College Ball – Notre Dame at UConn and Clemson at Florida State

BetOnline NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-11 SU, 7-15 ATS) at Connecticut Huskies (26-2 SU, 13-11 ATS)

Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, CT — 2 PM ET

Here are some of the NCAA head-to-head basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* CONN has won and covered four of the last five meetings

* CONN has covered five of the last seven meetings as the home team

* CONN has won the last five meetings SU as the home team

* Three of the last four meetings have gone UNDER the total

* CONN has had the shooting edge in each of the last ten meetings

* CONN has had the rebounding edge in eight of the last ten meetings

* ND has made more three-pointers in eight of the last nine meetings

There’s no reason that Luke Harangody, who scored 24 points and had 15 rebounds in the previous meeting, a 69-61 U-Conn win, shouldn’t be a formidable presence inside for the Irish. The difference is that Notre Dame was in the midst of a slide about then, and now they have come back with four wins in their last five games, including resounding triumphs over Louisville and Providence. Kyle McAlarney has made 19 three-pointers in the last five games, and Tory Jackson may have snapped out of his slump with 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting against Rutgers on Wednesday night. He’s made it clear he’s getting his confidence back. “Toward the end of the first half I took a deep breath and let it go," he said about the Rutgers game. "I smiled inside. I felt a lot better and things started rolling after that.” Jerome Dyson, a key scorer out of the U-Conn backcourt, is out for the year, which eats at the team’s depth. And Jim Calhoun is under fire from state officials, including the governor, after making nasty remarks a writer who questioned his hefty salary. Look for Notre Dame, desperate to seal up an at-large bid, to leave everything on the court.

JAY’S PREDICTION: CONNECTICUT BY 2 (non-cover)

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BetOnline NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:

Clemson Tigers (22-5 SU, 11-10-1 ATS) at Florida State Seminoles (21-7 SU, 14-7-1 ATS)

Tucker Center, Tallahassee, FL — 2 PM ET

Here are some of the NCAA head-to-head basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* FSU has won and covered three of the last four meetings

* Seven of the last eight meetings have gone UNDER the total

* FSU has won six of the last eight meetings SU as the home team

* The last four meetings in Tallahassee have gone UNDER the total

* CLEM has had the shooting edge in five of the last six meetings

* CLEM has had the rebounding edge in four of the last six meetings

* CLEM has made more three-pointers in five of the last eight meetings

The thing about Leonard Hamilton’s teams as a rule are that they are mentally tough. How else did the Seminoles rally from being 19 points down three weeks ago to score a dramatic 65-61 victory on Clemson’s home court? Sure, this would be a revenge situation for the Tigers, but consider the kind of resume that has FSU placed 17th in the RPI rankings and virtually assured of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, regardless of how they do in the ACC tourney. As if scoring wins over California and Florida and battling tooth-and-nail with Pitt in the non-conference schedule wasn’t enough, FSU has beaten hopefuls like Maryland, Miami and Virginia Tech in ACC play, not to mention the previous win at Clemson. Toney Douglas has been producing more lately, averaging almost 24 ppg over his last ten. Also, 7’1" frosh Solomon Alabi gives them the defensive range to match up with Clemson’s inside man, Trevor Booker. FSU is very tight on defense, allowing less than 39% field goals.

JAY’S PREDICTION: FLORIDA STATE BY 9 (cover)

(Charles Jay makes his share of shots from downtown as a contributor to the BetOnline Locker Room)