Tom Stryker
4* Akron -6.5
Florida -5.5
Steven Budin
25 Dime - Orlando Magic
EXECUTIVE
250% Texas A&M -7.5
250% Indiana +9
Helmut
Kansas State Under 146
Baylor +1
Youngstown Connection
Arizona +1
Kelso
100 Units UTEP -10
Master Sports
4'* Wake Forest
Derek Mancini
15 Units North Carolina +4
15 Units Ohio +5
15 Units Minnesota -6
Scott Delaney
60-Dime UTAH STATE AGGIES
Coach Stew Morrill is way too smart to count on the Selection Committee. And he certainly isn’t going to accept any close calls during the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. He knows better. Thus, Boise State gets the first beatdown from the No. 1 seed in this year’s event, which begins today in Reno, Nev.
The Aggies defeated the Broncos both times during the regular season, winning at home, 81-59, and on the road, 72-67. And no reason to be alarmed about that five-point win, it wasn’t as close as the difference suggested. Though they won three of their last four, the Broncos are a horrible team, as the season-ending wins came against slumping Louisiana Tech and cellar-dweller Hawaii.
On the other hand, we may be talking about one of the two best teams on the West coast, in Utah State, as I believe it could have beaten anyone in Pac-10 and just about all the Mountain West teams. The Aggies and Mountain West No. 1 seed New Mexico could easily duke it out as the best team on the left coast.
Utah State has won 15 straight games while going an incredible 12-3 ATS run, while winning by less than 10 points only twice during the streak. Ask me, that’s domination. Quite frankly, I’m shocked the Aggies aren’t ranked, and if I find it an insult, what kind of mindset do you think they’re going to have heading into the postseason?
Utah State is No. 3 in the country in three-point shooting, is No. 4 in free throw shooting, and is No. 9 in field goal shooting. That’s on offense. At the other end of the court, the Aggies are ranked 10th in the nation in points allowed. And the fact there are critics out there saying the Aggies need to win at least one or two games in the WAC tournament to earn an at-large bid into the Big Dance – and haven’t already – tells me they’re going to come out firing in this one.
While the Broncos are on an ATS slide of 1-4 on neutral courts, the Aggies are on ATS runs of 4-1 on neutral courts, 10-3 as the installed chalk and 10-3 against conference foes.
I’m laying the chalk with Utah State in this one.
The Duke's Sports
Southern Mississippi (+6) for 2 Units
Southern Miss is a dangerous dog here against a team that swept them in the season series. Both of the games were highly competitive. SM is coming off a solid win over Tulane in the CUSA 1st Round yesterday the Blazers earned a bye. However, SM has good depth and, as we mentioned many a time before, are well coached for tournament play by Eustachy. SM is 4-0 ATS on a neutral floor and 6-1 ATS vs a team with a winning % above .600. On the other hand, the Blazers are just 1-6 ATS as a neutral favorite and 0-4 ATS on Thursdays. Despite Pelham's ankle problem, we'll look for SM to deliver.
SEABASS
300* Geo Tech
50* Akron
50* Buffalo
50* NWestern
50* Colo St
50* UNLV
Eric Degarde
3* Villanova -5
2* Villanova Over 141
2* Georgia Tech -5
2* Washington Over 194
NHL Pro Picks
Boston +152
Carolina +125
Atlanta +105
Nashville +201
Wunderdog
Game: St. Louis at New York Islanders
3 Units New York Islanders +110
Game: Tampa Bay at Toronto
3 Units Tampa Bay +110
Game: Florida at Colorado
2 Units Florida +170
Game: Florida at Colorado
5 Units Florida +1.5 -190
DAVE MALINSKY
4* NC STATE + 7.5 over CLEMSON
Like most pressing teams, there is a major home/away gap in Clemson performances – take away the energy that a home crowd brings to those Tiger traps, and they become a much different team. But it is particularly pronounced given the limitations of Oliver Purnell’s squad this season, with an ugly 2-6 SU and 1-7 ATS tally in A.C.C. games away from Littlejohn Coliseum. When they are not getting turnovers for easy baskets in the open court their offense simply bogs down, with little consistency outside of the presence of Trevor Booker down low. And when you do not shoot the ball well enough to protect your big guy from being double-teamed when he gets his touches (they shot an anemic 30.6 percent from 3-point range in conference play), winning games is hard enough, much less getting anything by a margin.
Clemson may bring just enough to win tonight, but that is all. The Tigers are allergic to half-court basketball, as best exhibited by their 11-23-1 ATS tally the last three seasons in games in which neither they nor their opponents scored more than 75 points, and that is the only way that Sidney Lowe will allow this one to be played. N. C. State had 12 of its 16 A.C.C. games fall under that “Double 75” umbrella, and whereas many teams try to avoid having to rely on their half-court sets, the Wolfpack actually want to play that kind of game. In Tracy Smith they have one of the most under-rated players in the nation (15.8 ppg and 7.1 rebounds in A.C.C. play), and with Javier Gonzalez finding his stroke down the stretch (37.3 percent from 3-point range in conference games), and Scott Wood also dangerous from distance (36.5 percent triples) there is the ability to play inside-out to free Smith up.
N. C. State won the battle of the boards (30-25), and only committed 11 turnovers vs. the Clemson presses in the first go-round, but fell short 73-70 in Raleigh because the shooting was an icy 38.9 percent, compared to 49.1 for the Tigers. For the outcome to be that close, with the shooting gap so wide, speaks volumes about how the floor game was played out. We expect a similar flow here, as the Wolfpack frustrate the favorite by playing this at a slow pace, and they are in the hunt to win outright to the final possessions.