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:

Lakers (over 198) at Memphis.

The Grizzlies led 81-76 after three quarters. This thing was on a clear cut over pace as only 42 points in the final period were needed to clear the over.

But then the teams went a bit cold on the offensive end and with the Grizz leading 98-96 in the waning seconds a Laker basket would mean overtime and a definite over. But no, Kobe did what he does best and nailed a three with right around four seconds remaining for the 99-98 late lead.

Memphis had a last chance to send it over but OJ Mayo could not score and this thing fell a point short of that over.



Your winners for Wednesday are on:

4* St. Louis (plus 4 1/2) vs. Xavier.

3* Memphis (minus 2) at Houston.

2* South Florida (plus 13) at Villanova.

A solid 1-1 Tuesday as the big 5* on Hofstra won outright as the 11 point dog!



All of a sudden Rick Majerus has put his stamp on this St. Louis program. The Billikens were pretty much always mediocre at best but right now these guys are pretty solid.

Xavier is still the better team of the two but St. Louis has won six in a row including home wins over Dayton and Rhode Island proving how this recent run is no fluke. Overall the Billikens are 18-8 and a great 9-3 in the Atlantic 10.

The Musketeers continue to beat teams and prove they are an elite squad in conference but laying points on the road is never a great strategy and to get the suddenly surging Billikens here plus this number is more than enough for me.



The days of John Calipari's Memphis Tigers are no more and Josh Pastner is no John Calipari but this price is cheap enough for me.

Memphis has lost twice this season in-conference which is unheard of but the talent level is still fairly high, not like years' past but still not bad at all. Houston is a good team but nothing more. Earlier in the season it appeared as if the Cougars were going to be very good but that has not at all come to fruition and even at home here are not ready to get over that hump and beat the Tigers.

This may not be a blowout like we have seen but Memphis is too good and it will show in the end.



Why not grab this number with Dominique Jones and the Bulls? South Florida is at the very least a competent team that has already won in Georgetown shocking the Hoyas. I don't see lightning striking twice for Stan Heath' gang but this Villanova team has not been the same team over the past few weeks and Jones is a special player who will score a ton of points today, as usual.

Scotty Reynolds is great and the rest of Jay Wright's team is very very good and very very deep but we have seen a few losses lately, including that last game at Pittsburgh and right now the confidence level is not where it was just a few short weeks ago. Throw in the fact that Syracuse is right around the corner making this a bit of a look ahead spot for the Wildcats.

Villanova is too good of a team to not win this game but South Florida is also an improving squad that should be a little perturbed after that bad home loss to St. John's.

I just don't see 'Nova running away with this thing!

Your "Bad Beat" for Friday is on:

Niagara (total of 141) at Canisius.

The game was tied at 62 with 2:18 to play after Rob Garrison's layup. That's when the offense stopped and killed the over players, yes the "offense stopping killed the over players!"

Nobody would muster even a single point in the final two plus minutes and this thing went into overtime still tied up at 62.

Things did not really heat up in the extra session at all as the game was only 65-64 Niagara with 2:53 to go. The under was still a possibility thanks to literally 5 points in the last 5 minutes.

But then the Purple Eagles ran ahead 70-64 leading to the fouling game and the 73-70 final resulting in a very very very lucky over.



Your winners for Saturday are on:

4* SMU (plus 8) vs. Memphis.

3* Georgetown (plus 1) vs. Duke.

2* Iowa (plus 14) at Michigan.

A 2-0 sweep on Friday for 5* with the Hornets and Spurs!

I can't say that I really truly like the SMU Mustangs but they are a much improved program and the aura of Memphis is certainly not what it used to be. The days of Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts are long gone, shoot the days of John Calipari are now long gone as young Josh Pastner is in charge.

The Tigers are still pretty talented and good I am not denying that but these guys are no longer invincible as they are in much tighter games this season and going on the road like this to Southern Methodist is not going to be a walk in the park.

The Mustangs are clearly well inferior but at home will bring some game. These guys will treat this game as thee game and in the end will have a shot to not only cover but give Memphis their second conference loss.



Duke is very very good but I'm not at all sold on them being great. Jon Scheyer is certainly a player for sure and there is more talent including Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler along with the Plumlee boys but the Blue Devils are in the nation's capital today and basically have no answer for Greg Monroe.

Coach K's team has struggled at times defending bigs and Monroe is the big of all bigs. I can see him completely control the boards and shut Duke down if they can't make their long three's.

This will be a very competitive game as the Devils won't get blown out but the Hoyas at home are warriors and will squeak this thing out in the end.



In the beginning of the season this Iowa Hawkeye team was horrendous. Todd Lickliter lost all of his talent to transferring and others issues and the cupboard was extremely bare. But things have been a lot better of late and right now the Hawkeyes are not the same dismal garbage they appeared to be.

Iowa was just leading Evan Turner and Ohio State at the half in a cover and before that won going away against an improved Indiana squad. If you look a little further back the Hawks covered a 21 or so point number by only losing by single digits at Michigan State in a moral type victory.

These guys are clamping down a bit with the defense and playing tighter than expected low scoring games.

Michigan in Ann Arbor with Manny Harris and Deshawn Simms have some potential to be pretty good. But John Beilein's team is still far from anything better than good anywhere and I can see 62-54.