California Sports
UC Irvine +1
To the public this line seems right as Columbia is 24-10 and at home while UC Irvine is 28-9. The difference however is massive as Columbia has played the #254 schedule while Irvine has faced the #104. Another example of the Lions misleading record is obvious when looking at the Ivy standings, Only 3 teams had winning conference records and while Columbia went 10-4 in Ivy action they went 0-4 versus the pair of teams with winning records and 10-0 versus the teams with losing records. The Anteaters meanwhile are among the teams with the most road/neutral wins with a 17-7 record. Irvine has been focused this entire tourney as they knew they were a long shot for the NCAA tourney but getting snubbed by the NIT lit a fire under them. We're well aware that Irvine is playing their 4th straight CBI game away from home but their leader in minutes played per game only averages 30.1 and they have an amazing ten players that average at least 10 minutes per game.
Bruce Marshall
Blackhawks / Wild Over 5
This series has been all Minnesota this season as the Wild take out frustrations on the Blackhawks for a series of playoff losses in recent years. The Blackhawks sewed up another playoff berth with a Sunday win over Vancouver but they've gone 8-9-3 in their last 20. Minnesota has won five in a row after Saturday's crucial 4-0 victory over Colorado that provided distance from the Avalanche in what has become a two-team race for the West's final playoff spot. The Wild have gone 14-6-1 since replacing Mike Yeo with interim coach John Torchetti, and are 4-0 vs. the hawks this season. The Wild have scored three ior more gials in six of their last eight and nine in their last two vs. Chicago.