Four Championship games tonight. Since these are all suppose to be the top teams of their various conferences, we don't need spreads to pick them. Two kind of big games in the Colonial and West Coast Conference. Tomorrow the big conferences get going, and we'll see some afternoon games. Got to love those.
Virginia Commonwealth vs. Old Dominion (Colonial)
VCU has been playing well as of late and they are a good team. They probably won't be able to get into the tourney without winning this game. ODU on the other hand should be a tourney lock. Because of that you would think VCU has more to play for. Probably true, but ODU could get themselves a nice seed if they can win this game. I think ODU takes it.
St. Peters vs. Iona (Metro Atlantic)
Don't really know much about these teams. Iona has been in the tourney more so maybe they have some experience. They are the higher see. I say they win. Actually no, I'm saying this is the upset. St. Peters will beat Iona.
Wofford vs. Charleston (Southern)
Charleston is a good team and will be a team to reckon with in the tourney. They should win this game but they had to pull one out in the semi's, so we'll see. I'll Charleston in a route.
Gonzaga vs. St. Mary's (West Coast)
Big game. Both teams will be squarely on the bubble if they lose this game. I think St. Mary's will have the best chance to get in if they don't win, but I wouldn't count on it. I think St. Mary's wins this game, they have better guard play and they played well last year in the NCAA tourney and have a lot of guys returning. Either way, this should be the game of the night.
And so begins the second best week of the season. Next week is the best, then it's baseball season. Vegas in ten days, Opening day in about 25, Masters in about 30. Great time of the year. Cue some stupid pop song as the theme.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturdays Championship Games
Big South
UNC Asheville vs. Coastal Carolina
Coastal is the pride of the conference but they have lost some bad games lately. This one is up for grabs.
Atlantic Sun
North Florida vs. Belmont
Belmont is the best team and North Florida actually is 15-18, so we know whouls "should" win this game.
Ohio Valley
Tennessee Tech vs. Morehead State
Morehead has the NCAA's leading rebounder and they are on a tear as of late. Should be a good game.
UNC Asheville vs. Coastal Carolina
Coastal is the pride of the conference but they have lost some bad games lately. This one is up for grabs.
Atlantic Sun
North Florida vs. Belmont
Belmont is the best team and North Florida actually is 15-18, so we know whouls "should" win this game.
Ohio Valley
Tennessee Tech vs. Morehead State
Morehead has the NCAA's leading rebounder and they are on a tear as of late. Should be a good game.
Saturdays Spreads
A little late I know. Just get your picks in. If one of the games already started then we'll still count it if you didn't look at the score. We are on the honor system here. Just not the BYU honor code system.
Louisville at West Virginia (-3.5)
I'm going to take Louisville to cover and this one and probably win. They looked really good the other day. Their white boys can crash the glass.
Kansas at Missouri (+3)
Kansas to roll. I don't like Mizzou. I think they are two wins from missing the tourney.
Georgetown at Cincinnati (-3.5)
Cincy in this one. They are playing with some confidence right now.
Notre Dame at UCONN (-3)
Notre Dame for sure. UCONN only has one player and I think Notre Dame is a pretty good team. A sneaky Final Four pick.
Villanova at Pittsburgh (-9)
Nova to cover, but no chance to win. They won't make it through the first weekend in the dance.
Florida at Vanderbilt (-4)
Vandy to win and cover. Should be a good game, but they play well at home.
Duke at North Carolina (-1)
UNC to win. Duke is going to get whooped since they don't have the home crowd whistles.
Texas at Baylor (+4)\
Texas to roll. I know they have been struggling lately, but I just really really don't like Baylor. They lose way too many games they should win. They'll probably make the tourney which is laughable. Thank God they didn't go to 96 teams.
Louisville at West Virginia (-3.5)
I'm going to take Louisville to cover and this one and probably win. They looked really good the other day. Their white boys can crash the glass.
Kansas at Missouri (+3)
Kansas to roll. I don't like Mizzou. I think they are two wins from missing the tourney.
Georgetown at Cincinnati (-3.5)
Cincy in this one. They are playing with some confidence right now.
Notre Dame at UCONN (-3)
Notre Dame for sure. UCONN only has one player and I think Notre Dame is a pretty good team. A sneaky Final Four pick.
Villanova at Pittsburgh (-9)
Nova to cover, but no chance to win. They won't make it through the first weekend in the dance.
Florida at Vanderbilt (-4)
Vandy to win and cover. Should be a good game, but they play well at home.
Duke at North Carolina (-1)
UNC to win. Duke is going to get whooped since they don't have the home crowd whistles.
Texas at Baylor (+4)\
Texas to roll. I know they have been struggling lately, but I just really really don't like Baylor. They lose way too many games they should win. They'll probably make the tourney which is laughable. Thank God they didn't go to 96 teams.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday Nights Notes....
At the end of Friday night, there are 92 teams that are done, and have no chance of making the NCAA tourney. There are 346 Division 1 teams now. So that means 254 teams still have a chance to win it all. Crazy, and this number will change rapidly. Right now there are zero teams that have clinched spots. Three will clinch on Saturday and one on Sunday. Another could clinch on Sunday with the Princeton vs. Harvard game. IVY League doesn't have a conference tourney but these teams have a game on Saturday to determine the league winner.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thursday Nights Notes....
1. St. John's goes down. Lots of talent in the Big East. Too many players have the ability to score it up at any time. Because of that, everyone will lose, even a hot team like the Johnnies.
2. Nice win by the Badgers. Jordan Taylor is the real deal. We'll see how he does and how the Badgers do at OSU this weekend.
3. Heat blow another one at home against a top tier team. This team doesn't look like a team that is going to win it all this year. They might not even get a top 3 seed when it is all said and done. They play something like ten straight games against winning teams, so we'll find out soon.
4. Big game Friday night in Oxford. Bobcats at Redhawks. Winner gets a first round bye in the MAC Tourney. Bobcats were 1-4 in the league just a month or so ago. They have been on fire lately.
5 Big South has the first final set for Saturday. Coastal Carolina vs. UNC Asheville. Too bad UNC doesn't have that 7'4" guy anymore. That dude was ridiculous, he could just stand there and dunk, ha.
2. Nice win by the Badgers. Jordan Taylor is the real deal. We'll see how he does and how the Badgers do at OSU this weekend.
3. Heat blow another one at home against a top tier team. This team doesn't look like a team that is going to win it all this year. They might not even get a top 3 seed when it is all said and done. They play something like ten straight games against winning teams, so we'll find out soon.
4. Big game Friday night in Oxford. Bobcats at Redhawks. Winner gets a first round bye in the MAC Tourney. Bobcats were 1-4 in the league just a month or so ago. They have been on fire lately.
5 Big South has the first final set for Saturday. Coastal Carolina vs. UNC Asheville. Too bad UNC doesn't have that 7'4" guy anymore. That dude was ridiculous, he could just stand there and dunk, ha.
Thursday Spreads....
Magic at Heat (-5)
Heat to win and cover. Losing confidence in the Magic lately. They don't quite have the scorers with Arenas not playing well.
Tennessee at South Carolina (+4.5)
South Carolina to cover and hopefully win. I can't believe Tennessee is still in the bubble picture, just shows you how bad the bubble is this year. Hopefully they lose this and early in the SEC tourney and miss it all together.
UCLA at Washington (-8)
UCLA to cover. No way they should get blown out. They rebound too well and have too good of guards.
Wisconsin at Indiana (+6.5)
Going to go with Wisconsin to cover this one. They don't play as well on the road but they need these wins to maybe sneak out a 2 seed if they win the Big Ten tourney.
Heat to win and cover. Losing confidence in the Magic lately. They don't quite have the scorers with Arenas not playing well.
Tennessee at South Carolina (+4.5)
South Carolina to cover and hopefully win. I can't believe Tennessee is still in the bubble picture, just shows you how bad the bubble is this year. Hopefully they lose this and early in the SEC tourney and miss it all together.
UCLA at Washington (-8)
UCLA to cover. No way they should get blown out. They rebound too well and have too good of guards.
Wisconsin at Indiana (+6.5)
Going to go with Wisconsin to cover this one. They don't play as well on the road but they need these wins to maybe sneak out a 2 seed if they win the Big Ten tourney.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Wednesday Nights Notes...
1. Biggest thing I noticed tonight. The utter embarrassment that is Dayton Flyer basketball. Talk about ugly. Senior night, getting smacked by an 11-17 St. Louis team by 18 points? Ouch. That might be the final goodbye for Gregory. If not, it should be. Somehow with a win on Saturday they can still get a home game in the first round of the tourney though.
2. Temple wins a tough game on the road at UMASS and clinches the two seed in the A14. Temple is
10-1 in their last 11 games and the main reason is Lavoy Allen. He has come to play. In his last ten games he is averaging 13.6 points and 12 rebounds. Domination.
3. BYU getting smashed. How funny is that story about their third leading scorer being suspended for the remainder of the year for breaking the honor code. Rumor has it he got caught having sex. Premarital sex is not allowed at BYU. Ouch.
4. New teams that have no reason being in the tourney discussion. Memphis? Get out of here. Clemson? See ya. Minnesota? Is anyone still talking about them at all?
5. Big wins. UTEP and UAB got some nice wins. They are on top of CUSA. I know, who cares, but that league should get two teams in so it's worth noting.
6. Conference tourney updates.....nothing. No upsets to speak of tonight. Small conferences, not big news.
7. Why hasn't someone taken out Kyle Singler? I don't mean cheap shot him and hurt him. But he's always flying around and making loose ball plays and rebounding and stuff like that. How has someone not bumped him in midair, shoved him out of bounds, knocked him to the floor, something? Let him know he can't get away with that shit. Put him on the ground. And hearing the announcer say that Duke is being victimized by the inconsistencies of the officials made me laugh pretty hard. Hope he was kidding. Worst chant ever was by the Duke students tonight. "You let the whole team down." Wow, awful.
2. Temple wins a tough game on the road at UMASS and clinches the two seed in the A14. Temple is
10-1 in their last 11 games and the main reason is Lavoy Allen. He has come to play. In his last ten games he is averaging 13.6 points and 12 rebounds. Domination.
3. BYU getting smashed. How funny is that story about their third leading scorer being suspended for the remainder of the year for breaking the honor code. Rumor has it he got caught having sex. Premarital sex is not allowed at BYU. Ouch.
4. New teams that have no reason being in the tourney discussion. Memphis? Get out of here. Clemson? See ya. Minnesota? Is anyone still talking about them at all?
5. Big wins. UTEP and UAB got some nice wins. They are on top of CUSA. I know, who cares, but that league should get two teams in so it's worth noting.
6. Conference tourney updates.....nothing. No upsets to speak of tonight. Small conferences, not big news.
7. Why hasn't someone taken out Kyle Singler? I don't mean cheap shot him and hurt him. But he's always flying around and making loose ball plays and rebounding and stuff like that. How has someone not bumped him in midair, shoved him out of bounds, knocked him to the floor, something? Let him know he can't get away with that shit. Put him on the ground. And hearing the announcer say that Duke is being victimized by the inconsistencies of the officials made me laugh pretty hard. Hope he was kidding. Worst chant ever was by the Duke students tonight. "You let the whole team down." Wow, awful.
Wednesday Nights Spreads.....
North Carolina at Florida State (+2)
Florida State to cover. They need a big win.
UCONN at West Virginia (-5)
West Virginia to win and cover. They'll beat up UCONN. UCONN is weak.
Cincinnati at Marquette (-5.5)
Marquette to cover. They are getting hot at the right time and I see Cincy losing and spiraling into missing the tourney.
Texas A&M at Kansas (+13)
Texas to cover. Should keep this game close.
Clemson at Duke (-13)
Same thinking, Clemson to cover. Clemson sucks but I think they'll keep it within reason.
Florida State to cover. They need a big win.
UCONN at West Virginia (-5)
West Virginia to win and cover. They'll beat up UCONN. UCONN is weak.
Cincinnati at Marquette (-5.5)
Marquette to cover. They are getting hot at the right time and I see Cincy losing and spiraling into missing the tourney.
Texas A&M at Kansas (+13)
Texas to cover. Should keep this game close.
Clemson at Duke (-13)
Same thinking, Clemson to cover. Clemson sucks but I think they'll keep it within reason.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tuesday Nights Notes
Plan on doing some notes everyday if I can through March. March Madness is upon us and the excitement is about to begin. Conference Tournaments started today and the action won't stop until April 4th. Some teams are trying to get in the tourney, some are trying to win their tourney to get in. Bottom line, everyone has a chance. For some, it only takes ten straight wins to be National Champions. Lets do this.
1. Go Bobcats. OU has now 8 out of 10 league games and have moved to 9-6 in league. They play at Miami on Friday night. A win could get them a first round bye in the MAC Tourney. Never could have seen that coming a few weeks ago. DJ Cooper is a stud.
2. Virginia Tech, ha, they suck. So funny how Vitale said like five teams Saturday after the Duke win that the Hokies are a lock since they beat Duke. Uh, no, you aren't a lock with a 19-9 record in a weak ACC and you lose at home by 15 to Boston College. You're still on the bubble, but hardly a lock.
3. Didn't watch the OSU game, but I can see by the score that they are the real deal. They probably have the best starting five in college basketball. People say they arent deep, I say who cares. If you can stay out of foul trouble, then you are good. You don't get tired in college basketball when there are tv timeouts every four minutes.
4. Baylor, give me a break. You're done. Book your NIT tickets.
5. Illinois. Do they deserve to be in? I don't think so, but some do. 8-9 in the Big Ten and 12 losses overall? Seems like a reach for me, but who knows.
6. Big South and Horizon league tournaments kicked off. Only upset of note was #2 Liberty going down to #7 High Point. Ya, no one cares, but it's interesting to see some of these teams because one of them will pulll a big first round upset in the dance.
7. Haley Snodgrass dropped a nice 5-0 today in the spreads picks. She's still below .500 overall, but she has won five straight, no denying that. Congrats.
1. Go Bobcats. OU has now 8 out of 10 league games and have moved to 9-6 in league. They play at Miami on Friday night. A win could get them a first round bye in the MAC Tourney. Never could have seen that coming a few weeks ago. DJ Cooper is a stud.
2. Virginia Tech, ha, they suck. So funny how Vitale said like five teams Saturday after the Duke win that the Hokies are a lock since they beat Duke. Uh, no, you aren't a lock with a 19-9 record in a weak ACC and you lose at home by 15 to Boston College. You're still on the bubble, but hardly a lock.
3. Didn't watch the OSU game, but I can see by the score that they are the real deal. They probably have the best starting five in college basketball. People say they arent deep, I say who cares. If you can stay out of foul trouble, then you are good. You don't get tired in college basketball when there are tv timeouts every four minutes.
4. Baylor, give me a break. You're done. Book your NIT tickets.
5. Illinois. Do they deserve to be in? I don't think so, but some do. 8-9 in the Big Ten and 12 losses overall? Seems like a reach for me, but who knows.
6. Big South and Horizon league tournaments kicked off. Only upset of note was #2 Liberty going down to #7 High Point. Ya, no one cares, but it's interesting to see some of these teams because one of them will pulll a big first round upset in the dance.
7. Haley Snodgrass dropped a nice 5-0 today in the spreads picks. She's still below .500 overall, but she has won five straight, no denying that. Congrats.
Tuesday Nights Spreads...
Alabama at Florida (-6)
Florida to win and cover and expose Alabama as a fraud. They just are not a good team.
Illinois at Purdue (-9.5)
Purdue to cover and expose Illinois as a fraud. I can't believe they are still considered in the tourney on a lot of these projections. They aren't good and can't beat anyone.
Missouri at Nebraska (-1.5)
Nebraska to win and cover. Mizzou is one of the worst road teams in the country. Can't see them pulling this one out.
Ohio State at Penn State (+6.5)
Penn State to cover. Not callling the victory here, but I think they will keep it closer then seven.
Vanderbilt at Kentucky (-8)
Vandy to cover. In fact, if there was a time to pick a straight up road upset, I think this would be my pick. Kentucky's home win streak is going down tonight against the 'dores.
15 days everyone, can't wait!!!!
Florida to win and cover and expose Alabama as a fraud. They just are not a good team.
Illinois at Purdue (-9.5)
Purdue to cover and expose Illinois as a fraud. I can't believe they are still considered in the tourney on a lot of these projections. They aren't good and can't beat anyone.
Missouri at Nebraska (-1.5)
Nebraska to win and cover. Mizzou is one of the worst road teams in the country. Can't see them pulling this one out.
Ohio State at Penn State (+6.5)
Penn State to cover. Not callling the victory here, but I think they will keep it closer then seven.
Vanderbilt at Kentucky (-8)
Vandy to cover. In fact, if there was a time to pick a straight up road upset, I think this would be my pick. Kentucky's home win streak is going down tonight against the 'dores.
15 days everyone, can't wait!!!!
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