College sports takes center stage at Sportsbook.com on Tuesday night with a bowl game and a tripleheader of college hoops action on tap.
On the hardwood, the trio of games tips off with Michigan State visiting Texas, followed by Cal at Kansas, and finally, Texas A&M visits Washington.
Michigan State (9-3 SU, 3-8 ATS) at Texas (11-0, 8-1)
7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
The Spartans have played an aggressive non-conference slate and have been nicked a couple of times. Coach Tom Izzo prefers to learn about as much as he can about his team as early as possible.
Despite returning many of the key players from last year’s national runner up, Michigan State hasn’t played with the urgency needed, which explains why they have covered so few games this season. Izzo is working to have his club stick the gas pedal, instead of setting effort on cruise control.
The Spartans are 6-0 ATS against Big 12 clubs.
While many teams schedule cupcakes, Coach Rick Barnes takes a similar method to Izzo and schedules heavy. Of course, when you have Top 10 or so talent every year, it’s much easier to feel comfortable in lining up the big boys.
Texas is 29-17 ATS in home games against top caliber teams outscoring opponents by 12 or more points a game and has revenge in their hearts having lost the last two years to Michigan State.
Projected score: Texas 79, Michigan State 68
California (7-4, 5-5) at Kansas (11-0, 5-3)
9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
California is being thought of as the second best team in the Pac-10 this year. Considering how bad the Pac-10 is so far, that doesn’t mean much, and look for the Jayhawks to prove it when they go head-to-head in Lawrence on Tuesday night.
It’s no secret that the Jayhawks are tough to beat at home, but the amount by which they take care of business is what impresses many: Kansas is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) as a home favorite of 10 or more points over the last two seasons. The average score was Kansas 85.0, Opponents 64.6.
Cal has already lost three times, not coincidentally, to the three best teams it has played. Only Syracuse comes close to matching Kansas’ capability, and the Bears lost that game by 22 points. No wonder 77 percent of the betting action is on Kansas -13.
Texas A&M (9-3, 6-4) at Washington (9-2, 3-8)
11:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
It has been rather quiet in Big 12 country beyond the two behemoths Kansas and Texas on the hardwood; nonetheless, Texas A&M is proving they should at least be carried in the discussion when it comes to Top 20 teams.
Defense will be the Aggies’ calling card, though different scoring options are popping up. Senior guard Donald Sloan is the main man in Aggie-land, but Coach Mark Turgeon has seen vets like Derrick Roland elevate their game and newcomers Khris Middleton and Naji Hibbert have flashed their potential from time to time.
Texas A&M is 21-10 ATS away from home playing an winning club the last three seasons.
Washington team leaders Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas are one year older and better players from a season ago when they quite good. Coach Lorenzo Romar has a deeper bench and despite losing rebounding machine Jon Brockman to graduation, they are crashing the boards with equal aplomb.
The Huskies will want faster pace and are 35-16 ATS when they score 75 to 80 points.
Washington is a 7.5-point favorite, but over 85 percent of bettors were backing the underdog Aggies at last check, according to the Sportsbook.com Betting Trends page.
Title: College hoops televised tripleheader Tuesday
Duration: 0:00
Submited by: Sportsbook.com
Category: Sports Roundup
Added on: December 29th, 2009
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