The Gold Sheet
Texas A&M vs Texas
Play: Texas -6
Texas did not have much trouble with Texas A&M in a pair of wins this season, rolling by counts of 81-60 and 69-49. And even though the Longhorns have cooled off a bit in recent weeks, there is no evidence that the Aggies have closed the gap in the past month. A&M got the win it wanted on Thursday vs. Missouri to guarantee it wears white uniforms in the first round of the Dance, and this assignment might have more meaning for the Longhorns as they look to secure protected seed status in the Big Dance. Play Texas
The Duke's Sports
Mississippi State (+6) for 2.5 Units
Bulldogs' HC Stansbury did a nice job holding his team together after early season distractions (suspensions). Once again, Miss State is in line for a tournament run as they are playing a good stretch of ball. G Ravern Johnson and Sidney, both suspended at one time this season, have come up large and will be needed tonight. Miss State has owned this series to the tune of 5-0-1 ATS and have a revenge incentive tacked on to, of course, chance to vie for the SEC Championship and automatic NCAA Tournament entry. Miss State's 7-3 ATS mark on a neutral floor and 3-1-1 ATS mark as a dog give us a play here, while the Commodores' 1-6 ATS mark as a favorite in this spread range draws an alarm.
King Creole
1* Maryland +9.5
In ALL three cases, we'll playing either ON or AGAINST the #2 Seed in these respective Tournaments. Our first queries in the Playbook CBB post-season database apply to this particular round (FIRST)... and each team's seed.
7-26 ATS since 2005: All FIRST-ROUND Tourney #2 SEED favorites of > 5 points (Duke / Purdue) versus any #7 SEED opponent (MARYLAND / MICHIGAN STATE). in the last 3 seasons, these overpriced #2 Seed teams have gone an almost PERFECT 1-11-1 ATS....
Finally, we take a look at previous ATS patterns and tendencies in the ACC Tournament.
21-8 ATS since 2003: All ACC Tourney first-round underdogs (MARYLAND). In the last 3 years, these teams have gone a perfect 9-0 ATS.
10-1 ATS: All ACC Tourney BIG dogs of > 6 points playing with 'SSR2' (MARYLAND).
0-8 ATS since 2003: All ACC Tourney first-round teams playing off 3 or more ATS losses in a row (Duke).
Duke has not done well in this Tourney as of late. The Blue Devils are 1-6 ATS in the last 3 years... and 1-7 ATS in the last 15 years when playing off a SU loss. Meanwhile, the TERRAPINS are 6-1 ATS as Tourney underdogs since 2004... and a PERFECT 4-0 ATS as dogs of > 4 points.
Dr Bob
NBA Opinion
PHILADELPHIA (+1½) over Boston
Philadelphia is 29-19 straight up in their last 48 games (32-16 ATS) and the 76ers are 16-4 ATS after their last 20 losses. Philly has lost by just 1 point at home to the Celtics and by just 4 points in Boston (2-0 ATS in those games) and my ratings make this game a pick. I’ll lean with Philadelphia as an underdog in this game.
College Opinion/Possible Best Bet
Penn State (+7½) over Wisconsin
Penn State is now 13-5 ATS in Big 10 games this season with F Jeff Brooks playing (they lost the game he missed) and the Nittany Lions are still underrated. Using those 18 games would result in a fair line of Wisconsin by just 4 ½ points and Penn State is already 2-0 ATS against the Badgers this season, losing by 10 in Madison as a 12 point dog and winning by 4 at home as a 4 point dog. I’ll lean with Penn State at +7 points or more and I’d take the Nittany Lions in a 2-Star Best Bet at +8 or more.
Dr Bob
3* Purdue
2* Temple
2* Duke
2* Richmond
2* San Jose St
2* Oregon
Billy Coleman
5* Orlando
Andy Fanelli
Clippers
Magic
Craig Davis
Teaser - Richmond & Kent State
Teaser - Mich St. & Penn St.
Derek Mancini
76ers
Steve Budin
Notre Dame
Lenny Del Genio
USC Pk
The Trojans are trying to "play their way into" the NCAA Tournament and a win here over top-seeded Arizona would go a long way in acheiving that goal. USC has already beaten Arizona once this season and it came at a time when the 16th ranked Wildcats (then ranked 10th) were playing extremely well, coming in on an eight-game win streak. However, Southern Cal rallied back from a three-point halftime deficit, holding 'Zona to just 35% shooting and winning 65-57 in a game where, like this one, the line was around a Pick. Leading scorer and Pac 10 POY Williams scored a season-low eight points. The Wildcats haven't covered a number since and enter tonight's semifinal riding a six-game ATS losing streak. Last night, the Trojans had little trouble against Cal, winning and covering as three-point favorites 70-56. They are now 6-1 SU/ATS their L7 games. Remember that USC was banned from LY's Pac 10 Tournament, so they have something to prove here. In 2009, they won this event as a six-seed. They have now covered four straight tournament games overall and are 5-0 ATS all-time in the semifinal round. Arizona is 2-11 ATS off an ATS loss in its previous game. Take USC.
Executive
300 Vanderbilt
250 V Tech
250 Texas A&M