Behind the Lines – Week 1
Obsessed With Sports will be providing coverage for RTC throughout the season.
Welcome to the first edition of Behind the Lines. On a weekly basis, we will cover the betting lines that stand out from the week that was in college basketball. In general I will stick to the relevant games that the majority of people can relate to. However, if there is an obscure team that scores a big upset or a powerhouse that can cover the spread against a cup cake then you will certainly see it here as well.
As far as format you will see below the day then a heading describing the game to follow. After that this match-up is listed with the point spread and then the final score. Lastly, we have the team who covered and by how much.
This was Feast Week on ESPN; thus there were some big games headlining the Thanksgiving week festivities.
Friday 11/28
Cover(s) of the night by an underdog:
California +6.5 at UNLV
California 72, UNLV 55
California covers: by 23.5
Saturday 11/29
Cover(s) of the night by an underdog:
Marquette -9 vs Dayton
Dayton 89, Marquette 75
Dayton covers: by 23
Perfect line of the night:
Colorado +13.5 at Stanford
Stanford 76, Colorado 62
Standford covers: by 0.5
Sunday 11/30
Cover(s) of the night by a favorite
James Madison -1 at Fordham
JMU 73, Rhode Island 53
James Madison covers: by 19
Georgetown -5.5 vs Maryland
Georgetown 75, Maryland 48
Georgetown covers: by 21.5
Cover(s) of the night by an underdog
Louisville -19.5 vs Western Kentucky
WKU 68, Louisville 54
Western Kentucky covers: by 33.5
Texas-El Paso +8.5 vs Arizona St.
Arizona St. 88, UTEP 58
ASU covers: by 21.5
Monday 12/1
Cover(s) of the night by a favorite:
Kent St. +13.5 at Kansas(25)
Kansas 87, Kent St. 60
Kansas covers: by 13.5
Cover(s) of the night by an underdog:
San Francisco +16.5 at Southern California
USC 74, USF 69
San Francisco covers: by 11.5
Tuesday 12/2
Cover(s) of the night by a favorite:
Duke at Purdue +2
Duke 76, Purdue 70
Duke covers: by 18
Cover(s) of the night by an underdog:
Ohio St. +8 at Miami-Florida
Ohio St. 73, Miami-Florida 68
Ohio State covers: by 13
Perfect line of the night:
Georgia +4.5 at Western Kentucky
WKU 67, Georgia 63
Georgia covers: by 0.5
Wednesday 12/3
Cover(s) of the night by an underdog:
Miami (OH) +5 at Temple
Miami (OH) 68, Temple 52
Miami (OH) covers: by 21
Illinois-Chicago +10.5 at Vanderbilt
UIC 74, Vanderbilt 55
Illinois-Chicago covers: by 29.5
Cover(s) of the night by a favorite:
North Carolina at Michigan St +10
UNC 98 , Michigan St 63
North Carolina covers: by 25
Thursday 12/4
Cover(s) of the night by an underdog:
Connecticut at Buffalo +15
UConn 68, Buffalo 64
Buffalo covers: by 11
Perfect line of the night:
UCLA +6 at Texas
Texas 68, UCLA 64
UCLA covers: by 2
This data will help point out what teams are covering (even in losses) and what teams are not covering (even in wins). For example, it would have been nice to know that Michigan State did not cover against Maryland -7.5 or Wichita St. -14 going into their big game at Ford Field against UNC. At the same time UNC had covered against Oregon -17.5 and Notre Dame -10.5.
Now as the next couple weeks go by we will seen more clearly what teams are benefiting from spreads that are either too small or too large. For example, Miami (OH) has covered against UCLA and Xavier while beating (and thus covering) against Temple. This is the type of analysis that will take shape in the coming weeks.
Enjoy your weekend and stay tuned for updates!
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