Lousville is Number One; Will it Last?
The Louisville Cardinals are 16-1 and the number one ranked team in college basketball, thanks to their suffocating defense and equally strong offense. A few eyebrows were raised in the college basketball world when Louisville took the number one spot, but they proved against UConn on January 14 that they were for real – the Cardinals beat the Huskies 73-58. Here were a few of the betting trends for both teams heading into Monday’s big game, a match in which UConn were six point underdogs (all figures courtesy of OddsShark.com):
Louisville Cardinals Trends:
When playing on Monday are 9-1
Before playing Syracuse are 6-4
After playing South Florida are 6-4
After a win are 9-1
Connecticut Huskies Trends:
When playing on Monday are 10-0
Before playing Pittsburgh are 8-2
After playing Notre Dame are 6-4
After a win are 7-3
A few Cardinals at Huskies trends to consider:
Louisville was 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Louisville was 4-0-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total had gone OVER in 4 of Louisville’s last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total had gone UNDER in 7 of Louisville’s last 10 games on the road
Connecticut was 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Connecticut was 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total had gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut’s last 5 games when playing at home against Louisville
The total had gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut’s last 6 games when playing Louisville
Louisville obviously covered the spread in a big way, and showed UConn that they have a lot of ground to cover before they can be considered in college basketball’s elite again. The Over/Under for the match was 132, so if you took the under you won the bet by a single point.
“They deserve the No. 1 ranking,” Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie said. “They have talent. They play together. They play hard. Whoever’s open, they get the ball to. And they have those two amazing guards. Siva and Russ put pressure on our offense and defense the whole night.”
However, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was hesitant to embrace the number one ranking, well aware of the fickle nature of college basketball standings.
“I think the top teams will play musical chairs for No. 1 for the next two months and it will be really significant at the end of the year,” Pitino said before the UConn game. “We played a tough nonconference schedule and I’m really happy the way our guys have battled through injuries. We’ll try to hold the musical top as long as we can.”
Louisville has had a relatively soft schedule thus far this season, but is about to head into the real teeth of its schedule. They get No. 6-ranked Syracuse at home next, then take a brutal road trip to Villanova and Georgetown before playing Pitt, Marquette, Rutgers and Notre Dame. There’s nothing easy about this schedule, and Pitino knows that. He told his play ers after the UConn game to enjoy their lofty position in the college basketball world for as long as they can.
“You played a great schedule, so you’re very deserving of that,” he said to the team. “Why don’t you hold on to that for a little while? It’s going to leave you, but you’re going to play for it at the end … which is the most important thing. So hold on to it for a while.”
Still, the Cardinals are displaying some of their best talent in years, particularly defensively, and at +600 odds to win the national championship in March, they’re an intriguing bet moving forward.
