College Knowledge
SEC tournament (Nashville)
Florida hasn't won SEC tourney since '07, when they won national title; Gators are 7-6 in SEC tourney since- they shot 64% inside arc, routed Ole Miss 78-64 (-17.5) Feb 2- Henderson went 7-11 behind arc, rest of Rebels 0-6. Ole Miss is 6-1 in last seven games, has to be little nervous about NCAAs if they lose- loss was at #257 Miss State. Ole Miss used three starters 37+ minutes Saturday. Florida allowed 58 or less points in last eight wins, 61+ points in last four losses.
ACC tournament (Greensboro)
Miami is in ACC tournament finals for first time; they beat UNC twice this year, 68-59 in Deandome, 87-61 at home; 'canes were 24-52 on arc in two games, UNC 12-35- Heels took total of 14 FTs in the two games. North Carolina won eight of last nine games, with only loss to Duke in regular season finale. UNC played three starters 34+ minutes Saturday in 79-76 win over Maryland- they lost in ACC finals last two years, to Duke/FSU. Heels are 0-4 vs Duke/Miami, 14-2 vs rest of ACC.
Atlantic 16 tournament (Brooklyn)
Veteran-laden Saint Louis (top 6 guys juniors/seniors) won 23 of last 26 games, with last two losses in OT. SLU (-2) beat VCU 76-62 at home Feb 19, tunring ball over only 8 times, shooting 73% (19-26) inside arc. Rams are now 21-5 in last 26 conference tourney games; force turnovers 28.6% of time, most in country, but Billikens are in top 10% in country in ball security. VCU won 10 of their last 12 games overall; they played three subs double digit minutes Saturday. SLU forced 20 turnovers (+12) Saturday in beating Butler for third time this season.
Big Dozen tourney (Chicago)
Ohio State is 12-2 in this tourney last 4+ years, they've won last eight games overall, with seven of eight by 8+ points; home side won both its games with Wisconsin this season- Badgers won 71-49 at home Feb 17, after losing 58-49 in first meeting Jan 19. Wisky is in Big Dozen final for first time since '08; Ryan is 2-2 in finals, losing by 11-17 points-- they shot 58% inside arc as they beat Indiana for 12th time in row Saturday. Ryan played three starters 31+ minutes. Buckeyes had only five TO's in tense 61-58 win over Michigan State.
Amarillosports.com
ACC Tournament Final: North Carolina vs. Miami
By Covers.com
North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Miami Hurricanes (-2.5, 144)
North Carolina will attempt to add to its 17 ACC tournament titles and top-seeded Miami goes for its first when the teams meet in Sunday's championship game in Greensboro, N.C. The Hurricanes, who finished the regular season with two wins in their last five games, got back to the solid play that led them to a 13-0 league start by putting away North Carolina State 81-71 in the semifinals Saturday. Guards Durand Scott and Shane Larkin led the way as they have most of the season, combining for 55 points against the Wolfpack.
The Hurricanes have beaten North Carolina twice this season, including a 26-point thumping in Coral Gables, Fla. The third-seeded Tar Heels have been a much better team since then, winning eight of their last nine. North Carolina has gone with a smaller lineup down the stretch, playing better on both ends.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (24-9): The Tar Heels almost blew a double-digit lead in their 79-76 victory over Maryland in the semifinals, but made enough plays to seal it. North Carolina had 14 turnovers combined in the first two rounds, only two by freshman point guard Marcus Paige. P.J. Hairston, who came back from a nasty cut on his left hand he suffered in the quarterfinals, also continued his strong play. Hairston has averaged 19 points over the last 10 games and Reggie Bullock has averaged 16.1 over the last seven. James Michael McAdoo is a consistent force inside for the Tar Heels, who average 77.2 points.
ABOUT MIAMI (26-6): Scott poured in a career-best 32 points in the semifinals, slicing through the Wolfpack defense and draining five 3-pointers. The senior leader, who was selected ACC Defensive Player of the Year, had averaged just under 10 points in the previous eight games. Larkin, a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given to nation’s best point guard, has scored at least 20 points in four of the last six contests. Forward Kenny Kadji has four double-doubles in the last five outings. The Hurricanes need more from burly 6-10 center Reggie Johnson, who has only 17 points the last seven games.
TRENDS:
* Tar Heels are 5-0 ATS in their last five games following an ATS loss.
* Under is 6-1 in Tar Heels’ last seven games following a S.U. win.
* Under is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
TIP-INS
1. North Carolina coach Roy Williams goes for his 700th career victory. He is 699-178 in his 25th season.
2. Miami has won two more games than any other Hurricanes’ team in program history.
3. North Carolina has 90 ACC tournament wins, one shy of matching Duke for the most in league history.
SEC Tournament Final: Ole Miss vs. Florida
By Covers.com
Ole Miss Rebels vs. Florida Gators (-11, 138.5)
Mississippi is one game away from taking its NCAA Tournament fate out of the hands of the selection committee. The third-seeded Rebels will face off against No. 1 seed Florida on Sunday in the SEC tournament championship game in Nashville, Tenn. Ole Miss entered the conference tournament as a bubble team and would like to ensure its spot in the NCAA Tournament by earning the automatic bid reserved for the SEC champion.
The Gators have had little trouble advancing to the championship game, blowing out Louisiana State in the quarterfinals on Friday and using a second-half surge to end Alabama’s tournament run on Saturday. Florida is playing for NCAA Tournament seeding, and is hoping a conference tournament triumph will put it into a No. 2 seed. To get there, the Gators will need to slow down Rebels star Marshall Henderson, who has averaged 25 points in the first two tournament games.
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI (25-8): The Rebels have won six of their last seven games to surge back onto the top of the bubble. Mississippi had fallen off with a stretch of five losses in seven games from Jan. 29 to Feb. 20, which included a 78-64 setback at Florida on Feb. 2. Henderson scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half and Derrick Millinghaus scored with 1.1 seconds left to give the Rebels a 64-62 win in the quarterfinals over Missouri on Friday. Henderson went for 23 and Ole Miss had an easier time on Saturday with a 64-52 triumph over Vanderbilt. The Rebels were without point guard Jarvis Summers, who was injured on Friday, against the Commodores, and the sophomore is questionable for Sunday’s finale. Henderson hit seven 3-pointers en route to 25 points but the rest of the Ole Miss players combined to shoot 32.5 percent in the loss at Florida last month.
ABOUT FLORIDA (26-6): The Gators shot 51.6 percent and had four players with at least 13 points in the win over Ole Miss and have used that same strong defense and balanced offense in the SEC tournament. Erik Murphy starred with a career-high 27 points in the opener against LSU and Kenny Boynton took over on Saturday, keying a 15-0 run in the second half and scoring all 16 of his points after the break in the 61-51 triumph over Alabama. Florida stumbled a bit with three losses in the final six games of the regular season but has turned things around after a series of tough practices earlier in the week. The Gators are trying to secure their first SEC tournament title since 2007.
TRENDS:
* Underdog is 6-0 ATS in the last six meetings.
* Under is 4-1 in Rebels’ last five overall.
* Gators are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a S.U. win.
* Under is 7-1 in Gators’ last eight overall.
TIP-INS
1. Mississippi has not won the SEC tournament since 1981 and has not made the championship game since falling to Kentucky in 2001.
2. Boynton snapped a 13-game streak of shooting under 50 percent when he went 6-for-12 on Saturday.
3. Henderson has hit at least three 3-pointers in eight straight games.
Atlantic 10 Final: VCU vs. Saint Louis
By Covers.com
VCU Rams vs. Saint Louis Billikens (-1.5, 136.5)
No. 22 Virginia Commonwealth will get a shot at revenge — and improving its seed for the NCAA Tournament — when the Rams take on No. 16 Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 championship game Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y. Saint Louis easily handled VCU in the regular season, winning 76-62 at home while withstanding the Rams' vaunted "Havoc" defense.
The top-seeded Billikens, who won the regular-season title outright, have advanced to their first conference championship game since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2005-06. The second-seeded Rams, however, are playing in their conference title tilt for the third straight year — the last two came in the Colonial Athletic Association.
ABOUT VCU (26-7, 12-4 Atlantic 10): The Rams can put up the points, thanks in part to the large number of turnovers they force and strong outside shooting. Senior guard Troy Daniels (12.5 points) led the barrage in a 71-62 win over Massachusetts in the semifinals, going 6-for-9 from 3-point range. If the Rams are going to knock off Saint Louis, they'll need leading scorer Treveon Graham (15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds) to bounce back after going 1-for-12 for three points Saturday. Forward Juvonte Reddic (14.4 points, 8.3 rebounds) is coming off a big game, though, with 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Minutemen.
ABOUT SAINT LOUIS (26-6, 13-3): The Billikens are one of the top defensive teams in the nation, but they also boast four double-digit scorers. Undersized power forward Dwayne Evans (13.6 points, 7.7 rebounds) has led the way all season, but he has taken over completely in the conference tournament. Evans is 15-of-19 from the floor and 18-of-20 from the foul line through his first two games in the tournament and has compiled 49 points and 20 rebounds. Reserve forward Cody Ellis (10.3 points) also had a solid game in Saturday's 67-56 win over Butler with 13 points off the bench.
TRENDS:
* Billikens are 8-0 ATS in their last eight games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600.
* Billikens are 8-0 ATS in their last eight Sunday games.
* Over is 4-0 in Rams’ last four games following an ATS win.
TIP-INS
1. The top two seeds have reached the Atlantic 10 final for the first time since 2005.
2. Evans has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games.
3. Graham has failed to reach double digits in scoring only four times this season.
Big Ten Final: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
By Covers.com
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (-1.5, 118)
Second-seeded Ohio State goes after its third Big Ten tournament title in four seasons when it meets fourth-seeded Wisconsin in Sunday’s contest in Chicago. The No. 9 Buckeyes won the 2010 and 2011 crowns and advanced by knocking off Michigan State in Saturday’s semifinals. Ohio State has won seven consecutive games dating back to being routed 71-49 by the Badgers on Feb. 17. No. 23 Wisconsin ousted top-seeded Indiana in the semifinals and has won six of its last eight games.
The Badgers held high-scoring Indiana to a season-low point total in a 68-56 victory. Wisconsin isn’t all that athletic compared to the Hoosiers and the Michigan squad it beat in the quarterfinals but figures out how to get the job done. “Just means we have a bunch of guys that want to play and play hard,” senior forward Mike Bruesewitz said. “Kind of how college basketball has gone this whole year.” The Buckeyes split two games with the Badgers in the regular season but are still smarting over the whipping they took in the second outing. “We’ve got to be ready from the tip-off against them because last game we weren’t ready,” Ohio State junior forward Deshaun Thomas said. “But now we’ve got to be ready and focused because we know Wisconsin is going to hold that ball and try to run the clock to the end.”
ABOUT OHIO STATE (25-7): Junior point guard Aaron Craft had an outstanding game against Michigan State with 20 points, a season-high nine assists and four steals. Craft doesn’t typically look to score – the 20-point outing is just the third of his career – but was 9-of-13 shooting against the Spartans. “I think we have a lot of plays that we can execute that either get me open shots or I can help create for somebody else,” Craft said. Craft has 17 assists in the first two games of the tourney as he has stepped up his typical high-level intensity even further. “He loves these types of games,” coach Thad Matta said. “There’s no question about it. He’s big for us.”
ABOUT WISCONSIN (22-10): Nobody averages even 12 points for the team-oriented Badgers and any one of six players can be the hero on any given night. Senior forward Ryan Evans earned that tag with 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots against the Hoosiers but stellar team defense overshadowed his fine effort. Junior guard Ben Brust makes 3-pointers (75), senior center Jared Berggren blocks shots (68), sophomore guard Traevon Jackson runs the offense (93 assists) and Bruesewitz does a little bit of everything. Freshman forward Sam Dekker had seven of his 11 points in a key second-half sequence.
TRENDS:
* Buckeyes are 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall.
* Under is 6-1 in Buckeyes’ last seven overall.
* Badgers are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games following a S.U. win.
TIP-INS
1. Ohio State averaged 53.5 points in the two meetings against the Badgers, more than 16 points less below its season average of 69.8.
2. The Badgers are 17-3 when holding opponents under 60 points this season.
3. The Buckeyes committed five turnovers in the win over Michigan State.
Sunday's Title Games
By David Schwab
VegasInsider.com
The final pieces of this season's NCAA Tournament's 68-piece puzzle will be put in place this Sunday as the final four conference tournaments stage their championship games. The following betting guide will take a closer look at the title game matchups in the Big Ten, ACC and Atlantic 10.
Big Ten Championship - No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Wisconsin
Ohio State earned the No.2 seed for this tournament with a 5-0 straight-up run to close out the regular season while covering in four of the five games. It ended-up 13-5 SU in conference play and went 25-7 SU (18-11-1 against the spread). Including the Buckeyes two victories in this tournament, they are now 6-1 ATS in their last seven games with the total staying UNDER in six of those games. They come into this matchup as 1½-point favorites on 5Dimes opening line with the total set at 117½.
There is little doubt that Ohio State owes much of its success this season to the elevated play of Deshaun Thomas, who leads the team with 19.6 points and 6.2 rebounds a game. However, equally important has been the Buckeyes play on defense; holding opponents to an average of 58.4 points a game.
Wisconsin might have finished tied for fourth in the Big Ten regular season at 12-6 SU, but it has been a thorn in the side of the top teams in the conference all season long. Adding to a two-game sweep of Indiana, the Badgers beat Michigan twice both SU and ATS while earning a split against both Michigan State and Ohio State during the regular season.
To end this impressive run with a conference tournament title, Wisconsin will also turn to a shutdown defense that has held teams to just 56.1 points a game this year. Offensively, the Badgers have trio of quality scorers in Ben Brust (11.4 points), Jared Berggren (11.3 points) and Ryan Evans (10.4 points). Overall, they are averaging 66.2 points a game but shooting just 42.6 percent from the field.
ACC Championship - No. 1 Miami vs. No. 3 North Carolina
Miami opened this season as a +500 third-favorite to win the ACC this season but it finds itself just one victory away from adding a tournament title to the regular season title it already earned with a 15-3 SU record in conference play. The Hurricanes have been opened as 3 ½-point favorites to get it done with the total line set at 140½. The one concern for anyone betting on Miami to accomplish this feat is a 4-5-1 ATS record in its last 10 games, but it is a perfect 2-0 SU and ATS against the Tar Heels this year.
If the Hurricanes have any serious plans of cutting down the nets at Greensboro Coliseum later this afternoon, they will need another big game from Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji and Durand Scott. This trio has combined for 41.1 points, 15.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists a game. Miami as a team is averaging 69.4 points while shooting 45.8 percent from the field.
North Carolina waited quietly in the wings for much of the season while Miami and Duke grabbed all the headlines, but a 6-1 SU run down the stretch proved that once again the Tar Heels are still a force in the ACC. They have also been extremely profitable to wager on this past month or so with an 8-2 record ATS in their last 10 games.
The Tar Heels have gotten it done behind a potent offense that is averaging 77.2 points a game while shooting an effective 44.4 percent from the field. James Michael McAdoo and Reggie Bullock are each averaging over 14 points a game while controlling the boards with a combined 14.1 rebounds a game. PJ Hairston has also come up big with 13.8 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Atlantic 10 Championship - No. 1 Saint Louis vs. No. 2 VCU
The No. 16 ranked Saint Louis Billikens have been the top team in the Atlantic 10 all season long and after winning the regular season title with 13-3 SU record in conference play (26-6 SU and 20-10 ATS overall) they will have an opportunity to put an exclamation point on that performance with another victory against VCU as three-point favorites. On Feb. 19 they hammered the Rams 76-62 as two-point favorites at home. The total went OVER the 136½-point line.
This time around, BetOnline has opened on Saint Louis as a three-point favorite with the total set at 136. If the Billikens are going to complete the sweep look for a big afternoon from Dwayne Evans who leads the team with 13.6 points and 7.7 rebounds a game. Overall, the team is averaging 68.9 points a game while holding their opponents to just 58.2 on the other end of the court.
VCU joined the A 10 this season after a long and successful stint in the Colonial Athletic Association. It quickly proved that it can compete at a higher level with an overall record of 26-7 SU (10-16 ATS) and a solid 12-4 SU record in conference play. The Rams come into this matchup with an 8-2 SU record in their last 10 games but sporting just a 4-6 record ATS.
Paced by Treveon Graham's 15.4 points a game, VCU is ranked 11th in the nation in scoring with an average of 78 points while shooting 45.2 percent from the field. The Rams biggest weapon under the boards is Juvonte Reddic with 14.4 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds a game. Defensively, VCU is holding teams to an average of 64.9 points a game.