Hot and Cold NFL – 12/7
December 8, 2021
NFL Sunday Night: Bears vs. Packers
December 8, 2021
The college basketball season is in full swing as we continue on through the non-conference portion of most slates. We’ve seen some massive upsets, a few surprise performers, and a new No. 1 team at the top of the rankings.
Purdue is now the top ranked team in the polls, replacing Gonzaga. The Boilermakers have won each of their first eight games to land their first No. 1 ranking in program history. They headlined last week’s Hot and Cold list following big wins over Florida State, Villanova, and North Carolina.
Baylor, Duke, and UCLA round out the top four. Let’s take a look at who’s off to a hot start and who’s hitting roadblocks in this week’s edition of Hot and Cold at Betmaker.
Who’s Hot
North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels have rebounded from losses against Tennessee and Purdue to reel off three straight wins. In that run, North Carolina has knocked off the likes of both Michigan and Georgia Tech.
Defense has been the key as UNC is allowing just 55 points per game in the win streak. The over has hit in all three matchups with the Tar Heels posting a 2-1 record against the spread. That includes a 21-point win over the Wolverines in which Carolina entered as underdogs.
USC Trojans
The Trojans have been great against the NCAAB betting odds, covering in six of eight contests. USC is off to an 8-0 start to sit atop the PAC 12 standings and they have a few resume-building non-conference wins.
Southern Cal has landed victories over Washington State, San Diego State, St Josephs, and Temple. Two of those were as underdogs away from home. Keep an eye on the Trojans as the season progresses.
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide landed its biggest win of the season last week by taking down top ranked Gonzaga. Alabama entered that game as 9.5-point underdogs but they left with an 11-point victory. A $100 won $330 for money line bettors.
The Tide have also taken down Drake and Miami in their current three-game winning streak to move to 7-1 on the year. The offense has been rolling with Bama posting a 3-0 mark against the spread and 2-1 mark on the over during the streak.
Who’s Cold
Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have not only failed to cover large college basketball lines over the last few contests, they’ve also lost their first two games of the season. First was a defeat from Duke followed by the loss to Alabama last time out.
Gonzaga is 0-3 against the spread in their last three outings. The defense has seen two of the last three opponents score more than 80 points, a mark that had previously been unsurpassed. They’ll look to turn things around this week with Merrimack and Washington on deck.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Irish are just 3-4 on the season and are losers of their last three games. Those matchups came against Boston College, Illinois, and Texas A&M with the last two defeats coming by double digits.
While the losses are disappointing for the team, bettors are even more frustrated with this year’s outcomes. Notre Dame is just 1-6 against the spread so far this season with back-to-back losses betting favorites. It’s best to fade the Fighting Irish for the time being. Things don’t get any easier with Kentucky and Indiana next up on the slate.
Florida Gators
Florida finds itself on a two-game skid with losses to Oklahoma and Texas Southern. A seven-point loss to the Sooners was nothing to hang their heads about but the Gators are fresh off a double digit drubbing at the hands of the Tigers. Florida entered the matchup as 23.5-point favorites.
To put the upset in perspective, a $100 bettor would’ve banked a little over $1,200 by taking Texas Southern. It was also the Tigers’ first win of the year.
Florida does have a couple of resume-building wins on the schedule in Ohio State and Florida State but they’ll need to right the ship quickly with SEC play swiftly approaching.
