March Madness Bracket
CONNECTICUT HUSKIES (19-2)
2012-02-01
Tip-off: Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Georgetown -3, Total: 130
No. 14 Georgetown looks to add to Connecticut’s misery as it tries to hand the Huskies a fourth straight loss (SU and ATS) on Wednesday night.
Both schools have been terrible bets lately, as Connecticut is 2-7-1 ATS in its past 10 games while the Hoyas are 1-7 ATS in their past eight contests. But UConn has dominated this series, going 10-4 (SU and ATS) against Georgetown since 2000. Half of the Hoyas Big East wins have been by three points or less, and they don't score enough points (64.0 PPG in past eight games) to make this a blowout. They are also 8-20 ATS (29%) in Big East play over the past two seasons. The Huskies lost their past three games by a combined eight points and are now at full strength with talented guard Ryan Boatright back on the court after NCAA eligibility issues. The pick here is underdog CONNECTICUT to escape with the win.
Connecticut’s 2-5 SU mark in its past seven games has mostly to do with an inefficient offense that has failed to reach 70 points in any of these contests. In the past two games, UConn has scored a mere 52.5 PPG on 38% FG. The biggest cause for the offensive woes lies with starting point guard Shabazz Napier, who has shot a woeful 32% FG with 22 turnovers during these seven games. He was 0-for-7 against Notre Dame on Sunday, taking two ill-advised three-point attempts in the final minute of that 50-48 defeat. Jeremy Lamb leads the team with 17.9 PPG, but only took nine shots in the loss to the Irish. Some of that was due to Notre Dame milking the shot clock on offense, but Lamb did have a few good looks that he passed up. Freshman center Andre Drummond (10.0 PPG, 7.8 APG) is also key to this team, as he has scored 15.3 PPG with 11.7 RPG in his team’s past three victories, but only 7.8 PPG and 8.6 RPG in its past five defeats.
Like UConn, Georgetown has also been ice-cold in the past two games, shooting 36.7% from the floor. After tallying 31 points (11-of-14 FG) three games ago, leading scorer Jason Clark (15.6 PPG) has attempted just 13 shots in these past two games. This will need to change on Wednesday, especially considering Clark averaged 18.0 PPG on 59% FG against UConn last year. The team’s No. 2 scorer, Hollis Thompson, has not been aggressive enough in taking the ball to the basket. After attempting 10 free throws against West Virginia, Thompson has earned a total of eight free-throw attempts in his past five games combined. To combat Drummond in the paint, Georgetown will look to leading rebounder, freshman Otto Porter (6.9 RPG). Porter has 8.8 RPG in his past four games.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
2010-03-19
This will be the most exciting game on Friday, GUARNTEED. We like to call it Friday Madness!
The tenth seed Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech will be meeting seventh seed Oklahoma State Cowboys at Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI 7:15pm eastern time.
Will President Obama’s pick of the Yellow Jackets help them? We’ll see, but the Cowboys are the slight favorite at -1.5 points (www.sportsbook.com), so pretty much this game will be a tossup. And that’s why 7 - 10 games are the toughest to handicap.
The Jackets will face a team very different than themselves in their NCAA opener, which is the way of most 7 versus 10 games in the tournament. Neither side enters off a dominating season, but each does something well enough to make it very dangerous. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets pound the ball inside. The Oklahoma State Cowboys rain threes from everywhere; they’ve taken 205 more three-pointers than has Georgia Tech.
Oklahoma State's James Anderson and Obi Muonelo are one of the best guard combos in the country, guys who can score from just about anywhere on the floor. Georgia Tech counters inside with freshman rising stars Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal, bruisers who can outmuscle anyone who gets in their way.
Only one of Oklahoma State Cowboys' starters - Matt Pilgrim - is taller than 6 foot 6, and Keiton Page is just 5 - 9. Compare that to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who bring Favors (6 - 10, 246 pounds) and Lawal (6 - 9, 234), and whose shortest starter is 6 - 5. However, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have proven they are quite capable of handling the big boys. They handed the Kansas Jayhawks one of its two losses this year, and also beat Kansas State and Baylor, all who have very good big men.
According to Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt, the game likely will come down to how well the Yellow Jackets can defend Big 12 player of the year and Oklahoma State scoring leader James Anderson and his hot shooting teammates at guard, Keiton Page and Obi Muonelo.
Georgia Tech guard D'Andre Bell said, after being asked Thursday afternoon about Oklahoma State's free shooting ability. "It works for them. The type of 3’s that they take. They take contested 3’s, in transition 3’s, whether there are hands in their faces or not, it goes in for them." Ranking 15th nationally in three point attempts and first overall in the Big 12, the Cowboys have proven this season that from long range, they can be deadly, knocking down a big shot with ease.
I would pay close attention to the halftime score of this game because Georgia Tech is just 3 - 9 this year when trailing at the half. Also, when the Yellow Jackets trail with five minutes left, they are 1-9. The winner of this game faces the Ohio State or UC Santa Barbara winner on Sunday.
CBB: North Carolina at Duke (9:00 PM ET, ESPN)
2010-03-05
The ESPN Gameday crew will be in Durham on Saturday night for another installment of college basketball’s greatest rivalry, as Duke hosts North Carolina. The Blue Devils won the earlier meeting in Chapel Hill, somewhat comfortably, but could be hard pressed to beat a pointspread that more accurately reflects UNC’s struggles this time around. However, this could be one of those games where oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com over-adjust for the rivalry aspect while ignoring the obvious signs.
Given the choice, ESPN would probably rather telecast great moments in North Carolina and Duke history, since this doesn’t set up to be one. The Tar Heels (16-14, 10-18 ATS) started the season with seven McDonald’s All-Americans and as the regular season closes, it appears Roy Williams picked up seven guys that ate at Micky D’s in his most frustrating season. North Carolina has shown a pulse lately winning and covering last two contests, yet UNC is 0-9 ATS facing teams outscoring foes by eight or more points after 15 or more contests.
It’s senior night for starters G Jon Scheyer, C Brian Zoubek and F Lance Thomas and what better way to go out than ACC regular season champs (or co-champs) with a win over their most hated rival. This is most versatile Duke (25-5, 17-11-1 ATS) team in a number of seasons as the year wore on, still needing Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler to score, but the contributions have been coming in from different areas on game by game basis. The Blue Devils are 16-0 and 10-5 ATS at Cameron Indoor Stadium this campaign, winning by super-sized 26.1 points per game.
This however is normally very competitive matchup, with the Dukies 7-5 with 2-10 ATS home record against Carolina Blue since 1997. The StatFox Power Line shows Duke by 16.
CBB: Duke at Clemson (9:00 PM ET, ESPN)
2010-01-22
Wednesday night was a glum night for fans of the big two teams in the state of North Carolina, as both the Tarheels and Duke lost their respective games. The Blue Devils are in a dangerous spot on Saturday too, and face the legitimate chance of losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. The trip to Clemson will not be easy for the Blue Devils, as the Tigers own a 19-point home win over UNC a couple weeks back and will be hungry for the upset here in front of a primetime national TV audience. Get the latest price on this key contest on the Sportsbook.com LIVE ODDS page.
You can bet that coach Mike Krzyzewski has worked Duke extra hard in preparation for this prime time affair at Clemson. Coach K remembers firsthand how the Tigers can play at Littlejohn Coliseum, losing 74-47 there last year. He’s also seen what Clemson did to North Carolina, building 20-point lead in the first eight minutes of the game and cruising to a victory over the Tar Heels. That is why the play of guard Jon Scheyer is so critical, keeping Duke (15-3, 11-6 ATS) from playing at too frenzied of a pace. The Dukies are 8-19 ATS in road games vs. clubs outscoring their opponents by 12 or more points a game after 15 or more games. In other words, this is a team that stumbles in big late season road games.
Backed with its home crowd, the Tigers’ memories are fresh from being embarrassed at Duke on Jan. 3, losing 74-53, totaling just 12 points in the first 20 minutes. Senior forward Trevor Booker is the energy of this team and its most important player. When Clemson (15-4, 9-7 ATS) has to set up offense, allowing Booker to at least touch the ball, good things usually follow. He’s skilled around the basket and finds open shooters off the bounce. Unquestionably, the Tigers play better at home and they are 21-10 ATS when they force 14 to 18 turnovers, making it paramount to force Duke into mistakes.
Duke is off an upset loss at N.C. State and looks for quick turnaround victory, since they are 5-0 and 4-1 ATS after a spread loss in lined games. Clemson is 9-1 and 6-1 ATS on their home floor and last year’s win at home was the first in ten tries vs. Duke, with 4-5-1 ATS record.
The StatFox Power Line shows Duke by 3, but this is how StatFox’s Steve Makinen sees the game in the Platinum Sheet: The ESPN Game Day crew will be on hand for Saturday’s showdown between Duke and Clemson, and the Tigers should be jacked for the occasion. Typically I don’t overrate this particular aspect unless I believe the team is capable of pulling the big upset with another slight motivational edge. Clemson is capable of doing it. The Tigers have been absolutely dominant at home, going 9-1 SU & 6-1 ATS while outscoring opponents by 22 PPG. They own a 19-point decision over North Carolina at home a week ago. Clemson will also be motivated by the fact that their own field goal shooting didn’t make the recent trip to Durham when Duke blasted them by 21 points. It was easily the Tigers’ worst outing of the year and they will be hungry to make amends. This one should be all it gets cracked up to be. Play: Clemson