Teddy Covers
Atlanta
Baylor
Miss St.
Teddy June
10* Virgina
10* Miss St.
10* Missouri
THE PREZ
CBB GAME OF THE YEAR
KANSAS at MISSOURI
Senior Day for the Tigers isn't nearly as important as the opponent itself today. Missouri and their fans, above all things in the basketball world, hate Kansas. This is the Tigers Superbowl, their season won't end today, and they are a lock to be an at-large bid in the Big Dance, but beating KU is even more important than the invitation. This kind of emotion can backfire, especially when the matchup between these two teams offers Kansas a huge edge. The first meeting between these two teams wasn't even close, with the Jayhawks controlling every part of the game. Today will be no different, even on the Tigers floor.
The Oklahoma State game set up a big win for Kansas today. When the Cowboys beat the Jayhawks last week it ended the possibility of Kansas going into Missouri with a perfect league record on the line. With that pressure off, and a guaranteed top Seed in the Big Dance with a win, Bill Self and his troupe will excel, especially against their border rival.
One of the Tigers most important players, F Justin Safford, was lost for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Safford, a starter, averaged only 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, but he was more than just numbers to the starting lineup. Since his injury MU hasn't been the same team.
Missouri has the fortitude at home to give Kansas a tough battle, and likely will in the early stages of the game. But they are not talented enough to stay with a Jayhawk team for 40 minutes, especially with their style of play. The Jayhawks won handily in the first meeting, 84-65 and while today's win wont' be that easy, a double-digit victory won't be a surprise.
Playing against home teams in conference play that have a game differential of 8-plus points on the season when oddsmakers open the line between +3 to -3 in March, has cashed at a 24-6 (80%) clip over the last 12 college campaigns.
10* Play on KANSAS
CHAIRMANS CLUB CBB CRUSHER
S CAROLINA at VANDERBILT
If there is one SEC team that can make the Final Four of the Big Dance, it is the talented and well coached Commodores. This team is built for tourneys and big games. They have balanced scoring, make teams take jump shots, and have the depth to bounce back with only one day between contests. The bulk of the roster is Sophomores, but they should now be considered seasoned Juniors, and the one team, save Kentucky, to be an SEC threat in April. Vanderbilt clinched a bye in the SEC tournament with its win at Florida. The Commodores are 12-3 in second place in the Eastern Division and at 23-6 overall are a lock for their third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four years, a big win over South Carolina today will help their cause when the selection committee meets next Sunday.
South Carolina needs to shoot well from the perimeter today, something they don't do well, at least as a team, and they depend far too much on one players performance, Devan Downey. Despite upsetting Kentucky on their home court this year, a win the Gamecocks have lived off of for the last three weeks, they are just not good enough to compete against a team that is peaking, Vanderbilt.
Even with Alabama's leading scorer JaMychal Green suspended Wednesday for a violation of team rules, the Crimson Tide still had enough to beat the Gamecocks. Alabama had lost seven of its previous eight games.
South Carolina is predictable, and have always struggled revenging in-season losses. In fact coach Horn is 1-11 ATS revenging a same season loss during his last 12 years of coaching, losing the second tilt by an average of 15 points.
3* Play on Vanderbilt
Frank Patron
40000 Unit College Lock
Umass Minutemen +7.5
Scott Spreitzer
2010 CBB *GAME OF THE YEAR!* (5-0, 100% ATS Run)
I'm laying the points with Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Panthers, who were not expected to finish in the top half of the Big East this season, are going to finish no lower than fourth no matter what happens today. If WVU beats Villanova and Pitt wins this contest, the Panthers, thanks to a tie-breaker, will own the two-seed going into the Big East tourney. The Panthers will know if they're playing for a 2nd or 3rd seed by the time their game tips off. No matter what happens between WVU and 'Nova, I believe Pitt is going to look at this game as a chance to "make up" for their ugly performance, and near loss at home to Providence last time out. The Panthers committed 15 turnovers and watched Providence hit nearly 50% of their shots, but found a way to win on the final shot of the game. Now, they close out their season at home, and Jamie Dixon has stated his team needs to play a terrific game to solidify confidence, since they won't see another game until the quarterfinals of the conference tourney. This is bad news for a Rutgers' team that's off a tough emotional loss in their home finale. Talk about ending any momentum in one night! The Scarlet Knights were whipped by 11 points by Seton Hall, 85-74. The Knights are 1-7 SU in Big East road action this season, and 1-8 in true roadies overall. They're on the wrong end of an average final score of 80 to 65. The Knights have made just 40.8% of their shots in eight conference road games. They're committing 16.3 tpg, while averaging just 12.9 apg. Meanwhile, those eight hosts have averaged 17.8 apg and just 10.1 tpg. Those teams also "canned" over 49% of their shots against Rutgers, including 37% from the arc. Pittsburgh couldn't have asked for a better "guest" to pound as they ready themselves for the postseason. And while Pittsburgh can go 10 deep in this contest, the Scarlet-Knights really have just six players they can truly count on for more than just token minutes. Rutgers has covered just 3 of their last 16 off a home loss of 10 or more points. They have also covered just one of the last five as a dog of 13 points or more. Meanwhile, the Panthers are 16-1 SU at home and 13-5-1 ATS in their last 19 games overall. Matchup advantages are huge. The "techs" back them up. And while Pitt has protected home court well this season, the Knights have been a poor traveler. Add it up, and I believe we have an absolute blowout. I'm laying the points with Pittsburgh, my CBB Game of the Year.
MATT MOORE
MISS STATE -3.5
Cal Sports
4* NYN Over
4* Marq
4* Utah
4* Florida Int
3* Georgetown
3* Tulsa
3* Wash
Millionaires Club
2* Louisville
Sal Devito
5* MARYLAND TERRAPINS
5* RHODE ISLAND
3* MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Clayton Rice
3* GOLDEN STATE WARRRIOR
3* - GEORGIA TECH
3* - DAYTON
3* - XAVIER
3* - UTAH STATE
Rex Rodgers
4* St Louis Blues +115 (Underdog GOM)
3* Tampa Bay Lightning -140
3* Boston Bruins -135
Tony Taylor
3* Warriors/Bobcats Under 204
3* Cavs/Bucks Over 196
4* Miss St -3
3* Baylor -3
3* Missouri +3.5
Trophy Cub
Miss State Under
Don Wagner
Oregon State Under
Underdog
Illinois St
The Booooj
50 Units Nebraska +12
10 Units North Carolina +14.5
15 Units Oregon -3
Marc Lawrence
Dayton
Stanford
Jimmy Boyd
3* SMASH (ESPN) on Duke -14.5
It's senior night, it's a rivalry game, Duke is coming off a loss, and it needs this one to ensure itself of at least a share of the ACC regular season title. We haven't seen the Blue Devils in a more motivated spot all season so I expect them to really put the hurt on the Tar Heels here. An important thing to note is the total range as Duke is 8-1 ATS in home games where the total is 145 to 149.5 over the last 2 seasons, winning these games by an average score of 86.6 to 55.9 believe it or not. It's also important to note that Duke is 8-2 ATS after a game where they failed to cover the spread this season, winning these games by an average score of 83.4 to 58.1. The Blue Devils are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 games as a home favorite and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite of 13.0 or greater. We'll lay the points.
4* Major Saturday Night NBA Blowout on Cavs -3.5
After coming out sluggish last night, expect the Cavs to show up against a hot Milwaukee Bucks team that gave them a run for their money when they last faced off in December. Milwaukee is playing its best basketball of the season, but I feel comfortable laying this number when you consider that it has a 17-point loss to Orlando and a 4-point loss to Atlanta during this hot streak. Plus, Cleveland has won 5 of the last 6 meetings by 6 or more points with the last 3 at Milwaukee coming by 8 or more points. The Bucks are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a home underdog of 4.5 or fewer points. The road team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings. The Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a road favorite. Lay the points.
5* 2010 NCAAB Game of the Year on Tulsa +7.5
This is a big revenge game for Tulsa after falling to Memphis earlier this season. A major key here is Tulsa's rebounding edge. Tulsa is 7-0 ATS versus teams who average 33 or less rebounds per game on the season after 15+ games over the last 3 seasons. Plus, Memphis is 0-8 ATS after 2 straight games with 9 or less offensive rebounds this season. In addition, Memphis is just 6-15 ATS as a favorite this season and 0-4 ATS in its last 4 games as a home favorite. The Golden Hurricane want this one bad, so much so that they nearly got caught looking ahead last game. No matter how good some of the Tulsa teams have been in recent years, they have all played second fiddle to Memphis. Now, I really believe Tulsa is the better team. I really expect Tulsa to win this game outright as a 7.5-point dog, and that's why I have made the Golden Hurricane my Game of the Year. Best of Luck.