Malinsky 5*
CAL
Spritzer
big east mismatch gom Marquette
Lenny Del Gino Revenge GOY
Rhode Island
any michael cannon today??
Michael Cannon
25 Dime –
MARSHALL
Take Marshall tonight over Tulane in the first round of the Conference USA tournament.
Tulane may have ended its eight-game losing streak in its last game, but it was an unimpressive 77-75 home win over lowly East Carolina.
That’s hardly an encouraging sign for the Green Wave going against an improved Marshall squad.
Thundering Herd first-year coach Donnie Jones spent the previous 11 years coaching under Billy Donovan in Florida, so give a bid edge in that department to Marshall.
The Thundering Herd also has a pair of young forwards in Tyler Wilkerson and Tirell Baines who should have their way against Tulane’s slow, foul-prone frontline of David Gomez and Robinson Louisme.
I also like Marshall’s top scoring guard Mark Dorris to bounce back from his poor shooting effort in a 63-58 home loss against Southern Miss last Saturday.
Tulane point guard Kevin Sims has been bottled up in both previous meetings with Marshall, and there’s no reason to think he’s going to break out tonight.
Take Marshall at this gift of a price as they grab the win over Tulane.
10 Dime –
CHARLOTTE
Take Charlotte tonight over Rhode Island in the first round of the A-10 tournament.
These two met last Saturday and I cashed in with the 49ers as a 30 Dime Best Bet for my clients. Charlotte won that game outright, 74-64 as a 6 ½-point road dog.
There’s no reason to think the results will be any different this time around.
Charlotte continues to surge down the stretch, having won and covered four of its last five.
Rhode Island has been the complete opposite of Charlotte, losing seven of its last nine games after a promising 14-1 start.
Charlotte has tightened its perimeter defense down, holding the Rams to 3 of 21 shooting from beyond the arc last Saturday.
On the other side, the Rams had all kinds of trouble with 49ers senior guard Leemire Goldwire, who had 34 points in the last meeting, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range.
If the Rams concentrate all their efforts on defending Goldwire, the 49ers can still counter with Lonnie Mack, who hit 6 of 7 from beyond the arc on Saturday.
Take Charlotte as they grab the cash again tonight.
5 Dime –
SYRACUSE
Take Syracuse over Villanova this afternoon in the first round of the Big East Tournament.
Villanova has been an up-and-down team this year, and while Syracuse has suffered from a spate of injuries and late-game collapses, it’s hard to argue with coach Jim Boeheim’s track record in recent Big East tournament play.
The Orange are an astonishing 8-1 SUATS in the last three conference tournaments, and with this game listed as basically a pick, I’ll side with Syracuse here.
The backcourt combination of Jonny Flynn and Donte Greene has the ability to break down the best defenses in the Big East, and there’s no reason to think they won’t be successful in this matchup.
Villanova has a shaky interior defense and I don’t expect them to contain the penetration of Flynn and Greene, even with the return of Casiem Drummond from an ankle injury.
Add to the fact Syracuse is very comfortable playing in Madison Square Garden, which almost qualifies it as a home game for the Orange.
Take Syracuse as they grab the win over Villanova.
DUQUESNE
Take Duquesne minus the points over LaSalle in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.
Normally I would be hesitant to lay such a number with the Dukes, but LaSalle’s defense has completely disappeared in consecutive losses to Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Temple, allowing 92 ppg during that slide.
That’s a bad omen going against the ultra high-tempo game that Duquesne likes to play.
The Dukes hit 56 percent from the floor in scoring 101 points in their February win at Tom Gola Arena. The way LaSalle is going right now, it wouldn’t surprise me if Duquesne duplicates that feat tonight.
Take Duquesne minus the points as they grab the win and cover over LaSalle.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
Lay the big number with Southern Miss in the first round of the Conference USA tournament.
Rice is the first C-USA team to lose all of its regular season games in conference history.
They have zero chance tonight at pulling off the upset and a minute chance at staying within the number.
The Owls have been decimated by injuries and were down to a mere six scholarship players in last week’s games. To make matters worse, they lost leading scorer Rodney Foster who broken his hand prior to their March 5 loss to East Carolina. That means head coach Willis Wilson will be forced to give three walk-ons more minutes tonight then they probably should have seen all season long.
Southern Miss has won seven of its last 10 and is getting good production from its backcourt. The Golden Eagles won by 18 at home over Rice back in January despite only making 2 of 14 shots from beyond the arc.
Lay the big number as Southern Miss grabs the win and cover.
JEFFERSONSPORTS
Duquesne over 161.5
Tulane over 129
Cal Irvine over 126.5
NBA
Boston-17
Cleveland over 189