Tennessee at UCLA
Monday, 8:00 pm Eastern - ESPN

SBG Global Opening Line: Tennessee   -  7  ,  Total  49

The excitement is back at UCLA as new head coach Rick Neuheisel takes over this season. The Bruins under Neuheisel should be improved, but maybe not right away.  New offensive coordinator Norm Chow is another reason why optimism is high at UCLA.  The problem for UCLA is that both of their projected starting quarterbacks are out. Patrick Cowan is out with a knee injury and will miss the entire season while Ben Olson is out for at least two months with a foot injury.  Third-stringer Kevin Craft, who started five games at San Diego State in 2006, and redshirt freshman Chris Forcier will be running the UCLA offense. “I do think Kevin and Chris Forcier are on the verge of blossoming into very good players. Hopefully it could be as soon as Monday night,” Neuheisel said. SBG Global reports that early NCAA Football betting has the public taking Tennessee on the Road.

The Bruins don’t start the Neuheisel era with cupcakes as they have to face #18 Tennessee on Monday and #16 Brigham Young on Sept. 13^th.  “I just believe that we’ve got to be relentlessly optimistic about what can be and keep giving ourselves chances to win football games,” Neuheisel said.

“So we’re going to work hard to be in every game and give ourselves a chance for good things to happen at the end. I think we’re going to find a way to surprise some folks.”

Tennessee went 9-4 last season and is thought of as a contender in the SEC this season.  Last year the Vols were 2-4 on the road and that lack of success on the road cost them a BCS bowl game. “Going on the road, and I’ve talked about it with the team, there is a mental and physical toughness you have to have to go and play and win in those settings,” coach Phillip Fulmer said.

Tennesse will have a new quarterback in Jonathan Crompton and a new offensive coordinator in Dave Clawson.   The good news is that Arian Foster is back.  He had 1,193 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

SBG Global Current Line: Tennessee   -  7  ,  Total  46

Here is a look at the NCAA Football betting stats for Monday’s game.  The Vols are 7-4-2 all-time against the Bruins although the teams have not met since 1997. The Volunteers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games. The Volunteers are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Volunteers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games in September.

The Bruins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on grass. The Bruins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The Bruins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. the SEC. The Bruins are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 home games. The Bruins are 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 games in September.

The Over is 4-0 in the Volunteers last 4 games in September. The Under is 6-1 in the Volunteers last 7 games overall. The Under is 5-1 in the Volunteers last 6 games on grass. The Over is 5-1 in the Volunteers last 6 road games. The Under is 4-0 in the Bruins last 4 home games. The Under is 4-0 in the Bruins last 4 games overall. The Over is 4-1 in the Bruins last 5 games in September. The Under is 6-2 in the Bruins last 8 non-conference games.

Pick: Tenn -7 2units

Final Four Betting Preview
Memphis (37-1) vs. UCLA (35-3)
Saturday, 8:45 pm Eastern – CBS

SBG Global Opening Line: Memphis  - 1, Total 133.5

 

The high scoring Memphis Tigers will try and play a fast paced game on Saturday while the UCLA Bruins will try and slow things down.  It should be an interesting contrast in the second game of the Final Four.  The Tigers have the top scorer left in the tournament in Chris Douglas-Roberts (90 points) while UCLA has All-American Kevin Love who has scored 87 points.  The Tigers also have Derrick Rose who is right behind those two with 82 points scored in the tournament. SBG Global reports that the public taking Memphis on the Road.

 

This will be the third straight Final Four for UCLA while it is the Tigers first Final Four appearance since 1985.  The Tigers are taking this very seriously though as Joey Dorsey was seen practicing with former Memphis NBA star Penny Hardaway this week.  The Tigers don’t seem worried about UCLA trying to slow the game down. “It doesn’t really matter. They can’t really dictate the tempo unless we allow them to,” Douglas-Roberts said. The Tigers and Bruins met two years ago when UCLA took Memphis out of their game and won 50-45 in the regional final. Chris Douglas-Roberts was just a freshman in that game and didn’t play that well.  It is different now as Douglas-Roberts has more experience. “His ability to shoot balls. His ability to score in traffic. His physical play because he’s gained weight. You’re not going to throw him around and do stuff they did in that game,” Memphis head coach John Calipari said.  The Bruins will try and contain Douglas-Roberts with Russell Westbrook who is an outstanding defender.

SBG Global Current Line: Memphis  - 2, Total 133.5

 

Here are the stats for Saturday’s game. The Tigers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Pacific-10.

 

The Bruins are 22-7-1 ATS in their last 30 games as an underdog. The Bruins are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games.

 

The Over is 4-0 in the Tigers last 4 neutral site games. The Over is 4-0 in the Tigers last 4 non-conference games. The Over is 5-0 in the Tigers last 5 NCAA Tournament games. The Under is 4-0 in the Tigers last 4 vs. the Pacific-10.

 

The Over is 4-1 in the Bruins last 5 games as an underdog. The Over is 7-2 in the Bruins last 9 Saturday games. The Under is 6-2 in the Bruins last 8 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog. The Under is 16-6 in the Bruins last 22 NCAA Tournament games.

 

Pick: Take Memphis -2 5units! For more Final Four discussion visit the College Basketball Betting Forum.