LT's Lock
Michigan St. +3
The 'Sportsmen'
5* Xavier- 1 unit
5* UNLV+ 1 unit
5* Pitt- 1 unit
Rocco Vincintore
1000* SECOND ROUND TOURNAMENT PLAY OF THE YEAR
Washington St -2
Bob Akmen
DUKE OVER 147.5
Rocky Atkinson
Purdue vs. Xavier
Today's Pick: PURDUE
Purdue is 8-2 ATS this year when the total is 130 to 139 1/2. Purdue is 25-12 ATS last 3 years when playing on Saturday. Purdue is 8-1 ATS this year when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games. Purdue has a very good defense allowing only 61.7 points per game this year. Boilermakers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog. Boilermakers are 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning SU record. Boilermakers are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games as an underdog. Boilermakers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games as an underdog. Boilermakers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 NCAA Tournament games. Boilermakers are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog of 0.5-6.5. Boilermakers are 15-3-1 ATS in their last 19 games overall. Boilermakers are 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 games following a SU win. Boilermakers are 18-6-1 ATS in their last 25 games following a ATS win. Boilermakers are 25-9 ATS in their last 34 Saturday games. Boilermakers are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 neutral site games. Boilermakers are 21-8 ATS in their last 29 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Musketeers are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games as a favorite of 0.5-6.5. Musketeers are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games. Musketeers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a SU win. We'll recommend a small play on Purdue today!
Larry Ness
Purdue vs. Xavier
Pick: XAVIER
I feel as if it's Xavier's time for a run at the Elite 8. The Musketeers had Ohio State beaten in the second round LY and let them off the hook. In Thursday's first round, Xavier escaped against Georgia, in a game in which it was lucky to win, no less by the misleading 12-point final. However, that should get them even more focused here. While Purdue is young but talented, Xavier is as talented plus is experienced and incredibly balanced. The 6-9 Duncan (11.9-4.7) and the 6-8 Brown (11.0-6.Cool are the team's leading scorers, but just barely. Swingmen Anderson (10.5-5.9) and Raymond (10.2) are not far behind plus then there is the backcourt duo of PG Lavender (10.8-4.2 APG) and the team's best defensive player, Burrell (9.8-3.9 APG). The 6-9 Love (6.0-5.4) often starts and always adds depth inside. Experience wins out over youth in this one. Take Xavier.
Marc Lawrence
4* Duke
3* Wisconsin
3* Atlanta Hawks
VEGAS RUNNER
1* Akron
Special K
20* Super K-Play Duke
Keithmartinsports
UCLA -10
Kansas -13.5
GREAT LAKES
3*ATL HAWKS
2*76ers
2*Sac Kings
Doc's
6 Unit Play. #526 Take Duke -4 over West Virginia
I do not believe there is any carryover between games and thus Duke will come out determined to make a statement on Saturday. The Devils struggle with big men, but the Mountaineers are a perimeter oriented team so thus they will not pose much of a problem. West Virginia bet Arizona in round one and team that cannot get out of its own way, as they let WVU shot 50% from the floor. That will not happen today, as Duke pulls away late to win this game by double-digits.
4 Unit Play. #530 Take Wisconsin -4 ½ over Kansas State
The Badgers play too strong of defense to let one person beat them and Michael Beasley will have his hands full for 40 minutes. USC is not in the same category as Wisconsin and Bo Ryan is a team oriented coach and this team will come out determined to prove the critics wrong after last year’s collapse.
4 Unit Play. #532 Take Pittsburgh -2 over Michigan State
Despite their impressive performance against Temple, this is still not a similar Michigan State team to what we have seen in the past. The Panthers will man up on them and not lay down and die like Temple did. Pitt had one of the most impressive victories on the season Thursday and will March right on to the sweet sixteen. Drew Neitzel had a terrible game on Thursday and I full believe that teams are starting to figure him out. Pittsburgh is now healthy and with Fields in the line-up good things happen.
4 Unit Play. #533 Take Notre Dame +2 ½ over Washington State
The Irish are ready to march onto the sweet 16 after beating Washington State straight-up on Saturday. The Cougars are overrated this season and have some questionable losses on the year. They are still living on defense but will not be able to score enough points to keep up with Notre Dame on Saturday. State had a better squad last year and lost in this round and history will repeat itself.
4 Unit Play. #538 Take UCLA -10 over Texas A & M
The Bruins are playing Anaheim and will cruise to a victory on Saturday night behind get balance and a beast in the middle. The Aggies will have no answer for Kevin Love and expect his to record a double-double on the evening. A & M is happy they got this far and will be bounced in a big way Saturday night.
Gameday Sports Network
CBB Marquette vs Stanford
50* Stanford -3 -
CBB Texas A&M vs UCLA
40* UCLA -10 -
CBB West Virginia vs Duke
40* West Virginia +4 -
CBB Michigan St vs Pittsburgh
40* Pittsburgh -2 -
NBA Cleveland @ Milwaukee
40* Milwaukee +5 -
Strike Point Sports
2-Unit Play. #525 Take West Virginia +4 over Duke
A spot in the Sweet 16 is on the line, and I think it goes to the Mountaineers. Duke does a lot from the perimeter, but in this game the best two three-point shooters are West Virginia's Alex Ruoff and Darris Nichols. And you add the athletically gifted and much improved Joe Alexander, and this WVU team has a lot of weapons that no one talks about. They disposed of an Arizona team that had as much if not more talent than this Duke team, and here it will be the Big East rep that puts itself into the second weekend of the tournament.
4-Unit Play. #533 Take Notre Dame +2.5 over Washington State
This is one of the better second round match-ups, but I like the Irish and their ability to score inside and outside over the Pac-10's Cougars. Boasting a core of very talented shooters, they can help account for double teams down low on Harangody, and that's the difference here. Wazzou can lock up with the best of them, but I don't think they will have enough on the offensive side of this one. The dog wins this one outright.
4-Unit Play. #532 Take Pittsburgh -2.5 over Michigan State
In first round really gave us a good indication of how on point this Pitt team really is. They cruised, while Michigan State struggled for a half against a Temple team that couldn't even get scores from its best players. Levance Fields is the general for the Panthers, and he perfectly runs the show for the rest of this red hot team. State was lucky to advance without a good game from Neitzel, but against Pitt's bigger guards he'll struggle and the Panthers will move on with the cover.
TONY MATTHEWS
NCAA - 15 Stars: Kansas State +4.5
NCAA - 15 Stars: Purdue +3.5
NCAA - 15 Stars: Purdue/Xavier Over 130.5