NCAA Basketball Sunday Double Play

BetOnline NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:

North Carolina Tar Heels (14-1 SU, 7-7 ATS) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-0 SU, 5-4 ATS)

Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC – 8 PM ET

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

* NC has covered two of its last seven games

* NC has won 29 of its last 31 games SU

* NC has won its last 15 road games SU

* WAKE has covered four of its last six games

* NC has won and covered the last four meetings

* Four of the last five meetings have gone OVER the total

* NC has had the shooting edge in each of the last four meetings

Wake Forest has a lot of talent, but had been lightly tested, with the exception of a win over Baylor, until they walked into the Marriott Center last Saturday and busted up BYU’s 53-game home winning streak. Yes, we know they’ve got something going on down there in Winston-Salem. Of course, that win in Provo may establish a little value here for Carolina; that is, if you like the Heels. The feeling here is that Dino Gaudio may have a formula to make things troubling. For example, he can put three or four big bodies on Tyler Hansbrough, because he has that much depth. It’s going to be no picnic for the Tar Heels to defend Jeff Teague (19.6 ppg), who busted loose for 30 points against BYU, or James Johnson, one of the more versatile players in the ACC. Al-Farouq Aminu (8.9 rpg) has been a steady presence inside, and the Deacons have had a full week to prepare for this one.

JAY’S PREDICTION: WAKE FOREST BY 1

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BetOnline NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:

UCLA Bruins (12-2 SU, 6-7 ATS) at USC Trojans (10-4 SU, 6-6 ATS)

Galen Center, Los Angeles — 10:30 PM ET

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

* USC has covered five of the last six meetings

* UCLA has won four of the last five meetings SU

* UCLA has won three of the last four meetings SU as the home team

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

* USC has had the shooting edge in each of the last six meetings

* UCLA has had the rebounding edge in each of the last nine meetings

We can almost guarantee you’re going to see a more focused effort here from the Trojans than they showed against Oregon State, where they had a 15-point second half lead and blew the game in overtime. USC committed 17 turnovers, got to the free throw line just 10 times, and surrendered 50% shooting by a normally impotent Beaver bunch. There is no guarantee USC is going to explode offensively in this one, but they have managed to put together defensive schemes pesky enough to cover six of the last seven meetings against the rival to whom they will always feel something of an inferiority complex. DeMar DeRozan, regarded as another one-and-done freshman like O.J. Mayo, got off to a slow start but has averaged 15.4 ppg in his last five. Taj Gibson has kept his fouling problems under relative control and is putting up great numbers, including 15.4 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 59% FG’s and three blocks per contest. There are a lot of newcomers on the UCLA side. Tim Floyd will welcome them to this rivalry. USC can take this one right down to the wire.

JAY’S PREDICTION: USC BY 2

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