Slid back Saturday in CBB. Trying to be a bit too careful with some and carelessly not adding others. It happens - we've got a Triple Dime Max Bet in the NFL Sunday - and here are my CBB notes.
Wisconsin/Purdue: I'm not quite as high on Purdue as some people, but the only teams that have beaten them are up-tempo, which clearly Wisconsin is not. Conversely the two teams that have beaten the Badgers, Creighton and UNC, are faster and more athletic teams, like Purdue. The Boilermakers beat them twice last season, so I'd like to lean the revenge angle, but it's over ridden by the fact that this is probably just a bad matchup for Wisconsin.
USC/Cal: The Trojans could be vulnerable here. They lost at Oregon then beat Stanford, but Stanford's Reid Travis was out. I don't like Cal's 64% FT shooting, and USC did beat them pretty soundly late last season - so I do see them getting it done - but ugly. The total will be in the 130's and quite tempting to take the over, but I think Cal's lack of a consistent offense, but a great defense, keeps it under.
Northwestern/Nebraska: The Huskers aren't under the radar anymore, but I wonder how much energy they had to expend in that OT win over Iowa. Northwestern might have been too far above the radar before losing to the Spartans and Minnesota, so now either too under valued, or regressing to what they actually are. NW beat them twice last last season, making it hard to think Nebraska isn't pretty focused. I go back to the energy spent against Iowa and think the Huskers' first half is a great bet.
Other leans:
Minnesota: In their first two Conference games, Ohio State has been DFL in offensive rebounds and steals (offensively) so that's not something I can back on the road.
Uconn/UCF under: Yes, I know what the total is. UCF is very experienced so they won't get dragged into running anytime soon, and they've got the a tremendous defense. UConn can't score, period - first to 50 wins.
Witchita State: Inasmuch as I'd love to take Northern Iowa at home with those points - they don't have "it" anymore.
Wake Forest: I know this is a must-win for UVA - I'm still high on Wake and they played them tough last season, so just too many points IMO.