Mid-Money Madness is back for another slate of weekday games. We feel very strongly about these picks. The picks are a modest 7-9 on the year but we have three picks to get us back in the green zone. We have a big potential upset alert, so let’s make a little extra money before the holidays.
Here are the picks — as always, please gamble responsibly.
William & Mary -1.5 @ Saint Joesph’s
Things haven’t been jolly for Saint Joseph’s during the month of December. Saint Joesph’s is in the middle of a six-game losing streak and has lost by an average margin of 23 points. The Hawks rank in the bottom 100 of several key defensive categories. They will be facing a W&M team that ranks 24th in offensive efficiency. Saint Joe’s is heavily reliant on Delaware transfer Ryan Daly. The sharp-=shooting guard averages 20 points per game and is essentially their entire offense: the Hawks are 0-4 in games where he fails to reach his scoring average.
In addition, the Tribe rank 145th in three point defense, so this is not a matchup where Daly is expected to go off. Saint Joseph’s will miss its tremendous home court advantage with the students going away for break. William & Mary has won 3 in a row and they continue to stay against Saint Joesph’s.
The pick W&M -2.0 units
Wofford (-17.5) @ Duke
Wofford is riding high after beating UNC on Sunday as double digit underdogs. The Terries have another opportunity to slay one of college basketball’s giants in North Carolina. Wofford travels down Tobacco Road to face Duke. Can Wofford complete the Tobacco Road sweep?
The college basketball world sure hopes so. Duke will play short handed without star point guard Tre Jones. Jones has been the heart and soul of the Blue Devils leading them with 15.6 points and 7.6 assists per game. Without Jones in the lineup, this line offers significant value. With the news spreading, the line will continue to drop by there should be value up until about 16.5.
Duke lacking its best defensive perimeter player will be very problematic facing the Terriers. Wofford hit 14 threes in their upset win against UNC. The Terriers rank fourth nationally in three-point field goals made per game and they rank 83rd in overall efficiency. In addition, Duke may not be able to run with the same kind of pace with Jones out of the lineup. Duke ranks 50th in overall pace and Jones handles the ball on 25 percent of possession. The Terriers have been phenomenal in their transition defense all season.
Expect Wofford to execute offensively and look for Duke to struggle offensively without Jones. Wofford keeps this thing close throughout and comes close to pulling off a consecutive miraculous upset.
The pick Wofford +17.5 (2 units)
NAU (+5) @ UC Riverside
The Lumberjacks begin their California road trip with a visit to SRC arena to play UC Riverside. Interim head coach Shane Bucar is making a strong impression to start the season. He has NAU off to its best start since 2011 with a 5-2 record. The Lumberjacks are coming off a solid road win against Utah Valley. The Lumberjacks are 3-1 against the spread in their last 4. NAU leading scorer Cameron Shelton leads a modest offense that will give UCR’s defense trouble. UC Riverside has been trending downwards. The Highlanders have lost two of the last three with one of the wins a 74-40 drubbing of undermanned California Lutheran. UC Riverside has failed to cover the number in each of its last 2 and 4 (2-4-1) of its last 7 overall. Don’t think UCR should be laying this big of a number. Take the Jacks to cover.
The pick NAU +5 (0.5 unit)