Well here we are five weeks into our ATS rankings and there has been plenty of money-making opportunities. Drake did not compete last week and still sits at the top 11-0, but there are some new names. Among those is Nevada. The Wolf Pack out west has won four games in a row after posting two wins last week. They sit at #7 in the Top-30 ATS Rankings this week. There are familiar big-brand names of course. Baylor is sitting at #3. The Big10 ATS stats have been eye-opening. As a conference, they are probably the most successful with three teams in the top-10 and four overall in our rankings.
Utah State has continued its domination on the court not only winning games but covering. After a 1-3 start ATS, the Aggies have covered their last seven games. Other exciting teams to look for including Michigan and the other Big10 ATS ranked teams, Houston Baptist a newcomer to the Top-30, and Cleveland State. The Vikings from Cleveland have won ATS in their last three games for an 8-3 record.
There are teams that are on the brink of losing their spots if they don’t perform up to par in the coming week. Rhode Island has been falling down the rankings all season and Virginia Tech just popped their head back in after dropping out in Week 4. The Power-5 conferences have really come back strong after being so scarce in the first few weeks of the Top-30 ATS Rankings.
- Drake (11-0) No Change.
- Toledo (11-2) 2-0LW
- Baylor (9-3) 1-0LW
- Liberty (9-3) 1-1LW
- Nevada (9-3) 2-0LW, Four-Game ATS Win Streak.
- Iowa (9-4) 2-0LW
- Indiana (9-4) 2-0LW
- Utah State (8-3) 2-0LW, Seven-Game ATS Win Streak.
- Seton Hall (9-5) 1-1LW
- Michigan (8-2) 1-0LW Four-Game ATS Win Streak.
- Houston Baptist (8-2) Unranked. Four-Game ATS Win Streak.
- UCLA (8-3) 2-0LW Three-Game ATS Win Streak.
- Cleveland State (8-3) Unranked. Three-Game ATS Win Streak.
- Arkansas (8-3) Unranked, 2-0LW
- VCU (8-4) 0-2LW
- Belmont (8-4) 2-0LW
- Colorado (8-4) 2-0LW
- North Dakota State (8-4) 1-1LW
- Hartford (8-5) 1-1LW
- Illinois (8-5) 1-1LW
- Grand Canyon (7-1) 1-1LW
- Tennessee (7-3) 1-1LW
- Bryant (7-3) 1-1LW
- Eastern Kentucky (7-3-1) 0-1-1LW
- UMBC (7-4) 1-1LW
- Houston (7-4) 1-1LW
- Winthrop (7-4) No Change. Three-Game ATS Losing Streak.
- Virginia Tech (7-4) Unranked, 2-0LW
- Xavier (7-5) 1-1LW
- Rhode Island (7-5) 1-1LW
Falling out of the Top-30: Clemson, Villanova, BYU, Saint Louis.
Clemson, Villanova, BYU, and Saint Louis all had six wins with two to four losses apiece. This week there are just too many teams with seven, eight, nine-win records to justify keeping these teams up there. Villanova and Saint Louis have not played a game in two weeks. This week I am going to look for VCU to rebound after falling out of the top-10 for the first time. Drake doesn’t play until the 21st so there are no bets to be made with them this week. The Big10 ATS record may take a hit if Michigan can’t cover -4 points against Wisconsin. However, there is a top team on our list playing tonight that should be a good bet.
Tonight, January 12th, the game I am most interested in is Eastern Michigan at Toledo. With 11 wins ATS, and an early season 91-74 victory against EMU on December 4th I am going with the Rockets to cover the 9-point spread.
