Wichita State won the 2011 NIT TournamentWichita State vs. AlabamaAlabama promises to be very good this year and they haven’t made the big dance since 2006. This year they probably will, behind the strong play and leadership of 6’8″ senior forward JaMychal Green. Green put up 15.5 points per game last year and 7.5 rebounds per game, despite being suspended early in the year. He is long and his speed will give other fowards a lot of trouble defensively, as he can step out and take a lot of other bigs to the hole. He shot over 50% from the floor last year and will see even more than the 27 minutes a game he saw last year this season. He’s teamed with a great point guard in Trevor Releford, a player who started from day 1 as a freshman. Last season, in that freshman year, he put up 11.0 points per game to go with 3.3 board per night and 3.3 assists. He made over 50% of his two point field goals and gets to the hole well for a guy that is only 6’0″ in sneakers.
Glen Rice, Jr shot 30% from three last season, despite being the son of player Glen Rice, who shot 47% from the NBA three point line one seasonVirginia Commonwealth vs. Georgia Tech 2nd Round Charleston Classic Line: GA TECH -1.5 Moneyline: Ga Tech -125, Va Comm +105 Tipoff: 5:30 PM EST from Charleston Arena, Charleston, SC
Louisville is ranked #8 in the nation and are off to a 2-0 Start so farIt’s hard to call a season anything but disappointing when you bust out in the opening round to a team like Morehead State. All season, Louisville had looked to be one of the true contenders, and even beat the eventual champion Huskies twice, but they failed to come up big when it counted most and lost as heavy favorites in the first round, to the surprise and dismay of most bettors, who were even expecting the Cardinals to cover the spread in that loss.
Vanderbilt is ranked 18th in the nationIt was more than good news when the Commodores announced they would be returning Festus Ezeli, John Jenkins, and Jeffrey Taylor. The news signified the possibility of a very special season for Vanderbilt.
Oregon are 12.5 point favorites against Eastern WashingtonLast season, Eastern Washington went 10-20 with a 7-9 record in Big Sky Conference play. They were led by a first year coach in Jim Hayford, who was pretty disappointed, as was the rest of his staff and his team when leading scorer Glen Dean transferred. They will now be led by the trio of Cliff Colimon (a senior) and Jeffrey Forbes and Kevin Winfored (both juniors). The three of them combined to average over 30 points per game. The low blocks, however, are manned by two undersized big men in Cliff Ederaine and Tremayne Johnson.
Arkansas State is 10.5 point favorites over UT-MartinUT Martin is led by the trio of Terrence Smith, Mike Liabo, and Troy King, all who will be entering their second year of college basketball this season, and the trio combined to average more than 30 a game last season. Last season the Skyhawks went 12-21 with a 6-12 record in the Ohio Valley Conference.
USC Trojans at San Diego State Aztecs
Thursday, 11/17/11, 10:00 PM EST, TV: N/A
Opening Point Spread: San Diego State -6.5
Current Betting Line: San Diego State -6
Opening Total: 122
Current Total: 119.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker