NCAAB Betting – Duke Still Consensus No. 1 Heading In To Weekend
With the betting on NCAA football season almost over and the NCAA basketball season now well underway, there should be at least a few changes among where the top teams in the country stand over the next couple of weeks. For now, there is little to talk about, with the majority of preseason favorites looking good out of the gate. As was the case heading in to the year, the defending national champions Duke are still considered to be the best team in the nation, with the likes of Ohio State and Pittsburgh not much further behind.
The Blue Devils are 7-0 to open the basketball season after wins over Oregon and Michigan State this week, and will likely keep their perfect record intact despite clashing with the team they faced in last year’s national title game. Duke will play a Butler team that has been hurt by injuries early on this seaon, before traveling to Durham in a potential blowout game against Bradley. Kyle Singler has been flat out impressive this season, while Kyrie Irving’s performance against Michigan State cannot be ignored.
Duke handed Michigan State its second loss of the season, the second straight game that the Spartans looked somewhat slow on both sides of the ball. Despite managing to get past Tennessee Tech the previous game, Michigan State could not overcome its shortcomings against a team as talented as the Blue Devils. They should be able to get back on track this week against Bowling Green at home, and that will set up a solid match up between them and undefeated Syracuse at the Jimmy V.
Beyond the Blue Devils as online sports betting locks for this coming week, Ohio State and Pittsburgh have both made their cases by going undefeated through six and eight games respectively. The Buckeyes’ defense has been flat out dominant, holding Miami and Florida State to a combined 89 points, while dominating the boards at both ends of the floor. Ohio State’s size and perimeter shooting game make them a darkhorse favorite to win it all this season, and they should continue to make their presence felt when they get back in action on December 9. As for the Panthers, a couple of double-digit victories over mediocre opponents would do little to hinder the talk of a potential conference championship, although it hasn’t established the team as being any stronger. That won’t change this week with a couple of opponents from the MAAC and MEAC.
The final team that is trending near the top is Kansas, which is 7-0 to open the sports betting bonus season. The Jayhawks beat Ohio and Arizona last week, the latter the more impressive of the two wins given that it was clinched after Derrick Williams fouled out. Kansas went on to beat UCLA in a close win that nearly got away from them, and will head to New York to battle Memphis on Thursday. The Jayhawks’ win over the Bruins was proof of the team’s ability to handle adversity, and they are one of several teams that looks to extend their undefeated run at least past this week.
