[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]November 9th Plays[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The total in tonight’s Lehigh St. John’s game is 150… and counting. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For those of you who read my four systems to follow this NCAA season (link in the first post) you would remember that 155 totals are considered an extreme total. According to pace of play and points per possession, for a total to be that high, you must have two ELITE offensive programs playing. When I say elite I mean top 20 in Div 1. According to the line tonight, we nearly have that, right? [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wrong.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What we have tonight is an inflated perception that has driven a line up nearly three possessions. On Monday, St. John’s was a massive public favorite over William & Mary, even more so in the 2nd Half. The public was gifted to see a dominated second half effort from St. John’s which led to a 74-59 victory and cover. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Little do people realize, St. John’s offense did not win that game, their defense won that game. W&M had 21 total turnovers in the game and if I am not mistaken, 15 in the 2nd Half. St. John’s plays a swarming, quick defense that attacks the ball. This created many fast break opportunities and easy baskets. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This Red Storm team is a 65-70 per point a game team, not a 75-80, especially against a Lehigh team that is competent on offense and won’t turn the ball over 20 times. They return the nation’s leading scorer C.J. McCollum who will be guarded heavily throughout the game by this Red Storm defensive unit. This is not what you want to hear if you have the over. This means possessions will take longer than normal and not be as effective on the scoreboard. Normally for a total this high to go over, a team needs multiple options on offense to keep the pace of play and points per possession at the rate required. I don’t see another 20 point scorer on this Mountain Hawks team anywhere.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Another thing that makes me feel very comfortable about this under is the fact that this is Lehigh’s first game of the season and it is being played away from home. Had this been played in Lehigh, I may have been weary to pull the trigger. Despite returning 76% of their offense, this seasons Lehigh team has no game time together. This game is also on national television. With all the emotion of starting a new season and being on TV (a big deal for Lehigh) you can expect nerves to be a little tight. Put all of this together and place it in a venue where these players have never played, it is impossible for me to think that this game can get near this total. The bounce in the floor, the bounce of the rim, the perception, and the arena is all brand new to Lehigh. This is why it is so critical to pick your out of conference overs carefully. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For any of you who have played basketball, you know, you are never as confident in an arena that is new to you compared to a division or conference opponent where you play once or twice a year. When the big favorite is at home, big scores are tough to come by. Often times the games turn into their style of play, and tonight, that is not 150 plus points. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chatting with Jason Thorpe (a name you will hear me say a lot this season. Jason is a former co-worker of mine who left Curacao and now has his own shop in Nassau and is a great college hoops mind) he said money has been rolling in on this over steady. As I mentioned in that post, often totals this high are very susceptible to action and move around very quickly. This line opened last night for him at 145 and has since moved up to 150, nearly a two possession move. He told me of the total handle, the betting action is chopped up a little higher then 65/35. Of the game the total makes up just shy of 50%. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I can’t see this breaking the 150 mark tonight, I like under in what should be a 74-61 game.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lehigh St Johns Under 150 3*[/FONT]