps the NBA All-Star Game will someday return to its former glory.
We did, however, notice what may have been the NBA game of the week. That would have been the Memphis Grizzlies at the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 11. Astute readers noticed that in our last post, we noted the Grizz had the best ATS record and the Suns held the worst at TeamRankings.com. And last Tuesday, those teams collided. The Grizz opened -1.5 vs. the Suns but it was bet to -4.5.
And what happened? The Grizz won the first quarter at around -1 or -1.5, 36-28. They won the first half at around -2.5 or -3, 68-56. And they won the game and covered, 119-112. To their credit, a coupe of analysts at CBS Sportsline were on Memphis. But it was one of the more obvious plays of the day.
Things don’t always make sense in NBA land, but this game did. And performed beautifully up to expectations.
You’re welcome.
IF YOU’RE PINING for Major League Baseball, you really don’t have to wait that long. The reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers will play the Chicago Cubs two games in the Tokyo Series at the Tokyo Dome on March 18-19 to begin the season. No betting line yet for those games that will begin at 1 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts earlier told DodgersNation.com that “it’s fair to say” right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start in the the season opener in Tokyo.
Some 28 teams will play March 27, the earliest opening day in Major League history. We’ll make an unofficial bet that at least one game will be snowed out.
ASTUTE READERS OF THESE posts noticed that last week, we picked Clemson -6 vs. North Carolina Feb. 10. We received a slew of email, texts, Snapchats and even one snail mail letter (thanks, Aunt Gertrude) after Clemson handily dispatched the Tar Heels in that game, 85-65. You’re welcome. Again.
This week, we like Texas A&M Corpus Christi -9 vs. Houston Christian later Monday. Hope to see you at the window.