NCAA basketball on Thursday night and we will see the Cleveland State Vikings travel to John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia to take on the Virginia Cavaliers. The game has a start time of 7:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN U. Vegas odds have the Cavaliers listed as 16.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 111.
Analysis: The Cleveland State Vikings come into this game with a mediocre 5-5 record, which includes a 1-4 mark in their true road games so far. The Vikings are 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 road games and 22-10-1 ATS in their last 33 games overall, but just 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a S.U. win. This is not a good offensive team as they come in ranked 200th in scoring (67.5 ppg)236th in shooting (42%), 95th in 3 point shooting (36.8%) and 65th in FT shooting (72.5%). Defensively this has been a solid team, ranking 46th in points allowed (59.1 ppg), 136th in defensive FG% (41.0%) and 174th in 3 point defense (33.1%).
The Virginia Cavaliers have had a very nice start to their as they come in at 9-0 overall, which has them sitting at number 5 in the National polls. Their record also includes a 4-0 mark at home. The Cavaliers are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 non-conference games, 23-6-2 ATS in their last 31 games overall and 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 home games. Virginia has been a decent offensive squad, ranking 178th in scoring (68.7 ppg), 32nd in shooting (48.7 %), 86th in 3 point shooting (37.2%) and 61st in FT shooting (72.7%). Defensively this is the best team in the nation, ranking 1st in points allowed (47.4 ppg), 3rd in defensive FG% (32.4%) and 43rd in 3 point defense (28.7%).
Pick: I will look to the Under in this game. Cleveland State is a team that plays solid defense and they also like to play the slow down game just like the Cavs do. The Cavs also play great defense as they rank 1st in the nation in points allowed and 3rd in defensive FG%. At home Virginia has allowed just 43.6 ppg on 29.7% shooting and Cleveland State is not a good offensive team and they shoot just 38.3% on the road. I cant see them getting any more than 45 points in this one, while the Cavs should be held to the lower 60's. 62-44 sounds about right for this one.
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