CNOTES COLLEGE BASKETBALL BEST BETS/ NOTES/NEWS/GOSSIP !

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Andy Katz’s top 6 college basketball rivalries:
— North Carolina vs Duke
— Louisville vs Kentucky
— Purdue vs Indiana
— Michigan State vs Michigan
— Kentucky vs Florida
— Tennessee vs Kentucky

Quote of the Day
“I don’t know how to explain it… he’s nasty. I got a ton of respect for him. He gets me a lot and I’ve gotten him.”
Tigers OF Kerry Carpenter, who is 5-11 vs George Kirby, with five home runs

Wednesday’s quiz
In 2019, Arizona Diamondbacks traded Jazz Chisholm to the Marlins; what pitcher did Arizona get in return for him?

Tuesday’s quiz
Patrick Mahomes’ father pitched for six different teams in his 11-year major league career; he spent the most time (5 years) pitching for the Twins.

Monday’s quiz
Last time Toronto Blue Jays won a playoff series was 2016; they beat Texas in that series.

*********************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Our first look at Big East basketball teams…….​

This is the time of year where seasons overlap; college basketball starts November 3rd. Here is an early look at the Big East Conference:

— Butler (15-20, 6-14 LY)
haven’t made the NCAA’s since 2018.
shot 37% behind the arc last year (#31)
added senior G Jackson, first-team Horizon League all-star LY
6-7 senior Ajayi scored 17.2 ppg for Pepperdine two years ago, then bolted to Gonzaga, but only scored 7.4 ppg LY, so he is at his third school in three years.

— UConn (24-11, 14-6 LY)
made NCAA’s last 5 years, won 2/last 3 national titles.
last two years, played slow pace (#343/#330)
are deeper this year, expect to play faster.
brought in transfer point guards, from Georgia/Dayton.
62% of their scoring from LY is back, which is a lot.
odd stat; they lost their last four visits to Seton Hall.

— Creighton (25-11, 15-5 LY)
made last 5 NCAA’s, making Sweet 16 three times.
top four scorers from last year are gone.
added five transfers TY, including two from Iowa.
were 3rd-worst team in country at forcing turnovers LY.
have better depth this year (#295/bench minutes LY)

— DePaul (14-20, 4-16 LY)
haven’t made NCAA Tournament since 2004
have been .500 in conference games since 2007.
48.8% of scoring is back from LY, which is good.
only Big East team whose leading scorer is back.
added 5 transfers this year.
shot 34.4% on arc LY; transfer RJ Smith shot 38.6% on arc, at Colorado.

— Georgetown (18-16, 8-12 LY)
made 1 of last 8 NCAA Tourneys (2021)
last four years, they’re 12-67 in conference games.
added six transfers TY, including three big guys
junior PG was once Ivy League Rookie of Year at Harvard
need better shooting (shot 32.3% on arc LY)
were 10-3 out of conference LY, but they played easiest non-conference schedule in country.

— Marquette (23-11, 13-7 LY)
made NCAA Tournament last four years, going 3-4.
under Smart, they’re 61-27 in Big East games.
forced turnovers 21.7% of time LY (#18)
were #3 in country in turnover margin LY.
were #279 in rebounding margin LY.
lost top three scorers from LY, get PG Jones back (was hurt LY)

Famous birthdays, October 8th:
Chevy Chase, 82
Sigourney Weaver, 76
Enos Cabell, 76
Mike Morgan, 66
Tony Eason, 66
Emily Procter, 57
Matt Damon, 55
Monty Williams, 54
Olmedo Saenz, 55
Nick Allen, 27
Hunter Goodman, 26
Isaiah Collier, 21

— Providence (12-20, 6-14)
missed NCAA’s the last two years.
best player was hurt LY, then bolted to St John’s.
Friars lost 10 of their last 11 games LY.
were #346 LY in forcing turnovers.
added three transfers to bolster their backcourt.
shot 35.6% on arc LY (#76); 45.5% of their shots were 3’s (#50)

— Seton Hall (7-25, 2-18 LY)
LY, had #356 eFG% offense.
LY, had #335 eFG% defense.
forced turnovers 22.2% of time LY (#8)
their NIL budget is $1.5M, about 1/3 of most Big East teams.
haven’t made NCAA’s since 2022.
senior F Fisher played last 3 years at: Texas Tech, DePaul, Pacific

— St John’s (31-5, 18-2 LY)
made NCAA’s LY for first time since 2019
have 11 games this year at Madison Square Garden; high expectations.
were #317 in bench minutes LY.
Shot 30.1% on arc last year (#340)
added 6 transfers this year, 4 of them guards.
big guy Ejiofor scored 14.7 ppg LY, grabbed 8.1 rebounds/game.

— Villanova (21-15, 11-9 LY)
were 31-29 in Big East in 3 years under Neptune (0-0 in NCAA’s).
Kevin Willard is new coach; he’s made NCAA’s 7 of last 9 years.
Villanova’s subs played #358 minutes LY.
Willard added 11 transfers; they’re deeper, will play faster.
Last 4 years, Devin Askew has played for Cal, Texas, Kentucky, Long Beach State

— Xavier (22-12, 13-7 LY)
made NCAA’s twice in last seven years.
Richard Pitino is new coach (27-11 conference games last 2 years)
Pitino’s Lobos were in top 25 in tempo all four years he was there.
Pitino added 10 transfers TY; six of them scored double figures LY.
Those six transfers come from smaller programs:
Belmont, Boise State, Evansville, Montana, North Dakota, Valparaiso

 

[Udog]

wrong thread....

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s Den: An early look at college basketball; the WCC​

— Gonzaga
Gonzaga is bolting to the Pac-12 next season.
Zags haven’t missed the NCAA’s since 1998.
LY, Zags lost in 2nd round of NCAA’s, earliest exit since 2014.
Gonzaga was a #8 seed LY, its lowest seed since 2016.
Senior G Miller is playing at his 4th school (Illinois, LSU, Arizona State)

— Loyola Marymount
Lions haven’t been in the NCAA’s since their great run in 1990.
In five years under coach Johnson, LMU is 32-45 in the WCC.
LMU is deeper this year, but not as experienced.

— Oregon State
Beavers head back to the Pac-12 next year, which will help, but that’s next year.
Oregon State last made NCAA’s in 2021; they went to the Elite 8.
Last year’s starters have bolted for greener pa$ture$ ($4M worth)
Beavers are rebuilding (again); LY, they had #49 eFG% in country.

— Pacific
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 2013.
Last four years, they’re 14-50 in the WCC.
Their point guard was a sub at national champ Florida LY.
Coach Smart used to coach at Carleton in Canada; Pacific has six Canadians.
Tigers are expected to be much deeper this year.

— Pepperdine
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 2002.
Last four years, they’re 12-54 in the WCC.
LY, Waves won three games in WCC tourney, lost in semi-finals.
Waves lost 91.7% of LY’s scoring; they added seven D-I transfers.

— Portland
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 1996.
Last three years, they’re 17-33 in the WCC.
Brought in 8 new players, should be deeper this year.
Timo George Jr is a promising 6-8 forward.

— Saint Mary’s
Made the NCAA’s last four years, going 3-4 in tournament.
Last four years, Gaels are 56-7 in WCC play.
Lost three seniors from LY, two of whom were 5-year players.
Gaels have only one senior this season.
Coach Bennett is unclear who the new point guard will be.

— San Diego
School opened a $35M basketball performance center last spring.
Toreros haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 2008.
Three years under Steve Lavin, they’re 13-37 in the WCC.
PG Johnson has played at Louisville, Wake Forest.
San Diego’s backcourt appears to be improved this year.

— San Francisco
Last time they were in the NCAA’s: 2022.
Last four years, they’re 41-25 in the WCC.
Last two years, Dons are 25-3 in WCC, other than Zags/St Mary’s.
Have 2 starters back TY, which in this day/age, is a lot.
Have high expectations; the pre-conference schedule is hard.

— Santa Clara
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 1996 (Steve Nash was there).
Last four years, they’re 43-22 in the WCC.
64.4% of LY’s scoring, 49.8% of rebounding, 58.7% of assists are gone.
Five players transferred last spring, including two starters.
Broncos added three transfers, four freshmen this year.

— Seattle
First year in WCC; last four years, they were 44-28 in the WAC.
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 1969.
Redhawks have pretty good guards; they need to shoot better.
Big guy Junseok Yeo is a transfer from Gonzaga.

— Washington State
Coogs head back to the Pac-12 next year; they were 8-10 in WCC LY.
3 starters from LY’s team bolted to greener pa$ture$.
Riley can coach; Wazzu was #6 in country LY in 2-point FG%.
Wazzu could help its power rating with a good showing at Maui Classic.

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s Den: Early storylines for college basketball……​

College basketball games start Monday; here are some story lines I’ll be following as the games get underway:

— Over the last four NCAA Tournaments:

SEC teams have had 36 teams in the tournament; 12 made the Sweet 16 (2nd weekend)

Big 18 teams have had 31 teams in the tournament; nine made the Sweet 16.

Big X teams have had 28 teams in the tournament; ten made the Sweet 16

ACC teams have had 19 teams in the tournament; nine made the Sweet 16

Big East teams have had 19 teams in the tournament; eight made the Sweet 16

Mountain West teams have had 28 teams in the tournament; two made the Sweet 16

— 14 of the 16 SEC teams made it into the tournament last year; LSU, South Carolina didn’t.
Last three years, LSU is 14-40 in SEC games.
South Carolina has made made only two of last 20 NCAA Tournaments, though they did get to the Final Four in 2017.

— Florida won the national title LY; four of their six wins in the tournament were by 6 or fewer points. In three years under Todd Golden, Gators are 34-20 in SEC games.

— Last Big 18 team to win a national title? Michigan State, in 2000.
Indiana fired alum, ex-NBA coach Mike Woodson last spring; in four years, Woodson was 82-53 with the Hoosiers, 41-39 in Big 18 games, but they missed the NCAA’s the last two years..
Darian DeVries comes in after coaching West Virginia for a year; he had previously gotten Drake to the tournament three times in four years.

— Last four years, Purdue is 116-31; last five years, they’re 72-27 in league games. Under Matt Painter, Boilermakers are 23-14 in NCAA Tourney games, but only made the Elite 8 twice in 14 tries- they lost the national title game two years ago. Purdue has high expectations this year.

— Nebraska finished 7-13 in the league LY, missed the conference tournament, then they went to Las Vegas and won the 16-team Crown tournament, an NIT-like event.
This year, the Cornhuskers have seven seniors, making them one of the older teams in the whole country, but only two of those seven guys played for Nebraska LY. Chemistry could be an issue.

— Josh Pastner is UNLV’s sixth coach in 12 years; he was 82-36 in league games at Memphis, only 53-78 at Georgia Tech. UNLV hasn’t made the NCAA’s since 2013; their last win in the tournament was 2008; they’ll be an interesting team to follow.

— Houston is one of the favorites to win the national title; over the last five years, they’re 160-24, 80-11 in conference games, 16-5 in NCAA Tourney games, getting to the last six Sweet 16’s, and two of last five Final Fours- they lost the national title game 65-63 last year.

Cougars have three starters back this year; a lot, in this day and age. They also brought in five new players.

— BYU brought in the country’s best recruiting class; last five years, they’re 112-54, 50-26 in conference games. BYU has won 20+ games 18 of last 20 years, but since 2012, they’re only 2-6 in the NCAA’s, going WWL in last year’s event.

— Big East has two head coaches named Pitino; Rick Pitino is 51-18 in two years at St John’s- they were a #2-seed LY. Richard Pitino moves from New Mexico to Xavier; he was 75-30 with the Lobos the last three seasons, making the NCAA’s the last two.

January 24/February 9 are the two meetings this year

— Last three years, UConn is 92-22, 45-15 in league games, winning two national titles; this year, Huskies have 62% of their scoring back from LY, plus they poached a couple of point guards in the transfer portal.

Last year, UConn committed 76 more fouls than their opponents, going 24-11 and getting an #8-seed; they need to even out that number this season.

— Will Wade is NC State’s new coach; he’s having an interesting career:

40-25 @ Chattanooga
51-20 @ VCU
108-54 @ LSU
58-11 @ McNeese State

Wolfpack was in the Final Four two years ago, under Kevin Keatts, but the world has gone crazy so Keatts got fired last spring. We’ll see how Wade does in the shadow of Duke/North Carolina.

— This is Gonzaga’s last season in the WCC; they missed the Sweet 16 last year, the first time since 2014 they missed the Sweet 16. Tyon Grant-Foster just became eligible to play for Gonzaga this year, which makes the Zags’ roster loaded- he was WAC Player of the Year at Grand Canyon last year.

Gonzaga is 28-10 in its last 38 NCAA Tournament games.

— Last four years, Saint Mary’s is 58-7 in conference games, but only 3-4 in NCAA Tourney tilts, despite being a #7 or better seed all four years.

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday, November 3​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
QUIN at SJU	06:30 PM	QUIN +26.5*****	+500
USM at BUFF	06:30 PM	USM +3.0	+500
NIAG at DUQ	07:00 PM	NIAG +17.0*****	+500
RID at UVA	07:00 PM	U 146.5*****	+500
MRSH at MASS	07:00 PM	MASS -4.5*****	+500
CAN at DAY	07:00 PM	DAY -25.0*****	+500
ODU at M-OH	07:00 PM	ODU +8.0*****	+500
MER at TENN	07:00 PM	MER +29.0	+500
JMU at AKR	07:00 PM	JMU +9.0*****	+500
WOF at GMU	07:00 PM	GMU -15.0	+500
TROY at KENT	07:00 PM	U 142.5	+500
CCAR at WMU	07:00 PM	CCAR +2.0*****	+500
APP at CMU	07:00 PM	APP -2.0	+500
ARST at OHIO	07:00 PM	ARST +3.5*****	+500
TXST at BGSU	07:00 PM	O 144.5	+500
YSU at PITT	07:00 PM	PITT -14.5	+500
USA at TOL	07:00 PM	USA +2.5*****	+500
FAIR at PSU	07:00 PM	PSU -15.5*****	+500
ARIZ at FLA	07:00 PM	ARIZ +3.5*****	+500
AFA at BEL	07:30 PM	U 144.0	+500
TNTC at WKU	07:30 PM	TNTC +14.5	+500
HOF at UCF	08:00 PM	HOF +9.0*****	+500
NWST at TXAM	08:00 PM	O 153.5	+500
ULM at NIU	08:00 PM	NIU -7.5*****	+500
SEMO at SLU	08:00 PM	SEMO +19.0	+500
SELA at MISS	08:00 PM	SELA +22.0*****	+500
JAC at MIA	08:00 PM	JAC +18.5	+500
HAMP at MILW	08:00 PM	U 144.5	+500
ALBY at MARQ	08:00 PM	MARQ -22.5*****	+500
LIP at VAN	08:00 PM	LIP +26.5	+500
CLEV at L-IL	08:00 PM	L-IL -18.0	+500
AMER at WAKE	08:00 PM	WAKE -19.5	+500
TST at SMU	08:00 PM	TST +21.5*****	+500
DET at UIC	08:00 PM	DET +9.0*****	+500
UTRGV at BAY	08:00 PM	U 154.5	+500
OAK at MICH	08:30 PM	OAK +24.0	+500
JKST at ILL	08:30 PM	ILL -29.5*****	+500
DSU at SDAK	08:30 PM	DSU +2.0	+500
SCST at LOU	09:00 PM	U 159.5	+500
MTST at COLO	09:00 PM	U 146.5	+500
TXSO at GONZ	09:00 PM	O 157.5	+500
IPFW at GC	09:00 PM	GC -14.0*****	+500
SJSU at UTAH	09:00 PM	UTAH -12.5*****	+500
CP at USC	09:30 PM	CP +24.5	+500
VILL at BYU	09:30 PM	BYU -9.5 U 153.5*****	+500 +500
IDHO at WSU	09:30 PM	WSU -7.0*****	+500
NDSU at ORST	09:30 PM	U 144.5	+500
STT at SMC	10:00 PM	SMC -12.5*****	+500
DEN at SEA	10:00 PM	SEA -12.5	+500
EWU at UCLA	10:30 PM	U 143.5	+500
SCUS at CBU	10:30 PM	CBU -14.0	+500

 

[Cnotes53]

CNOTES NOVEMBER'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL BEST BET'S

11/02/2025...............13 - 11 - 0..............54.16%..................+ 4.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
Week 10 NFL spreads:
— Saints @ Carolina (-5.5)
— Cardinals @ Seattle (-6.5)
— Lions (-8.5) @ Washington
— Rams (-3.5) @ San Francisco
— Steelers @ LA Chargers (-3.5)
— Eagles @ Green Bay (-2.5)

Quote of the Day
“Coach Freeze is a man of integrity, and we are appreciative of his investment in Auburn and his relentless work over the last three years in bolstering our roster. Our expectations for Auburn football are to annually compete for championships, and the search for the next leader of Auburn football begins immediately.”
Auburn athletic director John Cohen; integrity doesn’t matter when your record is 15-19

Tuesday’s quiz
Which two NBA teams has Rick Pitino coached?

Monday’s quiz
Toronto Argonauts have won the CFL’s Grey Cup the most times.

Sunday’s quiz
Packers’ QB Jordan Love played his college football at Utah State.

****************************************

Tuesday’s Den: Wrapping up the first night of college basketball……..​

College/minor league basketball tipped off Monday; here’s a recap:
Remember in school, on the first day, when the white board in class was clean? This is what the first night of college hoop has become; no one knows ANYTHING, and that includes coaches.
So many teams are total rebuilds; it is like junior college ball, teams constantly starting over, so we pay attention and try to learn quickly.

— Arizona 93, Florida 87
Gators led 32-20 midway thru first half.
6-8 freshman Peat had 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists.
His brother/father are/were offensive linemen in the NFL.
Arizona was 31-38 on foul line, Florida 20-30.

— BYU 71, Villanova 66
Villanova was 10-35 on the arc; they had a 49-43 edge on the boards.
BYU had only four turnovers the whole game (+7)
BYU’s star freshman AJ Dybanta scored 21 points.
I thought they said on TV that Dybanta is getting paid $7M this year; SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

— “Winning helps, and losing doesn’t”

Hawaii Pacific 79, Boise State 78
Hawaii Pacific is a D-2 team; this is a horrific loss for a team that was 99-40 over the last four seasons. The Sharks shot 60% inside the arc. Boise was 10-33 behind the arc.

— New Orleans 78, TCU 74
Horned Frogs were a 21-point favorite.
TCU shot 3-27 on the arc, were out-rebounded 38-28.
Great win for the Privateers, who were 26-70 the last three years.

— Close wins can be red flags:

Auburn 95, Bethune-Cookman 90
Wildcats are coached by former NBA star Reggie Theus; they were 12-22 on the arc.
Auburn started a freshman, two sophs; they were 27-38 on foul line, visitors were 8-9.

Georgia Tech 56, Maryland-Eastern Shore 52 OT
UMES led by nine with 14:31 left in the game.
Tech shot 5-26 on the arc, 9-18 on the foul line.
Only seven players scored for the Yellow Jackets.

Xavier 66, Marist 62
Marist led by a point with 2:11 left in the game.
Red Foxes shot 52.9% inside the arc, out-rebounded Xavier 33-31.
Xavier started four seniors; they were 7-26 behind the arc.

Baylor 96, Texas-Rio Grande 81
Baylor only played eight guys the whole game (78 possessions)
Vaqueros led 26-12 midway thru the first half.
Baylor shot 60% inside the arc, had a 42-26 edge on the glass.

Famous birthdays, November 4th:
Ralph Macchio, 64
Eric Karros, 57
Carlos Baerga, 57
Matthew McConaughey, 56
Orlando Pace, 50
Lorenzen Wright, 50
Tyrese Maxey, 25

— Ohio State 118, IU-Indianapolis 102
IUI has a new head coach after going 24-101 the last four years; they brought in a D-2 coach from West Liberty College who loves to press and play fast- they went 217-37 in his tenure there.
How will the Jaguars fare in the Horizon League?
They scored 102 points on Ohio State, at least a little impressive.
Game had 86 possessions; a normal game has around 70 possessions. Very fast pace.
IU-Indy shot 68.4% inside the arc, 12-38 outside the arc.
Problem with this game for IU-Indy?
Ohio State was 42-53 on the foul line, Jaguars were 14-20.
They’re a team worth watching.

— MAC/Sun Belt held a 13-game challenge Monday; home teams went 9-4 SU, with all the MAC teams at home. All the teams that won also covered the spread.

Buffalo 85, Southern Miss 79
Golden Eagles led 26-11 early on.
Southern Miss shot 65.6% inside the arc, Buffalo 52.2%
Buffalo was 12-30 on the arc, 12-23 inside the arc.

— Florida Atlantic 83, Boston College 78 OT
BC led by five points with 1:03 left in regulation.
Owls shot 12-24 on the arc, only 13-25 on the foul line.
ACC teams shouldn’t lose to Florida Atlantic, who went 18-16 LY after Dusty May went 60-13 his last two years at FAU, before bolting to Michigan. But if you’re an ACC team that has hopes for a good season, you can’t lose to Florida Atlantic.

— Drake 77, Northern Arizona 71
NAU led by nine with 9:26 left in the game.
Drake is on its third coach in three years; they had five guys score in double figures.

— Again, today was the first step on a very long journey thru this season; it’ll be fun to follow.

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday, November 4​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
ALCN at FSU	07:00 PM	FSU -27.5*****	+500
NJIT at FOR	07:00 PM	FOR -15.5*****	+500
MSM at WVU	07:00 PM	WVU -21.5	+500
UNCA at WICH	07:30 PM	UNCA +7.5*****	+500
UNCG at KSU	08:00 PM	KSU -19.0*****	+500
ORU at OKST	08:00 PM	O 165.5*****	+500
RMU at IOWA	08:30 PM	IOWA -22.5	+500
TEX at DUKE	08:45 PM	TEX +10.5	+500
SUU at ASU	09:00 PM	ASU -17.5*****	+500
PRST at STAN	10:00 PM	STAN -10.5*****	+500
LT at NEV	10:00 PM	LT +8.5*****	+500
HAW at ORE	10:30 PM	HAW +12.5*****	+500

 

[Cnotes53]

CNOTES NOVEMBER'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL BEST BET'S

11/04/2025..................3 - 6 - 0..............33.33%..................- 18.00
11/02/2025...............13 - 11 - 0..............54.16%..................+ 4.50

TOTALS.....................16 - 17 - 0..............48.48%..................- 13.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Father/son duos to both homer in the postseason:
10— Vladimir Guerrero Sr/ Vladimir Guerrero Jr
8— Cecil/Prince Fielder
7— Tony/Eduardo Perez
5— Bob/Bret Boone
4— Bob/Aaron Boone
2— Julian/Stan Javier

Quote of the Day
“……I take all the variables that I have to make a decision and make the decision when I need to, and I think we’re doing a pretty good job on offense. I like what the offense is doing right now.”
Arizona Cardinals’ coach Jonathan Gannon, on starting QB Jacoby Brissett again this week

Wednesday’s quiz
Who was the Arizona Cardinals’ coach the last time they won a playoff game?

Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has coached the Knicks and Celtics in the NBA.

Monday’s quiz
Toronto Argonauts have won the CFL’s Grey Cup the most times.

*******************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..​

Lot of stuff going on, with seasons overlapping……..
— Tuesday was the NFL’s trade deadline; Jets dumped DT Quinnen Williams, CB Ahmad (Sauce) Gardner, got three first round draft picks in return.
Next two drafts, Jets now own five first round picks. Which quarterback will they draft?

— Teams with two first round picks in the 2026 Draft: Rams, Browns, Jets

— Cardinals 27, Cowboys 17
Arizona snaps a five-game losing skid, all close losses.
Arizona’s first six drives: 52 plays, 312 yards, 27 points.
Last four games, Cardinals converted 36-72 third down plays.
Cardinals are 9-1 ATS last ten games as a road underdog.
Cowboys in first half: 28 plays, 98 yards, no points.
Cowboys’ only first half score came on a blocked punt for TD.
Cowboys were minus-3 in turnovers.
Dallas is 0-5 when they score less than 37 points.

— In their last two games, Houston Texans scored on 9 of their 23 drives, which isn’t bad, but unfortunately for the Texans, those nine scores were 7 field goals, only 2 touchdowns.
In Sunday’s 18-15 loss to Denver, Texans went 5-for-6 kicking field goals, but you don’t win much when you don’t score a touchdown.

— Famous birthdays, November 5th:
Elke Sommer, 85
Art Garfunkel, 84
Tatum O’Neal, 62
Famke Janssen, 61
Javy Lopez, 55
Johnny Damon, 52
Jason Kelce, 38
Odell Backham Jr, 33

— NFL divisional trends:

AFC East
14-10 ATS non-divisional games

AFC North
Home teams 4-0 ATS divisional games
9-17 ATS non-divisional games

AFC South
12-12 ATS non-divisional games

AFC West
8-5 ATS non-divisional home games.
4-9 ATS non-divisional road games.

NFC East
Home teams 4-2 ATS divisional games
10-13 ATS non-divisional games

NFC North
5-2 ATS non-divisional home favorite

NFC South
13-15 ATS non-divisional games

NFC West
16-7 ATS non-divisional games

— College football trends, conference games:

American
Home favorites 10-6 ATS
Road favorites 11-6 ATS

ACC
Home favorites 11-14 ATS
Road favorites 11-9 ATS

Big 18
Home favorites 12-17 ATS
Road favorites 10-10 ATS

Big X
Home favorites 10-6 ATS
Road favorites 11-6 ATS

Conference USA
Home favorites 8-6 ATS
Home underdogs 7-4 ATS

Mid-American
Home favorites 12-5 ATS
Home underdogs 9-3 ATS

Mountain West
Home favorites 9-8 ATS
Home underdogs 4-4 ATS

SEC
Home favorites 15-13 ATS
Home underdogs 7-6 ATS

Sun Belt
Home favorites 10-8 ATS
Home underdogs 9-6 ATS

— Movie of the Day: The Fugitive (1993)- A doctor is wrongly accused of murdering his wife; he has to find the real killer while being pursued by a veteran US Marshal.
Harrison Ford is the doctor, Tommy Lee Jones is the marshal, Sela Ward is the doctor’s wife, Joe Pantoliano is one of the other policemen.
Excellent movie, lot of drama.

— UConn’s football is 6-3 and bowl eligible under coach Jim Mora Jr; all three of their losses came in overtime. Huskies won the Fenway Bowl LY, their first bowl win since 2009.

— Auburn fired football coach Hugh Freeze, who went 15-19 in 2+ years with the Tigers; he gets a $15.8M buyout to take a hike. Auburn has lost five of its last six games.

— South Carolina is 3-6, lost its last four games; they fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula, who was in his first season as Carolina’s OC. Gamecocks rank last in the SEC in both points (19.7) and yards per game (294.1).
Mike Shula is the answer to a good trivia question: he was the head coach at Alabama just before Nick Saban took over the Crimson Tide.

— With coaching jobs coming open, other coaches get big raises to stay where they are:
Nebraska signed Matt Rhule to a two-year contract extension that will take him through the 2032 season; Nebraska is 6-2 this year; Rhule led the program to its first bowl game since 2016 last year.
SMU signed coach Rhett Lashlee to a new seven-year deal that keeps him with the Mustangs thru 2032; $$$ details weren’t provided, but apparently the deal will make him one of the 10 highest-paid coaches in college football.

 

[Cnotes53]

Nov 5	COPP vs. LAS	LAS	LAS -15.5*****
Nov 5	DSU vs. TEM	Over	Over 154.5
Nov 5	USI vs. BUT	BUT	BUT -21.5*****
Nov 5	UMES vs. UGA	UGA Over	UGA -30.5***** Over 146.5
Nov 5	TST vs. LSU	Over	Over 147.0
Nov 5	AAMU vs. IND	IND Over	IND -27.5***** Over 145.5
Nov 5	SOU vs. MARQ	SOU Over	SOU +25.5 Over 156.5
Nov 5	SDAK vs. CREI	CREI	CREI -29.0*****
Nov 5	NDSU vs. UCD	NDSU Over	NDSU +3.0 Over 143.5
Nov 5	UNA vs. MSST	Under	Under 154.0*****
Nov 5	SCUS vs. FRES	Under	Under 166.0*****
Nov 5	EWU vs. LMU	Under	Under 154.5*****

 

[Cnotes53]

CNOTES NOVEMBER'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL BEST BET'S

11/05/2025..................7 - 1 - 0..............87.50%..................+ 29.50
11/04/2025..................3 - 6 - 0..............33.33%..................- 18.00
11/02/2025...............13 - 11 - 0..............54.16%..................+ 4.50

TOTALS.....................23 - 18 - 0..............56.09%..................+ 16.00

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
best Big East basketball records over the last five years:
69-27— UConn
69-30— Creighton
63-35— Marquette
58-37— Villanova
54-41— Xavier
54-44— St John’s

Quote of the Day
“I’m still stunned, I mean, I’m still stunned. It’s weird. I feel more like a Knick now after everything we went through last year, but it’s weird to see that Wolves jersey — especially the fire black one — and not see ‘Towns’ on the back of it.”
Karl-Anthony Towns

Thursday’s quiz
Before Shohei Ohtani, who the last player intentionally walked with the bases empty in a World Series game?

Wednesday’s quiz
Bruce Arians was the Arizona Cardinals’ coach the last time they won a playoff game.

Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has coached the Knicks and Celtics in the NBA.

**********************************************

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….​

— Weird Stat of the Day: In Monday’s 93-87 win over Florida, Arizona was 2-5 behind the arc, for the whole freakin’ game. In this day and age, no teams only take five 3’s in a game.
Arizona shot 50% inside the arc, made 31-38 on the foul line. Florida was 7-27 on the arc. It was a really good game that seemed like a Final Four game.

— Tennessee-Martin 86, UNLV 81- The Josh Pastner era in Las Vegas got off to a cruddy start, as Rebels blew a 10-point first half lead, losing as a 17-point favorite. UNLV turned the ball over 22 times, shot only 7-23 on the arc.
Tennessee-Martin was 27-48 on the foul line; the Skyhawks have players from 11 different countries- their entire starting 5 is from eastern Europe. Seven of their players have played at non-Division I colleges.

— SC-Upstate 87, Fresno State 86
Bad home loss for the Bulldogs, who were favored by 9.5 points; Fresno led by 12 late in the first half, were +10 in turnovers, but the Spartans shot 57.6% inside the arc. Five of the 12 teams in the Mountain West have already lost a game, in the season’s first three nights.

— Rutgers 81, Rider 53— Tariq Francis scored 20 points for the Scarlet Knights; he used to play for NJIT in the America East. He took 370 3-pointers over two seasons in which NJIT went a combined 13-46, 6-26 in conference games. Go figure.

— UCLA 80, Eastern Washington 74— UCLA coach Mick Cronin wasn’t happy after the game.
“There’s so many mistakes; I’d like to fire myself for our defense. I mean, if you think you’re going to give up 53.7% in your own gym in a buy game and have a good year, you have no chance.”
They won, but apparently he wasn’t happy.

— Second year in a row, my doorbell only rang once on Halloween night; mustn’t be a lot of kids in my neighborhood. It was windy/cold Friday, but I didn’t think it was that bad.

— Famous birthdays, November 6th:
Sally Field, 79
Ethan Hawke, 55
Adam LaRoche, 46
Lamar Odom, 46
Luke Jackson, 44
James Paxton, 37

— Atlanta Braves signed two coaches who were with the Mets this past year: pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and and first base coach Antoan Richardson.
Hefner had worked for the Mets for six years. Richardson was first base coach,OF coordinator and baserunning instructor for the Mets the past two seasons; he got tons of credit for the Mets’ 89.1% stealing bases this year- Juan Soto stole a career-high 38 bases.

— Players who opted in on their 2026 contract:
Chris Sale, $18M
Shane Bieber, $16M
Salvador Perez, $25M for two years
Jack Flaherty, $20M
Trevor Story, $55M for two years

— Chicago Cubs rejected an option to extend P Shota Imanaga’s contract out to 2028; he then rejected a $15M player option for next year, so now he is a free agent.
Imanaga was 24-11, 3.28 in 54 regular season starts in two years with the Cubs; he was 9-8, 3.73 this season, but he had a 6.51 ERA in September.

— Jets were a 2.5-point favorite over Cleveland this week, until they traded two of their best defensive players away, for three first round draft picks.
When that happened, the line moved to Cleveland, -2.5, a five-point swing.

— Drew Brees is joining FOX Sports as an NFL game analyst; rumors are that he is taking Mark Sanchez’ place. Sanchez had some off-field issues recently, may now be out of a job.

— Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored 20+ points 81 games in a row, the 3rd longest streak of all-time.

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday, November 6​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
LIU at IUPU	06:30 PM	IUPU -4.5*****	+500
CAMP at WVU	07:00 PM	CAMP +15.5 U 138.0*****	+500 +500
CIT at BC	07:00 PM	O 144.5	+500
COOK at MIA	07:00 PM	O 156.5	+500
ILST at OHIO	07:00 PM	U 161.0*****	+500
LMC at XAV	07:00 PM	LMC +26.5	+500
JKST at LOU	07:00 PM	LOU -38.5*****	+500
RMU at DRKE	07:30 PM	RMU +8.0	+500
GRAM at ISU	08:00 PM	ISU -33.5 O 146.5	+500 +500
ALCN at USA	08:00 PM	USA -18.5*****	+500
CHS at SLU	08:00 PM	O 155.5	+500
CSN at UNI	08:00 PM	UNI -9.5*****	+500
SFPA at TCU	08:00 PM	TCU -29.0	+500
UNF at FLA	08:00 PM	FLA -41.5	+500
NEOM at AC	08:00 PM	U 151.0*****	+500
MW at AUB	08:00 PM	MW +23.5 O 148.5	+500 +500
AMCC at SMU	08:00 PM	O 162.5	+500
UCRV at UND	08:00 PM	UCRV +2.5***** U 146.5*****	+500 +500
MEHST at L-IL	09:00 PM	L-IL -22.0	+500
WRST at CAL	10:00 PM	WRST +14.5	+500
DEN at WASH	10:00 PM	WASH -27.5*****	+500
ARPB at PORT	10:30 PM	PORT -12.5	+500

 

[Cnotes53]

CNOTES NOVEMBER'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL BEST BET'S

11/06/2025..................5 - 4 - 1..............55.55%..................+ 3.00
11/05/2025..................7 - 1 - 0..............87.50%..................+ 29.50
11/04/2025..................3 - 6 - 0..............33.33%..................- 18.00
11/02/2025...............13 - 11 - 0..............54.16%..................+ 4.50

TOTALS.....................28 - 22 - 0..............56.00%..................+ 19.00

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack:
NBA leaders in net points per game from their bench:
4.3— Miami Heat
3.2— San Antonio Spurs
2.9— Houston Rockets
2.8— Oklahoma City Thunder
2.6— Toronto Raptors
1.4— Portland Trailblazers

Quote of the Day
“The journey began with great expectations with my own vision of how to get there. Sometimes the journey does not end the way we hope.But when I think of our time together, I will remember and appreciate what we did accomplish. … The roar of Death Valley when we beat Alabama. The losses will always hurt, but I will remember all the wins.”
Former LSU football coach Brian Kelly

Friday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leader in passing yards for NC State?

Thursday’s quiz
Before Shohei Ohtani, Albert Pujols was the last player intentionally walked with the bases empty in a World Series game.

Wednesday’s quiz
Bruce Arians was the Arizona Cardinals’ coach the last time they won a playoff game.

**********************************************

Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……​

— Broncos 10, Raiders 7
Broncos won their last seven games.
Five of their last six wins were by 4 or fewer points.
Total yardage in game: Denver 220, Raiders 188
Penalty yardage in game: Denver 78, Raiders 83
Raiders’ only TD was on a 41-yard drive, on their 2nd possession.
Raiders the rest of the game: 44 plays, 86 yards, zero points.
Denver’s first four drives: 12 plays, 17 yards, four punts.
QB Bo Nix is 18-10 as an NFL starter.

— More and more, coaches just answer “…..analytics” when they’re asked to explain why they go for it and 4th down or don’t go for it, but here is a piece of analytics that gets ignored.
The team that scores first usually wins; best eight teams scoring first this year and their records:
Cardinals 3-5
Colts 7-2
Eagles 6-2
Lions 5-3
Packers 5-2-1
Houston 3-5
Bears 5-3
Chargers 6-3

— Remember the movie Moneyball, about the Oakland A’s front office? Jonah Hill’s character in that movie is in real life Paul DePodesta, who for the last ten years has worked for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL. He played football in college but worked for the A’s/Dodgers before going to Cleveland and switching to football.

Well, the Colorado Rockies are hiring DePodesta to be their head of baseball operations, after they lost 119 games this past season. Right now, Colorado is the only team without a manager for 2026; they haven’t made the playoffs since 2018 and the last three years, they lost 119-101-103 games.

From what you read, Colorado is way behind other teams in terms of what you need to have to be a successful team, as far as resources, both $$$ and baseball-wise.

By the way, the reason the A’s were really good in the Moneyball era was that they had Hudson, Mulder, Zito as great starting pitchers, and Miguel Tejada was a superstar at shortstop. They kind of left that part out of the movie.

— San Diego Padres named Craig Stammen their new manager; he was pitching in the majors just three years ago, and when the interview process started for this job, Stammen was one of the guys doing the interviewing.
Last two years, Padres went 93-69/90-72; this is a good job. San Diego has made the playoffs four of the last six seasons.

— Chicago White Sox named Zach Bove their new pitching coach; Bove was a hitting coach at the high school/college level (Central Florida) before becoming a pitching coach.
Last three years, Bove served as an assistant pitching coach for the Royals, who ranked sixth in the majors with a 3.73 ERA this past year. White Sox dumped four coaches from last year’s staff after they went 60-102, bossing 100+ games for the third year in a row.

— Arizona Cardinals put QB Kyler Murray on the IR with a foot injury; Jacoby Brissett is the starter, with Kedon Slovis the backup.

— If you need another reason to visit Las Vegas, A’s-Angels are playing a couple of spring training games in Las Vegas March 7-8th.

— Famous birthdays, November 7th
Jim Kaat, 87
Tom Moore, 86
Danny Smith, 71
Billy Giilispie, 65
Kris Benson, 51
Sonny Gray, 36

— Georgia Southern 25, Appalachian State 23
Eagles led 19-3 at halftime, hung on for the win.
Georgia Southern QB French threw for 352 yards and a TD
App State QB Swann threw for 348 yards, 2 TD’s.

— South Florida 55, Tex-San Antonio 23
USF scored defensive TD’s on the Roadrunners’ first two drives.
Bulls led 45-10 at halftime.
USF ran the ball 32 times for 238 yards.

— Akron 44, UMass 10
Zips outgained UMass 467-169.
RB Gant ran ball for 153 yards, two TD’s.
0-9 UMass trailed 27-10 at halftime.

— Ohio U 24, Miami 20
Game was 3-3 at halftime.
Bobcats drove 75 yards, scored winning TD with 2:15 left in the game.
Ohio QB Navarro threw for 201 yards and a TD.

— Ball State 17, Kent State 13
Cardinals drove 37 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:53 left.
Kent outgained Ball State 301-238, but had 78 yards in penalties.
Ball State stopped Kent twice on 4th-and-1 situations.

— Toledo 42, Northern Illinois 3
QB Gleason threw for 309 yards, two TD’s.
Rockets led 28-3 at halftime.
Toledo was 9-14 on third down, NIU 2-16.

 

[Udog]

NCAAB
Dunkel

Friday, November 7

 

[Udog]

NCAAB

Friday, November 7

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Trend Report
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[Cnotes53]

Friday, November 7​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
GTWN at MD	06:00 PM	MD -4.5***** U 144.0*****	+500 +500
TLSA at URI	06:00 PM	URI -3.5 U 154.0*****	+500 +500
BU at NW	06:00 PM	U 136.5*****	+500
IPFW at OSU	06:30 PM	OSU -24.0 O 160.0	+500 +500
WIN at GMU	07:00 PM	U 146.5*****	+500
DET at ND	07:00 PM	ND -21.5	+500
MORE at WAKE	07:00 PM	WAKE -21.5	+500
ARST at SFA	07:00 PM	SFA +1.5 U 156.0*****	+500 +500
WIU at IOWA	07:00 PM	IOWA -31.0*****	+500
ALST at FSU	07:00 PM	FSU -25.0	+500
VALP at UK	07:00 PM	VALP +32.5	+500
WEBB at CLEM	07:00 PM	U 145.5*****	+500
LONG at PITT	07:00 PM	LONG +14.5	+500
GAST at CIN	07:00 PM	GAST +29.5	+500
SHU at DUQ	07:00 PM	DUQ -12.5	+500
TROY at FUR	07:00 PM	TROY +3.0 U 153.5*****	+500 +500
MASSL at CONN	07:30 PM	MASSL +35.5	+500
ULM at MISS	07:30 PM	MISS -37.5	+500
SHSU at TTU	08:00 PM	TTU -31.5	+500
SEMO at MIZZ	08:00 PM	MIZZ -25.5	+500
STONE at DEP	08:00 PM	DEP -23.5	+500
FGCU at ILL	08:30 PM	ILL -29.0*****	+500
SELA at ULL	08:30 PM	U 136.5*****	+500
NIU at WIS	08:30 PM	WIS -28.5	+500
UTECH at ARIZ	09:00 PM	ARIZ -33.5*****	+500
UAB at NCST	09:00 PM	UAB +20.5*****	+500
YSU at GC	09:00 PM	GC -15.0*****	+500
UIC at ORST	10:00 PM	O 148.0	+500
RICE at ORE	10:00 PM	RICE +15.5***** U 144.5*****	+500 +500
CBU at UCI	10:30 PM	U 146.5*****	+500

 

[Cnotes53]

CNOTES NOVEMBER'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL BEST BET'S

11/07/2025..................9 - 7 - 0..............56.25%..................+ 6.50
11/06/2025..................5 - 4 - 1..............55.55%..................+ 3.00
11/05/2025..................7 - 1 - 0..............87.50%..................+ 29.50
11/04/2025..................3 - 6 - 0..............33.33%..................- 18.00
11/02/2025...............13 - 11 - 0..............54.16%..................+ 4.50

TOTALS.....................37 - 29 - 0..............56.06%..................+ 25.50