With Memphis down for the first time in memory, college basketball betting followers will be watching to see if the other teams in the C-USA try to gain some revenge by crushing the Tigers. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2008/09 season are in parentheses:
TULSA (25-11 SU, 15-15 ATS, 16-13-1/U): Jerome Jordan (13.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG) and Ben Uzoh (14.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG) should lead Tulsa to its first NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite: 4-5
Home Underdog:11
Away Favorite:4-1
Away Underdog:3-5
Neutral Site:3-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Golden Hurricane is 23-11-1 as a favorite the last two seasons.
Sports Betting Angle: Tulsa was 4-7 ATS versus non-conference opponents.
UTEP (23-14 SU, 20-14 ATS, 19-15 O/U): Stefon Jackson (24.5 PPG) will be missed but Randy Culpepper (17.5 PPG) has great range and makes the Miners a major threat.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:5-7
Home Underdog:1-0
Away Favorite:4-2
Away Underdog:6-2
Neutral Site:3-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Miners were 10-4 ATS on the road
Sports Betting Angle: UTEP was 11-6 ATS versus non-conference foes.
HOUSTON (21-12 SU, 13-17 ATS, 16-13-1 O/U): Four starters return, including G Aubrey Coleman (19.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG) and if the Cougars hot the boards they could be even tougher.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:6-5
Home Underdog:0-1
Away Favorite:2-3
Away Underdog:3-6
Neutral Site:2-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Cougars were 7-12 ATS in Conference USA games
Sports Betting Angle: Houston was 5-9 ATS on the road.
MEMPHIS (33-4 SU, 22-13-1 ATS, 13-22-1 O/U): New Head Coach Josh Pastner has only one returning starter back on a team that likely will miss its first NCAA Tournament since 2005.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:14-4-1
Home Underdog:0-0
Away Favorite:4-4
Away Underdog:2-1
Neutral site:2-4
Sportsbook Buster: The Tigers were 14-4-1 ATS at home.
Sports Betting Angle: The "under" was 14-5 in Memphis conference games.
MARSHALL (15-17 SU, 9-16-1 ATS, 11-14-1 O/U): The Thundering Herd boasts the depth, versatility and inside/outside presence to make things difficult for opponents every night.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:2-5-1
Home Underdog:2-1
Away Favorite:0-0
Away Underdog:3-7
Neutral Site:2-3
Sportsbook Buster: The Thundering Herd was 2-8-1 as a favorite.
Sports Betting Angle: The "under" was 11-6 in Marshall conference games.
ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM (22-12 SU, 14-18-1 ATS, 16-17 O/U): The Blazers lost their top three scorers and rebounders and, with six newcomers, probably will slide some this season.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:7-5
Home Underdog:0-1
Away Favorite:3-2
Away Underdog:4-4-1
Neutral Site:0-5
Sportsbook Buster: The Blazers were 3-10 ATS in games following a pointspread win.
Sports Betting Angle: UAB was 5-10-1 ATS on three or more days rest.
CENTRAL FLORIDA (17-14 SU, 15-10 ATS, 13-11 O/U): How do you make up for the loss of Jermaine Taylor (26.2 PPG)? You probably don’t, especially with six freshmen on the roster.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:5-3
Home Underdog:2-0
Away Favorite:2-1
Away Underdog:5-3
Neutral Site:0-3
Sportsbook Buster: The Golden Knights were 11-6 ATS in conference games.
Sports Betting Angle: UCF was 8-3 ATS at home.
TULANE (14-17 SU, 14-11 ATS, 11-13 O/U): The Green Wave has a nice backcourt and can play defense but a lack of presence in the paint could keep Tulane from making much progress.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:3-0
Home Underdog:3-3
Away Favorite:1-1
Away Underdog:5-6
Neutral Site:2-1
Sportsbook Buster: The Green Wave was 12-6 ATS in conference play.
Sports Betting Angle: Tulane was 6-2 as a favorite.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (15-17 SU, 9-17-1 ATS, 15-12 O/U): The departure of a trio of double-digit scorers will doom the Golden Eagles to the bottom half of the conference this year.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:3-5
Home Underdog:0-3
Away Favorite:1-2
Away Underdog:2-4
Neutral Site:3-5-1
Sportsbook Buster: The Golden Eagles were 3-8 ATS at home.
Sports Betting Angle: Southern Miss was 6-12 ATS in Conference USA games.
SMU (9-21 SU, 11-11-1 ATS, 12-11 O/U): Guards Paul McCoy (13.4 PPG) and Derek Williams (12.7 PPG) offer hope but the Mustangs still lack interior toughness.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:2-2-1
Home Underdog:1-4
Away Favorite:0-0
Away Underdog:7-5
Neutral Site:1-0
Sportsbook Buster: The Mustangs were 3-6-1 ATS at home.
Sports Betting Angle: The "under" was 8-4 in SMU road games.
EAST CAROLINA (13-17 SU, 10-14 ATS, 13-11 O/U): Brock Young (10.6 PPG) finished second nationally in assists (7.6 APG) but the Pirates don’t have a go-to scorer.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:1-3
Home Underdog:3-5
Away Favorite:1-1
Away Underdog:5-4
Neutral Site:0-1
Sportsbook Buster: The Pirates were 6-11 ATS in Conference USA play.
Sports Betting Angle: ECU was 4-8 ATS at home.
RICE (10-22 SU, 14-14-1 ATS, 10-18-1 O/U): The Owls didn’t shoot or defend very well last season and while they should improve, escaping the C-USA cellar make be no easy task.
By the Numbers (2008/09 Season)
Home Favorite:1-0-1
Home Underdog:4-6
Away Favorite:0-0
Away Underdog:6-7
Neutral Site:3-1
Sportsbook Buster: The past two seasons, the "under" is 40-16-1 in Owls games.
Sports Betting Angle: Rice was 3-0-1 as a favorite.
This is the eighth of 11 NCAA basketball betting previews.
