Murray State Racers at Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
December 21st, 2010 at 8:00 PM EST
Opening Line: Murray State -12
Current Line: Murray State -13
Current Total: 136.5
Opening Moneyline: Murray State -700 / Tenn. Martin +550
Current Moneyline: Murray State -800 / Tenn. Martin +600
Tonight’s game brings together the Racers of Murray State, who sport a 7-4 record against the Skyhawks of Tennessee-Martin who are 4-7. College basketball oddsmakers have set the spread heavily in Murray State’s favor. Murray State is currently 5th in the Ohio Valley conference and Tennessee Martin is 9th in the conference. Murray State has won the last three meetings between these teams, and won the last one by a score of 77-45, so it’s easy to see why college basketball betting picks have the spread set in double digits. In fact, in the past three games between the teams, Murray State has won by an average of 27 points.
Some betting trends: Murray State is 1-4 ATS in their last four road games. They are 13-6 in their last 19 road games and the total has gone UNDER in 6 of Murray State’s past 9 games on the road. They have won 8 of their last 9 games against Tennessee Martin at T-M.
Tennessee Martin has won only 2 of their past 9 games and they are 4-2 at home in their past 6 home games. They are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 against Murray State. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tennessee Martin’s last 5 games when playing Murray State.
Murray State has a balanced scoring attack, with 4 players scoring 8 or more a game, but no one scoring more than 13. 6’0″ sophomore shooting guard Isaiah Canaan leads Murray State in scoring with 12.6 points per game. He is shooting 42.3% from behind the arc (22 of 52) and 45.3% from the floor, both down from last year when he shot 48.2% from three and 49.8% from the floor. He has the speed and quickness to get to the basket, but will also shoot a lot of outside shots. He hasn’t had any real big games this year, but scored 19 last game against Western Kentucky, hitting 6 of his 9 field goal attempts and going 2 of 3 from the line. 6’0″ senior B.J. Jenkins runs the point for Murray State, giving them a very diminutive but high scoring back court. Jenkins averages 10.2 points a game to go with his 4.1 assists per night. He’s shooting 37.2% from three and 40.8% from the floor. He began his career at Liberty, but transferred to Murray State in 2009 and has been playing better ball since making the transfer. He has scored in double figures in 6 of Murray State’s 11 games and should have a decent game tonight.
Tennessee Martin has three good players on their team: Reuben Clayton, Mike Liabo, and Benzor Simmons. All three average between 12.3 points per game and 12.9 and play in the 20s for minutes as Tennessee Martin goes with a 10 man rotation. 6’3″ senior guard Reuben Clayton leads the way with 12.9 points per game and he is shooting 39.3% from downtown (11 of 28). He’s already had 4 games with 19 points or more, so he is capable of big nights. He’ll be checked by B.J. Jenkins, so he has a size advantage and could use that to his advantage if Tennessee Martin chooses to run a couple post sets for him. 6’9″ forward Ron Spencer does a good job of protecting the paint for the Skyhawks, and despite playing only 16 minutes a game, averages 2 blocks and 5 boards per game. He’ll patrol the paint and keep Murray State from penetrating while he is in. If he played more minutes, the Skyhawks would probably be a much better defensive team, but he is only a sophomore so maybe that will change in time.
Given Murray State’s success on the road college basketball oddsmakers have set the line heavily in their advantage, but Tennessee Martin has the depth to throw at them to make this a good game. The spread has only changed further in Murray State’s advantage since betting opened, so bettors are favoring Murray State, as well.
