Armadillo Sports

— Something to think about when filling out brackets next month.
Marquette is 17-5 this year, 8-3 in Big East; in 2.5 years under Shaka Smart, Marquette is 65-25, 36-14 in conference games. Very good.

In his career, Smart has done really well; he had VCU in the Final Four in his second year as their coach. Getting a CAA team to the Final Four is a tremendous accomplishment. But……

Since VCU lost to Butler in the national semifinals in 2011, Smart’s record in the NCAA tourney is 3-9, 3-6 in first round, 0-3 in second round- in those three years when they lost in the second round, they were a 12-seed, a 5-seed, a 2-seed.

Smart’s team are 2-6 in the NCAA’s when they’re the higher seeded team. Three of his six first round losses came in overtime.

Right now, Bracketology has Marquette as a #2-seed.

— Kansas State is 15-8 this year, 5-5 in Big X, nothing special, but they’re 6-0 in overtime games. In two years under Jerome Tang, K-State is 11-0 in overtime games, an amazingly good record.

Wildcats are turning ball over 22.9% of time in Big X games, which is bad; they have the #16 eFG% defense in country, which is very good. 

— Clemson 80, North Carolina 76
Tigers have now won two of last three visits to Chapel Hill, after losing their first 59 (yes, 59!!!) visits to UNC.
Joseph Girard scored 21 points for Clemson.
It was a trap game for North Carolina, coming three days after they beat Duke.

— South Florida 72, Charlotte 69
Bulls have won eight games in a row, lead the AAC.
Charlotte led by 17 points late in first half.
Selton Miguel scored 22 points for USF; he didn’t start.

— Toledo 91, Eastern Michigan 87
Toledo was 22-29 on foul line, EMU 3-9.
Rockets stay a game behind Akron in the MAC standings.

— Indiana 76, Ohio State 73
Buckeyes led by 12 with 7:27 left to play.
Ohio State has lost five in row, eight of last nine games.

— Minnesota 59, Michigan State 56
Spartans are 1-4 in conference road games.
Michigan State was 7-17 on the foul line.

— Five teams are still unbeaten in conference play:
Ivy- Cornell
Ivy- Yale (they play this Saturday)
Big South- High Point
WCC- Saint Mary’s
America East- Vermont

— Baseball Note of the Day: Most career stolen bases, active players:
333- Elvis Andrus
317- Starling Marte
314- Billy Hamilton
296- Jose Altuve
260- Trea Turner

— Famous people who were born on February 7:
Matthew Stafford
Steve Nash
Chris Rock
Garth Brooks
James Spader
Ashton Kutcher

— Super Bowl Fact of the Day: Five QB’s who started a Super Bowl against the Chiefs:
Bart Starr
Joe Kapp
Jimmy Garoppolo
Tom Brady
Jalen Hurts

— Houston Astros signed star 2B Jose Altuve to a 5-year, $125M contract extension; he hit .311 in only 90 games LY, with 15 homers, 51 RBI after he broke his thumb in the WBC last spring.

— Random NHL stat: When a team is playing at home for the second consecutive night, the over is 16-8 in that game.

— UFL starts on March 30, with eight teams. Birmingham at Arlington kicks this off, with the second game that day St Louis at Michigan. Spring football is a good thing.

— Philadelphia Eagles will open the 2024 season by playing a Friday night game in Brazil, the NFL’s first-ever game in Brazil.

— New Jersey Giants signed Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen to replace Wink Martindale.

Cleveland Browns hired Ken Dorsey to be their new offensive coordinator.

— Does Dan Quinn’s move from Dallas to division rival Washington mean that a Commanders-Cowboys game will be on the docket for Monday Night Football next year?

— Colleges with most players in this week’s Super Bowl:
6- Oklahoma
5- Clemson, Florida, Georgia
4- Michigan, Middle Tennessee, USC, TCU

— Unusual NBA fact- Over the next seven drafts, Oklahoma City Thunder has 35 draft picks, 14 in first round, 21 in the second. Thunder is already 35-15 this year, they’re really good. They’re probably going to package those picks to acquire a star player or two (or three). 

— Back-to-back trends in the NHL

Road teams that won at home night before: 7-14
Road teams that lost at home night before: 9-4

Road teams that won on road night before: 14-17
Road teams that lost on road night before: 21-32

Home teams that won at home night before: 7-6
Home teams that lost at home night before: 5-4

Home teams that won on road night before: 13-13
Home teams that lost on road night before: 14-7

— Last two nights in the NBA, favorites are 15-0 SU, 12-3 against the spread.

— In 2017, Chiefs took Patrick Mahomes with the 10th pick in the NFL Draft; since then, Kansas City is 99-34, winning two Super Bowls.

That same year, Chicago Bears traded up from the 3rd pick to the 2nd pick so they could draft QB Mitch Trubisky; since then, the Bears are 49-68, 0-2 in playoff games.

— In his career, Mahomes is 10-1-1 ATS as an underdog.

— Carolina Panthers’ new head coach is Dave Canales, who has never been a head coach:
2004-05- offensive coordinator, Carson HS
2006-08- special teams coach/TE coach, El Camino College
2009- assistant strength coach, USC

2010-17- WR’s coach, Seahawks
2918-19- QB’s coach, Seahawks
2020-21- passing game coordinator, Seahawks
2022- QB’s coach, Seahawks
2023- offensive coordinator, Buccaneers

— I like watching the VCU-Richmond basketball games; underrated crosstown rivalry, always pretty intense. Teams are both pretty good, too.

— There will be seven Kentucky alums playing in the NBA All-Star Game this year.

When was the last time Kentucky/Kansas were home underdogs on the same day? They were on Saturday.

— If you go to a basketball game at Ole Miss, one of the fans in the front row opposite the benches is Morgan Freeman. That has to be pretty cool.

— SEC has five of the top 17 teams in this week’s top 25.

— Baseball Note of the Day: Royals signed SS Bobby Witt to an 11-year, $288.8M contract extension; good to see a team spend some $$$ to try and improve. Royals are also campaigning for a new ballpark in their downtown area, so that is a part of this move.

— Other baseball stuff:
Twins signed 1B Carlos Santana
Mets signed P Shintaro Fujiyami

— Football coaching stuff:
Liam Coen is the offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay; he was the OC at Kentucky the last couple years, after working for the Rams before that.

Kliff Kingsbury is the new OC in Washington, fueling speculation that Caleb Williams will wind up as Washington’s 1st round pick. Kingsbury/Williams worked together at USC this past year.

Raiders were expected to sign Kingsbury, but instead former Bears’ OC Luke Getsy is the new offensive coordinator in Las Vegas.

Bill Callahan is the new OL coach for the Titans; his son is Tennessee’s new head coach. Bill Callahan had been the OL coach in Cleveland.

Leslie Frazier signed on as a defensive assistant with the Seahawks; he sat out 2023, after being the defensive coordinator in Buffalo.

Miami Dolphins’ new defensive coordinator is Anthony Weaver, who comes to Miami from the Ravens. Weaver is from Saratoga, NY, half-hour north of Armadillo World HQ. Remember seeing him play high school basketball; he set very good screens.

— Bill Walton was on the USC-Oregon game on ESPN Thursday night in LA; he and Dave Pasch sat right near the USC bench. It was interesting to hear them say how coach Andy Enfield and guard Boogie Ellis were having a running dialogue while the game was going on, apparently not a very pleasant one.

They went on to say how USC’s players “weren’t on the same page” which is a euphemism for a team with bad chemistry. Trojans need injured guard Isaiah Collier back soon; they snapped their 6-game losing skid Saturday vs Oregon State, but they’re 9-13 this year, 3-8 in their last year in the Pac-12.

— Former NFL QB Teddy Bridgewater retired this year, he will be the new football coach at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern HS. Bridgewater played nine years in the NFL for six teams, with a 33-33 career record as a starter.

— Bad Beat of the Month: Temple (+10.5) lost 92-80 at Tulane Sunday. In OVERTIME!!!

— Steph Curry has scored 20+ points in a quarter 40 times in his career; Golden State went 34-6 in those forty games.

— Magic 111, Pistons 99— Franz Wagner scored 38 points for Orlando, without taking a foul shot; someone scores 38 without taking a foul shot, that means the other team isn’t being as physical as they should be on defense.

— Celtics were favored by 19.5 points against Memphis Sunday; it was the biggest spread in any NBA game this season. Boston won 131-91.

— They were telling a story on TV this weekend, about a guy applying for a job as an assistant for Michigan State coach Tom Izzo; the guy bought a mannequin in a store, chopped off the right hand and mailed the hand with his application to Izzo, with a note: “I’ll give my right hand to be your assistant coach.”

It worked. Go figure. 

NHL trends (thru All-Star break)

Anaheim 18-30-2
— won three of last four games overall.
— 8-17-1 at home, 10-13-1 on road.
— under 5-1 last six home games
— 6-2 in shootout/OT

Arizona 23-22-3
— lost their last five road games
— 15-9 at home, 8-13-3 on road.
— over 6-2 last eight home games.
— 5-3 in shootout/OT

Boston 31-9-9
— won six of last seven games.
— 16-4-3 at home, 15-5-6 on road.
— under 3-1 last four games
— 6-9 in shootout/OT

Buffalo 22-23-4
— 4-2 in their last six games.
— 11-12-1 at home, 11-11-3 on road.
— under 5-2 last seven games
— 2-5 if they played the night before.
— 2-4 in shootout/OT

Calgary 22-22-5
— lost four of their last five games
— 12-11-1 at home, 10-11-4 on road.
— over 6-4 last ten games
— 0-5 if they played the night before.
— 4-5 in shootout/OT

Carolina 28-15-5
— won 11 of their last 14 games.
— 15-5-4 at home, 13-10-1 on road.
— under 4-1 last five games.
— 6-2 on first night of back/back.
— 5-5 in shootout/OT

Chicago 14-34-2
— lost 11 of their last 14 games
— 10-11-1 at home, 4-23-1 on road.
— under 11-3 last 14 games
— 1-6 if they played the night before.
— 5-2 in shootout/OT

Colorado 32-14-3
— won 10 of last 13 games
— 19-5 at home, 13-9-3 on road.
— over 9-2 last eleven games.
— 3-1 if they played the night before.
— 4-3 in shootout/OT

Columbus 16-24-10
— lost nine of their last 13 games
— 9-13-4 at home, 6-9-5 on road.
— under 6-2 last eight road games
— 5-10 in shootout/OT

Dallas 30-13-6
— won eight of their last eleven games
— 16-8-2 at home, 14-5-4 on road.
— over 19-2 last 21 home games
— 4-2 if they played the night before.
— 9-6 in shootout/OT

Detroit 26-18-6
— won six of their last nine games
— 14-8-5 at home, 12-10-1 on road.
— under 8-3 last 11 games
— 4-1 if they played the night before.
— 6-6 in shootout/OT

Edmonton 29-15-1
— won their last 16 games.
— 16-6-1 at home, 13-9 on road.
— under 10-0 last ten games
— 5-1 in shootout/OT

Florida 31-14-4
— won their last four games.
— 14-7-2 at home, 17-7-2 on road.
— under 16-4 last 20 games
— 3-1 if they played night before.
— 5-4 in shootout/OT

Los Angeles 23-15-10
— lost 14 of their last 17 games.
— 8-9-6 at home, 15-6-4 on road.
— over 4-1 last five games
— 1-5 if they played the night before.
— 2-10 in shootout/OT
— fired their coach last week

Minnesota 21-23-5
— 4-3 in last seven games.
— 12-11-3 at home, 9-12-2 on road.
— over 7-3 last ten games 
— 2-6 if they played the night before.
— 6-5 in shootout/OT

Montreal 20-21-8
— 1-4 in their last five games.
— 10-12-3 at home, 10-9-5 on road.
— over 6-3 last nine home games
— 1-8 if they played the night before.
— 9-8 in shootout/OT

Nashville 26-23-2
— 1-5 in their last six games.
— 13-13 at home, 13-10-2 on road.
— under 7-2 last nine games
— 5-0 if they played the night before.
— 6-2 in shootout/OT

New Jersey 24-20-3
— lost seven of last ten games
— 10-11-2 at home, 14-9-1 on road.
— over 3-1 last four games.
— 1-6 if they played the night before.
— 5-3 in shootout/OT

NY Islanders 20-17-12
— lost nine of last 11 games. 
— 12-6-7 at home, 8-11-5 on road.
— under 3-1 last four games
— 0-6 if they played the night before.
— 6-12 in shootout/OT

NY Rangers 30-16-3
— lost eight of their last 12 games
— 15-7 at home, 15-9-3 on road.
— over 5-2 last seven games.
— 8-0 if they played the night before.
— 5-3 in shootout/OT

Ottawa 20-25-2
— won four of their last six games.
— 13-12-2 at home, 7-13 on road.
— over 8-4 last 12 games.
— 5-2 in shootout/OT

Philadelphia 25-19-6
— lost their last five games.
— 11-12-2 at home, 14-7-4 on road.
— over 5-0 last five home games.
— 5-1 on first night of a back/back.
— 8-6 in shootout/OT

Pittsburgh 22-17-7
— lost five of their last seven games 
— 12-8-3 at home, 10-9-4 on road.
— under 7-2 last nine games
— 5-0 if they played the night before.
— 4-7 in shootout/OT

St Louis 26-21-2
— won five of their last six games.
— 15-9-1 at home, 11-12-1 on road.
— over 7-3 last five games
— 7-2 in shootout/OT

San Jose 14-32-5
— won four of their last six games
— 9-13-2 at home, 5-19-2 on road.
— under 3-1 last four games
— 4-5 in shootout/OT

Seattle 21-19-10
— lost six of their last eight games.
— 11-9-4 at home, 10-10-6 on road. 
— under 12-5 last 17 games
— 0-3 on first night of back/back.
— 4-10 in shootout/OT

Tampa Bay 27-18-5
— won eight of their last nine games.
— 17-5-3 at home, 10-13-2 on road.
— over 3-0 last three games
— 5-5 in shootout/OT

Toronto 25-14-8
— won their last three games.
— 11-9-2 at home, 14-5-6 on road. 
— under 5-2 last seven games
— 1-5 on first night of back/back
— 9-8 in shootout/OT

Vancouver 33-11-5
— 9-2 in their last eleven games. 
— 18-4-2 at home, 15-7-3 on road.
— over 8-3 last eleven games
— 3-5 in shootout/OT

Vegas 29-15-6
— won five of their last seven games. 
— 18-5-2 at home, 11-10-4 on road.
— over 4-2 last six games
— 7-6 in shootout/OT

Washington 22-18-7
— lost their last four games.
— 13-7-4 at home, 9-11-3 on road.
— over 4-1 last five games.
— 4-2 if they played the night before.
— 6-7 in shootout/OT

Winnipeg 30-12-5
— lost their last three games, outscored 9-3.
— 16-7-2 at home, 14-5-3 on road.
— under 11-2 last 13 games.
— 4-0 if they played the night before.
— 3-5 in shootout/OT

There were 28 games Saturday, where the winning team trailed by 10+ points at one time in the game.

— SEC
Tennessee 103, Kentucky 92
Zeigler had 26 points, 13 assists for the Vols.
Kentucky scored 91-92 points in last two games, but lost both.
Kentucky PG Wagner is hurt, didn’t play.

Texas A&M 67, Florida 66
Aggies were 13-24 on foul line, Florida 6-11
Gators led by 13 late in first half.
Florida lost this game by 1; they won their previous two games, both in OT.

— Big X
Baylor 70, Iowa State 68
Kid on Iowa State hit a 35-footer at the buzzer, but it was just after the buzzer.
Baylor led 40-28 at halftime.
Bears made 12-23 on the arc, won by two points.

Texas 77, TCU 66
Horned Frogs led this game 16-6 early on.
Longhorns outrebounded TCU, 34-21.
Texas F Cunningham is 25 years old, older than NBA star Luka Doncic.

— Mountain West
San Diego State 81, Utah State 67
Aztecs are 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS as a MW home favorite.
Utah State is 19-3, despite having a whole new team. None of their players this year scored a point for the Aggies last season- they’re one of 3 teams in country like that.

UNLV 62, Wyoming 48
Rebels won their last three games, giving up 61 ppg.

— ACC
North Carolina 93, Duke 84
In a 76-possession game, Tar Heels had only 5 turnovers.
Carolina was 9-24 on the arc, Duke 5-19.

Virginia 66, Clemson 65
Cavaliers have won six in a row, are 8-3 in ACC.
Clemson shot only 35.7% from the floor.

— WCC
Saint Mary’s 64, Gonzaga 62
Gaels are 15-1 in last 16 games, after a 3-5 start.
Three players in this game played all 40:00.
Three Gonzaga subs played total of only 16:00.

San Diego 70, Santa Clara 59
Good upset win for Steve Lavin’s team; Toreros won 3 of last 4 games. 

— Big East
UConn 77, St John’s 64
UConn has won 10 in a row; they’re shooting 59% inside the arc (#5)
Johnnies have lost five of last six games.

— Upsets of the Day:
San Diego (+12.5) 70, Santa Clara 59
Penn State (+9.5) 85, Indiana 71
Idaho (+8.5) 81, Montana State 75
Central Michigan (+7.5) 77, Bowling Green 76 2OT
South Florida (+6.5) 60, North Texas 55
Murray State (+6.5) 71, Northern Iowa 43

— Word of the Day– Rivalry- When two people/teams often compete for the same thing.

— Pac-12
UCLA 71, Oregon 63
UCLA won five of its last six games, after a 6-10 start.
Bruins raced out to 23-5 lead, but trailed 34-33 at the half.
Oregon lost four of its last six games.

Washington State 90, Washington 87 OT
Coogs won six of their last seven games.
Washington led by 11 points in first half.

— Sun Belt
Appalachian State 85, Georgia Southern 84 OT
App State trailed by 9 with 10:47 left, by 3 with 0:59 left in OT
App State was 9-16 on foul line, Georgia Southern 2-6.
Georgia Southern is 5-6 in Sun Belt, after an 0-12 pre-conference mark.

— Mid-American
Central Michigan 77, Bowling Green 76 2OT
Falcons lost three of last four games, after a 14-4 start.
Bowling Green led by 4 with 0:52 left in first OT.
Chippewas out-rebounded Bowling Green, 52-37

— Missouri Valley
Indiana State 75, Drake 67
Drake trailed 24-7 early; they were only 12-23 on foul line.
Indiana State now has a 2-game lead in the conference race.
Jayson Kent had 20 rebounds, only 6 points for the Sycamores.

— Atlantic 15
UMass 66, George Mason 65
Mason tied game on a layup with less than 0:02 left, but they fouled a UMass guy on the inbounds pass, thinking they were still behind. UMass made a foul shot, won the game.

George Mason is 2-5 in its last seven games, after a 13-2 start.

— Southern
Wofford 88, Western Carolina 86 OT
Wofford shot 65.9% inside the arc.
Western Carolina lost 5 of last 6 games; all five losses were by 6 or fewer points.
Only five players on Western Carolina scored in this 45:00 game.

— NBA
Hawks 141, Warriors 134 OT
Steph Curry scored 60 points in a losing cause; he was 10-23 on the arc, 12-15 inside it. He will be 36 years old next month. The best shooter……..ever. 

A note or two on every major league team:
National League
Diamondbacks
Arizona lost the World Series last year; in 2021-22, they finished a combined 92 games out of first place.

Adding lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez is a good move.

Braves
Atlanta has made the playoffs six years in a row, going 24-21 in playoff games.

Braves drew 3,191,505 fans last year, 5th in major leagues.

Cubs
Cubs were 83-79 LY, 7th time in last nine years they finished over .500.

Craig Counsell is the new manager; he was 707-625 in Milwaukee, 7-12 in playoff games.

Reds
Cincinnati starting pitchers had a 5.43 ERA LY; they need to use their surplus of infielders to add a starter or two in a trade.

Reds were minus-38 in defensive runs saved LY, worst in the National League.

Rockies
Kris Bryant makes $27M a year; in his first two years with Colorado, he played in 122 of a possible 324 games. He’s expected to play 1B this year; Rockies need him to be productive.

Rockies have had five straight losing seasons, since losing 3-0 to Milwaukee in ’18 playoffs.

Dodgers
Added Ohtani, Yamanoto, Glasnow, are prohibitive favorites to win the NL West. 

Last three years, Dodgers won 317 games, but went 7-12 in the playoffs. They’ve been in the postseason 11 years in a row.

Marlins
Marlins were 84-78 LY, their first winning year in a 162-game season since 2009 (they went 31-29 in the shortened 2020 season).

3B Jake Burger hit .303 with an .860 OPS after being acquired from the White Sox LY.

Brewers
Their GM and manager both bolted; they just traded their ace pitcher, Corbin Burnes.

Milwaukee has been in playoffs five of last six years, but regression is expected this year.

Mets
Last year’s $346M payroll netted a 75-87 record, so this year, the Mets have a new manager and a new general manager.

Last three years, Starling Marte played in 120-118-86 games; they need more out of him.

Phillies
Bryce Harper is going to play 1B, so Rhys Hoskins bolted to Milwaukee. Rob Thomson is 174-129 as Phillies’ manager, 19-11 in playoff games.

Last year, Bryson Stott hit .433 (52-120) when the put the 1st or 2nd pitch of an at-bat in play.

Pirates
Pittsburgh hasn’t been in playoffs since 2015; their last winning season was 2018 (82-79),, their attendance last year was 1,630,624 (25th in MLB), their payroll was $68,945,975 (#29). 

Pirates drafted LSU pitcher Paul Skenes #1 in LY’s draft; how fast will be climb the ladder to the major leagues? Bucs added P’s Marco Gonzales/Martin Perez to fill out this year’s rotation.

Cardinals
Last year was Cardinals’ first losing season since 2007; they still drew 3,241,091 fans (#4 in MLB). They added three older starting pitchers this year: Kyle Gibson, Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn- will it be enough to make them a contender again?

C Willson Contreras had a .754 OPS in first half last year, then had a .959 in second half.

Padres
San Diego had a payroll of $256,045,688 last year (#3), they drew 3,271,554 fans at home (#2) but they needed a 20-7 finish to wind up with an 82-80 record. Padres were 9-23 in one-run games; no bueno.

Manager Bob Melvin is in San Francisco now, Juan Soto is in the Bronx, the team’s owner died in November. Expectations for this season are much lower.

Giants
Two years ago, the Giants went 107-55, 31-17 in one-run games. The last two years, Giants were 160-164, 47-46 in one-run games. Now, Bob Melvin replaces Gabe Kapler as manager, which figures to be an upgrade.

Giants signed Korean OF Jung Hoo Lee for six years, $113M; he is coming off a broken ankle.

Nationals
Washington won the World Series in 2019; since then, they’ve won 39.7% of their games, and dumped stars Bryce Harper/Juan Soto.

OF Lane Thomas hit 28 homers, stole 20 bases last year; hopefully they won’t trade him. 

American League
Orioles
Orioles franchise was sold recently, then they traded for pitching ace Corbin Burnes; coming off a 101-61 season, things are looking up in Baltimore.

OF Cedric Mullins was a 30-30 guy two years in a row, but his OPS the last two years was .721/.721, not very good. He is a great centerfielder defensively, though.

Red Sox
Boston finished in last place three of last four years, despite spending $183M/season in payroll the last three years. Ownership told GM Chaim Bloom to take a hike.

Red Sox had MLB’s worst defense LY (minus-51 runs saved); they added P Lucas Giolito, who had a 6.96 ERA in 12 starts after the White Sox traded him last July. Giolito is thought to be much better than that; we’ll see.

White Sox
Chicago was 61-101 last year; they cleaned out the front office and half the coaching staff, but kept manager Pedro Grifol. If they trade P Dylan Cease, will they reap a haul of prospects?

White Sox brought in Brian Bannister to advise pitching coach Ethan Katz; they added C Martin Maldonado, who helped keep the Astros’ pitchers for years in Houston. White Sox will have their third hitting coach in three seasons.

Guardians
Terry Francona went 921-757 in 11 years managing Cleveland; he will be missed. Replacing him is Steven Vogt, who has never managed at any level- he was playing in the big leagues as recently as two years ago. Not an ideal situation.

3B Jose Ramirez is still productive, but his OPS has gone down three years in a row, and he’ll be 32 in September. Guardians had the #26 payroll last year, went 76-86. Not much optimism here.

Tigers
Detroit hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2014, their last winning season was 2016, but they ended last year on an 18-10 run; with Michigan winning the college football title and the Lions making the NFC Championship Game, there is positive energy in Detroit.

Tigers added Kenta Maeda/Jack Flaherty to bolster the rotation; Tarik Skubal had a 2.80 ERA in 15 starts LY, so Detroit’s starting pitching should be solid.

Astros
Houston has been in the playoffs seven years in a row,, winning two World Series; now they have a new manager (bench coach Joe Espada) but their roster is basically the same. Yainer Diaz  is the new catcher, which helps the offense, hurts their defense.

Justin Verlander will be 41 soon, but his rebuilt right elbow is only 3 years old; Dusty Baker will be missed- he won consistently as a big league manager.

Royals
Kansas City won the 2015 World Series, haven’t had a winning season since; last two years, they went 121-203- their attendance last year was 1,307,052 (28th), their payroll $96,083,853 (#24), but the Royals have added some veteran free agents this winter, trying to improve.

Michael Wacha/Seth Lugo should improve their rotation, which got pounded last year. Brady Singer’s ERA went from 3.23 in 2022 to 5.52 last year. Royals used 13 outfielders last year, who combined for the 2nd-worst on-base %age of any outfield.

Angels
Ohtani moved 40 miles north, but the Angels never made the playoffs with him anyway; Halos haven’t made the playoffs since 2014- their payroll LY was $230,534,276 (#8). Anthony Rendon makes $38M a year for three more years; he’s played in 148 of the Angels’ last 486 games.

Ron Washington is the new manager; he’ll improve the infield defense. Chase Silseth was 3-0, 3.21 in seven second half starts LY. Angels’ rotation might still be pretty good. 

Twins
Minnesota won AL Central with an 87-75 mark LY; they’ve made playoffs in four of last seven seasons, and won a playoff series LY for first time since 2002. Twins have cut their payroll due to their uncertain local TV situation, which could cost them a lot of $$$.

Twins traded 2B Polanco to Seattle for four prospects; Edouard Julien should replace him. Minnesota AL in both walks/strikeouts LY; they’re still the favorite in a weak division.

New York
Bronx Bombers have paid out over $3B in salary since their last World Series title in 2009; that’s billion, with a B. How does the general manager keep his job? New York went 82-80 LY, with a payroll of $278,651,150 (#2). How does the manager keep his job?

They added free agent-to-be Juan Soto this winter; will they pay to keep him long-term? Soto has a career on-base %age of .421. Can they fix Giancarlo Stanton? He hit .202 the last two years.

A’s
Just try to win, please? This is their last year in Oakland, then they’re going into exile for three years (Salt Lake City? Sacramento?) before the new stadium opens in Las Vegas in 2028.

Last two years, A’s went 110-214; they figure to be little better this year, adding Alex Wood and Ross Stripling to bolster the rotation. They’ve got a few decent younger position players, l but this figures to be the third dismal season in a row.

Mariners
Last three years, Seattle won 90-90-88 games, but missed playoffs LY, after ending a 21-year playoff drought in 2022. This winter, Mariners dumped 3B Suarez, RF Hernandez, LF Kelenic, trying to reduce strikeouts. Adding Jorge Polanco/Mitch Garver should fill those gaps.

Mariners’ attendance was 2,690,418 LY, but their payroll was only $134,466,903 (#18); with the Astros/Rangers dominating the division, going to be tough for Seattle to get back to the playoffs.

Rays
Tampa Bay has made the playoffs five years in a row, but they got swept in the Wild Card round the last two years. Their payroll last year was $78,354,272; by way of comparison, the Angels paid Trout/Ohtani/Rendon a combined $106M last year.

Over the last three years, Rays have the 4th-most wins in baseball; the players that win games in October are the players the Rays can’t afford to pay, but getting to the playoffs with the #27 payroll is still damn impressive.

Rangers
Texas won the World Series LY, in their first playoff appearance since 2016; Bruce Bochy is a great manager, a future Hall of Famer. Their 2B/SS make a combined $58M a year, but they earned that $$$ last year. Seager had a hernia surgery this week, is doubtful for Opening Day.

P’s Scherzer/deGrom earn a combined $83M a year; they’re both out until midseason. It is up to Eovaldi/Gray/Dunning to keep the rotation pasted together until the stars get back.

Blue Jays
Toronto made playoffs three of last four years, but went 0-6 in those playoff games; they’re still putting together their 2024 roster, but Justin Turner just signed, they added Yaniel Rodriguez before that, to help fortify their lineup.

Manager John Schneider may be running out of time; Toronto had the #9 payroll last year- you have the #9 payroll, you’re expected to win some playoff games. 

— Random knowledge; Brock Purdy will be the 67th different QB to start a Super Bowl.

— Washington Commanders filled the NFL’s last head coaching opening and hired Dallas Cowboys’ DC Dan Quinn; Quinn went 46-44 in 5+ years coaching the Falcons, going 3-2 in playoff games. His 2016 Atlanta team lost Super Bowl LI 34-28, after leading 28-3 in the third quarter. He’s been the defensive coordinator in Dallas the last three seasons.

Five of the eight coaches who’ve been hired come from the defensive side of the ball.

— New England Patriots hired former Browns’ OC Alex Van Pelt as their new OC. 

Las Vegas Raiders are hiring former Cardinals’ coach Kliff Kingsbury as their new OC.

Rams are promoting LB coach Chris Shula to defensive coordinator; he is the grandson of the Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, and also played football at Miami OH with Sean McVay.

— AFC teams won six of the last nine Super Bowls.

— 14 of the first 57 Super Bowls were 0-0 after the first quarter.

— NHL teams with best records in overtime/shootouts:
7-2- St Louis
6-2- Anaheim, Washington
5-1- Edmonton

— NHL teams with worst records in overtime/shootouts:
2-10- Los Angeles
6-12- NY Islanders
5-10- Columbus
4-9- Seattle

— Active leaders in career home runs:
402- Giancarlo Stanton
368- Mike Trout
356- Joey Votto
342- Evan Longoria
340- Paul Goldschmidt

— Word of the Day: Cohesive- describing a group of people that is united and working together effectively.

— Milwaukee Brewers are trading P Corbin Burnes to the Orioles for Baltimore’s #5/#6 prospects, one a pitcher, one a shortstop. Last year, Burnes was 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA; he won the 2021 Cy Young Award and is a free agent after the 2024 season.

— Cal Ripken Jr/Grant Hill are part of the new ownership group of the Baltimore Orioles.

— Wednesday night/Thursday morning, I couldn’t sleep and got an idea for something to do for this blog, so I got up, flipped on the TV and got to work at 6am. Put Morning Joe on; I hadn’t watched it in years, and for whatever reason, they start rattling on about the 70’s Atlanta Braves and they flash a picture on the screen of a baseball card of Biff Pocoroba.

Go figure. 

If you don’t know, my first name is Biff and back in 1975, it was very cool for 15-year old me to watch a major leaguer named Biff- I followed his career pretty closely and have an autographed picture on the shelf here in my living room, plus the same baseball card they showed on TV.

By the way, Biff Pocoroba was a switch-hitting catcher who was an All-Star in 1978; he was a good knuckleball catcher for Phil Niekro back in the day.

— NCAA Tournament Stat: Last four NCAA Tournaments, teams from the WAC are 5-0 against the spread, including New Mexico State’s upset of UConn two years ago.

Last year, UConn won the national title; they were a #4-seed, the highest seed that made the Final 4. None of the top 12 seeds made the Final 4, which is unusual. 

— Nebraska 80, Wisconsin 72 OT
Badgers led 43-27 at halftime.
CJ Wilcher scored 22 points in 27:00; he didn’t start.

Before tonight, AP Top 10 teams had won 1,458 consecutive games when leading by 16+ points at halftime; the last loss was January 5, 2002 (Kentucky @ Mississippi State).

— Grand Canyon 95, Seattle 88 OT
Antelopes won despite blowing a 14-point 2nd half lead.
Grand Canyon has won 17 of its last 18 games.

— NC-Wilmington 80, Charleston 74
Charleston led by 6 with 12:24 left.
Trazarien White scored 27 points, had 9 rebounds.
These teams are now tied for 3rd in the CAA, both are 6-3.

— Youngstown State 88, Wright State 77
All five Penguin starters scored in double figures.
Youngstown shot 55.6% inside arc, had 13 offensive boards.
Penguins have never been in D-I NCAA Tournament; they’re 17-6 this year.

— Cleveland State 77, Detroit 65
Detroit starts four seniors and they’re 0-23. Yikes.
Titans are 3-9 ATS in Horizon games.
From 1973-77, Detroit was 79-29; their coach was Dick Vitale.

— Sam Houston 79, Western Kentucky 77
Hilltoppers led by 8 with 7:58 left in game.
Sam Houston is 6-1 in C-USA; this is their 11th winning season in a row.

— Lakers 114, Celtics 105
Boston was favored by 15.5 points; this is first time in at least 30 years that the Celtics lost when favored by 15+ points.

— Knicks 109, Pacers 105
Knicks have won nine games in a row, and 15 of 17.
All-Star Jalen Brunson scored 40 points for New York.  

— Green Bay Packers hired Boston College coach Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator, one more signal that coaching college football ain’t as much fun anymore. Hafley was 22-26 in four years at BC, getting to three bowl games- they beat SMU 23-14 in this season’s Fenway Bowl.

College recruiting is now a 24/7/365 deal, with NIL deals encouraging players to bolt like free agents in the pros. NFL coaches actually have more down time than college coaches do in the offseason.

— Seattle Seahawks named Baltimore Ravens’ DC Mike Macdonald as their new coach; he is now the youngest head coach in the NFL. Ravens led the NFL in points allowed, sacks and takeaways this year, in Macdonald’s second year on the job.

Since 2013, Ravens are now 0-24 when they trail by 10+ points at halftime; they’re the only NFL team that, over the last 11 years, hasn’t won a game like that.

— Further evidence that players win games, moreso than coaches, although a combination of both is obviously ideal; the 2013 Washington Redskins had these coaches on staff:

Offensive coordinator- Kyle Shanahan (HC of 49ers now)
QB coach- Matt Lafleur (HC of Packers)
TE coach- Sean McVay (HC of Rams)
WR coach- Mike McDaniel (HC of Dolphins)
DB coach- Raheem Morris (HC of Falcons)

Pretty good coaching staff under Mike Shanahan, right?

Washington went 3-13 that season, and Shanahan got fired.

— Pittsburgh Steelers named former Falcons’ coach Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator; Smith went 7-10 three years in a row coaching in Atlanta.

— Totally useless statistic; in the last 19 Super Bowls, the team that wore white jerseys were 16-3. This means absolutely nothing, but it is true. By the way, the 49ers are wearing white jerseys next week.

— San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL signed QB Tommy Flacco from Towson State, the younger brother of Browns’ QB Joe Flacco.

— Happy 69th birthday to former Rams’ safety Nolan Cromwell; he played 11 years as a DB for the Rams, after having been a wishbone QB in college at Kansas. Cromwell also held for kicks; he once scored a TD on a fake field goal in overtime, to win a game.

— Baseball Notes of the Day:
Blue Jays signed Justin Turner for one year, $13M.

Angels signed OF Aaron Hicks for $740K; Bronx Bombers still owe Hicks $19,260,000 over the next two years. Kind of like David Justice in Moneyball: “They’re paying you to play against them.”

— NBA salary cap is $136M this year; it will be $141M next season.

— In his Hall of Fame career, the great Wilt Chamberlain had 27 games where he scored 30+ points, grabbed 20+ rebounds, had 10+ assists; no one else in NBA history has more than eight 30-20-10 games (Oscar Robertson). Denver’s Nikola Jokic has seven.

— Movie of the Day: Runaway Jury (2003)- A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.

John Cusack is the influential juror; Dustin Hoffman is one of the lawyers, Gene Hackman is a guy who advises the plaintiff’s lawyers. Bruce McGill, Jennifer Beals are also in this movie, which was written by the same two guys who wrote Billions and Rounders.

By the way, happy 94th birthday to the great actor Gene Hackman.

— Purdue 105, Northwestern 96 OT
Northwestern coach Collins got ejected with 0:01.7 left in OT.
Why? Purdue was 29-46 on foul line; Northwestern was 6-8.
Wildcats were 14-27 on the arc; Purdue was 10-21.

— Alabama 85, Georgia 76
Georgia led this game 17-2 out of the gate.
Alabama shot 64.9% inside the arc.
Crimson Tide was +10 in turnovers (19-9)

— Florida 94, Kentucky 91 OT
Florida hit a 3-pointer with 0:03 left to force overtime.
Kentucky split its last six games, after a 12-2 start.
Kentucky’s eFG% defense is #94; Final 4 teams are usually top 25 in eFG% defense.

— Xavier 88, St John’s 77
Olivari had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals.
St John’s has lost four of its last five games.
Both teams are now 5-5 in the Big East.

— Rice 74, Memphis 71
4th straight loss for Memphis, after a 15-2 start.
Rice had lost seven of its previous eight games.
Owls were 10-21 on the arc, Memphis 3-18.

— UAB 82, North Texas 79 OT
Blazers never led in regulation.
North Texas led by 17 late in first half.
Third loss in four games for the Mean Green.

— Samford 81, Wofford 79
Samford is 19-3, 8-1 in SoCon; their last four wins were by 4-7-3-2 points. 

— Boise State 86, New Mexico 78
Rough night for the Pitino family, with Lobos/St John’s both losing.
Loss snaps New Mexico’s five-game winning streak.
Max Rice scored 35 points; he had 30 in his last game vs New Mexico.

— Let’s compare the coaching resumes of two former NFL coaches:
Coach A: 125-106 in regular season, 0-6 in playoffs.
Coach B: 131-122-3 in regular season, 0-7 in playoffs.

Both coaches turned around losing programs, but couldn’t get over the hump in the playoffs. Any idea who they are? (Hint: they’re both retired)

Coach A is Jim Mora Sr, who led the Saints to their first four playoff spots ever, but he went 0-4 in those games.

Mora had previously gone 41-12-1 coaching the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL (1983-85) winning the championship in two of that league’s three seasons.

Coach B is Marvin Lewis; the Bengals were 19-61 in the five years before he got there; they went 6-25-1 in the first two years after he left, but then they drafted Joe Burrow and things have been good in Cincinnati since then.

But Lewis went 131-122-3 in the regular season, no small feat.

— You can bet on the Super Bowl at the SouthPoint Casino in Las Vegas, with -105 instead of the usual -110 (or worse) vigorish. Makes it a little better for gamblers; plus, the SouthPoint has a hot dog cart right near the sportsbook, and it is very good. 

— Surprise of the Day: Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is staying with Detroit, which is really surprising- thought for sure he would fill one of the eight job openings for head coaches (there are only two left now). Apparently he wanted a boatload of $$$, which scared teams off.

— Can’t let January 30 pass without remembering January 30, 2000, one of my favorite days as a sports fan. Can’t believe its been 24 years since the Rams beat Tennessee 23-16, winning Super Bowl XXXIV, their first Super Bowl title.

Quite a game; Rams tackled a Tennessee receiver on the 1-yard line on the last play of the game to preserve the win, after they had blown a 16-0 third quarter lead. When NFL Network shows the highlights of that game every year, I still get queasy during the 4th quarter.

— The Angelos family is selling the Baltimore Orioles to a couple of really rich guys for $1.725B; Steve Cohen bought the Mets for $2.42B four years ago.

— Underdogs are 8-4 ATS in the last 12 Super Bowls, covering the last three.

— Georgia Tech 74, North Carolina 73
Loss ends North Carolina’s 10-game win streak.
Tar Heels were only 9-17 on the foul line.
Tech has beaten UNC/Duke; they’re 1-7 against the rest of the ACC.

— Marquette 85, Villanova 80
Marquette blew a 20-point lead, trailed by 4 with 13:11 left.
Kolek had 32 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
Villanova lost its fifth game in a row.

— TCU 85, Texas Tech 78
TCU is #3 experience team that played non-conference schedule #345.
Horned Frogs are 16-5; all those wins in Nov/Dec built their confidence.
Texas Tech was 14-28 on arc; TCU was 11-20.

— St Bonaventure 67, VCU 62
VCU led this game 39-19 late in first half.
Bonnies out-rebounded VCU, 43-28.
Bonnies were 20-23 on foul line, Rams 9-11.

— Colorado State 79, San Diego State 71
Colorado State outscored Aztecs 19-10 over final 7:29.
Rams shot 67.7% inside the arc.
San Diego State lost 3 of last 5 games, after a 14-2 start.

— South Carolina 63, Tennessee 59
Gamecocks have won four in row, 11 of last 13 games.
Last four games, South Carolina gave up only 62.3 ppg.
Dalton Knecht scored 31 of Tennessee’s 59 points.

— Central Michigan 84, Northern Illinois 77, 2OT
Chippewas are 7-2 in MAC, Northern Illinois 0-8.
NIU led by 13 with 12:05 left in the game.
CMU was 26-37 on foul line, Huskies 16-25.

— Baseball Note of the Day: Seattle Mariners acquired 2B Jorge Polanco from the Twins, for four players, one of whom is P Anthony DeSclafani- another is OF Gabriel Gonzalez, who was Seattle’s #3 prospect.

— Word of the Day: Relentless- Being determined to do something, refusing to give up, to the point of sometimes being harsh or inflexible.

— If you have ESPN+, I recommend a 30-for-30 they did a while back, The Guru of Go, about former Lakers/LMU coach Paul Westhead.

If you saw HBO’s Winning Time last year, that show did a hatchet job of sorts on both Westhead and Jerry West; this show is a little bit more of an accurate appraisal of Westhead and what he did in a very interesting coaching career, a career that included him winning a WNBA title, 27 years after his NBA title with the Lakers.

— Was watching The Firm the other night, the 1993 movie adapted from one of John Grisham’s books; really good movie with an excellent cast- Gene Hackman, Tom Cruise, Wilford Brimley.

Two actors with smaller parts in the movie were Terry Kinney/David Strathairn; 30 years later, those two actors also worked in Showtime’s series Billions, which ran for seven years.

One of the things I got interested in during the pandemic was watching a ton of movies, and seeing how certain actors worked together a lot (John Cusack/Jeremy Piven come to mind).

— NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks have lost their last 18 road games; their last road win was back on November 9th, at Tampa Bay.

— Nick Dunlap, the 20-year-old golfer who won the American Express golf tournament as an amateur couple weeks ago, has turned pro. He was the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991.

Bad week for the golf coach at Alabama; Dunlap was on his team.

— James Harden has never played on a losing team in the NBA; he played on a 41-41 team once, the 2016 Rockets, but every other team he’s played on finished above .500.

Harden’s teams have a combined playoff record of 80-73; his 2012 Thunder team lost in the NBA Finals to Miami.

— Mobile sports betting is coming to North Carolina on March 11, just in time for people to bet on the ACC Tournament. North Carolina will be the 30th state to have mobile sports betting.

— Let’s compare the coaching resumes of two former NFL coaches:
Coach A: 125-106 in regular season, 0-6 in playoffs.
Coach B: 131-122-3 in regular season, 0-7 in playoffs.

Both coaches turned around losing programs, but couldn’t get over the hump in the playoffs. Any idea who they are? (Hint: they’re both retired)

I’ll let you know tomorrow. 

College basketball trends (team’s record):

Teams that play the fastest tempos:
1- Western Kentucky (14-6)
3- VMI (4-17)
7- Samford (18-3)
8- New Mexico (18-3)

Teams that play the slowest tempos:
362- North Texas (12-7)
361- Virginia (15-5)
359- Towson (13-8)
358- Charlotte (13-7)

Teams that force highest % of turnovers:
1- Texas-El Paso (11-10)
2- Iowa State (16-4)
3- Houston (18-2)
4- Florida International (7-14)

Teams that turn ball over the most:
24.5%- Siena (3-17)
23%- Sacramento State (6-15)
22.9%- Texas-Arlington (9-11)
22.8%- Stephen F Austin (12-8)

Best teams on offensive boards:
43.8%- Texas A&M (12-8)
40.7%- Florida (14-6)
40.6%- Towson (13-8)
40.1%- St John’s (13-7)

Worst teams on defensive boards:
63.3%- Cleveland State (13-9)
64.1%- North Carolina A&T (6-15)
64.3%- Florida International (7-14)
64.5%- Rio Grande Valley (6-14)

Teams with highest FG %age on 2-point shots:
64%- Cornell (15-3)
60.8%- Indiana State (18-3)
60%- BYU (15-5)
59.8%- Creighton (16-5)

Teams with highest FG %age on 3-point shots:
41.1%- Indiana State (18-3)
41%- Baylor (14-5)
40.2%- Kentucky (15-4)
40.2%- Samford (18-3)

Defenses with best FG %age on 2-point shots:
40.3%- Houston (18-2)
42%- Loyola Chi (13-7)
42.6%- Cal-Irvine (15-6)
42.6%- UConn (18-2)

Defenses with best FG %age on 3-point shots:
27.4%- SMU (13-7)
27.6%- Louisiana (13-8)
27.7%- Mississippi State (14-6)
27.8%- Seattle (12-8)

Teams who get highest %age of points on 3’s:
43%- BYU (15-5)
41.4%- Georgia Southern (5-16)
41%- Liberty (13-8)
41%- St Joe’s (13-7)

Teams who get highest %age of points on 2’s:
63.7%- IUPUI (6-17)
63.4%- Cal-Bakersfield (8-12)
60%- Tarleton State (13-7)
59.9%- Wright State (12-10)

Teams who get highest %age of points on foul shots:
26.2%- Texas-El Paso (11-10)
25.5%- Grand Canyon (19-2)
25.5%- Rio Grande Valley (6-14)
24.7%- Arkansas (10-10)

Teams whose subs play the most:
46.7%- Stephen F Austin (12-8)
44.2%- Samford (18-3)
44.1%- Auburn (16-4)
44%- Vanderbilt (5-14)

Teams whose subs play the least:
14.5%- Princeton (15-2)
17.8%- Tulane (12-8)
17.9%- Ball State (11-9)
18.5%- Michigan (7-13)

Most experienced teams:
St Bonaventure (12-7)
Washington (12-9)
TCU (15-5)
Nevada (16-5)

Least experienced teams:
Idaho (7-13)
Siena (3-17)
North Carolina A&T (6-15)
Notre Dame (7-13)

Teams with most continuity:
Florida Atlantic (17-4)
Columbia (10-7)
Marquette (15-5)
Cal-Davis (12-8)

— Chiefs 17, Ravens 10
Ravens lost a fumble on 1-yard line, threw an INT in end zone.
Chiefs have won their last five games, giving up 14 ppg.
Since 2019, Chiefs are 13-2 in playoff games, winning two Super Bowls.
Baltimore’s only TD was a 30-yard TD pass late in first quarter.

Chiefs had their first plus turnover game since Week 6.
Mahomes is 88-25 SU as an NFL starter, 14-3 in playoffs.
coach Reid is 25-16 in playoff games, 15-7 with KC.
Lamar Jackson is 60-23 as an NFL starter, only 2-4 in playoff games

— Mahomes is on track to wind up as the NFL’s all-time best QB.

Seriously, if we were starting a football league right now, with every player ever eligible in his prime, which QB would you take first? I’d either take Mahomes or John Elway.

— 49ers 34, Lions 31
Lions in 1st half: 44 plays, 280 yards, 24 points.
Detroit led 24-7 at halftime.
Leading 24-10 in 3rd quarter, Lions went for it on 4th down, instead of trying a 45-yard FG that would’ve made score 27-10- they didn’t make the first down, and the game swung.
49ers in 2nd half: 36 plays, 281 yards, 27 points.

QB Purdy threw for 267 yards, ran for 48 more.
McCaffrey had 13 touches for 132 yards and 2 TD’s.
49ers are 13-0 when they score 21+ points.
Detroit scored a TD with 0:56 left for the back-door cover.

— Early spread on the Super Bowl: San Francisco, -1

— Football coaching stuff:
Buffalo Bills named Joe Brady offensive coordinator, taking the interim tag away.

Philadelphia Eagles naned Kellen Moore offensive coordinator. 

Atlanta Falcons named Zac Robinson offensive coordinator.

Sean McVay has been an NFL head coach for seven years; six of his former assistants have become head coaches (5 in NFL, Jedd Fisch in college), another seven have become NFL coordinators.

— Michigan Wolverines named Sherrone Moore their new football coach; he was the interim head coach for four games this season, while Jim Harbaugh was suspended. 

— CBS pays Tony Romo $18M a year, which is staggering. Basically works out to $1M a week, maybe a little less. Thats a lot of cabbage, for sure. He’s a good analyst, not really sure anyone is $1M a week good, though.

— Baseball Note of the Day: Japanese baseball teams get a boatload of $$$ if a player comes to America before he has nine years of service time in Japan; the team receives a release fee: 20% of the first $25M of a major league contract, 17.5% of the next $25M and 15% of any amount over $50M.

— Word of the Day: Eschew- Deliberately avoiding something. 

Lions eschewed three field goal tries Sunday, and went for it on 4th down all three times; they failed on two of the three tries.

— Baseball stuff:
Royals gave 2B/OF Adam Frazier a 2-year deal, with a guarantee of $4.5M.

Cubs gave P Hector Neris a one-year deal for $9M

Diamondbacks signed OF Joc Pederson for one year, $9.5M.

Rangers gave P David Robertson a one-year deal for $11.5M; they also signed OF Travis Jankowski to a minor league deal.

Detroit Tigers gave 22-year-old prospect Colt Keith a six-year, $28M extension that has the chance to be much more lucrative, if Keith turns out to be as good as the Tigers think he is. Keith is a 3B who hit .287 in 67 AAA games last summer, with 51 RBI.

— FAU 66, North Texas 63
Owls outscored North Texas 13-6 over final 5:23.
FAU is 7-1 SU/2-6 ATS in the AAC.

— Couple of teams snapped long losing streaks Sunday:
Wichita State (1-6 in AAC, +4.5) upset SMU 77-72.
Manhattan (2-7 in MAAC, +9.5) beat Niagara 84-78 in overtime.

— UAB 97, Memphis 88
Memphis lost its last three games, after a 15-2 start.
Both teams had 20+ turnovers.
Yaxel Lendeborg scored 29 points, had 16 rebounds, 4 assists.

— Ohio State lost five of its last six basketball games SU; they’re 1-8 ATS in their conference games this season.

— Gonzaga’s league, the WCC, is ranked 11th so far this year; the last five years, the WCC finished either #8 or #9 in rankings. You wonder if the league will get more than one bid in the NCAA’s this year, if either Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s stumbles down the stretch.

— Happy birthdays this week to two of the greats: Wayne Gretzky (63) and Bob Uecker (90)- they’re greats for very different reasons, but both Hall of Famers, no doubt. 

— Big X
TCU 105, Baylor 102, 3OT’s
TCU was down 9 with 9:19 left in regulation.
Nelson scored 30 points for TCU; he didn’t start.

Iowa State 79, Kansas 75
Iowa State shot 14-30 on the arc.
Jayhawks’ bench played total of only 25:00, scored 2 points.
Kansas split its last six games, after a 13-1 start.

— ACC
Duke 72, Clemson 71
Duke hit couple foul shots with 0:01 left for the win.
Clemson led by 4 with 1:54 left in game.
Clemson has lost 21 in a row at Duke; their last win there was in 1995.

North Carolina 75, Florida State 68
Tar Heels are 9-0 SU/8-1 ATS in ACC games.
UNC was 19-24 on foul line, Seminoles 5-11- at home.

— SEC
Florida 102, Georgia 98 OT
Gators blew a 21-point 2nd half lead, but won in overtime.
Florida was minus-10 in turnovers (19-9).
RJ Melendez scored 35 points for Georgia; he didn’t start.

Mississippi State 64, Auburn 58
Auburn shot 6-24 on arc; they went 0-2 on road this week.

South Carolina 72, Missouri 64
Gamecocks are 17-3, 5-2 in SEC games.
Last three years, South Carolina was 35-49, 17-35 in SEC.

— Big East
Butler 88, Villanova 81 2OT
Butler was down 11 with 4:45 left in regulation.
Villanova only took 9 foul shots (6-9) in a 50:00 game.
Third straight loss for the 11-9 Wildcats.

Providence 84, Georgetown 76
Friars shot 76.7% (23-30) inside the arc.
Hoyas have lost five in row, are 1-8 in Big East.

— Mountain West
Wyoming 79, Colorado State 76 OT
Colorado State led by 11 with 1:11 left in regulation. Yikes.
Rams are 2-4 in last six games, after a 13-1 start.

Utah State 90, Boise State 84
Aggies shot 62.2% inside arc, 26-31 on foul line.
Utah State has won 17 of its last 18 games.

— Atlantic 15
Richmond 69, Dayton 64
Spiders won 10 games in row, are 7-0 in A-15 games.
This loss ended Dayton’s 13-game winning streak.

VCU 63, Davidson 58
Davidson has lost five of its last seven games.
Fifth straight win for VCU, after an 8-7 start.

— Upsets of the Day:
Idaho State (+11.5) 74, Weber State 64
Mercer (+11.5) 70, NC-Greensboro 64
Wm & Mary (+8.5) 72, Northeastern 68
Wyoming (+8.5) 79, Colorado State 76, OT
North Dakota (+8.5) 74, St Thomas 64
Ole Miss (+7.5) 71, Texas A&M 68
Miami OH (+7.5) 70, Akron 68
Southern Utah (+6.5) 82, Abilene Christian 67
LaSalle (+5.5) 80, George Washington 70
Jacksonville State (+5.5) 73, Liberty 62
Wofford (+5.5) 77, Furman 67

— Movie of the Day: Autumn in New York (2000)- An aging playboy falls for a much younger woman, who turns out to be terminally ill.

Richard Gere is the star, Winona Ryder is the younger woman. Excellent supporting cast, with Anthony LaPaglia, Jill Hennessy, JK Simmons, Sherry Stringfield, Vera Farmiga.

— Bad Beat of the Day???: Bradley (+7.5) lost 95-86 in overtime at Indiana State. Braves led by 2 with 0:53 left in regulation.

— Cornell 83, Princeton 68
First Ivy League loss for the 15-2 Tigers; they dropped 13 spots in KenPom’s rankings.
Cornell shot 73.5% (25-34) inside the arc.

— Oakland 91, Milwaukee 87, 2OT
Milwaukee scored 95-87 points vs Oakland this year, but lost both games.
Oakland’s Jack Gohlke was 8-18 on arc, 3-3 on line. He didn’t take a 2-point shot.
Oakland was 15-41 on the arc, 13-33 inside the arc.

— Cal-San Diego 92, Cal-Davis 59
UCSD was 15-32 on the arc, Cal-Davis 4-20
Tritons are 14-7, 8-1 in Big West, but they’re not eligible for NCAA Tournament.
That was just second loss in last nine games for Cal-Davis.

— Arizona 87, Oregon 78
Arizona never trailed; they made 10-19 shots on the arc.
Caleb Love scored 36 points for the Wildcats.

— Miami OH 70, Akron 68
First loss for the Zips in eight MAC games.
Akron led this game by 11 early on, but shot only 34.6% inside arc. 

Notes from 13 of the best leagues in the country:

— Southern
71% free throw % is 2nd-worst of any conference.
35.3% on 3’s is 7th-best %age in country.

NC-Greensboro/Samford are tied for first, at 6-1
Furman/Chattanooga are game behind, at 5-2.

From 2015-22, Western Carolina was 101-151, 54-89 in SoCon.
Last two years, Western Carolina is 33-21, 14-11 in SoCon.

— WAC
WAC teams are playing 2nd-fastest tempo in country.
WAC games have the most free throws of any league in country.

Grand Canyon is 8-1; they lead the WAC by 2.5 games.
Antelopes will have pressure in WAC tourney; this is a one-bid league.

In three years under Chris Victor, Seattle is 55-29, 30-15 in WAC games.

— WCC
WCC teams are shooting 53.4% inside the arc, best in country.
WCC teams have the 3rd-fewest turnovers of any league. 

Saint Mary’s is 6-0 in WCC, after a 9-6 pre-conference mark.
Santa Clara is 6-1, Gonzaga 5-1, right behind the Gaels.

Right now, according to ESPN’s Bracketology, this is a one-bid league, with Gonzaga the first team out of the field of 68, but we’re still in January, still a long way to go.

— Missouri Valley
Valley teams are #6 in country in eFG%; lot of good shooters.
Valley teams are outside top 20 in steals, blocked shots; not a great defensive league.

Indiana State leads the Valley with an 8-1 record.
Drake/Bradley are both a game behind. Right now, this is a one-bid league.

Belmont has won 20+ games thirteen years in a row; right now, they’re 11-9.
Last two years, Bradley is 40-15, 23-6 in Valley games.

— American
39.6% of shots AAC teams take are 3’s, 3rd-highest %age.
AAC teams rebound 31.2% of their missed shots, #5 in country.

FAU/Charlotte are 6-1 in AAC; North Texas/South Florida are 5-1.
From 2010-21, Wichita State was 168-43 in league games; the last three years, Shockers are 15-24, 0-6 this season.

East Carolina is 3-5 in games decided by 6 or less points, lot of close games.
Florida Atlantic is 6-1 in AAC this year, only 2-5 against the spread.

— Atlantic 15
A-15 teams are shooting 48.5% inside arc, 3rd-worst in country.
Home teams are only 25-22 SU in A-15 league games (#24 home win %age)

Dayton/Richmond are tied for first in A-15, with 6-0 records.
Loyola (5-2), VCU (4-2) are next in the standings. 

This is a one-bid league, unless Dayton loses in the A-15 tourney- Flyers are getting in.
In 8 years under Bob McKillop, Davidson was 91-46 in A-15; in the two years since he retired and his son took over the program, Davidson is 10-14 in A-15 games.

— Baseball Note of the Day: Minnesota Twins won the World Series in 1991; since then, no Minnesota team has won a championship, or gotten to the finals in their league. Of the 13 places with teams in all four major sports, Minnesota’s drought is 10 years longer than anyone else’s.

— Thought of the Day: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.   

— Mountain West
Mountain West teams are playing 4th-slowest tempo in country.
Mountain West teams are shooting 52.9% inside arc, #4 n country.

Utah State/Boise State are 6-1; San Diego State/New Mexico are 5-2.
Colorado State was 12-1 in pre-conference, but is only 3-3 in league games.

Bracketology has five Mountain West teams in Field of 68.
16-4 Nevada is in Next Four Out; MW has six teams in the top 60.

— Pac-12
Pac-12 teams are shooting 36.6% on arc, #2 in country.
Home teams are 37-14 in Pac-12 games, #2 %age in country.

Oregon is 6-2 in Pac-12, followed by Colorado at 6-3.
Arizona schools are both 5-3.

Last four years, UCLA was 99-36, 58-19 in Pac-12. This year, they’re 8-11, 3-5.
Arizona is 6-5 in its last eleven games, after an 8-0 start.

— ACC
ACC teams are shooting 74% on foul line, 3rd-best in country.
ACC teams are shooting only 49.8% inside arc, #20 in country.

North Carolina is 8-0 in ACC games; their last loss was December 16.
Florida State/Duke are next in standings, at 5-2.

Bracketology has Wake Forest/Virginia in Next Four Out.
Other than UNC, they have Duke as a 5-seed, Clemson as a 7-seed.

— Big 14
Big 14 teams are shooting 36% on the arc, #3 in country.
Big 14’s turnover %age is 15.9%, #5 in country.

Wisconsin is 8-1 in Big 14, Purdue 7-2.
Illinois/Northwestern are tied for third, at 5-3.

Bracketology has six Big 14 teams in the Field of 68.
Michigan State is 12-8, 4-5; they haven’t missed NCAA’s since 1997.

— SEC
SEC teams have 48.8 eFG%, 4th-worst in country.
SEC teams are playing 4th-fastest tempo in country.

Auburn/Alabama are both 5-1; Tennessee is 4-1.
Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia are all 4-2.

Last 4 years, Arkansas was 95-42, 41-30 in SEC; this year, they’re 10-9, 1-5.
Bracketology has seven SEC teams in, with Ole Miss/Florida near-misses.

— Big East
Big East teams are rebounding 30.1% of their misses, #7 in country.
Big East teams are shooting 75.3% on foul line, best in country.

Defending national champ UConn is 7-1 in conference games.
Creighton/Seton Hall are 6-3; Marquette is 5-3.

In Jay Wright’s last nine years, Villanova was 263-53, 130-31 in conference.
In 1.5 years since Wright retired, Villanova is 28-25, 14-14 in conference.

— Big X
Big X teams are playing 5th-slowest tempo in country.
Big X teams are shooting 33.2% on the arc (#24)

Texas Tech is 4-1 in Big X; four other teams are 4-2.
Four new teams in the Big X this year are 11-13 in league games.

Bracketology has six teams in, with Texas/TCU in the play-in games
Last 3 years, Oklahoma State was 27-27 in Big X; they’re 0-6 this year. 

Buccaneers 9, Panthers 0
Tampa Bay clinched NFC South win a win here.
Buccaneers won five of their last six games.
Bucs are 7-1 when they allow less than 18 points.
Tampa Bay will host the Eagles in the playoffs next week.

Panthers are 1st team to be shut out in consecutive games since ‘08 Browns.
Carolina never led a game in 4th quarter TY; both wins were on walk-off FG’s.
Carolina lost nine of its last ten games (3-3 ATS last six).
Panthers didn’t score a TD in four of their last five games.

Bills 21, Dolphins 14
Bills win AFC East; they host the Steelers next week.
Harty tied game 14-14 with a 96-yard punt return TD.
Bills outgained Miami, 473-275.
Buffalo is 5-0 SU/3-2 ATS since its bye week. 

Dolphins in first half: 31 plays, 225 yards; they led 14-7.
Dolphins in 2nd half: 17 plays, 47 yards, 4 punts and an INT
Under McDaniel, Miami is 9-13 ATS as an underdog (0-5 TY).
Next week, Dolphins visit Kansas City Saturday night.

Titans 28, Jaguars 20
Loss knocks Jacksonville out of the playoffs.
Jaguars lost five of their last six games.
Last five weeks, Jaguars were outscored 65-29 in first half.
Jaguars were 8-14 on third down, Titans 6-11.

Tennessee scored TD’s on three of its first four drives.
Titans ran ball for 175 yards; Henry ran for 153 yards and a TD.
Tennessee is 14-7 ATS last 21 games as home dogs (4-2 TY)
Titans are 5-1 scoring 27+ points, 1-10 scoring 17 or less. 

Saints 48, Falcons 17
Falcons’ first two drives: nine plays, 169 yards, two TD’s.
Falcons rest of game: 51 plays, 220 yards, 3 points.
Falcons are 3-11-1 ATS TY in games with spread of 3 or less points.
Saints scored TD with 1:10 left; Falcons WERE NOT HAPPY about it.

This game was 17-17 at halftime.
Saints were eliminated from playoffs when Green Bay won its game.
Carr was 22-28/264 passing with four TD’s.
Saints won nine of last 12 games against Atlanta.

Bengals 31, Browns 14
Bengals led 24-0 at halftime.
Browns in first half: 25 plays, 71 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.
Driskel was 5th QB to start a game for Cleveland TY.
Browns visit Houston in the playoffs next week.

Bengals’ first four drives: 24 plays, 224 yards, 21 points.
Mixon ran ball 14 times for 11 yards and a TD.
Cincinnati is 9-4-1 ATS last 14 games as home favorites (4-3-1 TY).
Bengals are 7-2 giving up 20 or less points, 2-6 allowing more than 2o.

Jets 17, Patriots 3
Jets end a 15-game losing streak vs New England.
Total yardage: Jets 254, New England 119
Teams combined to convert 4 of 29 third down plays. 
Jets went 3-2 in their last five games this season.

NE is 7-15-1 ATS in last 23 games with spread of 3 or less.
Patriots were 1-4 ATS as a favorite this season.
New England was minus-12 in turnovers this year (+38 from 2019-22).
In his career, Belichick is 84-103 without Brady.

Lions 30, Vikings 20
Detroit scored TD’s on two of first three drives.
Last four games, Detroit is +6 in turnovers (9-3)
St Brown caught seven passes for 144 yards and a TD.
Over is 10-4 in their last 14 games.

Vikings lost six of last seven games (the win was 3-0).
Mullens was 30-44/396 passing, but threw INTs on last two drives.
Jefferson caught 12 passes for 192 yards and a TD.
Vikings were 1-7 when they allowed 27+ points.

Cowboys 38, Commanders 10
Dallas wins division, hosts Green Bay in playoffs next week.
Cowboys scored five TD’s on only nine drives.
Prescott was 31-36/279 passing, with four TD’s.
Dallas is 11-4 ATS last 15 games as a road favorite (4-1 TY)

Cowboys outgained Washington, 440-180.
Dallas was 6-10 on 3rd down, Commanders 2-10
Washington lost eight in row, 13 of last 15 games (3-8 ATS last 11)
Washington was 1-12 this year giving up more than 17 points. 

Rams 21, 49ers 20
Rams converted 9 of 15 third down plays.
Rams are 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS last eight games
Rams are 9-3 when they run ball for 92+ yards, 1-4 when they don’t.
Rams visit Detroit (Stafford’s old team) in next week’s playoffs.

49ers led 20-7 at halftime.
49ers in second half: 16 plays, 26 yards, 3 punts and a lost fumble.
SF is 0-5 this year when they score less than 27 points.
49ers are still the #1 seed in NFC, have next week off.

Giants 27, Eagles 10
Giants led Philly 24-0 at halftime.
Eagles turned ball over three times in the first half.
Eagles went 1-5 SU/0-6 ATS in their last six games.
Eagles visit Tampa Bay in next weekend’s playoffs.

Giants outgained Philly 415-299.
Taylor was 23-32/297 passing, with a TD pass.
Last two weeks, Giants gained 389/415 yards, an improvement.
Last 13 games, Giants were +19 in turnovers.

Packers 17, Bears 9
Packers outgained Chicago, 432-192.
Green Bay was 7-10 on third down, Bears 3-10.
Packers are 6-2 SU/5-3 ATS in its last eight games.
Green Bay visits Dallas and its old coach (McCarthy) next week.

Bears were in Green Bay territory on every drive, scored only 9 points.
Bears are 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Lambeau.
Bears were 2-5 SU in one-score games this season.
Fields is 10-28 as an NFL starter.

Seahawks 21, Cardinals 20
Trailing 20-13, Lockett caught a 34-yard TD pass with 1:54 left.
Lockett also scored 2-point conversion for the deciding points.
Arizona missed a 51-yard FG on last play of the game.
Cardinals outgained Seattle, 466-327.

Seattle was eliminated when Green Bay won its game. 
Seahawks were 9-2 scoring 20+ points, 0-6 scoring less than 20.
Seahawks were 6-4 in one-score games this season.
Cardinals were 0-11 TY when they scored less than 25 points.

Raiders 27, Broncos 14
Denver scored 16-14 points in splitting backup QB Stidham’s starts.
Broncos lost four of their last six games.
Denver was 2-5 ATS as a road underdog this season.
Broncos are 7-16 ATS in last 23 games coming off a win.

Raiders led 17-7 at halftime.
Raiders went 5-4 SU/7-1-1 ATS after they changed coaches.
Las Vegas was 5-2-1 ATS TY in games with spread of 3 or less.
Raiders won their last nine games against Denver. 

Chiefs 13, Chargers 12
Only TD of the game was 97-yard fumble return by the Chiefs.
Chargers outgained KC 353-268, but obviously Mahomes didn’t play.
Chiefs split their last ten games, after a 6-2 start.
Last two games, Kansas City scored one TD on offense, kicked eight FG’s.

Chargers were on KC’s 5-yard line on first drive, fumbled for defensive TD.
Rest of game, Chargers kicked four FG”s, didn’t score a TD.
Chargers lost eight of their last nine games.
Bolts were 0-7 TY in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

— From 2018-23, Gonzaga posted a 223-24 record, making the Sweet 16 in the last six NCAA Tournaments. Last time Gonzaga didn’t made the second weekend of the tournament? 2014.

But this year, Gonzaga is off to a 10-4 start, 4-3 vs top 100 teams, 0-3 vs top 50 clubs. Their bench is in the bottom 10 in the country in minutes played; they can’t afford any injuries.

The entire WCC is down this year, starting with BYU bolting to the Big X. So far this season, the WCC is:

0-6 SU vs the WAC, 0-6 ATS
6-18 SU vs Mountain West, 8-16 ATS.
4-10 SU vs Big West, 4-10 ATS
7-6 SU vs Pac-12, 6-7 ATS

St Mary’s was picked to win the WCC this year, but they’re 10-6, 2-5 against top 100 teams. There is no guarantee the WCC will get two teams in the NCAAs. 

— SEC teams are 18-12 SU against the ACC this season, 19-11 ATS.

— UConn 88, Butler 81
Butler led by 7 early in the second half.
UConn shot 69% inside the arc.
Huskies had a 33-24 edge on the boards.

— Fairfield 93, Siena 69
Brycen Goodine scored 40 points, made 8-12 on the arc.
Here’s the thing; Goodine didn’t start the game, still scored 40 points.
Siena is 2-12; they played one junior and no seniors.

— New Mexico lost 76-68 at Colorado State Tuesday; Lobos’ star Jaelen House played only 19:00 because of foul trouble. When House and Jamal Mashburn were on the court at the same time, Lobos were +13; they were minus-21 when one/both guys were on the bench.

— ESPN’s Seth Greenberg said he thinks Wake Forest has the best starting 5 in the ACC; so far this season, Demon Deacons are 10-3, winning their last eight games- four of those wins were against top 100 teams. 

Wake Forest’s bench ranks #323 in country in minutes played, something to remember when the ACC Tournament rolls around. Wake Forest is good, but not deep.

— Word of the Day: Opportunity- a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

— Baseball Fact of the Day: Rockies C Elias Diaz won MVP of the All-Star Game last year; he was first National Leaguer to win that award since Melky Cabrera won it in 2012, as a member of the Giants.

— Seattle Mariners traded P Robbie Ray to the Giants, for OF Mitch Haniger, P Anthony DeSclafani. Unusual trade; all three players are over 30 years old.

Ray won the 2021 Cy Young while pitching for Toronto, then signed a 5-year deal with Seattle for $23M a year- he is under contract through the 2026 season and is owed $73M over that time. Ray had Tommy John surgery last year, is expected back in the second half of 2024.

Haniger previously played five years with Seattle; he hit 39 homers for the Mariners in 2021, but played total of only 118 games the last two years, hitting .209 for the Giants last year.

DeSclafani was 4-8, 4.88 in 18 starts for the Giants last year; he is 54-56 in his career.

— OF Michael Brantley retired Friday, ending a 15-year career; he hit .298 in his career, with a .794 OPS. He made five All-Star games, helped the Astros win the 2022 World Series.

— Los Angeles Lakers won the first-ever In-Season Tournament, beating the Pacers 123-109 on December 9th; since then, the Lakers are 3-9 and are hanging onto the last playoff spot in the West by a half-game.

Indiana went 2-6 in their first eight games after that loss to the Lakers, but now they’ve won five games in a row, are 19-14, the #5-seed in the East.

— Over/under total for Pacers-Hawks Friday was 262 points, the highest total for any NBA game in the last thirty years- Indiana has been involved with the three highest totals in the last thirty years.

— Former Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten is now a high school coach in Texas; he coaches at Liberty Christian HS in Argyle, TX. Witten’s team won the state title this season, winning all their games by 28+ points- the last two years, Liberty Christian is 24-2.

— Baltimore Ravens are 13-3 this season; they’ve had the lead in the last 2:00 of all 16 games.

College basketball leagues, non-conference trends……..

Conference play has started up, so most of this stuff won’t matter again until March, but it is fun to think about, as far as which conferences are the better ones this season.

AAC- 22-25 ATS as an underdog.
5-2 ATS vs ACC teams.
2-7 ATS vs Sun Belt
6-8 ATS vs SEC.

ACC- 27-19 ATS as home favorite, 14-19 ATS as underdogs.
9-3 SU/ATS vs Big X
11-19 ATS vs SEC teams.

Atlantic 15- 28-17 ATS as home favorites, 6-12 as road dogs.
They’ve been beating up on northeastern mid-majors:
8-3 ATS vs MAAC
7-3 ATS vs MAC
8-5 ATS vs Ivy
10-7 ATS vs CAA
Mot so much against the MVC, they’re 1-7 ATS vs MVC.

Big 14- 9-21 ATS as an underdog, 33-31 as a favorite.
4-9 ATS vs SEC
6-3 ATS vs Pac-12

Big X- 38-18 ATS as home favorite, 18-27 ATS on road/neutral
5-12-1 ATS vs Big East
7-5 ATS vs SEC

Big East
15-20 ATS as home favorites
11-12 ATS as underdogs
14-11 ATS on neutral floors

Big Sky- 24-18 ATS as road underdogs.
0-10 SU/3-7 ATS vs Pac-12 (all double digit spreads)
6-7 ATS vs Summit

Big West- 16-19 ATS as favorite, 21-28 as an underdog
6-9 ATS vs both Pac-12/Mountain West
10-4 ATS vs WCC
7-4 ATS vs Summit

CAA
14-20 ATS as a favorite
5-13 ATS on neutral floors

Conference USA
20-27 ATS as an underdog
6-13 ATS as home favorite, 12-3 ATS as favorite in road/neutral games

Horizon
4-8 ATS vs MAC teams
8-5 ATS on neutral floors, 33-30 ATS as underdogs.

Ivy League
1-7 ATS as a home favorite
1-5 ATS vs MAAC

MAAC
23-18 ATS as road underdogs.

MAC- 18-26 ATS on the road
4-7 ATS vs MVC teams
11-7 ATS vs Sun Belt

MVC- 17-8 ATS as home favorites
9-5 ATS vs OVC teams
5-0 ATS vs Summit

Mountain West
9-20 ATS in road games, 17-11 on neutral floors
6-1 SU/4-3 ATS vs Pac-12

Ohio Valley- 22-33 ATS as a road underdog.

Pac-12
35-26 ATS as home favorites.
2-8 ATS in road games
17-21 ATS on neutral floors

SEC
11-3 ATS as road underdogs
SEC teams played 40 games on neutral floors (favorites are 26-14 ATS)

Southern
25-17 ATS as an underdog

Summit League
10-5 ATS as a home favorite
25-32 ATS as an underdog
4-11 ATS on neutral floors

Sun Belt
15-11 ATS at home
6-14 ATS on neutral floors

WAC
12-18 ATS as a favorite

WCC
10-21 ATS on road

20-30 ATS as a favorite
17-30 ATS as an underdog