SBRFORUM.com

August 6, 2007

College fast break potpourri

By: Chance Harper

The sale of school supplies is on the upswing, and that can only mean one thing: College sports are about to return to the wagering schedule. It's easy to forget that college basketball sits just on the horizon. From more of the spotlight on referees to early season tournaments, now's the time to sit up straight and pay attention in class.

College basketball handicappers, this is your August wake-up call.

Those 'back to school' ads aren’t just for students -- they’re also for student-athletes. Campuses across the nation will soon be teeming with life. So can your bankroll, once you come out of estivation. One foot on the deck and all that.

It takes a little time for most people to get their heads back in the game after a summer of baseball, NASCAR and Maria Sharapova. So we’ll begin with a refresher. Here are five questions being asked around the basketball court, after "Is Organic Gardening a full-year course?"

Will the Tim Donaghy scandal affect college basketball?
Undoubtedly. NCAA officials were already under a fair amount of scrutiny before the Donaghy scandal hit the newswires. It will only get worse now. The fear at the college level is that there are so many more officials than in the NBA, and all of them private contractors, that it would be nigh impossible to weed out a rogue referee.

The NCAA is already planning an upgrade to the autumn training package its officials take every year. Watch for a lot of tight calls and an emphasis on getting to the line as a result. Last year, Brown, Weber State and Xavier were the top three teams in free throws made per field-goal attempt; they went a combined 46-30-1 against the spread.

How can a ref cheat, anyway?
Referees are still trying to figure out how Donaghy could manipulate a game when he was part of a three-person officiating crew. Speculation is focused on the total rather than the pointspread; nursing a faster pace should create higher scores for both teams, cashing in the Over more frequently.

The three clubs (among conferences seeing regular betting lines) with the fastest pace in the nation were Sacramento State, Duquesne and Cal State Fullerton. Sure enough, the over was 43-28-1 in their games.

What are the World University Games?
The Universiade takes place every two years, with this year’s Summer Games in Bangkok from Aug. 8-18. It is what you’d expect from the title: an Olympiad for university students (and recent graduates). The men’s basketball tournament features teams from 24 countries and the United States has completely dominated this event, with a lifetime record of 125-7.

But this year, USA Basketball couldn’t be bothered to assemble a national team, so the University of Northern Iowa Panthers will represent their country in Thailand. UNI went 18-13 straight up (10-17 ATS) last year and bowed out in the first round of the MWC conference tournament.

What’s up with the NIT Season Tip-Off?
Remember how last year’s NIT preseason tourney went to a 'common site' format? Forget about it; they’ve already gone back to having a campus host for each of the four, four-team regions. This year’s hosts are Ohio State, Syracuse, Washington and Texas A&M.

The folks at ESPN will be on hand starting Nov. 12, scattering their television coverage across their various channels. Handicappers who pay attention to this event and the Maui Invitational get a jump on the competition; last year’s Tip-Off champs, the Butler Bulldogs, won the Horizon League and went 22-10 ATS.

Which Sutton will prevail?
The two sons of Eddie Sutton will have a family reunion on Dec. 20 at the All-College Classic, when Sean Sutton’s Oklahoma State Cowboys meet Scott Sutton’s Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. This will be a rare opportunity to lay some cash on the Golden Eagles, who play in the low, low Summit League, formerly known as the Mid Continent Conference.

Oral Roberts made the big dance the past two seasons and stunned the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse last November, but leader Caleb Green has moved on, as has Ken Tutt. They combined for 36.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game last year. The Big 12 Cowboys were 22-13 SU (11-16-1 ATS) in 2006-07 and their latest blue-chip recruiting class should mitigate the loss of guard JamesOn Curry (17.3 points per game) to the NBA draft. At least the ‘Pokes won’t run up the score.