Gold Sheet
Cornell
Tony George
Tournament GOY - Texas A&M -1.5
Brett Atkins
40 Dime Big Dance Second Round Game of the Year - XAVIER MUSKETEERS
A rematch from the regional semifinals of a year ago when a much better Pitt team was able to edge Xavier 60-55, but came up short as a 6 1/2-point favorite. Well, the Musketeers are better than they were last season while Pitt is so much more inconsistent. Xavier has averaged 80.6 points a game over their last five and they have been money making machines, on ATS runs of 36-17-2 overall, 14-5 in non-conference action, 13-3-1 in NCAA Tournament play and 4-1 against Big East squads. The Musketeers have the players to hang with Pitt and the motivation to run them out of the building. Play Xavier today.
10 Dime Big Dance Power Play - TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Look at the Big 12 teams that are all build just alike - Baylor, Kansas State and Texas A&M. Baylor and Kansas State rolled in their second round games and I expect the Aggies will too. They are quick, have good guard play and very deep and athletic. Purdue has been ever-so shaky since losing Robbie Hummel for the season and they are on ATS skids of 1-6-1 overall, 0-5-1 after a win and 1-4-1 against winning teams. Texas A&M has stars in Kris Middleton and Donald Sloan and they have bee solid at the betting window, going 11-2 ATS in their last 13 overall, 21-8 on a neutral court and 8-2 in the Big Dance. Love the Aggies today to get an easy win and cover.
Joel Tyson
80 Dime - Cornell Big Red plus the points
Perfect matchup for the Big Red in round two, and I do mean P-E-R-F-E-C-T.
Cornell does it all - hit their threes, hit their frees, and they can rebound. Not only that, but this Ivy rep has played some heavy-hitters this season; Syracuse, Kansas, and Vermont to name 3, and also St. John's and Seton Hall - ALL of those schools made the postseason this year!
Wisconsin is a "nice" team, but they are limited, and they will not blow you off the court with their physicality.
Throw in the fact the crowd will definitely put their support in the Ivy reps corner, and you have the makings of Cornell dancing into the Sweet 16.
Take the points.
RINKPLAY SPORTS
7* Streakbuster GOY - Dallas Stars
5* Philadelphia Flyers PL
3* Colorado Avalanche
3* San Jose Sharks PL
Brandon Lang
10 DIME - XAVIER MUSKETEERS
FREE PICK - GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
Rated Picks
3 units Syracuse -7
3 units Cornell +4
3 units Duke -6.5
3 units Texas A&M -2
Karl Garrett
20* West Virginia -5.5
10* Syracuse -6.5
Chuck O'Brien
30* Cornell +4.5
10* Xavier PK
Bobby Maxwell
500* Texas A&M -1.5
100* Cornell +4.5
Anthony Redd
20* West Virginia -5.5
20* Texas A&M -1.5
20* California +6
10* Gonzaga +6.5
10* Michigan State +1
10* Pittsburgh Pk
Chris Jordan
1000* Xavier PK
Michael Cannon
30* Syracuse -6.5
15* Ohio State -6.5
Derek Mancini
15* California +6.5
5* Wisconsin -4.5
Craig Davis
40 Dime – CORNELL
20 Dime – OHIO STATE
CORNELL - Laugh all you want, but this team is for real. From their deadly three-point shooting to their rebounding and free throw shooting, I don't care what conference this team played in... they've competed with everyone on their schedule. Remember, the Big Red nearly beat Kansas (on the road), played tough against Syracuse (on the road) and Seton Hall, and beat Alabama (on the road), UMass (on the road) and St. John's (on the road). So it's not like this is a typical Ivy League team... they didn't run from anyone. This was a very tough non-conference schedule and I believe it prepared them for this tournament.
Despite an ugly slip-up at Penn in conference play, the Big Red was clearly the class of the conference and if their first round blowout win over Temple was any indication, this team isn't going to be satisfied with one tournament win. I'll admit, I had Temple going to the Elite 8 in my bracket because I believed they were better than even their tournament seeding indicated. Honestly, had Temple drawn any team other than Cornell I believe they'd be playing today too. I don't think people realize how big this win for Cornell was, and I fully expect them to take the life out of Wisconsin early.
Cornell, as previously mentioned, shoots 44% from three-point land while Wisconsin allows opponents to shoot 34% from there for the season... and 39% on a neutral floor. But the great part about Cornell is, they don't have to always rely on the long ball in order to win game. Remember, they have a big 7-footer, Jeff Foote, who is more than capable of taking over a game in the paint. Cornell is a well-balanced team that doesn't take a lot of bad shots as evidenced by their 48% FG shooting for the season.
Wisconsin is more than capable of winning this game, but I haven't see them play well in a while, including the Big Ten Conference Tournament and their first-round win over Wofford in the Big Dance. To be honest, I just don't trust Wisconsin away from the Kohl Center, and since this is a neutral site game I tend to lean towards the underdog Big Red. Cornell has covered four of their last five on a neutral court and 23 of their last 28 as an underdog of less than 6 1/2 points. I think Wisconsin has met their match today. Big Red challenge for the SU win today.
OHIO STATE - Possibly a little extra motivation for the Buckeyes today as they have seen both Georgetown and Kansas lose in the first few days of the tournament, and now they appear to be the favorite to come out of this region and make their way to the Final Four. PG Evan Turner had a horrible game in Round 1 and yet the Buckeyes still won by 17 over Cal-Santa Barbara. It's gotta be a scary feeling for Georgia Tech to know Ohio State didn't play their best game and yet they were still a comfortable winner. Shoot, Georgia Tech should feel very fortunate they were able to get past Oklahoma State in the first round. Had it not been for 24 of 25 free throw shooting, we might be talking about OSU vs. OSU in this game. Either way, Ohio State is going to be a tough team for Tech to match up with because of their size at the guard position. The Buckeyes play with four guards who are all 6-foot-5 or taller and they hit the glass like forwards. Dallas Lauderdale is the only true forward they have, and although he's not much of a scorer, he did have 8 blocks vs. the Gauchos in Game 1. As long as OSU shoots their free throws well, they should be able to win this thing by double digits.
National Sports Service
4* GT/OSU over 133.5
3* Wisconsin -4.5
3* Duke -6
Sean Higgs
20* Ohio State
Don Wallace
Atlanta -3.5
Insider Sports Report
5* Georgia Tech/Ohio St. UNDER
4* Texas A&M
3* Michigan St./Maryland OVER
BIG AL
4* Wisconsin
3* Gonzaga
3* California
3* Ohio State
3* Michigan State
RAS
Cornell/Wisconsin Over 123
California/Duke Over 144
Michigan State/Maryland Over 144
Xavier/Pittsburgh Under 135.5