Conference USA teams were a collective 44-67-2 as home favorites last season, a trend that college basketball betting followers will be watching in 2010/11. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
MEMPHIS (24-10 SU, 10-19 ATS, 16-11 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:5-10
Home Underdog:0-0
Away Favorite:2-5
Away Underdog:2-2
Neutral site:1-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Tigers were 3-9 ATS in non-conference games.
Sports Betting Angle: The "over" was 14-8 when Memphis was a favorite.
Bets and Pieces: The Tigers were 5-11 ATS in games following a pointspread loss.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (20-14 SU, 20-9 ATS, 9-19 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:4-3
Home Underdog:2-1
Away Favorite:3-0
Away Underdog:8-3
Neutral Site:3-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Golden Eagles were 11-3 ATS on the road.
Sports Betting Angle: Southern Miss was 14-5 ATS in Conference USA games.
Bets and Pieces: The Golden Eagles were 14-2 ATS playing on three or more days rest.
UTEP (26-7 SU, 14-15 ATS, 16-12 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:4-9
Home Underdog:0-0
Away Favorite:3-1
Away Underdog:4-2
Neutral Site:3-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Miners are 17-8 ATS on the road the last two seasons.
Sports Betting Angle: UTEP was 4-9 ATS at home.
Bets and Pieces: The Miners were 0-5 ATS in games following a SU defeat.
TULSA (23-12 SU, 11-20-1 ATS, 15-14/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite: 5-11
Home Underdog:0-0
Away Favorite:2-2-1
Away Underdog:34
Neutral Site:1-3
Sportsbook Buster: The Golden Hurricane was 7-15-1 as a favorite.
Sports Betting Angle: Tulsa was 6-14-1 ATS in games following a SU win.
Bets and Pieces: The Hurricanes were 8-17-1 ATS when playing on two or more days rest.
ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM (25-9 SU, 17-15 ATS, 9-18 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:8-7
Home Underdog:1-0
Away Favorite:5-3
Away Underdog:2-3
Neutral Site:1-2
Sportsbook Buster: Over the past two years, Blazers are 10-19 ATS in games following a pointspread win.
Sports Betting Angle: UAB is 11-21-1 ATS on three or more days rest the past two seasons.
Bets and Pieces: The "under" was 15-7 when the Blazers were favorites.
CENTRAL FLORIDA (15-17 SU, 16-11-1 ATS, 13-11 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:3-2-1
Home Underdog:3-2
Away Favorite:2-0
Away Underdog:5-5
Neutral Site:3-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Golden Knights are 21-13-1 ATS in conference games the last two seasons.
Sports Betting Angle: UCF is 14-7-1 ATS at home the last two years.
Bets and Pieces: The Knights were 10-5 ATS playing on three or more days rest.
HOUSTON (19-16 SU, 14-17 ATS, 12-16-1 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:4-7
Home Underdog:1-1
Away Favorite:2-2
Away Underdog:2-4
Neutral Site:5-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Cougars were 6-12 ATS in games following a SU victory.
Sports Betting Angle: Houston is 9-16 ATS on the road the past two seasons.
Bets and Pieces: The "under" was 10-7-1 when the Cougars were favorites.
MARSHALL (24-10 SU, 15-12 ATS, 12-12-1 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:5-7
Home Underdog:0-1
Away Favorite:5-1
Away Underdog:4-2
Neutral Site:1-1
Sportsbook Buster: The Thundering Herd was 9-3 ATS on the road.
Sports Betting Angle: The "over" was 8-3-1 in Marshall home games.
Bets and Pieces: The Herd was 12-4 ATS playing on three or more days rest.
SMU (14-17 SU, 11-11-1 ATS, 7-15-1 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:1-3
Home Underdog:2-4
Away Favorite:1-0-1
Away Underdog:5-0
Neutral Site:0-4
Sportsbook Buster: The Mustangs were 6-0-1 ATS on the road.
Sports Betting Angle: The "under" was 13-3-1 in SMU conference games.
Bets and Pieces: The Mustangs were 11-5-1 ATS in Conference USA games.
RICE (8-23 SU, 11-17 ATS, 11-11-1 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:3-5
Home Underdog:1-5
Away Favorite:0-0
Away Underdog:7-6
Neutral Site:0-0
Sportsbook Buster: The Owls were 4-11 ATS at home.
Sports Betting Angle: Rice was 1-7 ATS in games following a SU win.
Bets and Pieces: The Owls were 4-7 ATS in games outside Conference USA.
TULANE (8-22 SU, 13-11-2 ATS, 12-10 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:2-2
Home Underdog:3-5
Away Favorite:0-0
Away Underdog:6-2-2
Neutral Site:2-2
Sportsbook Buster: The Green Wave was 6-2-2 ATS on the road.
Sports Betting Angle: Tulane was 11-7-2 ATS in games following a SU loss.
Bets and Pieces: The "over" was 7-3 in Green Wave road games.
EAST CAROLINA (10-21 SU, 11-13-2 ATS, 10-12 O/U)
By the Numbers (2009/10 Season)
Home Favorite:0-1-1
Home Underdog:1-6-1
Away Favorite:0-0
Away Underdog:8-3
Neutral Site:2-3
Sportsbook Buster: The Pirates are 11-21-2 ATS in Conference USA play the past two years.
Sports Betting Angle: ECU is 5-15-2 ATS at home the last two seasons.
Bets and Pieces: The Pirates were 8-3 ATS on the road.
This is the eighth of an 11 NCAA basketball betting preview series.
Next: Handicapping the Mountain West Conference.
This article was written by Luken Karel for http://www.thegreek.com. The Greek Sportsbook & Casino is host to one of the top online sportsbooks offering college football betting and sports betting on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and all other major sports. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online. Article reproductions must include a link pointing to http://www.thegreek.com
