Monday Trends and Indexes 2/22 (NBA,NCAAB, Misc.)

[Udog]

NCAAB


Monday, February 22

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Tips and Trends
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West Virginia Mountaineers at Connecticut Huskies [ESPN | 7:00 PM ET]

Mountaineers (-1.5, O/U 135): West Virginia has won back to back games both SU and ATS since they lost consecutive games SU. West Virginia is ranked #8 in the country with a SU record of 21-5. The Mountaineers are 10-3 SU and 6-7 ATS in both road games and neutral court settings this season. West Virginia has yet to win or lose more than 2 games ATS in a row this season. West Virginia is 6-7 ATS as a single digit favorite this season. The Mountaineers are averaging nearly 88 PPG over their past 3 road games. 4 different players average double figures in PTS this season for West Virginia, including F Da'Sean Butler. Butler averages a team high 17.5 PPG and 3.3 APG this season. F Kevin Jones has started every game this season, and is averaging 13.7 PPG and 7.8 RPG while shooting 51.7% from the field this season. Defensively, West Virginia has limited 6 of their past 10 opponents to fewer than 65 PTS. West Virginia won SU the last time they played at UCONN as 2.5 underdogs.

Mountaineers are 2-5 ATS last 7 games following an ATS win.
Over is 8-3 last 11 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.

Key Injuries - None.

PROJECTED SCORE: 69 (SIDE of the Day)

Huskies: Connecticut is making 1 last ditch effort to make the NCAA Tournament, as they've been impressive in their past 2 contests. UCONN beat Villanova and Rutgers both SU and ATS away from home. The Huakies are currently 16-11 SU and 11-14 ATS for the entire season. UCONN is 13-3 SU and 5-9 ATS at home this season. The Huskies are 5-2 ATS as the listed underdog this season. Today marks only the 2nd time this season that UCONN will be an underdog at home this season. UCONN has averaged 80 PPG their past 2 contests, but prior to that they were really struggling on the offensive end. Over their past 3 home games, the Huskies have only averaged 60 PPG. G Jerome Dyson leads a group of 3 different Huskies averaging double digits in PTS. Dyson averages 18.7 PPG, and is easily one of the most feared scorers in the Big East. Dyson also averages 4.7 RPG and 4.6 APG to show off his all around game. F Stanley Robinson averages 15.6 PPG and a team high 7.5 RPG for the Huskies this season.

Huskies are 7-1 ATS last 8 games following a SU win.
Over is 20-6 last 26 home games vs. a team with a road winning % greater than .600.

Key Injuries - C Jonathan Mandeldove (grades) is out.

PROJECTED SCORE: 60



Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas Jayhawks [ESPN | 9:00 PM ET]

Sooners: Clearly Oklahoma is in the post Blake Griffin era, as the Sooners have an overall record of 13-13 SU this season. Oklahoma has really struggled in league play, where they are only 4-8 SU this season. The Sooners are on pace to finish with their worst conference finish since the 1996 season. Odds are stacked against them tonight, as Oklahoma has lost the past 9 games SU at Kansas. The Sooners are 2-11 SU and 3-9 ATS in both true road games and neutral court settings this season. Oklahoma is 4-7 ATS as the listed underdog this season. Today marks the 1st time this season the Sooners are a double digit underdog. Defensively, the Sooners have allowed 5 consecutive opponents to score more than 70 PTS against them. 8 of the past 12 games, this Sooners offense has been held below 70 PTS. Oklahoma has 5 players averaging double figures in PTS this season, with G Willie Warren averaging a team high 16.3 PPG. G Tony Crocker has started every game this season for the Sooners and averages 11.6 PPG.

Sooners are 1-6 ATS last 7 games vs. a team with a winning SU record.
Under is 4-1 last 5 road games.

Key Injuries - F Tiny Gallon (suspension) is out.

PROJECTED SCORE: 61

Jayhawks (-22, O/U 149): Kansas is having a dream season, as they are 26-1 SU and ranked #1 in the country. Kansas has won 12 straight games SU since their lone defeat this season. Kansas is a perfect 16-0 SU at home this season, and have been so dominant at home that they've only had 2 games that were decided by single digits. Despite their dominance, the Jayhawks are 6-7 ATS at home this season. Kansas is 5-5 ATS as a favorite more than 20 PTS this season. The Jayhawks have actually lost 6 of their past 7 games ATS entering tonight's contest. Kansas has had recent success against Oklahoma, as they've won 5 straight games SU against them. The Jawhawks can tie a school record tonight with a SU win, as Kansas would clinch a share of the conference title for their record 6th straight season. Kansas has won 57 consecutive games SU at home. G Xavier Henry has been on fire of late, averaging nearly 17 PPG over his past 4 games. Henry averages 13.6 PPG this season, 2nd on the team. G Sherron Collins leads the team with 15 PPG and helps pace this Jayhaws offense,averaging 82.7 PPG this season.

Kansas is 1-6 ATS last 7 games overall.
Under is 13-3 last 16 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.

Key Injuries - G CJ Henry (tailbone) is questionable.

PROJECTED SCORE: 79 (UNDER - Total of the Day)


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[Udog]

Monday six-pack

According to Baseball America, six of the top minor league prospects for the Arizona Diamondbacks........

6) Mike Belfiore, LHP-- Pitched 9.2 IP in epic 25-inning loss in NCAA tourney LY; BC's 1B/closer went 2-2, 2.17 in 11 Pioneer League starts.

5) Chris Owings, SS-- Hit .306 in minor league debut; could be moved to 2B down road. Has been compared to Craig Biggio.

4) Brandon Allen, OF-- Hit four HR in 104 big league AB LY; homered twice off David Price in 2008. Should be in big leagues this season.

3) AJ Pollock, OF-- Notre Dame alum played first year of Class A ball in South Bend; espected to play AA ball this season.

2) Bobby Borchering, 3B-- HS kid from Florida hit only .241 in Class A Pioneer League; switch-hitter has been compared to Chipper Jones.

1) Jarrod Parker, P-- Was 4-6, 3.68 in AA, before getting shut down in July with a tight elbow.


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Monday's List of 13:
Wrapping up a sports weekend.......

13) Let me get this straight; NBC showed Russia-Czech Republic hockey Sunday afternoon, but US-Canada, Sweden-Finland were on MSNBC. If I'm the commissioner of the NHL, I'm on the phone with ESPN, begging them for a timeslot, any timeslot, to get my league the airtime it deserves.

12) ESPN has airtime for poker and fishing; they'd give the NHL another go, and with it would come increased exposure for great league that seems at times like it is run by a bunch of circus clowns. (no offense to clowns)

11) CBS left the World Match Play tournament at 6pm Saturday, with a match still going on, a match that went until dark (8:30 or so in east); you think they would have shipped the telecast to The Golf Channel if the #1 player in the world was playing? Tim Finchem probably wants to call the sex rehab place every day, asking when Eldrick's going to be done.

10) Only 20 of 64 matches this week got to the last hole; eight of those 20 wound up going extra holes. Its the one sporting event that might be more interesting the first day than the last day.

9) Something I learned watching NASCAR Sunday: "Concrete pit boxes are really tough on the drive shaft." Whatever the hell that means.

8) Something else I'm learning about NASCAR; most of these drivers have attractive wives, very attractive. I guess my speeding tickets aren't quite an impressive as driving at Daytona, but I drive fast too......by the way, how is 19-year old kid a NASCAR driver? How is he that good so soon?

7) Mets finally did right thing, signed Rod Barajas, giving them an actual major league catcher to start the season with. You'd think a team with an annual payroll of $150M wouldn't have such issues. You'd think......

6) I'm not suggesting anything, but Cavaliers are 0-3 since they traded for Antawn Jamison. Does the NBA have a 30-day refund policy?

5) Big West teams played nine Bracket Buster games Saturday; one game was pick 'em, the underdog covered the other eight. Big West teams won seven of those nine games, a terrific day for that not-so-tough league.

4) Rumors are getting louder than Utah/BYU could be leaving Mountain West Conference for the Pac-10, which would create a domino effect, as far as teams switching leagues out west. MWC has nine teams now, so they would really only need one team to come in, but who would they go after? Boise State? Idaho? Nevada? New Mexico State? UTEP?

3) Once the Pac-10 has 12 teams, they'll split into divisions and have one of those football playoff games for big TV bucks every December. Then the Big 11 will do the same thing, and more shuffling will ensue. And kids will look around and wonder why everyone makes money but them.

2) US-Canada hockey was a great game, an example of how tremendous a sport hockey is; would it be too much to ask to get its games on network in this country that people have heard of, or know where to find it?

1) If I could choose one play-by-play announcer doing one sport, would be Mike Emrick doing hockey. Ray Scott doing NFL from back when I was a kid would be second, but Emrick on hockey is a treasure.......

[Udog]

Len's Top 5

Happy Monday everyone, here's my Top 5 for February 22, 2010 from Len Berman.

1. Quick Hits

Not exactly a miracle. (See below.) But the U.S. beat Canada in Olympic hockey for the first time in 50 years, 5-3.
American skier Bode Miller won his first Olympic gold medal, winning the super-combined.
So how did that work out exactly? Johnny Damon reportedly turned down $14 million over two years from the Yankees. He wound up getting $8 million for one season from Detroit.
In golf, Ian Poulter won the Match Play Championship. More fans seem interested in the fact that Tiger Woods headed back to sex addiction rehab.

2. Control Freak

So Tiger Woods broke his silence Friday with his hermetically sealed "news conference." Yes it seemed rehearsed, especially that pause before he looked right in the camera to say "I'm sorry." I would have liked some more talk about his fans, and less about religion. And I'm glad, in a nod to Tom Watson, he said he has to be "more respectful" of the game. That means less cursing and throwing clubs on the course. But the truth is he doesn't owe us all the gory details of his philandering. To his fans, he just needs to be a better role model. Hopefully this was the first step.

3. Winter Break

In no particular order of importance, here's some of the other stuff that happened while the Top 5 was on vaca last week:

* Potholes plagued the running of the Daytona 500. What's next, toll booths?

* What a host. The Canadian Women's Hockey team beat Slovakia 18-0. Maybe when they hit double figures they could have cut down on their shots on goal?

* The U.S. recaptured the America's Cup. A nation yawned.

* They've worked out a deal so a boxing match can take place at Yankee Stadium in June instead of a bar mitzvah. Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything about the briss.

4. Do You Believe in Miracles?

Older readers will remember exactly what they were doing 30 years ago today. The U.S. Olympic hockey team beat the Russians 4-3 in the semi final game at Lake Placid. I chose that game as the #1 all time sports moment in my kids book "The Greatest Moments in Sports." Since then, people have told me where they were that day. One reader was at a Sha Na Na concert at Madison Square Garden. Jay and the Americans opened. Jay said he was going to play Only in America because "we beat the F-ing Russians." Lovely. Another told me he was a student at USC and people were running along side the freeway waving American flags. It was the ultimate feel good moment for Americans. We've had far too few of those, recently.

5. And the Winner Is....

Before the Top 5 went on vacation we held a contest. Who could guess the cauldron lighter at the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver? It turns out 4 athletes were supposed to light ceremonial cauldrons, but one of the 4 cauldrons broke. You guys only guessed two of the four, Wayne Gretzky and Steve Nash. Some of your guesses included Celine Dion, Michael J. Fox and Pamela Anderson. Yeah, she had a shot. Gretzky then lit the permanent cauldron, so Gerald H. And Lon S. are the winners. (Enjoy your non-prizes.) The best response went to Curtis R. He wrote, "It's Canada. Well how 'bout Eh-b Vigoda? Or the birthday boy, Eh-b Lincoln?"
We have some lovely parting non-gifts as well.

Happy Birthday: One of my faves, Dr. J. Julius Erving. Happy 60th Doc!
Bonus Birthday: Actress Drew Barrymore. 35.

Today in Sports: The Miracle on Ice. The U.S. hockey team shocks the Russians at Lake Placid. 1980.
Bonus Event: The original "George W." was born in this date. 1732.