TheOddsFat​her College Hoops Tournament Blowout

[theoddsfather]

The OddsFather scored again yesterday with the college hoops underdog as Oregon State easily covered the number vs Vandy losing by only two points. Today we have five underdogs that should get the money.





UNC Wilmington +7 1/2




Wilmington went from two players taller than 6-5 to seven players taller than 6-7 and size and depth will be one of the trademarks of this year's Seahawks team. The key player in this big man movement is 6-8 junior forward Keith Rendleman, who averaged 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and led the ultra competitive Colonial Conference in field goal percentage last season. Rendleman will be a leader and help guide this influx of new big men.




Marshall is expected to compete for a Conference USA title this season. Yet they have started the season off by eating up cupcakes and will hit the road for the first time tonight. They will also be playing without fourth year junior forward Nigel Spikes who is expected to miss several weeks with a knee injury.




Without Spike's presence in the middle the Seahawks will have size advantages in thew pain that if they can exploit should give them a chance to win this game outright.




FIU +14




FIU is coming off a very disappointing effort yesterday vs Arkansas Pine Bluff that resulted in the Golden Panthers getting upset by a basket. NBA Hall of Fame head coach Isaiah Thomas has recruited some of the better athletes this program has seen over the past couple season's but they lack that go-to scorer and can go cold from the field at times. This was the case yesterday when they could not shoot at all and ended up losing a tightly contested game.




Yet maybe because of that game yesterday there is even more value in FIU today. This team is very athletic and boasts one of the better inside-outside combinations in the Sun Belt with 6-9 F Dominique Ferguson and 5-9 point guard Phil Taylor. The Golden Panthers flew across the country to play in this tournament and obviously were not prepared to play last night but it is highly likely that Thomas will have this group prepared for tonight's game.




Oral Roberts has not looked the part of a team that was projected as the favorite in the Summit League. While they will likely be hitting their stride once conference play starts thy have started slow due to a rash of injuries to key personnel, most notably big man Damon Bell-Holter, who has missed the last three games with a back injury. They are also missing shooting guard Ken Holdman who was projected as a starter but has yet to play this season due to a knee injury that will likely cost him the season.




Like many small conference teams, depth, talent, and experience are at a premium for these type schools and key injuries are often much more damaging at this level team. Oral Roberts barely escaped SMU yesterday as a double digit favorite.




Look for this to be a tightly contested game throughout with FIU covering this number comfortably.




Cal Poly Slo +15




Cal Poly Slo was one of the worst shooting teams in the nation last season yet the brilliance of head coach Joe Callero got this team to a 2nd place finish in the competitive Big West conference which may very well get two teams in the NCAA Tournament this season. Callero incorporated a Princeton type system of ball control and a defensive strategy based around limiting opponents best player's opportunities.




The results have been great as they finished 10-6 in the Big West season and behind the return of four starters from last season they are off to a 2-1 start this season which includes a 42-36 win at USC in their last game.




While it is highly unlikely that the Mustangs will be able to hold a second straight opponent to under 40 points their style of play alone is enough reason to take the points. Yet with the four returning starters from last season and some added depth and talent from a talented incoming class there is no reason to believe that this team will not continue the upward climb under Callero.




This game is a match-up of polar opposites with UNLV wanting to play as fast as possible and the Mustangs looking to play as slow as possible. If UNLV is not able to run tonight it may not react well to be taken out of it's game. I expect that Cal Poly will do what it does best and that is control pace and try and hang around and steal one late.




Manhattan +15




The Jasper's continue to grow as a team under new coach Steve Masiello who was in the fortunate position of inheriting a team that returned four of five starters from last season. There are a lot of talented players on this Manhattan squad but injuries, inexperience and a divided locker room seemed to be the team's downfall last season. This year has been a fresh start for all those returning players and thus far the team has responded great to the new coach's system.




The Jaspers are off to a 3-1 start to the season and have won back-to-back games over Brown and Fresno State. This team has really gotten after it on the defensive end this season as well having held two opponents to 52 points or less.




While Colorado State is a talented team they are guard orientated and that also happens to be the strength of this Manhattan team. Look for the Jaspers to hang around and give Colorado State all they want tonight.




Albany+13




George Mason has gotten off to a sluggish start to the season without starting point guard Andre Cornelius who is suspended for the first ten games on the bench. Without Cornelius the Patriots have fallen to 115th in the nation is assists and have alternated win-loss all season thus far. If that trend continues then they will lose tonight.




Albany returns four of five starters from a team that was 9-7 in conference last season and won 16 games overall. To make this team was ready for the start of the season coach Will Brown decided that this would be a good year for an international trip. They went to Canade and took advantage of the opportunity to play five extra games and more importantly get 10 extra practices.




The results have been good as Albany is off to a solid 2-2 start with the losses coming against top ten teams in Pitt and Syracuse. Look for Albany to continue their upwards climb this season and play George Mason right down to the wire.

[dangerbird]

great writeups, thanks for the info

[mgman2121]

Nice info..GL

[LOCKsmith]

Great info!!!