NCAAB Wednesday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
**North Carolina at Wake Forest**
-- As of early this morning, most books had North Carolina (14-4 straight up, 10-8 against the spread) listed as a 7.5-point road favorite. This is the fourth time Roy Williams's team has been a road 'chalk.' The Tar Heels have won outright in all three instances, going 2-1 versus the number. Their supporters were denied a happy trip to the window in last week's 81-79 win at North Carolina St. as 4.5-point favorites.
-- UNC beat Va. Tech this past Sunday by a 68-53 count. The Tar Heels disappointed their backers as 21.5-point home 'chalk,' while the 121 combined points dropped 'under' the 147-point total. Justin Jackson was the catalyst, produced 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocked shots. Brice Johnson posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.
-- North Carolina has won three in a row since dropping a 71-70 decision at home vs. Notre Dame. However, the Tar Heels have failed to cover the spread in four consecutive games.
-- UNC has won four of its first five ACC games, leaving it one game behind conference-leading Virginia. The Heels are one-half game back of Notre Dame and Syracuse, both of whom are 5-1 in league play.
-- North Carolina is No. 10 in the RPI Rankings thanks to three wins over Top-50 opponents and nine victories over Top-100 foes. The Tar Heels have scalps of Louisville (RPI: 30), Davidson (47), North Carolina St. (37), Ohio St. (55), Florida (64) and UCLA (65). Their only losses have come at Kentucky (1), vs. Butler (18), vs. Notre Dame (39) and Iowa (44).
-- Wake Forest (9-9 SU, 8-4-1 ATS) is 7-5 SU and 4-2-1 ATS at home this season. The Demon Deacons have been home underdogs three times, going 2-1 ATS. They have covered the number in five straight underdog situations (regardless of venue).
-- Danny Manning's team is 6-0 ATS since Dec. 20. Wake Forest took Syracuse to overtime at the Carrier Dome last Tuesday, but it lost an 86-83 decision as a 9.5-point underdog. Konstantinos Mitoglou finished with 26 points, six rebounds and two steals in the losing effort. The freshman forward surpassed his previous career high of 17 from the season opener. Codi Miller-McIntyre had 24 points, six boards, six assists and two blocked shots. Devin Thomas had 11 points and 10 boards before fouling out after logging 33 minutes of playing time.
-- Wake Forest has an RPI of 126 following a 1-4 start in ACC action. The Deacs' best wins have come at Richmond (RPI: 71) and vs. Ga. Tech (73). Seven of their nine defeats have come against RPI Top-100 competitions. The only exceptions were home setbacks vs. Minnesota and Delaware St.
-- Miller-McIntyre, a junior guard, is averaging 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Thomas averages 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds while shooting at a team-best 51.5 percent clip from the field.
-- Junior forward Aaron Rountree will miss his seventh straight game with a hand injury. Rountree was averaging 3.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocked shots per game.
-- The 'over' is 8-3 overall for Wake Forest, 5-1 in its home games.
-- The 'over' is 8-7-1 overall for UNC, 2-2 in its four road assignments.
-- The 'under' is 5-2 in the last seven head-to-head meetings between these long-time ACC adversaries.
-- ESPN2 will have television coverage at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
**New Mexico at UNLV**
-- As of early this morning, UNLV (10-8 SU, 8-9 ATS) was installed as a 3.5-point home favorite. The Runnin' Rebels have won eight of their nine home games, going 4-4 ATS.
-- Dave Rice's squad has lost five of its last six games and is off to a miserable 1-4 start in the Mountain West Conference. However, UNLV is 5-3 ATS in its last eight games and could have been 7-1 in those contests. The Rebels were only one point shy of a spread cover when their game went to overtime last week at Boise St., eventually losing by nine in the extra session. They lost by 15 at Kansas as 13-point puppies.
-- UNLV came up on the short end of a 53-47 decision Saturday at San Diego St. Nevertheless, gamblers backing the Rebels took the cash as 10.5-point underdogs. Rose's troops led the Aztecs by seven at intermission, but they were outrebounding 30-21 and only got to the free-throw line five times the entire game. Rashad Vaughn had 17 points, five boards and dished out four helpers in defeat. Patrick McCaw had 15 points and six rebounds.
-- UNLV is No. 105 in the RPI, going 2-6 versus the Top-100 foes. The Rebels have a home win over Arizona (71-67, RPI: 7) and a 57-50 triumph over Temple (57) at Barclays Arena in Brooklyn. They have taken bad losses at Arizona St. and vs. Nevada.
-- New Mexico (12-6 SU, 8-7 ATS) went 4-1 both SU and ATS in its first five MWC games. However, the Lobos lost Sunday to Boise St. by a 69-59 count as 5.5-point home favorites. Deshawn Delaney scored a team-high 13 points in the losing effort. UNM couldn't overcome 31 points from BSU's Derrick Marks or 7-of-7 shooting from long distance by the Broncos' James Webb III.
-- Delaney averages team-highs in scoring (12.9 PPG), rebounds (5.8 RPG) and field-goal percentage (53.5%). Hugh Greenwood is the only other Lobo scoring in double figures. He averages 10.7 points per game but is making only 30.0 percent of his attempts from the field and just 28.8 percent from downtown. Greenwood does average team-bests in assists (4.3 APG) and steals (1.4 SPG), in addition to a 5.0 RPG average.
-- Craig Neal's team has thrived as a road underdog, compiling a 3-1 record both SU and ATS in four such spots. UNM has road wins as 'dogs at Utah St., at Valpo and at New Mexico St.
-- UNM is No. 108 in the RPI with a 1-2 record against the Top 50 and a 2-3 mark vs. the Top 100. The Lobos' best win came over Colorado St. (38) by a 66-53 score at home.
-- New Mexico owns a 5-1 spread record in its last six games as an underdog.
-- The 'over' is 7-6 overall for UNLV, but the 'under' is 3-1 in its last four outings. The 'under' is 3-2 in the Rebels' five home games that had a total.
-- The 'under' is 6-4 overall in UNM games, 1-1 in its two road games that had a total.
-- Tip-off is scheduled for 11:05 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports College.
**B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets**
-- If you missed it this past weekend, Michigan got horrible news when star Caris LeVert was lost to a season-ending foot injury. The junior guard was averaging team-highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks. Nevertheless, the Wolverines went into The RAC last night and beat Rutgers 54-50 as 2.5-point road underdogs.
-- Davidson improved to 13-4 SU and 12-2 ATS with last night's 77-60 win over Dayton as a three-point home favorite. The Wildcats, who are playing their first season in the Atlantic 10, are a perfect 6-0 ATS at home. Bob McKillop appears to have his best team since Steph Curry's sophomore campaign in 2008 when it lost to eventual national champ Kansas by one in the Elite Eight. The Flyers had won eight in a row and Davidson was hosting a nationally-ranked team for the first time since 1953. Most impressive, the Wildcats won handily without their best player Jack Gibbs, who sat out with a knee injury. Gibbs averages 15.8 points, 4.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.
-- Tulsa will put its seven-game winning streak on the line tonight vs. Memphis. The Golden Hurricane has covered the number in four straight and was favored by 3.5 or four early this morning. Josh Pastner's squad has turned things around after an ugly start. The Tigers have won three in a row and eight of their last 10.
-- Air Force has been without its leading scorer for the last three games. Max Yon (15.3 PPG) has left the team to deal with a personal matter and the status of his return remains uncertain. The Falcons have lost four in a row both SU and ATS.
-- Coach of the Year candidates:
1-Tony Bennett (Virginia)
2-Bob McKillop (Davidson)
3-Mark Turgeon (Maryland)
4-Larry Shyatt (Wyoming)
5-Mike Brey (Notre Dame)
