Dave Cokin
Bonus Play Monday
Very nice weekend with the Bonus Plays, which are on a pretty good roll right now. Here’s one from tonight’s college basketball slate that I’ll use as the Monday comp.
539 UT ARLINGTON at 540 MINNESOTA 8:00 PM
Take: UT ARLINGTON +2
Scott Cross loves playing the role of giant killer. He coached UT-Arlington to some very nice road efforts against major conference opposition last season. The Mavericks earned road wins at Ohio State and Memphis and just missed in an overtime loss at Texas.
Arlington cooled off considerably once Sun Belt play got rolling, and while they got it back together down the regular season stretch, the team had to be disappointed with a third place finish and a second round conference tournament exit.
Last year’s swoon of sorts might end up paving the way for a better result this year. The Mavericks are loaded with experience and they were the runaway pick to win the league in the Sun Belt media poll.
Arlington was less than spectacular in its opening win against Texas Southern, but they were good enough to win. I would expect them to step up their play as they head into Big Ten country.
Minnesota went wire to wire in an easy win over UL Lafayette on Friday. But the stat sheet displayed a few numbers that might indicate this was more a case of the Ragin’ Cajuns having a very bad night as opposed to the Golden Gophers dominating. Minnesota had all kinds of trouble keeping ULL off the offensive glass and the Gophers also committed 19 turnovers. Maybe that’s just a cloud in the opening night silver lining, but similar numbers tonight and Minnesota will be hard pressed to win.
This game figures to be one of the best on the Monday slate in terms of being a battle. But I like the considerable edge in experience on the road team’s side, and I have the Mavericks as the stronger squad. Given their track record of success in games like this from last season, I don’t have a problem backing UT-Arlington tonight.
Bonus Play Monday
Very nice weekend with the Bonus Plays, which are on a pretty good roll right now. Here’s one from tonight’s college basketball slate that I’ll use as the Monday comp.
539 UT ARLINGTON at 540 MINNESOTA 8:00 PM
Take: UT ARLINGTON +2
Scott Cross loves playing the role of giant killer. He coached UT-Arlington to some very nice road efforts against major conference opposition last season. The Mavericks earned road wins at Ohio State and Memphis and just missed in an overtime loss at Texas.
Arlington cooled off considerably once Sun Belt play got rolling, and while they got it back together down the regular season stretch, the team had to be disappointed with a third place finish and a second round conference tournament exit.
Last year’s swoon of sorts might end up paving the way for a better result this year. The Mavericks are loaded with experience and they were the runaway pick to win the league in the Sun Belt media poll.
Arlington was less than spectacular in its opening win against Texas Southern, but they were good enough to win. I would expect them to step up their play as they head into Big Ten country.
Minnesota went wire to wire in an easy win over UL Lafayette on Friday. But the stat sheet displayed a few numbers that might indicate this was more a case of the Ragin’ Cajuns having a very bad night as opposed to the Golden Gophers dominating. Minnesota had all kinds of trouble keeping ULL off the offensive glass and the Gophers also committed 19 turnovers. Maybe that’s just a cloud in the opening night silver lining, but similar numbers tonight and Minnesota will be hard pressed to win.
This game figures to be one of the best on the Monday slate in terms of being a battle. But I like the considerable edge in experience on the road team’s side, and I have the Mavericks as the stronger squad. Given their track record of success in games like this from last season, I don’t have a problem backing UT-Arlington tonight.
Matt Josephs
College of Charleston vs Coastal Carolina
Bonus Play Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina has their home opener as they take on Charleston. The stats are skewed a bit for both teams. The Cougars won 81-68 in their opener against the Citadel in a game that featured a ton of possessions because of the Bulldogs style. Coastal lost on the road at Alabama in a lower scoring game 70-53. They have been a home underdog of 3.5 to 6 points just once since 1997. Now those numbers are skewed a bit since they have just 47 games against the spread overall. Charleston is 6-17 ATS the last three years as a favorite. I think this is a bit too many points for a tough home field advantage to get.
College of Charleston vs Coastal Carolina
Bonus Play Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina has their home opener as they take on Charleston. The stats are skewed a bit for both teams. The Cougars won 81-68 in their opener against the Citadel in a game that featured a ton of possessions because of the Bulldogs style. Coastal lost on the road at Alabama in a lower scoring game 70-53. They have been a home underdog of 3.5 to 6 points just once since 1997. Now those numbers are skewed a bit since they have just 47 games against the spread overall. Charleston is 6-17 ATS the last three years as a favorite. I think this is a bit too many points for a tough home field advantage to get.
