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Wednesday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the college basketball title:
3-1— Gonzaga, Baylor
7-1— Michigan
11-1— Villanova
14-1— Houston, Ohio State, Texas
16-1— Florida State
18-1— Illinois, Iowa
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 501,724
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“We all wish we could have more rest. I’m here to work. I’m here to punch my clock in and be available to my teammates.”
Lebron James
Wednesday’s quiz
Which college team did Brad Stevens lead to two Final Fours?
Tuesday’s quiz
Doc Rivers was the Boston Celtics’ coach before Brad Stevens.
Monday’s quiz
Fred Thompson played a District Attorney on Law and Order; in real life, he was a US Senator from Tennessee, and unsuccessfully tried to run for President.
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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
13) A gambler bet $67,000 Tuesday night at @pointsbetusa that 17-0 Baylor would beat 2-16 Iowa State SU, but Baylor was down 32-15 early, was still down a point with 4:54 left to play- they wound up winning 77-72.
The gambler risked $67,000, made himself a stresssful $2,914. Very stressful.
12) Baylor 77, Iowa State 72— That was the Bears’ first game in three weeks; they just need to get games under their belt, to get ready for the tournament. Can a team get in midseason form in three weeks? We’re about to find out.
11) March’s college basketball schedule is going to be scrambled this year, but at least they’re going to play tournaments, unlike last year. Some of the conference tournaments start next week; I’ll be posting information on all that I can. Hopefully next season will be more normal.
10) NBA trends on back/backs:
— Road teams who played at home night before: Favorites 4-3 ATS, underdogs 6-10-1
— Teams on road for 2nd consecutive night: F 13-8 ATS, U 19-13-1
— Teams at home for 2nd consecutive night: F 12-9-1, U 14-14
— Home teams who played on road night before: F 2-9, U 10-6
— Home teams 38-38-1………favorites 31-29-1, underdogs 49-43-2
9) I’d be fascinated to know what NBA coaches who also coached in college think about the two sports: Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens, Quin Snyder. Even Lon Kruger, who coached the Hawks for a few years but who coaches Oklahoma now.
Recruiting and the transfer epidemic has to make college coaching less appealing; the money is better in the NBA, but lot of coaches like to teach— lot more of that in college.
Would be a fascinating HBO special this summer. Or NBA TV.
8) Lefty pitcher Scott Kazmir signed a minor league deal with the Giants; he has a career record of 108-96, but hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016. Giants will be his 7th big league team.
7) NBA teams who play the fastest tempo, which could be helpful in betting totals:
1) Golden State
2) Houston
3) Chicago
4) Minnesota
5) Philadelphia
6) Michigan State 81, Illinois 72: Some nights Illinois looks like a Final Four team, then there are nights like tonight. You have to win four tournament games in a row to make the Final Four; is Illinois consistent enough?
5) There are already 110 kids on the college basketball transfer portal; with this year being a free year for college players, meaning that conceivably, everyone playing this year could also come back and play next year, the transfer portal should be fascinating this spring.
Over 1,000 kids transferred last year; I’m guessing this year’s number will be around 1,500.
4) All-Star reserves were announced Tuesday; couple of surprising omissions:
— Phoenis Suns are 20-10; Devin Booker is their best player, scoring 24.7 ppg.
— Domantas Sabonis is one of four players averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
NBA All-Star Game is way harder to make than the baseball/football All-Star Games
3) Michigan’s football team has six new assistant coaches for next season; now all ten of Jim Harbaugh’s assistant coaches are under 40 years old, which is highly unusual.
2) Georgia 91, LSU 78— Dismal effort by LSU, which is now 4-5 in its last nine games. LSU is #329 in the country in assists/FG’s made, meaning they go 1-on-1 a lot and depend on their rebounding for scoring. Not the best recipe for March, especially for experience team #327.
1) Auburn star Sharife Cooper has his foot in a walking boot, Auburn isn’t playing in the postseason and Cooper is likely headed to the NBA this summer, so his college career is pretty much over. So are Auburn’s chances of winning again this season. They’ve lost 7 of their last 8 games, and finish up with Tennessee/Alabama.
Odds to win the college basketball title:
3-1— Gonzaga, Baylor
7-1— Michigan
11-1— Villanova
14-1— Houston, Ohio State, Texas
16-1— Florida State
18-1— Illinois, Iowa
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 501,724
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“We all wish we could have more rest. I’m here to work. I’m here to punch my clock in and be available to my teammates.”
Lebron James
Wednesday’s quiz
Which college team did Brad Stevens lead to two Final Fours?
Tuesday’s quiz
Doc Rivers was the Boston Celtics’ coach before Brad Stevens.
Monday’s quiz
Fred Thompson played a District Attorney on Law and Order; in real life, he was a US Senator from Tennessee, and unsuccessfully tried to run for President.
*************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
13) A gambler bet $67,000 Tuesday night at @pointsbetusa that 17-0 Baylor would beat 2-16 Iowa State SU, but Baylor was down 32-15 early, was still down a point with 4:54 left to play- they wound up winning 77-72.
The gambler risked $67,000, made himself a stresssful $2,914. Very stressful.
12) Baylor 77, Iowa State 72— That was the Bears’ first game in three weeks; they just need to get games under their belt, to get ready for the tournament. Can a team get in midseason form in three weeks? We’re about to find out.
11) March’s college basketball schedule is going to be scrambled this year, but at least they’re going to play tournaments, unlike last year. Some of the conference tournaments start next week; I’ll be posting information on all that I can. Hopefully next season will be more normal.
10) NBA trends on back/backs:
— Road teams who played at home night before: Favorites 4-3 ATS, underdogs 6-10-1
— Teams on road for 2nd consecutive night: F 13-8 ATS, U 19-13-1
— Teams at home for 2nd consecutive night: F 12-9-1, U 14-14
— Home teams who played on road night before: F 2-9, U 10-6
— Home teams 38-38-1………favorites 31-29-1, underdogs 49-43-2
9) I’d be fascinated to know what NBA coaches who also coached in college think about the two sports: Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens, Quin Snyder. Even Lon Kruger, who coached the Hawks for a few years but who coaches Oklahoma now.
Recruiting and the transfer epidemic has to make college coaching less appealing; the money is better in the NBA, but lot of coaches like to teach— lot more of that in college.
Would be a fascinating HBO special this summer. Or NBA TV.
8) Lefty pitcher Scott Kazmir signed a minor league deal with the Giants; he has a career record of 108-96, but hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016. Giants will be his 7th big league team.
7) NBA teams who play the fastest tempo, which could be helpful in betting totals:
1) Golden State
2) Houston
3) Chicago
4) Minnesota
5) Philadelphia
6) Michigan State 81, Illinois 72: Some nights Illinois looks like a Final Four team, then there are nights like tonight. You have to win four tournament games in a row to make the Final Four; is Illinois consistent enough?
5) There are already 110 kids on the college basketball transfer portal; with this year being a free year for college players, meaning that conceivably, everyone playing this year could also come back and play next year, the transfer portal should be fascinating this spring.
Over 1,000 kids transferred last year; I’m guessing this year’s number will be around 1,500.
4) All-Star reserves were announced Tuesday; couple of surprising omissions:
— Phoenis Suns are 20-10; Devin Booker is their best player, scoring 24.7 ppg.
— Domantas Sabonis is one of four players averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
NBA All-Star Game is way harder to make than the baseball/football All-Star Games
3) Michigan’s football team has six new assistant coaches for next season; now all ten of Jim Harbaugh’s assistant coaches are under 40 years old, which is highly unusual.
2) Georgia 91, LSU 78— Dismal effort by LSU, which is now 4-5 in its last nine games. LSU is #329 in the country in assists/FG’s made, meaning they go 1-on-1 a lot and depend on their rebounding for scoring. Not the best recipe for March, especially for experience team #327.
1) Auburn star Sharife Cooper has his foot in a walking boot, Auburn isn’t playing in the postseason and Cooper is likely headed to the NBA this summer, so his college career is pretty much over. So are Auburn’s chances of winning again this season. They’ve lost 7 of their last 8 games, and finish up with Tennessee/Alabama.
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