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#199059 - 03/24/10 02:01 AM
Re: 3/25
[Re: FREAK]
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2007 Bad Man Champion
Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 71407
Loc: Time to play the Game
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Sweet 16 Trends:
• One-seed faves of less than 11 points off back to back ATS wins are 10-2 ATS
• Two-seeds are 12-5 ATS vs. opponents off a SU dog win
• Four-seed dogs are 2-8 ATS vs. foes off back to back ATS wins
• Five-seeds are 1-4 ATS vs. foes off back to back ATS wins
• Six-seeds off a double digit straight up win are 2-6 ATS
• Nine or higher seed dogs greater than two points are 3-10 ATS
• Favorites off a straight up win of 30 points or more are 4-0 ATS
• Favorites off back to back straight up wins of 15 points or more are 10-2 ATS
• Underdogs who scored less than 65 points last game are 7-3 ATS
• Underdogs off back to back dog wins are 2-9 ATS
• Underdogs who scored less than 85 points last game are 2-7 ATS
Best Team SU & ATS records in this round
Xavier: 3-0 ATS, Michigan St: 5-1 SU & ATS, Kentucky: 10-2 SU / 9-3 ATS, West Virginia: 3-1 ATS
Worst Team SU & ATS records in this round
Butler: 0-3 SU / 1-2 ATS, Tennessee: 0-3 SU / 1-2 ATS, Washington: 0-3 SU, Duke: 1-5 SU & ATS, Syracuse: 1-4 SU / 0-4-1 ATS, Purdue: 1-3 SU & ATS.
Best Conference ATS records in this round
Atlantic 10: 6-0, SEC: 8-2 as dogs, Big Ten: 14-5.
Worst Conference ATS records in this round
Big East: 0-5 as faves 7 points or less, Pac 10: 1-6 as dogs, Big 12: 1-5 as faves of less than 10 points, ACC: 3-11 as faves of 8 points or less.
_________________________
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FREAK
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#199185 - 03/24/10 10:59 PM
Re: 3/25
[Re: FREAK]
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2007 Bad Man Champion
Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 71407
Loc: Time to play the Game
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Chicago Blackhawks at Columbus Blue Jackets (+135, 5.5)
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville apparently is familiar with the notion of “riding the hot hand”.
He will start Cristobal Huet between the pipes for Thursday’s matchup against Columbus despite Chicago’s other goalie, Antti Niemi, pitching a shutout Tuesday versus Phoenix.
"Huet hasn't played since that Philly game, and he played very well, and we want to get him going, too," Quenneville said. "We want both guys confident in the net. We want them to be playing well (going into the playoffs).”
Huet is 26-13-0-4 this season with a 2.40 goals-against average while Niemi has better numbers at 20-5-1-2 and a 2.19 GAA.
Quenneville said he will make a decision on which guy will be the team’s goalie in the playoffs within the next five games.
Expect an inspired effort from Huet in this one as he tries to snatch the postseason starting spot away from Neimi.
Pick: Blackhawks
Toronto Maple Leafs at Atlanta Thrashers (-125, 6)
The Maple Leafs seem to be relishing their role of playoff spoilers having won seven of their last 10 games.
And that type of “nothing to play for” attitude can spell disaster for a team desperate for a win while sitting outside of the playoff picture.
The Thrashers lost a pivotal game on Tuesday against the Bruins where they had a chance to leapfrog Boston in the standings for the eighth and final postseason spot. The team was timid in its biggest game of the season.
"We looked very nervous with the puck," coach John Anderson said. "We weren't doing things like we normally do, like we have in the past four or five games."
Jonas Gustavsson is in line to start under the net for Toronto and the rookie has been lights out lately, posting a 5-0-0 record with a 2.10 goals-against average in his last five starts.
Pick: Maple Leafs
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FREAK
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#199186 - 03/24/10 10:59 PM
Re: 3/25
[Re: FREAK]
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2007 Bad Man Champion
Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 71407
Loc: Time to play the Game
|
No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats (-8.5, 147) vs. No. 12 Cornell Big Red
If you haven’t figured it out yet, Cornell is not just a bunch of nerds going backdoor for fundamentally-sound left-handed lay-ups. These guys can hoop and are completely capable of hanging with Kentucky – if they play as well as they have in the first two rounds.
That’s a gigantic if, because the Big Red (29-4, 18-10) has been damn near perfect. They’ve shot a ridiculous 58.7 percent from the field in blowout wins over Temple and Wisconsin. If that continues, even mighty Kentucky will have its hands full.
The Wildcats (34-2, 19-15 ATS) have been equally as dominant, although their opening beat down of East Tennessee State doesn’t carry as much weight as either of Cornell’s tournament wins.
Still, no team left in the field can counter the amount of NBA talent UK coach John Calipari can put on the court, certainly not an Ivy League squad. But this isn’t the first time Cornell has faced superior talent. They gave Kansas fits, out-rebounding the Jayhawks in a tight five-point loss in Lawrence.
They’ll need a similar on the backboards against Kentucky’s giant front line. Cornell also must stay out of foul trouble. There’s a much greater drop off from starters to bench at Cornell than Kentucky.
In the end, it’s hard to go against these teams that get on ridiculously hot runs during the tournament. (Think Davidson two years ago). The line has been bet down from its opening 9.5, so someone believes
Cornell will hang.
Prediction: Kentucky 77, Cornell 71
No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers (-4, 140.5) vs. No. 12 Washington Huskies
West Virginia continues to win ugly, pounding away at opponents with Bob Huggins’ trademark physical style.
But can they do it without their point guard, Darryl Bryant, who is done for the year after suffering a broken bone in his foot during practice Tuesday?
Bryant was solid, but certainly not spectacular. He averaged just four points and two assists in the tournament. His replacement, junior Joe Mazzulla, is even less of an offensive threat but has received regular playing time throughout the season.
The line opened at WVU -4.5 and came down only slightly after news broke of Bryant’s injury. So his absence isn’t expected to be the make-or-beak difference. It will, however, become a much bigger story if Massulla gets in foul trouble. West Virginia doesn’t have an experienced point guard behind him.
That’s definitely a concern against Washington’s up-tempo style.
The Huskies (26-9, 16-18), led by leading scorer and Quincy Pondexter and lightning-quick Isaiah Thomas, are averaging 81 points a game in the tournament. They’re going to push the pace and try to avoid getting into a half-court slugfest with the bigger Mountaineers.
But teams have managed to find ways to slow it down against Washington. The Huskies were held to just 59 points in wins over Oregon State and Washington State. Georgetown held Washington to 66 points in a early December win.
If West Virginia (29-6, 15-19 ATS) grabs control of the tempo, the Huskies must remain competitive on the backboards. The Mountaineers thrive off of offensive rebounds.
Prediction: West Virginia 71, Washington 66
_________________________
Do not post any write ups from any newsletters. Also do not cut and paste any news stories or blog items from other websites. All of the preceding are copyright protected and unless you have written permission from the author it is considered copyright infringement.
FREAK
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