NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Monday, January 25
LMU @ Portland
LMU (7-6, 2-3)
— ranked #129 by KenPom
— Tempo: #164
— Experience: #170
— Continuity: #231
— LMU lost three of its last four games.
— Lions lost all four road games, three of them by 9+ points.
— LMU is turning ball over 24.1% of time (#329)
Portland (6-9, 0-6)
— ranked #298 by KenPom
— Tempo: #18
— Experience: #85
— Continuity: #333
— Portland lost its last seven games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Pilots lost their three WCC home tilts, by 28-16-8 points.
— Opponents are shooting 60% inside the arc (#342)
— LMU won last five series games.
— Lions won 72-55/66-58 in last two visits to Portland.
Southern Illinois @ Indiana State
Southern Illinois (7-3, 1-3)
— ranked #195 by KenPom
— Tempo: #211
— Experience: #339
— Continuity: #214
— Salukis lost last three games, giving up 81.0 ppg.
— SIU split its four road games, with a win at #87 Butler.
— Salukis are shooting 39.8% on arc (#10), only 33.8% in MVC games.
Indiana State (6-7, 3-5)
— ranked #145 by KenPom
— Tempo: #156
— Experience: #146
— Continuity: #80
— Indiana State hasn’t played in eight days.
— Sycamores won three of their last four games.
— Indiana State is forcing turnovers 22.3% of time (#38)
— Sycamores beat SIU twice LY, after losing previous eight meetings.
— Salukis won four of last five visits to Terre Haute.
Syracuse @ Virginia
Syracuse (9-4, 3-3)
— ranked #35 by KenPom
— Tempo: #161
— Experience: #249
— Continuity: #77
— Syracuse is 1-3 on road, giving up 85.3 ppg in losses.
— Orange has #36 eFG% defense in country.
— Syracuse is 3-4 in top 100 games; their only top 90 win is over #45 Virginia Tech.
Virginia (10-2, 6-0)
— ranked #9 by KenPom
— Tempo: #357
— Experience: #148
— Continuity: #158
— Virginia won its last six games, giving up 58.5 ppg.
— Cavaliers are 3-0 in ACC home games, winning by 9-12-2 points.
— Virginia is shooting 38.9% on arc (#22).
— Teams split last six series games.
— Syracuse lost three of last four visits to Virginia.
NC-Greensboro @ Furman
NC-Greensboro (10-5, 5-2)
— ranked #116 by KenPom
— Tempo: #195
— Experience: #189
— Continuity: #88
— UNCG won four in row, nine of last 11 games.
— Spartans scored 92.5 ppg in last four games.
— UNCG is athletic, grabbing 35.7% of their missed shots, forcing turnovers 21.2% of time.
Furman (10-5, 4-2)
— ranked #88 by KenPom
— Tempo: #182
— Experience: #115
— Continuity: #14
— Furman lost last two games, scoring 73-62 points.
— Paladins are shooting 60.9% inside arc (#5)
— Furman scored 77+ points in its four SoCon wins.
— UNCG won six of last eight series games.
— Spartans won three of last four visits to Furman.
Utah State @ UNLV
Utah State (12-4, 9-1)
— ranked #49 by KenPom
— Tempo: #127
— Experience: #265
— Continuity: #144
— Aggies won only two true road games, at Air Force, by 35-19 points.
— Utah State is 8-0 vs teams ranked outside top 100.
— Aggies have #26 eFG% defense in country.
UNLV (5-6, 2-2)
— ranked #127 by KenPom
— Tempo: #224
— Experience: #236
— Continuity: #267
— UNLV is 3-6 vs D-I teams, giving up 58 or fewer points in the wins.
— Rebels are 0-5 vs top 100 teams, with last three losses by 4-3-3 points.
— 47% of UNLV’s shots come from behind arc (#18).
— Utah State won four of last five series games.
— Aggies lost four of last five series games played here.
Oklahoma State @ Iowa State
Oklahoma State (9-4, 3-4)
— ranked #38 by KenPom
— Tempo: #75
— Experience: #319
— Continuity: #285
— Cowboys won two of three Big X road games.
— Star freshman Cunningham (COVID) missed Saturday’s game.
— Cowboys are grabbing 32% of their missed shots in Big X games (#3 of 10)
Iowa State (2-7, 0-5)
— ranked #96 by KenPom
— Tempo: #159
— Experience: #122
— Continuity: #270
— Cyclones haven’t played in 16 days.
— Iowa State’s wins are over teams ranked #352/#296.
— Cyclones are turning ball over 22.5% of time (#311).
— OSU won four of last seven series games.
— Cowboys lost 72-59/89-82 in last two visits to Ames.
Texas Tech @ West Virginia
Texas Tech (11-4, 4-3)
— ranked #13 by KenPom
— Tempo: #277
— Experience: #277
— Continuity: #264
— Tech hasn’t played in nine days.
— Red Raiders are 3-0 on road, 1-3 at home in Big X play.
— Tech is forcing turnovers 26.1% of time (#7)
West Virginia (10-4, 3-3)
— ranked #16 by KenPom
— Tempo: #188
— Experience: #158
— Continuity: #29
— West Virginia doesn’t shoot well (44.8% inside arc, #301)
— Good thing they rebound 37.1% of their missed shots (#8)
— West Virginia lost four of its five top 50 games (beat Oklahoma St)
— Teams split last ten series games.
— Tech lost seven of last eight visits to Morgantown.
Arizona State @ Arizona
Arizona State (4-7, 1-4)
— ranked #72 by KenPom
— Tempo: #17
— Experience: #171
— Continuity: #167
— ASU lost last five games, including a home loss to UTEP.
— Sun Devils lost last two games by a combined three points.
— ASU lost five of its six top 100 games.
Arizona (11-3, 5-3)
— ranked #27 by KenPom
— Tempo: #138
— Experience: #293
— Continuity: #322
— Arizona lost last two home games, giving up 87-81 points.
— Wildcats lost three of their five top 100 games.
— Arizona made 11-20 on arc in their 84-82 win at ASU Thursday.
— Arizona outscored ASU 7-0 over final 1:58 of Thursday’s win.
— Sun Devils won three of last five series games.
— ASU lost nine of its last ten visits to Tucson.
Blazers vs. Lakers NBA Prediction The second game of Friday night’s NBA double header takes place at STAPLES Center where the Lakers will host the Trail Blazers at 10:00 p.m. ET. Will the struggling Lakers cover as a 5.5-point favorite or are the Blazers the better bet as a road dog?
Jazz vs. Heat NBA Prediction A pair of red-hot teams will meet in Miami on Friday night when the Heat host the Jazz at 8:00 p.m. ET. Will Utah cover yet another spread when it lays 6.5 points tonight in Miami or are the Heat the better play as the home dog?
Rockets vs. Raptors NBA Prediction The Raptors will look to add to their win column on Friday night when they host a struggling Rockets team at 7:30 p.m. ET. That said, is 7.5 too big a number to lay with Toronto as a home favorite?
Pacers vs. Celtics NBA Prediction The struggling Celtics will look to get back on track on Friday night when they host the Pacers at 7:30 p.m. ET. Is tonight another golden opportunity to fade Boston on national television when these two teams meet on ESPN?
Purdue vs. Minnesota Prediction Big Ten rivals square off in University Park, PA on Friday night when Penn State hosts Purdue at 7:00 p.m. ET. With the Nittany Lions laying one point as a home favorite and the total sitting at 140, what’s the best option tonight?
Kings vs. Coyotes NHL Prediction The red-hot Kings are underdogs on Friday night in Minnesota where they’ll take on the Wild at 8:00 p.m. ET. Will Los Angeles cash another big ticket or is there a better option on the board in this NHL mathup?
Ohio State vs. Michigan State Prediction Ohio State will look to rebound from its loss to Michigan when it takes on Michigan State tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET. The Buckeyes are only laying four points as a road favorite but the Spartans are playing better of late. Will OSU cover or is MSU a live dog again after upsetting Illinois on Saturday?
Clippers vs. Grizzlies NBA Prediction The Memphis Grizzlies have struggled over their last 10 games and things don’t get any easier on Thursday night when they host the Clippers at 8:00 p.m. ET. Will the Grizzlies at least cover as an 8-point home dog tonight?
Iowa vs. Michigan Prediction The marquee matchup in college basketball on Thursday night will take place in Ann Arbor where No. 3 Michigan will host No. 9 Iowa at 7:00 p.m. ET. Is five points too much to lay with the talented Wolverines or will UM roll despite Iowa’s impressive run of late?
Pelicans vs. Bucks NBA Prediction The Milwaukee Bucks are laying 9 points as a home favorite tonight in the second game of TNT’s NBA double header at 9:30 p.m. ET. Are the Bucks a strong play or is Zion and the Pelicans the better bet to cover as the road dog?
