Saturday’s 6-pack:
Best/worst in college basketball leagues, in stat categories:
— 3-point %age: best: SoCon, 38.9% worst: Southland 28.4%
— foul shots: best: ACC, 76.3% worst: Patriot, 67.1%
— tempo: fastest: MAC 71.2 possessions/game slowest: NEC 64.3
— 2-point %age: best: Big Sky, 54.9% worst: CAA, 46.3%
— fewest turnovers: Summit, 14.9% worst: WAC 22.6% of possessions
— offensive rebounds: most: SEC, 33.6% least: Patriot, 22.7%
Quote of the Day
“I know that if we get in, we can make some noise with the players and coaches that we have in this building. We’ve just got to hope for some help tomorrow and sit back and watch it.”
Bengals QB Joe Burrow; Cincinnati needs some help Sunday to make the playoffs
Sunday’s quiz
Who was quarterback for the Vikings,, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?
Saturday’s quiz
Oakland Raiders lost the second Super Bowl, 33-14 to Green Bay.
Friday’s quiz
Kansas City Chiefs lost the first Super Bowl, 35-10 to Green Bay.
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Cincinnati outgained the Steelers, 314-193.
Chase caught ten passes for 96 yards and a TD.
Bengals won their last five games, by 7-10-18-6-2 points.
Cade York kicked four field goals for Cincinnati.
Sunday, if Denver wins, they’re in playoffs
If Denver loses/Miami wins or ties, the Dolphins are in the playoffs
If they both lose, Cincinnati gets in.
Steelers are in the playoffs, but they’ve lost four games in a row.
— Ravens 35, Browns 10
Baltimore clinches AFC North with this win.
Ravens’ first score was a pick-6 in first quarter.
Henry carried ball 20 times for 138 yards, two TD’s.
Ravens will host either Pittsburgh or Chargers in playoffs next week
— Famous birthdays, January 5th:
Robert Duvall, 94
Diane Keaton, 79
Rick Mount, 78
Charlie Hough, 77
Jim Gantner, 72
Alex English, 71
Steve Fuller, 68
Joe Cribbs, 67
Danny Jackson, 63
Bradley Cooper, 50
Warrick Dunn, 50
CJ Cron, 35
College basketball Saturday:
— SEC:
Favorites went 7-1 ATS on the first day of conference games.
7 of the top 18 teams in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings are SEC squads.
Kentucky 106, Florida 100
Kentucky was 14-29 on arc, scored 1.47 points/possession.
Florida shot 80.8% inside arc; this was their first loss of season.
Alabama 107, Oklahoma 79
Alabama scored 100+ points for 4th time this season.
Crimson Tide had 22 offensive rebounds, Sooners 18 defensive boards.
This was Oklahoma’s first loss this season.
Tennessee is now the only unbeaten team in the country,
— Big X
Iowa State 74, Baylor 55
Cyclones are 12-1, with only loss by a hoop to Auburn.
Baylor shot 34.3% inside the arc; they’re 3-4 vs top 100 teams.
Arizona 72, Cincinnati 67
Arizona blew a 19-point second half lead, but still pulled the game out.
Cincinnati has a player, Dillon Mitchell, who is 9-34 on the foul line.
Bearcats lost first two Big X games, by 3-5 points.
Arizona has won four in row, is 8-5 vs schedule #24.
Favorites are 9-6 ATS in conference games this season.
— ACC
North Carolina 74, Notre Dame 73
Tar Heels outscored Notre Dame 4-0 in last 0:13.
UNC scored 74 points, but had only two guys in double figures.
Carolina shot 70% inside the arc.
Tar Heels are 9-6, 3-6 vs top 100 teams.
Virginia Tech 86, Miami 85
Miami led by 6 with 3:17 left in game.
Hurricanes lost despite shooting 64.1% inside arc.
Tech is 6-8, 0-7 against top 100 teams.
Favorites are 17-11 ATS in conference games, 7-4 on road.
— Big East
St John’s 70, Butler 62
Red Storm won despite going 1-21 on the arc.
Last three Big East games, St John’s is 6-48 on the arc.
That said, Red Storm has won seven of its last eight games.
Butler has lost seven games in a row.
Big East home underdogs are 5-2 ATS in conference play.
— Mountain West
Mountain West home favorites are 0-12 ATS in conference games.
San Diego State 76, Boise State 68
Aztecs lost at home to Utah State last week; they out-rebounded Boise, 39-29.
Boise was only 7-30 on the arc.
— West Coast
Oregon State/Washington State are a combined 5-1 in WCC play; they’re going to make this league much stronger this year, giving Saint Mary’s a run for the #2-seed behind Gonzaga.
Oregon State is 12-4, in top 50 in country in eFG%, both offense and defense.
Washington State is 13-3; they’re shooting 59.3% inside arc, #16 in country.
— Upsets of the Day:
Ball State (+11.5) 75, Kent State 67
Omaha (+11.5) 85, North Dakota State 80
George Washington (+8.5) 82, Dayton 62
FIU (+6.5) 85, Western Kentucky 66
Richmond (+5.5) 72, UMass 64
Sacramento State (+5.5) 56, Portland State 53
— There were 14 teams that won Saturday that trailed by 10+ points at some time in the game.
— Big West
Cal-Irvine/Cal-San Diego are both 13-2, 3-0 in the Big West. Irvine is 35-8 in conference games the last 2+ seasons- they’ve got #34 eFG% defense in country.
Cal-San Diego is in its fifth year as a D-I team; they’ve scored 85 ppg in first three Big West tilts.
— Missouri Valley
Bradley 69, Missouri State 60
Braves have won five in a row, 11 of last 12 D-I games.
Bradley is shooting 43.1% on the arc, best in the country.
Home favorites are 3-10 ATS this season in MVC games.
— Sun Belt
Home favorites are 9-3 ATS in conference games; home dogs are 4-3.
South Alabama/Troy are tied for first at 3-0 early in conference play.
Best/worst in college basketball leagues, in stat categories:
— 3-point %age: best: SoCon, 38.9% worst: Southland 28.4%
— foul shots: best: ACC, 76.3% worst: Patriot, 67.1%
— tempo: fastest: MAC 71.2 possessions/game slowest: NEC 64.3
— 2-point %age: best: Big Sky, 54.9% worst: CAA, 46.3%
— fewest turnovers: Summit, 14.9% worst: WAC 22.6% of possessions
— offensive rebounds: most: SEC, 33.6% least: Patriot, 22.7%
Quote of the Day
“I know that if we get in, we can make some noise with the players and coaches that we have in this building. We’ve just got to hope for some help tomorrow and sit back and watch it.”
Bengals QB Joe Burrow; Cincinnati needs some help Sunday to make the playoffs
Sunday’s quiz
Who was quarterback for the Vikings,, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?
Saturday’s quiz
Oakland Raiders lost the second Super Bowl, 33-14 to Green Bay.
Friday’s quiz
Kansas City Chiefs lost the first Super Bowl, 35-10 to Green Bay.
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Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday…..
— Bengals 19, Steelers 17Cincinnati outgained the Steelers, 314-193.
Chase caught ten passes for 96 yards and a TD.
Bengals won their last five games, by 7-10-18-6-2 points.
Cade York kicked four field goals for Cincinnati.
Sunday, if Denver wins, they’re in playoffs
If Denver loses/Miami wins or ties, the Dolphins are in the playoffs
If they both lose, Cincinnati gets in.
Steelers are in the playoffs, but they’ve lost four games in a row.
— Ravens 35, Browns 10
Baltimore clinches AFC North with this win.
Ravens’ first score was a pick-6 in first quarter.
Henry carried ball 20 times for 138 yards, two TD’s.
Ravens will host either Pittsburgh or Chargers in playoffs next week
— Famous birthdays, January 5th:
Robert Duvall, 94
Diane Keaton, 79
Rick Mount, 78
Charlie Hough, 77
Jim Gantner, 72
Alex English, 71
Steve Fuller, 68
Joe Cribbs, 67
Danny Jackson, 63
Bradley Cooper, 50
Warrick Dunn, 50
CJ Cron, 35
College basketball Saturday:
— SEC:
Favorites went 7-1 ATS on the first day of conference games.
7 of the top 18 teams in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings are SEC squads.
Kentucky 106, Florida 100
Kentucky was 14-29 on arc, scored 1.47 points/possession.
Florida shot 80.8% inside arc; this was their first loss of season.
Alabama 107, Oklahoma 79
Alabama scored 100+ points for 4th time this season.
Crimson Tide had 22 offensive rebounds, Sooners 18 defensive boards.
This was Oklahoma’s first loss this season.
Tennessee is now the only unbeaten team in the country,
— Big X
Iowa State 74, Baylor 55
Cyclones are 12-1, with only loss by a hoop to Auburn.
Baylor shot 34.3% inside the arc; they’re 3-4 vs top 100 teams.
Arizona 72, Cincinnati 67
Arizona blew a 19-point second half lead, but still pulled the game out.
Cincinnati has a player, Dillon Mitchell, who is 9-34 on the foul line.
Bearcats lost first two Big X games, by 3-5 points.
Arizona has won four in row, is 8-5 vs schedule #24.
Favorites are 9-6 ATS in conference games this season.
— ACC
North Carolina 74, Notre Dame 73
Tar Heels outscored Notre Dame 4-0 in last 0:13.
UNC scored 74 points, but had only two guys in double figures.
Carolina shot 70% inside the arc.
Tar Heels are 9-6, 3-6 vs top 100 teams.
Virginia Tech 86, Miami 85
Miami led by 6 with 3:17 left in game.
Hurricanes lost despite shooting 64.1% inside arc.
Tech is 6-8, 0-7 against top 100 teams.
Favorites are 17-11 ATS in conference games, 7-4 on road.
— Big East
St John’s 70, Butler 62
Red Storm won despite going 1-21 on the arc.
Last three Big East games, St John’s is 6-48 on the arc.
That said, Red Storm has won seven of its last eight games.
Butler has lost seven games in a row.
Big East home underdogs are 5-2 ATS in conference play.
— Mountain West
Mountain West home favorites are 0-12 ATS in conference games.
San Diego State 76, Boise State 68
Aztecs lost at home to Utah State last week; they out-rebounded Boise, 39-29.
Boise was only 7-30 on the arc.
— West Coast
Oregon State/Washington State are a combined 5-1 in WCC play; they’re going to make this league much stronger this year, giving Saint Mary’s a run for the #2-seed behind Gonzaga.
Oregon State is 12-4, in top 50 in country in eFG%, both offense and defense.
Washington State is 13-3; they’re shooting 59.3% inside arc, #16 in country.
— Upsets of the Day:
Ball State (+11.5) 75, Kent State 67
Omaha (+11.5) 85, North Dakota State 80
George Washington (+8.5) 82, Dayton 62
FIU (+6.5) 85, Western Kentucky 66
Richmond (+5.5) 72, UMass 64
Sacramento State (+5.5) 56, Portland State 53
— There were 14 teams that won Saturday that trailed by 10+ points at some time in the game.
— Big West
Cal-Irvine/Cal-San Diego are both 13-2, 3-0 in the Big West. Irvine is 35-8 in conference games the last 2+ seasons- they’ve got #34 eFG% defense in country.
Cal-San Diego is in its fifth year as a D-I team; they’ve scored 85 ppg in first three Big West tilts.
— Missouri Valley
Bradley 69, Missouri State 60
Braves have won five in a row, 11 of last 12 D-I games.
Bradley is shooting 43.1% on the arc, best in the country.
Home favorites are 3-10 ATS this season in MVC games.
— Sun Belt
Home favorites are 9-3 ATS in conference games; home dogs are 4-3.
South Alabama/Troy are tied for first at 3-0 early in conference play.
