NCAA Basketball Betting: Charlotte vs. Duquesne: January 7th 2009

Charlotte vs. Duquesne January 7th, 2009 7:00PM
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Charlotte got off to a terrible start this year. Coming off a 20 win season, with four returning starters, perhaps they read too many of their own press clippings, claiming that they were ready to compete for a Atlantic-10 championship with the likes of Xavier and Dayton. Instead, the 49ers lost six straight following their opening day win. After an overtime loss in their finale of their post Thanksgiving tournament in Anaheim, Charlotte stood at 1-6 SU, a team in disarray.

Since that time, Bobby Lutz has started to work his magic. First, Charlotte won outright at Southern Illinois. Then they won outright at Mississippi State. The 49ers followed up those two impressive road wins with a couple of home blowouts over lesser foes and suddenly, this team is playing with confidence and chemistry. They were tied at Maryland this weekend at the midway point of the second half before the Terps went on one big run to notch the victory, but even in that game, the 49ers regained their composure and notched a push for those who bet it late. Tonight, in their A-10 opener, that composure will suit them well against a team they have handled with ease in all three meetings over the past three seasons.

The Palumbo Center is not one of the stronger home courts in the A-10, to put it mildly. After losing their top five scorers from last years 17 win squad, we can expect a rather significant drop-off from the Dukes as conference play begins tonight. This is a game that Duquesne will struggle to win, let alone winning by any sort of a margin at all. (#543) 2* Take Charlotte.

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