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Posted at 1:30 PM EST

ARIZONA -10 -106 over USC

Nitro TV - ESPN 2 in the USA/CAN Sports Section

9:00 PM EST. In case you haven’t heard, the new quad system is what everyone is talking about in college basketball these days. College basketball is trying a transparent method to make its NCAA Tournament selection process easier. In other words, it’s trying to take the subjectivity out of making the field. Teams get more credit for “Quad 1 wins” as opposed to beating up on that random all boys college with 2,000 students from Indiana (that’s a Quad 4 win). That concept isn’t exactly new. The use of this system is new. We mention this because we’re using it to make a point. Perception is often shaped by wins and losses and in this case, Arizona’s record disagrees with how well it is playing. The Wildcats are a 15-6 team spotting double digits to a 17-6 team but don’t be enticed into taking the points. The ‘Cats might be the best team in America and that’s no joke. Nico Mannion and Josh Green are potential lottery picks, but it's Zeke Nnaji who is one of the most efficient shooters in the nation, with a true shooting percentage of 70.2, seventh in the nation. Despite all that talent, Arizona is 1-4 in Quad 1 games, with a +10 point differential. That streak of close losses against good competition is precisely how a team can be sixth in BPI with six losses to its name. The Wildcats lost to Gonzaga by four points. They crushed #20 Colorado by 21. They lost by one point to both Arizona State and Oregon, not to mention a five-point loss to Baylor. The Wildcats could easily be 19-2 and ranked #1 in the country with a few bounces here and there. Instead, they’re ranked #23 and that’s the most absurd ranking on the board by a wide margin. At worst, Arizona should be ranked #5.

Wins and losses. That's the first thing most of the market looks at when trying to assess a team and because of it, we can find opportunities like this. What looks like a big price to spot the Trojans is actually a cheap price to spot with the chalk. USC’s record was built on beating a lot of weak teams. USC’s Strength of Schedule ranks 214th in the country. They lost to Colorado by 21, which is the exact same margin that Arizona beat Colorado by. The only other ranked team the Trojans played was Oregon and they lost that one by nine. USC also lost to Temple by nine and to Marquette by 22. It is the Wildcats and not the Trojans that hold all the value here.

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