March Madness Contest
CBB: Road teams the play in NIT Quarterfinals?
2010-03-25
Last night two teams punched their tickets for a trip to New York next week and two more will do so tonight in the NIT. On Tuesday, both road underdogs covered the spread, with North Carolina winning outright. Is history due to repeat itself in Blacksburg and Champaign or will the home teams stand their ground and get ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple? After reading our brief previews on both games, head over to the LIVE ODDS and GAME MATCHUPS pages on Sportsbook.com for the latest key game information.
Rhode Island (25-9, 11-17 ATS) may have worn their road uniforms this month; however they haven’t visited enemy territory in awhile. The Rams haven’t played a true road game since Mar. 6 at Massachusetts, losing 69-67 as 7.5-point favorites.
In fact, Rhode Island hasn’t won a road game period, last doing so on Ground Hogs Day at LaSalle. The Rams are 24-12 ATS in non-conference contests the last three years and could use another hot shooting night from Delroy James, who pumped in a career-high 34 points against Nevada two nights ago, to help Rhode Island advance in 85-83 thriller. They are only 2-9 ATS after scoring 80 or more points this season.
Virginia Tech (25-8, 14-12 ATS) also had a nail-biter Monday night, finding a way to knock off Connecticut 65-63. The Hokies won in spite of Malcolm Delaney scoring six points on 2-14 shooting. Delaney still found a way to contribute with nine assists.
Sportsbook.com has Virginia Tech as six-point favorite with total of 143 and the Hokies are 13-4 ATS off a close home win by three points or less, while the Rams are 2-8 ATS versus teams outscoring their opponents by four or points after 15 or more games this season. This first NIT quarterfinal is on ESPN2 at 7 Eastern with Rhode Island 11-0 UNDER against defensive teams surrendering 42 percent or less shooting percentage past the midway point of the regular season.
Dayton (21-12, 15-15 ATS) had an undistinguished regular season, finishing eighth in the A-10 and being bounced in the quarterfinals of the league tourney by Xavier. The Flyers can earn team redemption by winning tonight and moving on to NIT semis with upset of Illinois (21-14, 14-17 ATS). Dayton has played extremely well in this tournament, with a 20-point win over Illinois State and taking it to in-state partner Cincinnati 81-66 on their floor. The Flyers have locked up opponents with stifling defense, holding last two to 33.3 percent from the field. However, they are 5-18 ATS playing their second road game in three days.
Illinois was thought to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but they lost five of their last six regular season games and had two chances to knock off Ohio State in Big Ten tourney and failed to do so. Coach Bruce Weber’s squad has put aside that disappointment and is 40 minutes from making the trip to Madison Square Garden, winning three of last four and not losing against the spread in those contests (3-0-1 ATS). The Fighting Illini’s win against Kent State was impressive (75-58) and they are 29-13 ATS at home off a home win by 10 points or more.
Dayton is a three-point underdog for this 9:00 Eastern contest on “the deuce” and is 0-8 ATS off an upset win as an underdog over the last three seasons.
The StatFox Power Lines for these games show Virginia Tech by 8, Illinois by 3
Saint Mary vs. Villanova
2010-03-19
The tournament and March Madness has officially started and from the morning games we already know a couple of the match ups for the South division. The one I want to concentrate on is the game between No. 10 seeded Saint Mary and No. 2 seeded Villanova. Tipoff is March 20, 2010 at 3:00 pm eastern time in Houston.
Villanova barely got out of the first round, they needed extra time to put away No. 15 seeded Robert Morrison. The game started with Jay Wright benching senior Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher, why, no one knows, coaches and players would not comment. Back to the game the Wildcats won in overtime 73 – 70, they were almost the fifth team to lose to a No. 15 seed in the first round. Villanova was simply outworked for most of the game by a sloppy-but-game Colonials squad that attacked the rim and hit the offensive glass, repeatedly exposing the Wildcats' interior defense in the same fashion Big East teams did in the final few weeks of the season.
The Saint Mary Gaels however, have gone on a little run in their last two games, first beating Gonzaga in their conference tournament and now knocking off No. 7 seeded Richmond in pretty convincing fashion, side note I had the Gaels in my bracket. St. Mary's also outrebounded Richmond 40 - 17 for the game, which is a staggering number but didn't seem to surprise the Gaels. The Spiders had no answer for Omar Samhan when he got the ball down low, and the Gaels had no problem getting it to him there.
Villanova and its fans have plenty to worry about. Villanova's bigs had a good game against Robert Morris on Thursday, but they're freshmen, and Omar Samhan might be a lot for them to handle. His post moves have improved considerably. Omar Samhan scored 17 of the Gaels’ 36 points just in the first half. If he continues to get position on the low block against Villanova, he should be able to score throughout the whole game. The Gaels should ensure that he touches it every time down the court. The offense has to go through him for the Gaels to make a decent run.
The lines are out and at www.sportsbook.com Nova is only 4.5 point favorites, which has to scare a lot of people and fans. But this guy does not think the game will be that close. Yes Nova looked pretty horrible today and yes the Gaels looked liked they belong, but I’m sure Jay Wright is tearing into his team right now or just adding to what he said at halftime.
Other interesting lines right now for this game are the Saint Mary Gaels are at +165 while the Villanova Wildcats are money line -190. If you don’t believe that the Nova’s are going to come through in this game I would take the Gaels money line to hedge my bet.
CBB: Florida at Kentucky (12:00 PM ET, CBS)
2010-03-05
Remember a few years ago when Billy Donovan’s Florida team was the most dominant program in the country, having just wrapped up its second of back-to-back national titles? Well, the Gators haven’t even sniffed the tournament since and may find themselves on the outside looking in once again this March, unless they can do something like pull off an upset at Kentucky on Sunday afternoon. Read on for a preview of this key SEC contest then head over to the GAME MATCHUPS page of Sportsbook.com for all the key betting info on this last day of the college basketball regular season.
The Gators conclude the season with a matchup with their biggest rival: Kentucky. Florida (20-10, 13-12 ATS) was doing its best to align itself to return to tournament for the first time in three years with step-up efforts from Chandler Parsons and Erving Walker. However, recent close losses at Georgia and at Vanderbilt have undermined their progress. Parsons has grown and displays an all-around game, getting others players involved in the offense, playing a point forward style. It will be a tough environment; nevertheless, the Gators are playing well and are 5-2 ATS as away underdogs this season.
This contest concludes what coach John Calipari hopes is a three part play. Kentucky (28-2, 16-12 ATS) is the best team in the SEC and has the best record. He would prefer his team win the conference tournament to keep momentum building, followed by six consecutive wins and a national championship. That of course is down the road and this game is about showing dominance, especially on home floor, since presumably DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson and John Wall will playing at Rupp Arena for the last time. The Wildcats are 7-0 ATS vs. poor three-point shooting teams converting 31 or less of their attempts since last year.
Kentucky has won nine of the last dozen in Lexington over Florida with 6-5-1 ATS mark.
The StatFox Power Line shows Kentucky by 11.
CBB: Ranked teams to follow on Big Monday
2010-02-22
West Virginia and Kansas are both highly ranked teams as they have been all year and both will be in action Monday night looking to hang on to their lofty status. Because their seems to be no great teams in college basketball, there are a number of very good clubs that can still improve and each will be looking to do just that with the NCAA bids coming out in less than three weeks. Sports bettors should review what kind of progress each is making. Read on for a look at both Big Monday games, then go to the GAME MATCHUPS page at Sportsbook.com for more key info before hitting the confirm button on your wagers.
West Virginia at Connecticut 7:00E ESPN
Coaches in all sports will often talk about moving on to the next game, not dwelling too long on a win or loss. However, anyone who has ever spoken to a coach of any kind will know these fellows have long memories and think about the “what if” possibilities all the time. Coach Bob Huggins’ team is only one game behind second place Villanova in the loss column starting tonight and could do 30 minutes reciting all the ways the Mountaineers (21-5, 11-14 ATS) could have avoided the two point loss to Notre Dame, the one point loss to Syracuse and the triple-overtime defeat to rival Pittsburgh, which really would have placed them in the thick of Big East race. But Huggins, like most coaches, will revert to the task at hand at Connecticut. West Virginia is 6-3 and 4-5 ATS on the road.
It still looks like an outside shot, yet Connecticut (10-14-1 ATS) has renewed hope for a NCAA berth with a key victory here. The Huskies own two imposing road wins, over Rutgers and Villanova, and four more victories would take them to 20 for the season. A mini-run in the Big East tournament would then place them in excellent position. UConn is 6-1 ATS off a SU win and guard Kemba Walker has ignited this club and former starter Alex Oriakhi has been a spark off the bench. The return of Jim Calhoun has helped also, for Huskies team that is 13-3 at home (5-9 ATS).
Sportsbook.com opened West Virginia as three-point favorite with total of 134.5. The Mountaineers have won and covered four of previous six games, nonetheless is 3-6 ATS on the year after covering the spread and is 8-3-1 OVER away from Morgantown. Connecticut has covered the spread the last four times it has taken on clubs that win better than 60 percent of their road games and is 4-0 OVER to start a new work week.
The Huskies have been howling with a 6-2 ATS mark vs. the ‘Teers.
CBB: Rhode Island at Temple (4:00 PM ET, Comcast)
2010-02-12
No, that sound of collisions isn’t the traffic on the Lincoln Highway, it’s the logjam of teams at the top of the Atlantic 10 standings. Heading into the weekend, seven of the 14 teams had just two or three losses in league play. Two of the teams, Rhode Island and Temple, will get together for a key Saturday afternoon affair. The Owls are the hosts and have been tough to beat at home, thus the reason they are favored. Get all of the top betting trends for the contest on the Sportsbook.com GAME MATCHUP page.
A glance at the A-10 standings shows this race is going down to final weekend to crown regular season champion. One of the matchups that will help determine the eventual outcome is this tilt. Rhode Island (19-4, 8-10-2 ATS) would make Al Davis smile, since all they do is win. That method of play makes the Rams a poor play at home and swell choice on the road as the 8-2 SU and 6-2-2 ATS record proves. On game by game basis, Rhode Island has a lot of answers to take down opposing clubs.
No. 21 Temple (19-5, 14-10 ATS) has put together an impressive body of work in 2009-10. Victories over Villanova, Siena and Virginia Tech, along with its strong play in the A-10 makes the Owls a hoot. All year Temple has been among the best teams in college basketball in fewest points allowed (57.6), yet is not deficient in scoring (65.0), like other comparable units. This is not a squib; the Owls are 32-13 ATS against conference opponents over the last three seasons.
Rhode Island tries to prevent season sweep, however is 2-9 and 4-7 ATS at the Liacouras Center, against a Temple team that is 10-1 and 7-4 ATS on its home court.
StatFox Power Line – Temple by 6