Mike Wynn Sports
Georgetown at Marquette
There is no doubt that both of these teams will be playing in the big dance. Georgetown is 22-4 overall and 12-3 in conference play at the time of this writing and ranked #10 in the polls. Marquette, ranked at #21 this week, is currently 21-6 overall and 11-5 in Big East play. This will be the first meeting between these two ball clubs this season when they hook up at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Saturday. So we’ll take a look at both of these teams, and start with the visiting Hoyas of Georgetown.
Georgetown has been a solid squad all season and they’re certainly a threat to get back to the Final 4. Georgetown is led by big man Roy Hibbert, who skipped the NBA draft to come back for his senior season. Hibbert averages 13.2 points and 6.5 boards per game, but he’s probably most valuable on the defensive end where the 7-2 center controls the paint and alters or blocks numerous shots per game. Wallace and Sapp are a good veteran back court, and the Hoyas get nice energy off the bench with Patrick Ewing Jr. Georgetown is a lunch pail kind of club and they pride themselves on the defensive end. The Hoyas are prone to playing tight ball games by the nature of their style, as they only allow 57.3 points per game, and make each possession count on the offensive end.
Marquette comes into this game on a nice five game win streak, and this is a big game for the Golden Eagles. Marquette is currently sitting at fifth in the Big East, and would love to move up into the top four and get a coveted first round bye at the Big East tournament. Unlike Georgetown, Marquette is a guard dominated squad led by Dominic James and Jerel McNeal, who both average about 13.5 points per contest. Both of these guys have the ability to shoot from the outside and create shots in the paint. Marquette is not a real big or physical team, as their leading rebounder is 6-6 forward Lazar Hayward. Marquette is a team that needs to shoot well, and they’ve been shooting the ball well over the last five games.
As far as the match up on Saturday, I’m going to take the points with Georgetown. The early numbers have Marquette as a 3-point favorite, but I think the Hoyas have a great shot to upset the Golden Eagles. Marquette is a strong 14-1 straight up at home this season, but I like the Georgetown defense to be the difference. Roy Hibbert should make it real tough for Marquette slashers James and McNeal to get to the rim, and unless Marquette goes off from behind the arc, the Hoyas will be right there.
Free winner from Mike Wynn: It should be a typical tight Big East game, and I’ll recommend taking any points their willing to give with Georgetown.
Larry Ness
Game: Alabama at Mississippi
Prediction: Mississippi
Reason: Alabama has never quite adjusted to the loss of its PG Steele, who never got on the court this year due to an injury. The team's two 6-6 guards, Gee (15.1-7.1) and Riley (14.1-5.3), are scorers NOT ball-handlers. The team's two more traditional PG-types like Pickett (5.5-3.3 APG) and Hollinger (6.5-3.2 APG), have been poor replacements. Up front, the 6-9 Hendrix (18.3-10.1) has missed the departed 6-10 Davidson, who averaged just over 14 PPG and almost nine RPG the last two seasons. The 6-7 Jemison (5.0-4.9) has not been much of a help. Not much was expected of Ole Miss this year but the Rebels raced to a 13-0 start and made their way into the top-25. However, it's been a struggle since then. Ole Miss suffered its first loss at Tennessee on Jan 9 (by just two points). The Rebels did win their next two but have since gone on a 3-8 slide. However, this is a good matchup for them. In the 6-8 Curtis (14.0-9.4) and the 6-8 Williams 97.8-6.7), the Rebels will be fine inside against Alabama. On the perimeter, they should dominate. The Ole Miss guards are young but they are talented and there are five who contribute. The best of the group is freshman Warren (15.6-4.5 APG) but two sophs and two more freshman have all been part of the picture. The sophs are Polynice (11.3-5.5-3.6) and Huertas (9.1-3.4) while the freshman are Gaskins (7.1) and Graham (6.1). Alabama has had all sorts of trouble away from Tuscaloosa this year, winning only its first road game of the year, Nov 13 at Mercer. The team only played one other true road game during its non-conference schedule (lost at Tex A&M) and has gone 0-6 on the SEC road so far. The Tide are 1-7 SU and 2-5 ATS on the road for the year and 1-9 SU and 3-7 ATS on the season as underdogs. Ole Miss is 13-2 SU at home which includes wins over 20-win teams like New Mexico, Florida and Vandy, as well as a 74-63 win over Miss St (19-8 and an SEC West-leading 10-3 mark) in its most recent home game. Las Vegas Insider on Ole Miss.
CAPPERS ACCESS
Pittsburgh
Minnesota U.
Colorado
ROCKY WINNERS CIRCLE
KANSAS STATE +14
MIKE WYNN
St John -2 Over Seton Hall
HUDDLE UP SPORTS
Duke -11
RAZOR SHARP SPORTS
GEORGE MASON -3
COMPUTER SPORTS
BRADLEY+6
TV HOTLINE
MARQUETTE -3
VEGAS STEAMLINE
Take San Antonio -6
TOTALS 4U
PHILADELPHIA/PHOENIX OVER 213
Joe Wiz
Syracuse -3
MADDUX
George Washington +19
HD'S ACTIONLINE
Iowa Pk
FAT JACK SPORTS
Massachusetts -3.5
Nevada SharpShooter
San Francisco
DARK HORSE
Minnesota -3
BIG TIME SPORTS
SAN ANTONIO / MILWAUKEE UNDER 192
EASY MONEY SPORTS
DUKE -11
DR VEGAS
Arizona State -1
USA Sports Consulting
Indiana State -4
BuckShotBoys
St. John's -1.5
ARMVIN SPORTS
CONNECTICUT -4.5
ILLINOIS
AUBURN -2.5
BUFFALO 14.5
MIAMI OHIO -4.5
ILLINOIS CHICAGO 3.5
MONTANA -3
NHL
PITTSBURGH at OTTAWA Over 5.5
ST LOUIS 106
Inside "steam" from Vegas
New Jersey Devils
Vegas Inside Info
Duke/NC State "Over"
Ohio State
BOB AKMENS Arena Football
Dallas Desperados/Georgia Force Over 112.0 / 3 units
MIGHTY QUINN
Oklahoma State
VEGAS EXPERTS TIP OF THE DAY
TCU Horned Frogs at UNLV Running Rebels
Over-acheiving Rebels are 9-2 their last 11 with a 6-5 ATS mark. They have won and covered the last three in this series and come off a 10-pt. home win over a better SDSU squad. TCU is 3-6 S/U and ATS its last nine and 1-4 on the Mt. West road. UNLV is 34-21 ATS in all games over the last 2 seasons and 24-14 ATS after having won 4 or 5 of their last 6 games over the last 2 seasons.
Play on: UNLV
LT'S LOCK
Mississippi St. +4
RedZone Sports
Arkansas
Dave Cokin
Ill Chicago
Joe Wiz
Syracuse
Fresno St
Big Al
Washington State +4.5
Scott Spreitzer
Minnesota CBB
Larry Ness
24* - Indiana State
20* - Gonzaga
www - Phoenix Suns
Priceless Picks
1 Unit on Georgia Tech -4.5
We'll take the Jackets here as Wake has not been good on the road all year long. Wake is only 2-8 in road games this season. Georgia Tech is overdue for a win and I agree with oddsmakers that they'll get it tonight against a team it has dominated. The Jackets are 7-3 SU and ATS the last 10 meetings at home in this series. They are a perfect 2-0 SU and ATS the past 3 seasons. Tech is 15-6 ATS in all home games over the last 2 seasons and 10-1 ATS in home games after having lost 6 or 7 of their last 8 games since 1997. Take Georgia Tech.
Bob Donahue
UNLV
Glen Mcgrew
Richmond
Psychic Wiseguy
Dayton
Cash & Profit Experts
Syracuse -3
Steve Janus
Memphis + 9.5
Big Al
Our 3 selections are Texas Tech, Southern Illinois and Arkansas.
At 4 pm, our selection is on the Arkansas Razorbacks minus the points over Vanderbilt. The Razorbacks come into this afternoon's contest off back to back losses, and they'll try to snap their losing streak against a Vandy team off an upset of #1-ranked Tennessee. I think John Pelphrey's men will take care of business today, as they're a solid 13-1 at home this season. And college teams with strong home courts, with at least 5 home wins, and no more than 1 home loss, are a solid 32-13 ATS since 1991 off exactly two SU/ATS losses, if matched up against a foe off an upset win. SEC GAME OF THE MONTH on Arkansas.
At 4 pm, our selection is on the Texas Tech Red Raiders plus the points over Texas. Pat Knight's men laid an egg at Texas A&M, and were drilled 98-54. After the game, Coach Knight said his kids didn't compete from start to finish. And this season, there has been a clear dichotomy between the Red Raiders' home and away performances. At home, Texas Tech has rolled to a 12-1 record, while they're 3-11 away from home. And they've covered eight of their last nine home games. Texas has won eight straight games, but Big 12 teams off seven or more wins are a poor 24-40 ATS since 2001, including 12-23 ATS vs. foes with revenge. BIG 12 GAME OF THE MONTH on Texas Tech.
At 8:30 PM (time change), our selection is on the Southern Illinois Salukis minus the points over Illinois State. This is the Salukis final home game of the season, and they fall into a super 188-120 ATS "Last Home Game" System of mine that plays on certain strong home teams (with a 12-3 or better home record) that are not favored by more than 13 points, and who are matched up against a non-revenging foe. And if our home team is off a double-digit cover in its last game, our 188-120 system tightens up to 45-16 ATS since 1991. Southern Illinois lost to Illinois State 56-47 back on January 5, but had won 11 consecutive games vs. the Redbirds prior to that defeat. Take Southern Illinois. MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE GAME OF THE MONTH. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.
CHRIS JORDAN
300* Lasalle
300* Duke
300* Syracuse
POINTWISE
(7:05) ORLANDO MAGIC 109 - New York Knicks 97
(8:05) Utah Jazz 98 - MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 89
(8:35) San Antonio Spurs 104 - MILWAUKEE BUCKS 100
(9:05) PHOENIX SUNS 126 - Philadelphia 76ers 112
(10:35) Detroit Pistons 95 - L.A. CLIPPERS 79 (NBA)
BEST BETS: PHOENIX, DETROIT (2)
COLLEGE KEY RELEASES
GEORGIA STATE over Js Madison (Sat) RATING: 3
INDIANA STATE over Missouri State (Sat) RATING: 4
BEST BETS: GEORGIA STATE, WRIGHT STATE, BRADLEY, SETON HALL,
FLORIDA, ARKANSAS, INDIANA STATE, HOFSTRA, SOUTH FLORIDA,
TOLEDO, YALE, TULSA, PEPPERDINE, BOISE STATE
PHILLY CONNECTION
BowlingGreen +8
Akmens NHL
3* Pitt/Ottawa over 6.0
3* TB/Carolina over 6.0