Cashing In

Your "Bad Beat" for Wednesday is on:

Weber State (minus 3 1/2) vs. Montana.

Weber State was the small favorite and had doubled up Montana at the half 40-20. Now let's be honest here this game was over.

Or not.

Anthony Johnson went ballistic and poured in 34 of his game high 42 points for the Grizzlies in the final 20 minutes and the impossible happened. Montana came all the way back and won the game 66-65 to capture the Big Sky title and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

Oh and by the way Johnson netted his team's final 21 points of the game and broke the tournament record with the 42 points.

Up 20 freakin points, are you kidding me!?!?!?



Your winners for Thursday are on:

4* Georgia Tech (minus 3 1/2) vs. North Carolina.

3* Memphis (minus 6) vs. Houston.

2* Indiana (plus 8) vs. Northwestern.

Yet another winning day on Wednesday as the 4* play on Iowa State came through in the end thanks to a backdoor three with 19 seconds to go. I do have to say thanks for not fouling after that Cyclones, I owe you one!

North Carolina is a team that has shown absolutely nothing for the last two months and even in their home state should continue to show a whole lot of nothing. There is no more disappointing team in all of college basketball this season than the Tar Heels. They do have talent with Ginyard, Zeller and others and a Hall of Fame coach in Roy Williams but it just hasn't mattered. Sure Ed Davis is out but this team was fading away before that injury.

Georgia Tech has not been impressive themselves of late losing five of their last seven and limping into this thing but Paul Hewitt's team is square on that bubble and has to win the game. Derrick Favors is a great Freshman who has continued to improve and will dominate the boards alongside Gani Lawal.

The Yellow Jackets are a desperate team that has been playing better than their fate of late as they lost on buzzer beaters at both Miami and Maryland and is a team with a whole lot of talent and a high ceiling.

Look for the Jackets to look like the team that wants this game more and for them to take care of business going away against a bad team wearing uniforms that say "North Carolina" on them.



Josh Pastner's Memphis Tigers are certainly not the same team in any aspect as John Calipari's Memphis Tigers were but do not belittle this current squad. There is still a bunch of athletes and talented players on this team like Witherspoon, Williams, Sallie, Mack and Kemp and 13-3 in Conference USA is still not too shabby even if it is three more losses than usual.

Houston is a solid team but nothing more. The Cougars last week did beat the Tigers but that was at home, which makes a world of difference, and that will set up a matter of revenge today for Memphis. Plus Houston may have some wobbly legs after the win yesterday over East Carolina and it's never great to play a back-to-back no less against a team that can run the court which Memphis can.

I'm not calling this a 20 point burial but the Tigers in the end will win by double digits as they have everything going for them, everything.



No matter how much better some teams are than others there are certain squad that are not built to be heavy favorites and that is the exact case here with Northwestern.

Tom Crean's Hoosiers are miserable and a team that has pretty much packed it in. But just the other day they were able to muster something and at home beat the Wildcats in overtime. I don't expect that to happen again because John Shurna and the boys from Northwestern are definitely the superior team of these two making me believe that lightning striking twice is unlikely but Northwestern is just not a team that wins games going away, no matter what their opponent is like.

The Hoosiers are going to play the young kids to see what's there going forward andf that turned out to be a pretty good strategy in that last rare win.

Let's also not foget how this game is in Indianapolis which can only be a good thing here in this spot.

Northwestern is probably too good in the end in this revenge spot today but I'm backing the dog and daring the Wildcats to do enough offensively to beat me.

Your "Bad Beat" for Tuesday is on:

Princeton (minus 13) vs. Penn.

There were a number of Bad Beats on Tuesday. The Colorado Avalanche blowing the 4-1 lead and losing 6-4 at home to Vancouver certainly was one of them.

Also Seton Hall not covering the 5 1/2 after leading 55-39 at the half and then 70-45 in the second half was borderline criminal. The Pirates allowed 67 second half points in the crazy 109-106 victory at the Garden.

But the "Bad Beat" of the day comes from the Ivy League where the Penn Quakers were getting absolutely embarassed against rival Princeton. The Tigers literally led 35-8 with 4 minutes to go in the first half. The game then went to the break at 40-14.

But Jerome Allen's halftime speech worked as the Quakers nailed over 53% of their shots in the second half compared to only 25% from the field (5-20) by the Tigers.

Penn actually got the game to within seven with a few minujtes to play and lost 68-56 narrowly covering that baker's dozen.

Unreal, 35 to freakin' 8 and cannot cover!?!?!?!?



Your winners for Wednesday are on:

4* Iowa State (plus 9) vs. Texas.

2* South Florida (plus 7) vsa. Georgetown.

Another 2-0 on Tuesday as my 3* on George Washington cashed the ticket and the 2* on Penn did so as well in miraculous fashion.



I am very anti Texas right now and for good reason. Nothing at all has gone right for about six weeks now for Rick Barnes' Longhorns. Remember back how Texas was number one in the country but ever since they have been awful. Both Ward and Balbay are lost for the season with injuries and the 'Horns have been absolutely terrible for awhile now.

UT has won some games in Austin but they have also been mediocre at best overall at home and beyond brutal on the road. Pittman and James are tough to defend down low and they will get some offensive boards but all in all Texas is just not a very good ballclub right now.

Iowa State is the weaker team for sure but they did just have that amazing overtime outright win in Kansas State over Clemente and Pullen and are a team with a stud in Craig Brackins. This guy is the real deal and can do it all. To get almost double digits with him alone is worth it and then when you throw in Marquis Gilstrap I can see the Cyclones not only cover but possibly win the game.

It is asking a lot for Iowa State here as they are far from being much of anything but Texas is a whole lot of nothing right now themselves and in this game in Missouri there is no reason to believe that the 'Horns can just regain that power.



I don't feel as great about the Bulls from South Florida because Georgetown is the better team and should be fresher after South Florida had to tangle with DePaul yesterday. But with that said the Hoyas are very very inconsistent and to get Dominique Jones and a Bulls team that a few months ago shockingly won at Georgetown is enough for me at this number. The underdogs' confidence level should be pretty high here knowing they already beat G-Town and have now won four in a row overall.

Greg Monroe is an instant mismatch and a guy that should dominate down low but in the end I do not trust John Thompson III's Hoyas in any regard and in any spot laying a half dozen plus.

Georgetown should advance but I don't think it'll be very easy as these Bulls are a scrappy club and should compete until the very end.

Your "Bad Beat" for Monday is on:

Old Dominion (minus 8 1/2) vs. William & Mary.

There were no real terrible beats for Monday that I know of but I can tell you that I got very lucky with the Tribe.

Old Dominion was the right side and should have won this game going away. The Monarchs were up early and often building the 27-14 lead 13 minutes into the contest and owning the 41-26 lead with about 14 to play.

Bill and Mary did tighten things up and were within 56-51 in the final minute. The free throw game would then evolve and ODU missed three of their final six and this thing ended in a Tribe cover at 60-53.



Your winners for Tuesday are on:

3* George Washington (plus 11 1/2) at Dayton.

2* Penn (plus 13) at Princeton.

A 2-0 sweep for 5* of profit on Monday as both William & Mary and the Nets snuck in their respective numbers in the end.



Who is Dayton right now? I'm not even sure the Flyer players know the answer. Things have not gone well at all for Brian Gregory's team. The season started out great and Dayton appeared to be headed straight for an at-large berth in the tournament but that appears to no longer be the case.

The Flyers are a talented squad that at home can be very good with Johnson and Wright but this team has done little of late if anything at all. They just lost outright at home to St. Louis as a very similar favorite to today and have dropped four of their last five overall.

Dayton is 19-11 overall and 8-8 in the A-10 which is clearly better than GW's 16-13 mark and 6-10 in-conference but Karl Hobbs has done a solid job this season and his Colonials are not terrible. Joseph Katuka has been on-fire of late and the team is 5-1-1 ATS in its last seven. That's good enough for me to back this semi live dog.



The Penn Quakers have had an awful season compared to the last 15 or so years where they were either the class of the Ivy League or second best behind Princeton but in this rivalry spot against a low scoring Tiger offense I'll grab a Baker's dozen or so.

Jerome Allen's team has improved of late and just played Harvard down to the wire in an easy cover but one point loss last Friday. Then next day they beat up a terrible Dartmouth squad and with Zach Rosen filling it up as usual should be able to stay in range today. The Quakers have covered three of their last five and I really do believe we will see four of six soon.

Princeton is an upper eschelon squad in the conference as they are clearly behind Cornell but right there with Harvard for second best. Sydney Johnson's squad is 19-8 overall and 9-3 in-conference. They should win here for sure but rivalry type games are usually tighter than expected as Penn-Princeton really is a rivalry type game. Plus the Tigers are far from being an offensive juggernaut and really should not go too far north of 60, if they get that high.

The Tigers will win the game but with the Quaks semi improvements and this game being for very little I'll grab the number.

Your "Bad Beat" for Sunday is on:

Ball State (plus 5 1/2) vs. Ohio.

The Cadinals of Ball State led the entire game and I mean thee entire game, well save 2-1 that is. It was 7-2 right off the bat and then 22-13. Ball State had the 36-33 lead at the half and then liteally never trailed the entire half.

But Armon Bassett's layup with 54 seconds remaining tied the game up at 69 sending this thing into overtime.

I think you know where this is going from here.

It was 79-77 Bobcats with just over half a minute remaining. Then came the fouling game and Ohio nailed all six free throws and Ball State did not score in their final three possessions.

Final score: 85-77 Ohio!



Your winners for Monday are on:

3* William & Mary (plus 8) vs. Old Dominion.

2* Nets (plus 9) at Memphis.

One play on Sunday and it was a clear cut 3* loser on Michigan.



William & Mary has had an unbelievable season, for their standards, yet are being talked about by nobody. I am not saying they are as talented or as good as Old Dominion, because they're not, but the Tribe are now 22-9 overall and 12-6 in a decent enough Colonial Conference.

You may say yeah but who the heck has this perennial doormat beaten? How about Maryland, Richmond and Wake Forest! Pretty freakin impressive, huh?

Plus Tony Shaver's team plays solid defense resulting in low scoring games which we saw yesterday in the 47-45 upset of Northeastern. Bill and Mary have now won three in a row play games in the 50's and 60's when not in the 40's and are catching quite a number here.

Blaine Taylor's Monarchs are 25-8 and probably the best in the Colonial with Gerald Lee leading the way but they just played an extra five minutes yesterday in the overtime win over VCU and are going to have some trouble today and possibly some tired legs in this back-to-back tournament type setting plus the overtime.

This thing is going to be ugly but tight and that is the bottom line.



Memphis has not done much of anything over the past month and the Nets have got to win back-to-back games at some point. New Jersey just upset the Knicks at Madison Square Garden and I just cannot see New Jersey going a full season without winning two in a row.

The Nets have two studs in Devin Harris and Brook Lopez and are just not that bad. Throw in a Courtney Lee and a Kris Humphries along with a Jarvis Hayes and I will go to my Grave believing this team is better than 7-55 or whatever.

The Grizzlies are very talented and being at home won't hurt but things have gone south of late as they have lost 7 of their last 19 games after starting the season at 25-19 and looking like a possible playoff team. Zach Randolph has been great and OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay will fill it up but to get almost double digits in this spot with the underrated Nets is fine with me.

Your "Bad Beat" for Saturday is on:

Marquette (moneyline minus $3) vs. Notre Dame.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to the 19-8 start to the game. Notre Dame did come back to tie it at the half but the Fighting Irish trailed 50-43 with 1:01 remaining.

That's when the luck of the Irish seemed to kick in as they ended regulation on an 8-1 run capped by Carleton Scott's three at the end to force overtime.

The Irish then opened the extra session on a 5-0 run and won the game 63-60.

Trailing by seven with a minute to go and win? Wow!!!



Your winner for Sunday is on:

3* Michigan (plus 10) at Michigan State.

A winning 1-1 Saturday as the huge 5* on Baylor came through with ease!



Just one play today and I'm fine with grabbing the points in East Lansing with the visiting Wolverines from Michigan.

Rivalry games are normally hotly contested and tight throughout, unless you're North Carolina that is. I see nothing different here today.

State is betetr overall for sure as Tom Izzo's boys were a win away from being the defending National Champions but I'm just not all that sold on them right now. The wins are still coming but the margin of victory has been fairly small more times than not. Penn State almost just won the other day as in outright in East Lansing and to get Manny Harris, DeShawn Sims and the decent enough John Beilein zone plus double digits is more than enough.

Kailin Lucas, Corey Lucious and the rest of the Spartans will be jacked up and want nothing more than to end the regular season with a W over their in-state rival. They probably will accomplish that but to win by north of around 10 ain't happening in my opinion!

Your "Bad Beat" for Friday is on:

Drake (plus 9 1/2) vs. Northern Iowa.

A big-time consolation to any DePaul backers and under backers in that St. John's-DePaul clash as the Blue Demons blew the 16 point halftime lead and lost 90-82 in triple overtime!

Now to the beat at hand. The game was meant to be a total rout for the fresher and more talented Panthers but it was anything but early on.

The score was shockingly 24-13 Bulldogs 12 minutes into the game. Drake did not score for the final 8 minutes literally and Northern Iowa ended the first half on a 10-0 run and the score was 24-23 at the half, still looking good for this dog.

Drake's defense continued to play at a very high level limiting Northern to only 32 points in the second half and 55 total for the game. The problem though for Drake was their offense which tallied a whole 16 second half points in an unreal 55-40 defeat.

Drake was outscored 42-16 in the game's final 28 minutes. Now how the heck is that possible!?!?!?



Your winners for Saturday are on:

5* Baylor (minus 3) vs. Texas.

3* Villanova (minus 3) vs. West Virginia.

A winning 2-1 Friday as James Madison won outright with ease and The Citadel won going away!



A couple of small home favorites here that are just not giving as much as they should be.

Baylor has been great this season, flat out freakin' great. LaceDarius Dunn is phenomenal and Epke Udoh and Tweety Carter are no joke. Scott Drew has ressurected this program and in Waco should flat out win this thing by a ton.

Who the heck is Texas right now? The Longhorns are not good at all. They were the top team in the land and have done a whole lot of losing ever since. The road has been extremely cruel to the Longhorns and to expect things to change today is stupid.

The 'Horns had to rally in that last game at home just to beat a poor Oklama squad. The Sooners are in a total down year and controlled that game for 30 plus minutes.

It's asking way too much for the 'Horns to win this game and that is what it almost takes in order for them to cover.

All about da Bears!



Similar here as above with Villanova. The Wildcats at home are explosive and dangerous as all heck. Scottie Reynolds leads a team that boasts a very high ceiling. The Wildcats are well coached and are ultra deep and athletic. Jay Wright's team is probably one of about six that has a real chance of winning it all.

West Virginia can be scary at times as Butler is a stud but away from Morgantown makes them very vulnerable a lot of the time. This team can win games on the road but it just doesn't come as often and today are up against a 'Nova squad that is ready to bust out once again.

The Wildcats have not been all that in these last few games but most of them did come away from Philadelphia. Now back home should be just fine and get back to those winning ways.

Your "Bad Beat" for Thursday is on:

LSU (plus 12 1/2) at Ole Miss.

A hearty consolation prize to whomever played the under between East Tennessee State and Campbell as those teams combined for only 46 first half points. With a total of 126 that should have been a winner for the under players but the second half had a combined 90 points as head scratchingly that thing surged over the total.

To the beat of the day and I'm not even sure if Shaq and Chris Jackson could help out the LSU Tigers this season but they are playing a little better and did just compete hard in Mississippi.

LSU was within three at the half and actually had a brief lead in the second half. With a little under seven minutes to go Tasmin Mitchell and the Tigers were only trailing 58-55. But they went ice cold and did not score for four plus minutes as the deficit swelled to 12 at 67-55.

Ole Miss' Terric White scored to make it 72-57 before LSU had a garbage hoop at the end in the 72-59 final. That was a decisive 14-2 run and in the end LSU scored a whole 4 points in the final 6:37 of the game to fall by the slimmest of margins, half a freakin point!



Your winners for Friday are on:

3* Harvard (minus 8) at Penn.

2* James Madison (plus 6) vs. Drexel.

2* The Citadel (minus 3) vs. Samford.

One Thursday play, on Richmond and that game had the Spiders laying anywhere from 3 1/2 to 4 and they won by four. I'll call it a push as that's fair at the very worst. Some of you listening certainly did get the win though.



Three plays today and the big one coming out of the Ivy League. Penn is finishing up a horrific campaign and is about to get whacked. They may be at home but what does that mean in this conference? There are no Cameron Indoors and being in Pennsylvania means very little when you are about against the far superior boys from Cambridge.

Jeremy Lin is a star and Tommy Amaker has done a great job with these kids making them into a competitive team against solid non-conference opponents. Earlier in the season the Crimson beat Boston College and covered easily against UCONN. They also tusseled with Georgetown in a loss and eventual non-cove and are all set to prove they are clearly the second best team, behind Cornell, the Ivy's have to offer.

Jerome Allen's team has been a complete dog with fleas and nothing changes here.



James Madison and Drexel just closed out the season and it was the Dragons who pulled out the three point victory. With a little revenge here and a new life being in the postseason I think the Dukes will keep this within range once again.

Neither team is very good and even if Drexel is better we have seen year in and year out in these tournament settings a lot of upset and this certainly could be one of them.

I never trust Madison away from home but this is not a true road game and when all is said and done I'll grab the number.



The Citadel has very good guard play and that is going to be the difference in what could be a game that is slow and slower. Just look at the total of about 108, yuck!

Samford has been horrible over the past month and I mean horrible. It appeared for some of the season that these Bulldogs were ok but in the end we saw how they just were not.

Look for Wells and Urbanus to live up to their billing and dominate the backcourt as they usually do and for The Citadel to win this thing by about 8-10 points.

Your "Bad Beat" for Wednesday is on:

Purdue (minus 19 1/2) vs. Indiana.

There were no real Bad Beats on Wednesday, surprising for a big sports night but nothing really stuck out too much.

The Capitals did score a late empty netter killing any Sabres plus 1 1/2 backers.

The beat of the day though comes from the Big 10 where Purdue opened up as the 18 1/2 point favorite and that number rose to 19 1/2. That would be fairly big.

It was all Boilermakers as Tom Crean's Hoosiers have pretty much quit. Indiana has been horrendous for awhile now and even with Robbie Hummel out injured would provide little resistance.

The Boilermakers jumped out to the 28-12 lead and led 41-25 at the break. Purdue built the advantage to a whopping 74-50 with under four minutes to go.

But Matt Painter's team would not score again and this thing ended 74-55.

Wow, a top five team does not score in the final four or so minutes against an Indiana team that has now lost 11 in a row and failed to cover by half a point for some.



Your winner for Thursday is on:

4* Richmond (minus 4) vs. Dayton.

A small winning 1-1 Wednesday as 4* Maryland took care of business unlike the 3* on Kansas State.



There are a decent amount of games today but to be honest I don't like most of them so just one play for me. Dayton has lost three straight on the road and is just not a very good team right now. Yes they have to get this win as their NCAA Tournament hopes are fading but the Richmond Spiders are no joke this season and are at home which is going to mean too much for them in the end.

Chris Mooney has a team which has been extremely impressive this season. They have beaten a pair of teams from the SEC in Florida and Mississippi State along with quality A-10 clubs like Temple and Rhode Island and in that last game should have won at the Cintas Center as the 7 point dog but just fell short in Double overtime against a top 15 or so Xavier team.

Richmond may not be known as a great program or even a regular Atlantic 10 elite but that is helping us here keeping them well undervalued in a spot that they should be at least an 8 point favorite. They are 22-7 overall and a great 11-3 in-conference.

David Gonzalvez went for 18 and 9 in that last game and should be just as good here leading the way along with Kevin Anderson and his 17 plus points per game.

The Flyers are good but not good enough in this spot!

Your "Bad Beat" for Tuesday is on:

Villanova (minus 4) at Cincinnati.

Let me first clarify that this number was 4 max and there were at times 3's and 3 1/2's out there. Also the game wound up pushing the four so it's not my best work ever but anybody who did lay the four with Jay Wright's Wildcats are a little perturbed.

The game was tied at the half but then Villanova exploded out of the gate in the second half eventually building a 66-51 lead with under six minutes to play. That lead should have been easy for Scottie Reynolds and the fellas to protect.

Or not.

The Bearcats went on a 15-0 run to get within one and after a ton of free throws in the last minute the game ended 77-73 Wildcats.

Cincinnati did miss a 30 foot three at the buzzer so it could have been a true bad beat but this is how the game ended.



Your winners for Wednesday are on:

4* Maryland (pk) vs. Duke.

3* Kansas State (plus 9 1/2) at Kansas.

A losing 1-1 Tuesday as Georgia Tech imploded in the second half.



Call me crazy but I am not sold on Duke. The Blue Devils don't have an inside presence, stop it with Brian Zoubek and Maryland has been phenomenal at home this season.

Coach K's team did win and cover in the first meeting but as always Duke is not the same team on the road as they are at Cameron. Those rims at home just seem to help the Duke shots go in, it's kind of crazy. Jon Scheyer can shoot the ball anywhere but I'm not so sure about the supporting cast.

Greivis Vasquez has been great this season and is coming off of that great game in Virginia Tech helping the Terrapins get within a game of Duke for the ACC title.

Revenge, at home, the better inside game and a few other factors make me all about the home Turtle today!



Kansas at home pretty much never loses and shouldn't lose tonight but Kansas State plays at too high of a level to ever not take a number such as this back. Clemente and Pullen are great shooters and great players.

Frank Martin may not have as deep of a squad as Kansas or a real big man that can counter Cole Aldrich but every single game the Wildcats have been competing and laying it all on the linre and I don't expect anything different today.

K State will need to weather an early storm because that is what happens with Bill Self's team at home but guard play cannot be belittled these days and if the three's go in for the visitors this game will come down to a last possession.

Your "Bad Beat" for Monday is on

North Carolina A&T (plus 13 1/2) at Morgan State.

These MEAC games do not have a number on them most of the time but they did last night. Morgan State opened up laying 14 and that went down as low as 13. It didn't look like that would matter as the underdogs from A&T shockingly led outright 37-32 at the half.

The game was 56-55 Morgan with only seven to go which more than likely was looking like an underdog easy cover. But then Reggie Holmes went crazy as he nailed eight threes in the game and poured in a game high 32 points. In the end Morgan State outscored A&T 49-30 in the second half and won 81-67.

Yikes!



Your winners for Tuesday are on:

4* Georgia Tech (plus 7) at Clemson.

2* North Carolina (minus 4) vs. Miami, Fl.

One play on Monday, a fairly easy 3* winner on Oklahoma who led most of the game in Austin and then cashed the ticket in the loss.



The season can not be deemed great as the wins have not been there of late the way Paul Hewitt would like but the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have been competing very hard and the fruits to their merit could produce an outright here.

Tech has played pretty tough on the road of late most recently in that tough buzzer beating loss at Maryland. A few weeks earlier the Jackets fell also at the buzzer in South Beach against Miami.

At some point things will even up and to get a handful of points plus with a rising star in Derrick Favors along with Gani Lawal and other talented young athletes makes me fine with this takeback. It's not going to be easy as Clemson is good and Littljohn Coliseum is not an easy place to play at all.

Trevor Booker and Demontez Stitt are quality players for the Tigers who are coming off of that hard fought victory at Florida State. 53 points was all it took for Clemson in that thing but that will not be the case here as Tech is going to put up points and enough to at the very worst cover this contest!



The season has been a debacle for North Carolina and that is quite possibly the understatement of all understatements. Nothing at all has gone right for this perennial powerhouse but I do believe they are too cheap to pass up today.

The Tar Heels are still a very talented team even if Ed Davis is out. These guys were top 5 earlier in the season and if they play like they could then they could prove that once again.

Miami is ok, nothing better nothing worse. The Hurricanes at home can rise up and beat some superior teams but I'm not so sure that they can do this on the road and at the Dean Dome.

The Heels are still not a good basketball team but they did at least compete and lose late in Boston College a week or so ago and then just won at Wake Forest and should be feeling a tad more confident than before.

Look for UNC to end the season a little better than that dreadful middle part and for this to be an 8-12 point victory.

Your "Bad Beat" for Sunday is on:

Florida State (minus 2 1/2, first half) vs. Clemson.

This is truly insanity! Florida State took the early 9-0 lead against Oliver Purnell's Clemson Tigers. It actually took the visitors seven full minutes to score a single point and eight minutes to finally get a field goal. The Seminole lead was an unreal 19-6 with only 4 minutes to go in the entire first half, yes 25 points in the first 16 minutes of game action, yuck!

It was 21-12 with under two to go before the break. Clemson mounted a bit of a comeback to get within 21-16 in the final minute but asking for the cover was still fairly silly.

Derwin Kitchen missed a three for the 'Noles and then at the buzzer Andre Young threw in a 50 foot prayer to make the score 21-19 Florida State at the break and a ridiculous/amazing/sensational cover for those Clemson Tigers!



Your winner for Monday is on:

3* Oklahoma (plus 14) at Texas.

A poor 0-2 Sunday, no other way to put it.



One play today as I'm just not going to push it. Jeff Capel's Oklahoma Sooners have been terrible this season and there is no other way to put it. This is not the Oklahoma program we are used to and certainly not the one that just boasted both Blake and Taylor Griffin among others. Things are terrible and OU should lose another game here but who the heck is Texas right now to be laying this much lumber!?!?!?

Rick Barnes had a team that was ranked first in the nation and then the you know what really hit the fan. Texas is still very talented with a beast down low in Damion James but these guys have now lost two point guards for the season in Varez Ward and Dougas Balbay and are a team that has very little momentum right now.

The Longhorns were just pounded at Texas A&M and are not worthy of even being in the top 25 right now. James, Bradley and Pittman along with a few others should be too good and get some revenge for the loss a few weeks back in Norman but I don't see a woodshed beating from UT.

I'm not too sure what Texas is right now. They have lost game after game and have failed to cover over and over again in the last month or so.

The 'Horns will get the win but not the cover!

Your "Bad Beat" for Saturday is on:

Georgia Tech (minus 7 1/2) vs. Boston College.

A very very similar and horrific beat as yesterday when Niagara imploded late in pathetic fashion at Manhattan but still won the game. Georgia Tech pretty much repeated that feat here.

Paul Hewitt's Yellow Jackets were up the entire game and fully outclassed the Eagles. Tech was up by 10 with 22 seconds remaining and Al Skinner's team for some reason fouled to extend the game despite it being in the bag. The game was over and fouling there was just flat out silly but they did. Even with that the home squad was in full control for the cover.

D'Andre Bell hit a pair of free throws to make it 73-61. That should have been game, set, match but Joe Trapani knocked down a three to get within 9 and then Tech was extremely sloppy and turned the ball over resulting in a BC miss but offensive rebound and then a make. All of a sudden the visitors shockingly got within the number with two seconds remaining.

Now the question was would the Eagles foul one more time and allow two free throws to get that cover back for the Jackets. Well genius Zachary Peacock decided to throw the ball out of bounds on the inbounds resulting in Boston College taking the ball out and getting another hoop down low as BC ended the game on a 7-0 run in the final 14 seconds and only lost by 5 in an amazing amazing backdoor cover!



Your winners for Sunday are on:

3* Virginia (plus 9 1/2) vs. Duke.

2* Florida State (minus 4) vs. Clemson.

A 1-2 Saturday including a bad call on Kentucky in a rare poor losing day.



I'm sorry but I just do not trust Duke on the road. The Blue Devils have been mediocre at best away from Cameron Indoor and even if Tony Bennett's Cavaliers have been struggling mightily of late they are not going to just melt away today with the big bad Blue Devils in town.

Sylvan Landesberg is a very good player and in Charlottesville I can't help but believe this thing is going to be competitive. I don't care what the Cavs have done in this long losing skid because they are going to man up here as every team seems to do at home. Just look at what Georgetown did to Coach K's team about a month ago. Also NC State rose up and pummeled the Devils in Raleigh.

Even when Duke has won on the road, ie Miami and BC among others, they have done so in very underwhelming fashion. Scheyer is awesome and scary as heck but nobody else really is much better than good. Guys like Smith and Singler and the Plumlee Brothers and Zoubek seem to shrivel up at times on the road and I can see that be the case a little here as well.

Until Duke really flexes its muscles away from Cameron I will gladly grab a healthy number like this, no matter how bad UVA has been.



Florida State at home is always a tough team and even if Clemson is pretty good I see the Seminoles getitng the job done here in Tallahassee.

Trevor Booker is a man and Demontez Stitt is very good but Oliver Purnell's team is never as good away from Littlejohn and are coming off of that total implosion at Maryland where they blew the 16 point leas in losing by 9. Sometimes losing a game like that can help but I don't see that being the case here as staying on the road in-conference and playing a quality foe is not going to make anything easier.

Clemson will play some defense and try to grind this game down but FSU is too good at home and the Tigers are in for another loss and non-cover.

Your "Bad Beat" for Friday is on:

Niagara (minus 3 1/2) at Manhattan.

There are bad beats and then there are bad beats!!!!

This one was insane and worthy of people jumping off a bridge over.

Niagara led the whole way and owned the 73-60 lead with six minutes to play. The Purple Eagles had been playing some great ball as they had won five of six and the Jaspers from Manhattan are fairly terrible. This thing seemed to be going according to plan and then bang.

Niagara literally scored one point in the final six plus minutes, missed five of six free throws from 82% and 77% ft shooters and walked away with the 74-72 win and non-cover absolutely destroying their backers in the most unbelievable way possible.

Go into some internet threads regarding this game and you will see a lot of words that say "fixed".

Absolutely beyond belief insane!



Your winners for Saturday are on:

4* Kentucky (minus 2) at Tennessee.

3* Texas A&M (pk) vs. Texas.

3* Virginia Tech (minus 1) vs. Maryland.

One Friday play and one easy Friday winner as the 3* on Fairfield was like stealing!



Sure I'll take John Calipari's Wildcats once again here at this bargain basement number. Could these yong guys lose in Knoxville? I guess, maybe, they did fall in South Carolina but these "diaper dandies" have smarted from that and if they come to play at all they are so much better than the Volunteers.

Tennessee is just not that good. Bruce Pearl has a team that may not even be top 25 worthy. They just stunk up the joint in Gainesville after falling in Rupp thanks to a late implosion after getting embarassed and destroyed in Vanderbilt.

Of course playing back home will be a lot easier but Wayne Chism is not healthy and to ask these guys to beat John Wall, Demarcus Cousins and this loaded KU team is asking way too much.

Laying two is basically a pick and Kentucky is just too freakin good!



Texas is another team that has been regressing for awhile now. Rick Barnes' Longhorns were number one and then bang, they stunk and still stink, relatively speaking of course. Dougas Balbay is done for the year after Varez Ward's injury earlier in the season and this team is just not what we thought they were earlier in the season.

A&M lost in overtime in Austin back when UT was a much better ballclub. Now back home is going to be too much for the visitors who have done nothing at all on the road of late. Texas has actually failed to cover in seven of their last eight away from Austin.

James and Pittman will bang down low and Avery Bradley is a young stud but the 'Horns are a bit of a disease right now and the way these Aggies have been for awhile now I can't believe anything changes.

Donald Sloan is a stud and at home the Aggies, who played toe-to-toe with Kansas a few weeks ago, will continue the 'Horns recent misery.



Maryland has just won incredible back-to-back games, the buzzer beater against Georgia Tech and then the great second half comeback against Clemson. That was at Cole and now venturing back out on the road to Blacksburg is going to be quite a difference.

Malcolm Delaney is great and Seth Greenberg's team is no fluke. The Hokies have yet to lose at home and in a game that is for second place in the ACC I don't see a good but far from great Terrapin team creating the first blemish.

The Turtle has been very good this season but they are not as rock solid on the road and just should not win this game in the end. Greivis Vasquez should be good and the Terps should not get blown out but to ask them to win is asking too much.

Your "Bad Beat" for Thursday is on:

Troy (minus 3) at Arkansas State.

The Troy Trojans were laying three on the road and it looked extremely bleak at the half.

The home dog actually led 41-25 at the break thanks to 56% shooting. Troy though shot 63% in the second half en route to the unreal 51-32 advantage in the final 20 minutes and the 76-73 victory pushing that number for most.



Your winner for Friday is on:

3* Fairfield (minus 3) vs. Iona.

A great 2-0 sweep on Thursday for 7* of profit as 4* Kentucky took care of business as did the big dog 3* Georgia Bulldogs!



Just one play today on this usual weak Friday action. Ed Cooley's Stags are at home against a pretty good Iona Gaels squad. These teams are fairly even and that is why they have the same MAAC record making this game for second place.

At home though and in revenge is going to prove to be too daunting of a task for the visitors. Iona won the first meeting 68-58 on their home court and things get evened up today.

Derek Needham is a very good player for the Stags and I fully expect 15-20 points from him leading the way. UF had that last poor performance in BracketBuster action at Vermont and now back in-conference will be just fine on their home floor.

Iona is a very competent 20-8 on the season but they have failed to cover in four of their last five and I see that trend continuing today!

Your "Bad Beat" for Wednesday is on:

Auburn (plus 9) at Mississippi.

So you back the Auburn Tigers, a decent enough basketball team, certainly not good but every now and then they do compete. Compete they did in the first half taking the 34-22 lead to the break. Plus the number you are feeling about as good as you could have ever imagined.

And then your team forgot to play defense.

Chris Wallen went ballistic for Andy Kennedy's squad and the Rebels outscored the Tigers an unreal 63-41 in the second half for the 85-75 victory.



Your winners for Thursday are on:

3* Kentucky (minus 16) vs. South Carolina.

2* Georgia (plus 11 1/2) at Vanderbilt.

I nailed the big 4* on Wednesday but failed with both the 2 and 3* so overall a small losing day.



I am not sure if I have ever layed such a price in my life but after losing in Columbia about a month ago I firmly believe that John Calipari's team will be out for blood today.

Devan Downey is phenomenal and Brandis Raley-Ross is good but in the end today the Wildcats are going to flext their muscles and win this thing by a ton. John Wall will be an NBA All-Star and DeMarcus Cousins may be as well.

This UK team is as talented as any we have seen in a long time and when they come to play it's scary. I can't see any other scenario but them wanting to come to play today and pound a Gamecock team which ambushed them in that first meeting.

Can you say 90-60?



On the opposite extreme I'm going to back Mark Fox' Georgia Bulldogs plus this hefty number. There is no doubt that Vanderbilt at home is extremely scary as we saw when they dismantled Tennesee a couple of games ago. The Commodores on that crazy court are very very good. The sidelines are behind the basket and the court is raised up making things odd for visitors.

But the Bulldogs are a much improving program and have covered a ton this season as they are still underated. Thompkins, Leslie, Price, McPhee and the Dawgs seem to stay in every single game.

These guys almost won at both Kentucky and Missisippi State, they did upset Georgia Tech, Illinois and Vandy in the season's first meeting and in that last game just came back brilliantly to beat Alabama. This is not a fluke, this is a great coach in Fox getting his system in place and the players buying in.

Sure the Commodores should get some revenge and win the game as they are too good and will show it at home. But UGA is quietly becoming a quality basketball team and we should see another competitive game today.