Off a huge upset-filled Wednesday night in college basketball, there are a number of intriguing games on the Thursday night card. Looking at two of them in particular, iIn the Big East, Louisville visits Seton Hall, while out west, Washington State takes

2010-01-21

Off a huge upset-filled Wednesday night in college basketball, there are a number of intriguing games on the Thursday night card. Looking at two of them in particular, iIn the Big East, Louisville visits Seton Hall, while out west, Washington State takes to the road to face USC. Read on for a look at both games, then head over to the LIVE ODDS, BETTING TRENDS, and TEAM STATISTICS pages on Sportsbook.com for late breaking info on all 34 college contests for Thursday.

Big East teams in need of rally

Louisville’s recent loss to Villanova pointed out a problem the Cardinals have and isn’t going to go away without commitment. Louisville players have made a habit of creating havoc with pressure while forcing turnovers; however at points in games where it is all about half-court defense, they’ve demonstrated an inability to guard their man for 25 seconds or more. This is why the Cardinals (12-6, 5-8 ATS) allow an ordinary 42.2 percent shooting percent and it skyrockets to 45.5 percent on the road. In order for Louisville to become a better squad, coach Rick Pitino is going to have to convince them that defense isn’t just about making steals, it’s about preventing scoring. Still, the Cards are 18-6 ATS in road games over the last three seasons and look to build on that trend in New Jersey tonight..

Not unexpectedly, Seton Hall (10-6, 3-7 ATS) has struggled in Big East action with a 1-4 record. The Pirates have three different players capable of playing point guard, what has hurt them is their weaknesses have been exposed in conference play and when one fails, the other hasn’t raised his level of play to compensate. Seton Hall insiders believe playing two of these guards at the same time might be a solution, however that makes the Pirates a team already lacking height even shorter. The Hall’s defensive numbers are decent, allowing 41.7 percent shooting, but they have permitted 50 percent or more in the last three outings and are 0-7 ATS in next game after surrendering 47 percent or more in a trio of games.

Coach Pitino by his own admission is off the second most difficult loss of his career at Pittsburgh (the Duke Christian Laettner game was the worst) and his team is a one point underdog at Sportsbook.com. Louisville is well suited for this spot with a 15-3 ATS record as a road underdog of three points or less or pick. This has the appearance of a high scoring affair with neither defense playing especially well and both teams scoring over 80 points a game. The Cardinals are 10-2 OVER in all games this season and Seton Hall is 13-4 OVER after failing to cover two of their last three against the spread.

This is just the third Big East contest in New Jersey between teams (1-1 SU & ATS) with both prior games going Over. Tipoff is at 7:00 Eastern on ESPN.

Pac-10 Mess

Let’s face it, the Pacific 10 conference this season looks like a California interstate, jam-packed and just waiting for a wreck to occur. Three teams are sporting two losses in league play and the other seven all have three defeats. The way it’s setting up, whoever finishes over .500 in the conference has a chance to be champion. The bracketologists of the world have suggested if the Pac-10 plays out as many expect, the conference is looking at likely one NCAA bid, with two tops.

Tonight, Washington State (13-5, 5-10 ATS) visits USC (11-6, 9-7 ATS). These teams are polar opposites in the wagering world. The Cougars are 3-3 in league play with just one cover. What’s odd about this is Wazzou has shot 50 percent or higher in four of six Pac-10 games and still is 1-5 ATS. The Trojans return home off a three game road trip and look as good as any team in the conference right now.

With its well-documented off the court problems, USC made a strange hire in Kevin O’Neill though it didn’t have a lot of choices because of timing. The seemingly always sour-faced O’Neill found players willing to listen to his negative tone and defensive orientation and have responded. The turning point was upsetting Tennessee in early December and the Men of Troy have gone on to win nine of 11 and have covered six of seven, including four in a row.

USC has been sent out as eight-point favorite and is 6-0 ATS after four straight games where both teams score 70 points or less over the last three seasons. With the Trojans holding teams to 54.7 points per game on 36.7 percent shooting, it doesn’t place Washington State in a favorable position with 0-8 ATS record versus excellent defensive teams allowing 57 or less points a game.

The StatFox Power Lines for both of these games show Louisville by 1, USC by 8

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