Posted on
3/6/2008 5:23:48 PM
NCAA Basketball Betting - UC-DAVIS at CAL-IRVINE
By Charles Jay
BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds: CAL-IRVINE -15.5, Total 130.5
The Anteaters of Cal-Irvine (14-14 SU, 14-11-1 ATS) will try to drag themselves over the .500 mark on Thursday night when they play host to the Aggies of UC-Davis (9-20 SU, 9-13-1 ATS) in a Big West Conference game that will begin at 10:05 PM ET at the Bren Events Center in Orange County.
In the BetUS NCAAB betting odds, Cal-Irvine is listed as a 15.5-point favorite, with a total of 130.5 points.
Here are some of the NCAAB betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* UCD has lost 11 of its last 12 games SU
* UCD is 2-5-1 ATS in its last eight games
* UCD has played four of its last six games OVER the total
* UCD has won its last seven road games SU
* UCD has covered two of its last seven road games
* UCI has won five of its last six games SU
* UCI has played eight of its last 11 games UNDER the total
* UCI has won its last five home games SU
* UCI has won six of the last eight meetings SU
* UCI has had the shooting edge in six of the last eight meetings
* UCI has had the rebounding edge in seven of the last eight meetings
Bad timing for UC-Davis, who has only a win over Sacramento State to show for its last twelve outings. But the Aggies did pull a 74-57 upset of Irvine back on January 17. UC-Davis acted a little out of character in that game, hitting 12 three-pointers. So it's not only an opportunity for the Anteaters to extract revenge, it's also a chance to get to a winning record and have some kind of chance to make some noise in the conference tourney and secure an invite afterward, perhaps to the CBI tourney.
And of course, since the top teams in the Big West are so closely bunched, there is always a chance that Cal-Irvine could win that post-season tournament and get an NCAA bid. Indeed, they recently posted a 16-point win over Cal State-Northridge, considered to be one of the front-runners.
Neither team is that big on defending the opponent - UC-Davis allows 48% field goals, while Irvine is yielding 47% - so one of the operative figure here has to be Davis' lack of offensive potency on the road (just 57 points a game), which will put it at a disadvantage against Irvine, which is not necessarily high-octane but which does average over 70 ppg in front of the home crowd.
We're looking for the Anteaters to avenge what was probably their most painful loss of the season. So we're comfortable in laying the points with Cal-Irvine, the 15.5-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: CAL-IRVINE
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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)