ESPN's Rivalry Week Starts with Bettors Paradise

The worldwide leader in sports is big on marketing themes and starts with a doozy pair of college hoops games Monday night. The first game of Rivalry Week is the Backyard Brawl, between West Virginia and Pittsburgh, followed immediately by the Border War in the Midwest, which has Kansas and Missouri doing battle. No matter the stakes or reputations, the intensity is always electric and they will be heightened with national cable television appearances and frenzied crowds. College basketball bettors can test their skills and watch the outcome of two heated confrontations.

West Virginia at Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh (21-2, 11-6 ATS) easily handled West Virginia 79-67 as a “pick” in part one of this year’s Backyard Brawl and they are solid eight-point favorites at Bookmaker.com to finish the Mountaineers off again at home. The key was their ability to work the offense inside-out, using the frontcourt, with Sam Young scoring inside and making outside shots to keep West Virginia off balance. The Panthers big men stayed at home in the paint, instead of wandering outside, and it paid off. DeJuan Blair has been a beast of late, scoring 24.3 points and ripping down 14.7 rebounds in last three contests. This is Panthers basketball and it is this type action that has them playing so well, with 8-1 ATS record in home games after two straight games giving up nine or less offensive rebounds.

With the arrival of February, one thing is apparent; West Virginia (16-7, 9-11 ATS) is part of a group of Big East teams that is good, but not elite. They can pull upsets when they outwork opponents, however when the game is tight or they trail, the ‘Teers don’t have answers.

“As of right now we are ninth in our league and that’s not good enough,” Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins told the school’s official athletic Web site. “We have got to win some games here and make a move here in the second half of the conference schedule.”

This West Virginia club isn’t built to play in high scoring affairs as 2-8 ATS mark versus offensive teams scoring 77 or more points a game this season shows. "We're just not scoring the ball," said guard Alex Ruoff, trying to explain where the deficiencies are. "We don't have that guy to take over the game the way Joe [Alexander] did last year."

The Mountaineers have to take the momentum of wasting Providence 86-59 and use it to their advantage like in the past; with an 11-2 ATS record off a home blowout win by 20 points or more over the last three seasons. Nevertheless, West Virginia is 1-7 and 3-4-1 ATS at Pittsburgh since 1997.

Kansas at Missouri

When it comes to rivalries, this Big 12 battle does not receive nearly enough publicity. The fans of Kansas and Missouri truly do hate each other and the players brought in from other areas of the country quickly learn what the “Border War” means. Despite losing all five starters from its national championship team, Kansas coach Bill Self has nicely cultivated a fresh crop of ambitious youngsters.

The Jayhawks (19-4, 12-6 ATS) are playing with the same steely determination and JC transfer Mario Little has gotten healthy, adding depth to Kansas. As expected, the Jayhawks are playing remarkable defense, holding opponents to 38.2 percent shooting and are 4-1 ATS against teams averaging 84 or more points a game.

The Jayhawks are off to their best start in the Big 12 in four years (8-0 and 7-1 ATS) and are playing game four of five, out of seven on the road. Kansas is 15-6 ATS after seven or more consecutive wins and 6-0 ATS versus teams outscoring opponents by four or points per game after 15 had been played on the season.

Missouri (20-4, 10-7 ATS) is improving under coach Mike Anderson and they have reestablished home court advantage at Mizzou Arena, where they are 14-0 and 5-2 ATS scoring over 90 points per game. Defensive pressure is a constant in Anderson’s system and he wants to keep adding pieces to the Tigers assortment of different techniques for turning up pressure. Opposing teams convert less than 38 percent of attempts in Columbia and Missouri is 15-5 ATS in home games vs. top caliber foes outscoring their opponents by 12 or points a contest, past the mid-point of the season.

The Tigers were a popular play against team Saturday at Iowa State, but showed newfound mental toughness in 82-68 win as nine-point chalk, behind DeMarre Carroll career-high 31 points. Missouri reached the 20-win mark for the first time in six years.

Coach Anderson knows Kansas is a smart team that can find open shots even against the Tigers press. Mizzou will have to get the ball out of Sherrod Collins hands and force others to make plays. Missouri is a 4.5-point favorite and is 7-3-1 ATS at home against KU.