Dave Carney 12/30/2020
Overall record: 110-88
How did I get here?: Finally picked up a win in college basketball that’s how!! Tuesday I took Rutgers to cover a 3 point spread at home versus Purdue (Rutgers -3), with the thinking that Ron Harper Jr of Rutgers would have a big night, coming in averaging 23 points per game.
Little did I know that Harper WOULDN’T be playing at all last night, but the Scarlet Knights still came through for me beating Purdue 81-76 and covering that 3 point spread.
Who knows, maybe Tuesday night was a turn-around for me in my college basketball betting season..Lord knows I needed SOMETHING to turn this thing around!
**For more info on TOTAL plays, OVER/UNDER, and PLUS/MINUS plays check back through some previous columns for detailed information**
What’s on the table today?: Wow…I almost missed this one altogether! The Wisconsin Badgers are playing the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the Mayo Bowl!!
This game holds little to no interest for me, except in the betting realm. The Badgers are a (fan) favorite, but essentially a BAD offensive team this year which is why it screamed to me…hollered to me…to take Wake Forest PLUS 10 points (+10).
As mentioned the Badgers D has been good this year, but the offense, outside of the first couple of games, has been atrocious. QB Graham Mertz who looked like the second coming of Peyton Manning in the opener has struggled mightily, and coach Paul Cryst has even mentioned how badly his confidence has been shaken.
That confidence won’t get bolstered today I don’t imagine as Mertz is dealing with an “upper body” injury and is listed as PROBABLE for the game today. Mertz will play, but don’t expect much from him.
Wake Forest is a team I don’t know much about this year, but the stats show a team that doesn’t turn the ball over and plays fairly well on offense when healthy. The Demon Deacons will be mostly healthy in today’s contest with their QB Sam Hartman accounting for 10 TD’s this season to just one INT.
When diving into the numbers (ATS) **thanks to COVERS.com** for both teams as well, this number (Purdue +10) looks WAY too big for the Badgers to cover, and that’s why today’s “Rocky’s Daily Play” is PURDUE +10.
Wisconsin
- Badgers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following an ATS loss.
- Badgers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
- Badgers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
Wake Forest
- Demon Deacons are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- Demon Deacons are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game.
- Demon Deacons are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games as an underdo
The Badgers very well may win today, as a matter of fact I hope they do, but I don’t think it will come as a lopsided win, or a win that will cover this number.
Here’s to a fitting/totally forgettable end to a 2020 Big Ten Badgers season, that just wasn’t what we thought it would be.
REMEMBER – don’t bet based upon my recommendations. Do your research. Stay in your lane.
