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MLB Season Preview Part 1/7 – NL East

Baseball season has arrived. The spring training position battles and injuries have gotten under way. I will be previewing all six divisions from a betting perspective and will give out all the futures plays for free. Traditionally baseball is my best sport to handicap, but we did have a losing season in 2022. All time tracked record in MLB still shows a 1.8% ROI and we’ll be getting back to our winning ways in 2023. You’ll be able to find my MLB betting package available here at Theoddsbreakers.com shortly.

I’ll finish up the season preview with a brief article about how I see the playoffs going and where there is value in pennant and World Series odds. We’ll throw in some season long props as well and MVP, CY and ROY predictions.

NL East

Betting Odds to Win Division and Season Over/Under Win Totals

New York Mets +120 / 94.5

Atlanta Braves +130 / 95

Philadelphia Phillies +300 / 88.5

Miami Marlins +2200 / 76

Washington Nationals +9000 / 59.5

New York Mets

I thought the Mets spent big last year, but Steve Cohen continues to show its all-in now as he gave out nearly $500 Million in Free agent contracts this off season. They let the oft injured Jacob Degrom walk away, but brought in Justin Verlander to replace him. If Verlander and Max Scherzer can stay healthy they will be one of the top 1-2 tandems in baseball at the top of a rotation. They also added Japanese import Kodai Senga who projects similar to Shohei Ohtani on the mound with a little less gas on the fastball. Senga also throws a pitch known as the “Ghost Fork” which leaves hitters baffled. Edwin Diaz is the premier closer in baseball at the back of the bullpen and the Mets added David Robertson to go with Adam Ottavino to get the ball to him. The lineup is anchored by Pete “Beef” Alonso, who should be ready for an MVP type season. Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte have speed at the top of the lineup setting the table for Alonso and Francisco Lindor. The two of them combined for 238 RBIs in 2022. The bottom half of the lineup features on base machine Jeff McNeil, but is average at best by MLB standards. Prediction 94-68

Atlanta Braves

The Braves lost Dansby Swanson to the Cubs, but keep producing solid MLB talent. They will now get a full season from the biggest trio of talent from last year Vaughn Grissom, Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider. Add that onto what should be a healthy version of Ronald Acuna Jr., and Ozzie Albies and this team is ready to compete for their 6th straight division title. The Sean Murphy addition gives the Braves the top catching duo in MLB. The rotation also looks to get healthy after having Kyle Wright, Charlie Morton and Max Fried all miss time. Raisel Iglesias will close, but outside of AJ Minter there are some question marks in the pen. I think the Braves have the superior lineup to the Mets, but I like the Mets rotation and bullpen better. I just couldn’t pick a winner here, its gonna take game 163. Prediction 94-68

Philadelphia Phillies

The Reigning MLB champs will be without superstar Bryce Harper for likely half the season as he recovers from elbow surgery. They did make the biggest free agent splash signing Trea Turner. He will leadoff for the Phils and have Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins, JT Realmuto and Nick Castellanos hitting behind him. The bottom half of the order is below average. The have a solid top of the rotation with Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler and they added Taijuan Walker in Free Agency. Ranger Suarez will go at #4, but the 5th starter is yet to be determined. The bullpen features some closers of days gone by with Craig Kimbrel, Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez. The lack of pitching depth didn’t slow the Phils last year, but even with the Turner addition I think they will need to add an impact starter along the way to compete with the Mets and Braves. Prediction 86-76

Miami Marlins

The Fish added Luis Arrraez and Jean Segura to a lineup that will get back star in the making Jazz Chisholm. The middle of the order is anchored by Garrett Cooper and Avisail Garcia which isn’t great. Jorge Soler has the biggest upside potential if he can get his power stroke in sync early. The rotation is led by 2022 NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara and Jesus Luzardo. The Fish hope Trevor Rogers can regain his 2021 form, and they also signed Johnny Cueto to eat some innings. The only real power arm in the pen is Tanner Scott. AJ Puk Could also be a factor there if Dylan Floro falters as closer. Overall however the pen is going to lose them more than a few games. Prediction 75-87

Washington Nationals

After winning only 55 games last year while trading away Juan Soto, the Nationals are in for another rough season. They do have some young talent looking to take a stride in the right direction led by C.J. Abrams and Joey Meneses. Lane Thomas proved a valuable two way breakout player last year as well. Signing Jeimer Candelario, Corey Dickerson, and Dominic Smith in free agency isn’t going to win the division, but it should lead to more wins. The rotation doesn’t have one arm with a projected ERA below 4, and only Kyle Finnegan can make that claim in the bullpen. The Nats should be better than last year, but they won’t be competing anytime soon. Prediction 62-100

NL East Free Plays

Philadelphia Phillies Under 88.5 Wins 1 Unit

Washington Nationals Over 59.5 Wins 1 Unit

I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ll likely be playing the Nationals to Give up most runs in MLB

 

 

College Basketball Saturday Super Plays 3/4/23 – Sports Betting

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Tennessee vs Auburn -1.5 O/U 131.5

If there is a game that Auburn needs to win, it is this one.  The Tigers fought hard in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night, but it ended up being too hard to overcome a 15-20 point home court advantage for the Crimson Tide thus losing in overtime after being up double digits.   Auburn isn’t a great team by any means, but they do play some good defense ranking 22nd in efficiency and 4th in opponent three point percentage.   The Vols shoot a lot of threes ranking 105th at 40% of all possessions and they now have lost their point guard Zakai Zeigler to a torn ACL for the season.   Bad news for Tennessee.   Looking at how the Vols do on the road, it is pretty dismal.  They shoot 46.1 effective FG% away while Auburn shoots 49.8% at home.  Haslametrics ranks Tennessee 358th away from home and will struggle against a now bubble team like Auburn.   I see the motivation here for Auburn to get this big win on Senior night and maybe they get some make up whistles do to the robbery in their last game.

Auburn -1.5 – 2.5 stars

Duke vs North Carolina -3 O/U 139

When these two teams face off for one last time, you know that it is March!   UNC is playing their way into the NCAA tournament over the last few games with a big win vs Virginia and double digit win at Florida State.  UNC did lose to the Dukies the last time they played in early February by six points, but I believe that the tides have finally turned.  Neither of these two teams shoot well with Duke ranking 190th in effective FG% and the Tar Heels ranking 241st, but what I see is a Duke team that had it pretty easy in their last 5 wins playing four of those games at home in an easier ACC conference this year.   Duke is a poor road team in General ranking 343rd away from home while UNC ranks 41st at home.   One of the Blue Devil’s big problems is turning over the ball ranking 218th in the nation at 18.7% of possessions while North Carolina ranks 23rd at 15.3%.  I expect the Tar Heels to be very aggressive here on Senior Night and punch their ticket into the NCAA Tournament.

UNC PK -155 – 1 star

Parlay: UNC -155 with Miami -255 +126 – 2 stars – Miami can win the ACC with this game, but so can Pitt.  Miami is the much better team and playing at home.  I think they take care of business and so does the market.

Better Odds Sports Betting March 3rd 2023 – College Basketball 3/4/23 – Season 3 Episode 6 (60)

Today Kyle Hunter @Kylehunterpicks and Kiev O’Neil @OBKiev  discuss the big weekend in college hoops with some great questions and free plays!   Don’t forget our most likely dog to win outright that has been on a huge run!

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Back this Team on the Hardwood with a Chip on it’s Shoulder

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Orlando at Charlotte +3.5 (O/U 225) 7:00pm ET

The Magic came off a night where defense was the furthest thing from their minds, then again they played Milwaukee who looks like a well chiseled machine right now. Previous to this game, their defense was holding teams to 46% shooting, on 102 points a game in their L3.

Now we have the Hornets who have turned into under machines as of recently, going under in 5 straight, 6 of 7 and 11 of 13. With an average margin of 15.6 in their L6 unders. Going forward they will have to do it without their triple/double star Lamelo Ball, who is out for the season with an ankle injury. Then we have Terry Rozier, who just came back from injury and has not been at his best, shooting under 33% since his return. Ironically their defense has turned it on, giving up an average of 105 points per game in their L5.

This Magic squad has the ability to go ice cold from the field at any time more than any other team in this league. The Hornets held the Magic to 44% shooting in their 3 match-ups this season already. As well, the Magic have shot 44%, and 31% from three in their L5. Speaking of unders, the Magic have been on a run of their own. Going under in 8 of 10, with an average margin of 16.3 in those contests.

Under 225 (DraftKings -110) 1 unit

Utah at Oklahoma City -1 (O/U 231) 8:00pm ET

The Jazz are off a back to back vs San Antonio where they split and didn’t exactly seem like they wanted to be there. Scoring a season low 94 points and committing 20 turnovers, vs a 16 win SA team, not good. You could say the Jazz have owned the Thunder as of recently, winning their last 8 match-ups in the series. Tonight will feature a game without its stars. Shai has been out of the L4 games with an abdominal injury, with the Thunder going win-less without him while trying to find their identity. Now the Jazz will be without Jordan Clarkson for a 2nd straight game, who as I’ve said in the past, drains a lot of 3’s, but also commits a lot of turnovers. Averaging 5.5 TO’s in his L4 games, as well as shooting 4/17 from downtown in his L3. Coach Hardy was not pleased with the sloppy play vs SA, and hopes his team can get back to basics. Doing it without Clarkson, could be a blessing in disguise.

The Jazz may have not played many away games recently(14 of 20 at home), but went 3-0-1 ATS on their previous road trip. They are also 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 away. They have enjoyed playing the underdog role, currently 19-8-1 ATS this season as dogs. Now they may only be small dogs tonight, but still considered the inferior team non-the-less.

With no Shai playing, I’m not sure the Thunder will be able to keep up with the Jazz offensively. This is a great spot to back the Jazz, they’re 10-4 ATS off a loss when going on the road, and will be a small UNIT UPGRADE for me.

Jazz +1 (FanDuel -110) 1.25 units

LA Clippers at Sacramento -8 (O/U 240) 10:00pm ET

The Los Angeles Clippers are in flames right now, losing 4 straight since the break. Westbrook is still trying to find his role, as well as all the newbies. This is the same Clipper team at one time that was considered title contenders and some still do have that opinion. Now they are on a back to back, still on the road, Kawai sitting for ‘rest’ and the media dissecting every part of their game, specifically Paul George and all the Westbrook trends(14 straight losses as a starter). Now they play the team where all this mess started, Sacramento. An OT loss of 176-175, with tons of chances for the Clippers to leave LA with a victory.

Sacramento is 3-0 ATS vs the Clippers this season, but this is a whole new squad to prepare for. Westbrook, Plumlee, Gordon, Bones and more minutes from the reserves. Particularly tonight where they could be short handed and will have to gel together as a unit to beat the Kings.

The Kings are 4-0 ATS and SU since the All-Star break, beating OKC twice with no Shai as of recently, the OT extravaganza vs the Clippers and a Blazer squad who chose to sit most of their starters that night. The Kings ‘got by’ the Shai-less Thunder and struggled mightily vs Portland’s second unit. Feasting on bad teams is their specialty, going 20-11 ATS vs teams under .500, opposed to 12-15-1 vs teams above .500. Heading home off a win hasn’t fared too well at the Golden 1 Center, going 6-9-1 ATS.

The Kings rank dead last in their L5 defensively, giving up 30 assists and 128 points per game. Now they have to face a hungry Clipper squad with a chip on its shoulder. Give me the 8 points!

Clippers +8 (Barstool -107) 2 units

Let’s head March in the right direction and crush this Friday slate!

College Basketball Buy Low Sell High 3/3/23

Buy Low:

Wisconsin:  They are on the bubble and they know it.  They will be looking to cover over the next few games.  This team is better than the 68 rating on Kenpom.  They are top 50 in my opinion.

Creighton:  This team is too good to mess with even after a couple bad losses to Marquette and Villanova.  Their future odds look pretty good and I may be on one of them.

Villanova:  This team still isn’t in the big dance, but a win over Uconn at the end might seal the deal.

Sell High:

Vanderbilt: The Commodores beat Kentucky but their best player Liam Robbins got injured pretty bad and will miss time. This team is in for some serious troubles.

FAU:  Easy Conference but no way is this team top 31 in the nation like Kenpom says.   Two road games to finish the season and they have faltered away from home.

Tennessee:  They just lost one of their star players to a torn ACL in Zakai Zeigler.   They might rally at Auburn, but look to fade later.

 

 

Podcast 16 – 23 – With Lou Finocchiaro – College Basketball March 4th – UFC 285 – Sports Betting

The OddsBreakers Sports Betting Podcast
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We have an great show for you today!  Lou Finocchiaro @GambLou from The ‘Bout Business Podcast and contributor at VSIN come’s back on to break down UFC 285 Jon Jones vs Cyril Gane!  First, Kiev talks about some promotions and our NCAA tournament challenge coming up next month!  Next, Kiev get’s into some college basketball with some buy low and sell high teams for the near future.  Then, we break some big college hoops games for the weekend!  After that Gamblou comes on to discuss a huge UFC 285 card!   Can Jon Jones win this fight?  What are the best betting angles in the card?   We have some FREE PLAYS as usual.  Should you have any questions for the podcast, or games that you want us to cap during our shows, please message us at Info@TheOddsBreakers.com.  Have a wonderful week!

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Thursday, March 2nd CBB Free Play

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*CBB(1u): UCF 1H PK @ Temple–6 PM CT

Temple went on a phantom run earlier in conference play but have clearly regressed down to who they are: a very mediocre basketball team. UCF has drawn the short end of the stick in several close games, but I power rate them far better than their 16-12 record would indicate. Most importantly, I like the dynamics of this matchup for the Knights.

Temple is an aggressive 3pt shooting team yet shoots just 33.7%(214th in CBB) from beyond the arc. Additionally, the Owls cough up nearly 13.5 turnovers per game and rank outside the Top 300 in this department. It just so happens that UCF’s strength defensively is defending the 3; the Knights rank 33rd in America allowing opponents to shoot just 31% from beyond the arc. Funny enough, those numbers actually improve on the road.

UCF’s offense is far from complete, but they do play to their strengths better than Temple. UCF is a very aggressive 3pt shooting team themselves, but unlike Temple, they shoot nearly 36.5% from beyond the arc. The Knights are also a Top 20 offensive rebounding team in America and should have some opportunities at second chance points given Temple’s mediocrity on the boards.

UCF has been prone to some slow starts this season, but they showed signs of positive regression building up an 18 point Halftime lead at Tulsa this past weekend. Temple is a good foul shooting team that could benefit from extending this game, so to avoid that scenario, I’ll isolate UCF in the 1H.

The Warriors are Home Dogs

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Rutgers at Minnesota +8.5 (O/U 128) 7:00pm ET

The Scarlet Knights head to Minnesota Thursday night, looking to build momentum off their 19 point comeback this past Sunday at Penn St. The Knights are 4-1 ATS vs teams under .500 this year, they have shown their defense is far too superior for the lower level squads. One of those four wins was at home vs the Gophers, where they shot a season high 60% and made 37 field goals. As well as holding Minnesota to 36% shooting, in a 25 point dominant victory.

The Knight defense has held 5 of their last 8 opponents to 58 points or less, this does not bode well for a Gopher squad with some fake confidence shooting the ball right now. Having scored 66 points a game in their L5, facing Maryland, Illinois, Nebraska, Penn St and Iowa in the process. Five teams that rank at the bottom in many defensive categories.

The Golden Gophers are 4-10-1 ATS at home this season, as well as 0-4-1 as 5-9.5 point dogs. They have given up 80 points a game in their last 4, and if Rutgers can score in bunches tonight. Look out, it could get out of hand.

Rutgers -8.5 (DraftKings -110) 1 unit

Detroit Mercy at Youngstown St -9 (O/U 156.5) 8:00pm ET

I’m not sure how they can make this number high enough tonight, I see a points bonanza being scored here. YSU starts their quest Thursday night on a Horizon league Championship, a team that can surely make some noise at the dance.

They get to face Detroit Mercy who can also score in bunches, but are arguably one of the worst defensive teams in the country. YSU averages 19.1 assists per game at home, and has averaged 49% shooting this season. YSU comes off two games, where they gave up 79 points to IUPUI and 83 to Robert Morris.

I see an up and down the court, back and forth game here, which will put me on the over!

Over 156.5 (DraftKings -110) 1 unit

LA Clippers at Golden St +4 (O/U 231.5) 10:00pm ET

The Warriors are in unfamiliar territory, they’re HOME DOGS. As good as they have been in recent years, and their astute home records it hasn’t happened often. Steph Curry has been out now just a little north of two weeks, and life without him is starting to become normal, missing 151 games over the last 6 seasons due to various injuries. Without his presence, the Warriors are 5-4 SU and 5-3-1 ATS without him these past 2.5 weeks. Quietly their on a 3 game winning streak and have shown ability to play at both ends. Draymond Green coming back vs Portland surely helped, holding Portland to 105 points on 43% shooting. The GSW offense caught fire in the 2nd half, to overcome a 17 point deficit at halftime scoring 75 second half points!

The Warriors L5 games have shot 47%, 39% from downtown with 16.4 three pointers per contest. Luckily for them, the Clippers defense has been in shreds since the All-Star break. Giving up 52% shooting in their L5. Both these teams have put up a high assist rate of 27+ and 29+ a game as of recently. The question will be, who can play enough defense to slow the other one down? Well, Golden St still ranks very high defensively in shooting % against as well as 3pt%. At 45% shooting, and 32%(1st in the league) from beyond the arc. Yet the Clippers lead the league in 3pt%, something has to break.

As I mentioned, Golden State is an underdog, a role they are 4-0 ATS this season. The Chase Center has been good to them, going 5-1 ATS in their last 6, holding opponents to 107.6 points per game. Another trend I like, they’re 10-4-1 ATS off a win at home, as opposed to 3-12-1 ATS off a win on the road. So let’s take the Warriors at home tonight for a strong UNIT UPGRADE! 2-0 on unit upgrades of 2 or more this week.

Warriors +4 (Barstool -110) 2 units

Good luck to anyone if you’re tailing, let’s build!

Turn up the Noise, the Cats Head Home

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How fun was February? We ended +25.98 units! Cheers to March Madness and building our bankroll!

Xavier at Providence -3.5 (O/U 151.5) 6:30pm ET

The Musketeers head to Providence Wednesday night for a Big East clash! The Friars have won 17 straight home games dating back to last season. Xavier will attempt everything in its power to end that streak. Rise up, sink to the bottom, this is what Xavier does best. Meaning they play up to their competition and down to their competition. They’re 11-4-1 ATS vs teams over .500 and 3-6 ATS vs teams under .500. They have had 4 days to prep for this battle, for a team with a light bench, 4 days of tranquility. They play the road dog role especially well, going 6-3 ATS away in conference games and 5-2-1 ATS as underdogs.

We all know this Friar squad is good, but so is Xavier. I don’t believe they have the firepower to keep up with Xavier for 40 minutes. The Musketeers are averaging a sky-high 49.7 % shooting on the season, more importantly with no drop off on the road. While also averaging a whopping 20 assists per game. Both teams come into this game playing excellent ball, but Xavier has had to do it without their top rebounder, Freemantle. Going 4-3 without him. Destroying Seton Hall 4 days ago, winning in OT vs this Friar squad and losing games down to the wire by 1 point vs Villanova and at Marquette.

Xavier can shoot the rock, but can they play defense? Not necessarily well, but just enough for their offense. In their L5 games, they have given up 66 points a game, 43% shooting, 6 three’s per game, causing 11.4 turnovers and more importantly giving up only 5.8 rebounds per game. Not giving Providence 2nd looks and the extra rest for this light line up, will be the difference tonight!

Xavier +3.5 (FanDuel -105) 1 unit

Xavier ML +146 (FanDuel) 0.4 unit

Pittsburgh at Notre Dame +3.5 (O/U 142.5) 7:00pm ET

The Pitt Panthers head to Notre Dame tonight, with two teams heading in completely different directions. One has their sight set on a March Madness run, the other is looking forward to next season. The Panthers winners of 10 of 12 and 15 of 19, best word to describe them is CONSISTENT. I don’t see a let-down vs the lowly Irish for this exact reason. Offensively they seem to do everything well, more importantly they take it on the road with them. Where they have 7 wins and are 9-1 ATS. Stringing together wins is in their DNA. They’re 16-4 ATS off a win, and an astounding 7-1 ATS off a win on the road!

The Irish, well what can we say good about them? They can string together 3 pointers in their big runs, that’s about all I got. At home they’re 5-13 ATS, vs teams over .500 they are 3-8 ATS, and 0-4 in their L4. As well as 3-15 SU in their last 18 contests, with wins vs ACC basement dwellers L’ville and Georgia Tech, also Jacksonville University. Bad news for the Irish, Pittsburgh plays better defense on the road than at home. Giving up 38.8% shooting and 29% from behind the arc. These spread killers are 20-8-1 overall on the season, and I see the win column elevating tonight. With a UNIT UPGRADE!

Pittsburgh -3.5 (DraftKings -110) 1.5 units

Penn St at Northwestern -4.5 (O/U 133.5) 9:00pm ET

Northwestern found themselves in an unfamiliar position a few weeks ago, ranked in the top 25. For a school that has only made the dance one time, this was a big deal! Since then, they lost a gut wrenching game at Illinois where they blew a 19 point halftime lead, as well as a 2nd half 15 point deficit. It was then followed, also expected, by a complete let down at Maryland. Previous to the Illini game, they were 9-2 in their last 11 and rolling. Now they head back to the Welsh Ryan Arena where success has been found quite often for the Cats. Winning and covering 4 of 5, as well as 6 of 8, with truly signature wins vs quality competition. They are led by a defensive minded Head Coach in Chris Collins, have a play-maker with an ability to take over at any time in Boo Buie, and quite honestly believe their good!

Now they face a Nittany Lion squad who was having success of their own, winning 3 of 4, until they blew a 19 point lead to the offensive-less Rutgers team just 3 days ago. Confidence, broken. Now granted they shot 52% vs OSU, Minnesota and Illinois the three games before, but those teams don’t honestly play much defense. Is Northwestern the flashiest offense? No. Do they score in bunches, no, but they get the job done. Facing a defense like Penn St won’t hurt either, who give up 48% shooting per game, as well as 40% from behind the arc. Previous to the Rutgers game, teams averaged 49% against them the previous 7.

What does Penn St do well, they do have the ability to shoot at a high %, averaging 46.7% per game, as well as ranking in the top 15 from downtown. The Wildcats will counter that with a ferocious defense, only giving up 38.6% shooting at home, as well as 31.8% from three. While causing 14.4 turnovers per game. When Penn St can’t shoot at a high % it’s a problem, because they don’t get to the line often at 11 per game and only 5 offensive rebounds per game. Due to all this information this will be a strong UNIT UPGRADE for me on the Wildcats!

Northwestern -4.5 (DraftKings -110) 1.75 units

For anyone tailing, good luck and lets destroy March!

Wednesday, March 1st CBB Free Play

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*CBB(1u): Duquesne 1H -6.5 vs UMASS–6 PM CT

This is as bad of a matchup as UMASS’s offense could’ve drawn. The Minutemen struggle mightily in 2 areas: Turnovers(316th) and 2pt FG%(333rd). It just so happens that Duquesne’s biggest strengths defensively are forcing turnovers and defending the paint. The Dukes do get more attackable if you can knock down outside shots, but UMASS ranks just 315th in 3pt attempts per game and have gotten less aggressive down the stretch of the season.

I like certain elements of UMASS’s defense, but Duquesne has a clear offensive identity that will work against most A10 opponents. The Dukes shoot over 37% from deep and attempt 3’s at a Top 50 rate in the country. Additionally, their one of the best offensive rebounding teams in America and generate nearly 15.5 assists per game. I’ve seen enough poise from the Dukes as of late to think they can handle UMASS’s pressure style with poise.

This feels eerily similar to when we backed Dayton last night. Duquesne dropped a home game to Davidson on Sunday, but they get another opportunity on their home floor to make a statement against a deadbeat team that had a phantom run earlier in conference play. UMASS will extend this game at the Foul Line and does hold a slight advantage in this department. To avoid that scenario, I feel comfortable isolating this in the 1H.