NCAA Basketball Week of Nov. 12 Betting Recap
The North Carolina State Wolfpack, not perennial superpowers Duke or North Carolina, are the ACC favorites this season in college basketball. And NC State also happened to be the bettors' best friend in college basketball betting last week at Bovada.
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Two of the most-wagered games of the week involved the Wolfpack and they were the bettors' two biggest wins. The first was NC State's 72-55 win over Penn State in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tipoff on Thursday. One of Coach Mark Gottfried's star freshmen, T.J. Warren, led the way with 22 points and eight rebounds. NC State was a 13-point favorite over the Nittany Lions and they took nearly 86 percent of the lean. There was no moneyline. The over 137 points took almost 60 percent of the lean.
NC State then played the next day in Puerto Rico and beat Massachusetts 94-76 as an 8-point favorite. Warren again was the star with 21 points and four boards. NC State took nearly 89 percent of the lean in that one. And at -420 on the moneyline, the Wolfpack took almost 99 percent. That win got NC State into the championship game of the tournament, but there they were upset by Oklahoma State. The Wolfpack dropped from No. 6 to No. 16 in the latest Associated Press poll.
A Baylor player provided the top two player prop results of the week for bettors. It came from the Bears' 84-74 victory over Boston College on Thursday in the Charleston (S.C.) Classic. The player in question was star senior guard Pierre Jackson. He finished over 16.5 points (season-high 31) and over two 3-pointers made (season-high six).
The book's top game result was Oklahoma State's 69-65 overtime win over Akron in Puerto Rico. The Cowboys closed as 4.5-point favorites and took more than 70 percent of the lean. Among player props, North Carolina star James Michael McAdoo was good for the book. In the Heels' 78-63 win Friday at Long Beach State, McAdoo finished under 19.5 points (18) and 10.5 rebounds (nine).
Florida's impressive 74-56 victory over then-No. 22 Wisconsin last Wednesday was a split decision for the book. Bettors leaned heavy on UF at -255, more than 79 percent. But the Badgers took nearly 60 percent of the action on the spread at +6.
Muhammad Decision Elevates Bruins
UCLA's national championship hopes certainly got a major boost late last week when star freshman Shabazz Muhammad was finally declared eligible to play by the NCAA - he debuted Monday against Georgetown in Brooklyn. The 6-foot-6 swingman had 15 points but UCLA lost 78-70.
Muhammad was in limbo as the NCAA investigated his recruitment; just hours before UCLA opened its season Nov. 9, the NCAA ruled Muhammad ineligible because of what it called a violation of amateurism rules. But the school filed an appeal and he was ruled eligible on Friday, as the NCAA took his three missed games as enough of a punishment (he also had to repay $1,600 in impermissible benefits). Muhammad was the 11/2 second-favorite at the book to win National Player of the Year honors this season. Most pundits believe Muhammad is a lock Top-3 pick in next year's NBA draft presuming he is one-and-done. He was rated by most as the No. 2 overall recruit in this year's class behind Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel.
Muhammad and Co. had a chance to go against the National Player of the Year favorite Cody Zeller and top-ranked Indiana on Tuesday night in Brooklyn before losing to the Hoyas. Zeller started the season with back-to-back strong games but has struggled in the past two. In Monday's 66-53 win over Georgia in opener of the Legends Classic at the new Barclays Center, Zeller was held to just six points and four rebounds while turning the ball over four times. IU and Georgetown play in the championship game of the event, their first meeting since 1979.
Meanwhile, another Pac-12 team suffered a big loss last week. Oregon State starting center Angus Brandt injured his knee in Friday's 66-58 win against Purdue and will miss the rest of the season. Brandt averaged 11.3 points and 8.5 rebounds in the first four games for the Beavers (3-1).
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