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**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:15 AM

Daily Sports Roundup: March 26

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Lakers look for a win in Oklahoma City, while the remaining four Sweet 16 matchups are played in Houston and St. Louis.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA has 11 games on tap for Friday, with Washington at Charlotte, Denver at Toronto, Atlanta at Philadelphia, Minnesota at Orlando, Utah at Indiana, Sacramento at Boston, Detroit at New Jersey, Miami at Milwaukee, Cleveland at San Antonio, New York at Phoenix, and the Lakers at Oklahoma City. The Lakers are 3-0 against the Thunder so far this season, winning the most recent matchup 111-108 at home on December 22 as a 10-point favorite. Kobe Bryant poured in 40 points for Los Angeles in that victory, while Pau Gasol was good for 15 points and 11 boards. Kevin Durant had 30 points in the loss for the Thunder.

As well, the second half of the Sweet 16 gets underway in college hoops action on Friday, with the South Region's top team, Duke, taking on No. 4 Purdue at Houston's Reliant Stadium. The No. 1 Blue Devils have the oddsmakers' support in that contest, as they're listed as 8-point favorites with the total for the game at 128 points. The other South matchup on Friday has No. 10 St. Mary's taking on No. 3 Baylor. The Bears are the favorites in that contest, giving 4.5 points to the Gaels. The total for the St. Mary's/Baylor matchup has been set at 142.5 points.

Meanwhile, there are two Sweet 16 matchups in the Midwest Region at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on Friday, including No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Ohio State. The Buckeyes are the highest seed left in the Midwest, and they've been pegged as 4.5-point favorites against the Volunteers on Friday (with the total for the contest at 134 points). The other Midwest matchup has No. 9 Northern Iowa taking on No. 5 Michigan State. The Spartans are slim 1-point favorites over the team that toppled Kansas, with the total for the contest at 121.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there are just three games on the ice on Friday night, as the National Hockey League offers up Minnesota at Detroit, Anaheim at Edmonton, and Ottawa at Buffalo. The 39-30-5 Senators have bounced back from a rough stretch to put up back-to-back shutout wins over the Canadiens and Flyers. Brian Elliott was between the pipes in both of those contests for Ottawa, and the netminder now sits at 25-17-3 with a 2.52 GAA on the season. The Senators have taken on the Sabres four times already this year, winning all four contests.

**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:15 AM

Bettors' best friend: Friday's wagering tips

Lines off the board

Atlanta Hawks at Philadelphia 76ers: Sixers guard Louis Williams (back) and forward Thaddeus Young (thumb) are questionable.

Sacramento Kings at Boston Celtics: Kings guard Tyreke Evans (concussion) is out.

Cleveland Cavaliers at San Antonio Spurs: Cavs forward LeBron James (ankle) is probable.

Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers: Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf (ankle) and Oilers center Patrick O'Sullivan (finger) and goalie Devan Dubnyk (flu) are questionable.

Lines to keep an eye on

Denver Nuggets at Toronto Raptors: The Nuggets opened as 4-point favorites over the Raptors but that line his climbed as high as 5 at most books. Toronto is 0-9 ATS in its last nine home games.

Utah Jazz at Indiana Pacers: The total opened at 209.5 and has jumped to 210.5 at most shops.

Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder: The total climbed from 198 at opening to 199. Over is 5-1-1 in Thunder's last seven.

Who's hot

Cleveland Cavaliers have won eight in a row SU.

Los Angeles Lakers have won seven in a row SU.

Atlanta Hawks are 6-1 ATS in their last seven.

Detroit Red Wings are 6-1 in their last seven.

Who's not

Minnesota Timberwolves are 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10.

Detroit Pistons are 1-7 SU and ATS in their last eight.

Denver Nuggets are 0-6 ATS in their last six.

Buffalo Sabres have lost eight in a row to Ottawa Senators.

Key stat

100 vs. 2 - Number of all-time NCAA Tournament victories by Kentucky vs. the number of all-time NCAA Tournament wins by Cornell entering Thursday night's Sweet 16 matchup.

Injury that shouldn't be overlooked

With the focus on Michigan State's loss of leading-scorer Kalin Lucas, a pair of wounded Spartans have been lost in the mix. Delvon Roe and Chris Allen are probable with foot injuries but neither have been at their best during the tournament. They normally combine for 16 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. If they're not 100 percent, replacing Lucas will be that much tougher against Northern Iowa.

Game of the day

Lakers at Thunder

Notable quotable

"I don't care, man. I'm excited. He can call me Tito. He can call me New Edition, Spongebob, call me whatever he wants. I'm going to go out and play.''

Miami's Michael Beasley on TNT analyst Charles Barkley's comment that Dwayne Wade and the Heat are like "Michael Jackson playing with a bunch of Tito Jacksons." before Thursday night's TNT game against Chicago.

Tips and notes

The Denver Nuggets' three-game losing streak and 0-6 ATS slide have less to do with the absence of coach George Karl than the loss of Kenyon Martin's toughness around the rim. The Celtics pulled down 17 offensive boards and scored more than half their points in the paint in Wednesday's 113-99 win over the Nuggets, who have been outrebounded by 15 during their current two-game road trip.

The Heat may be in for an emotional letdown following Thursday's game in Chicago, where they played on TNT for the first time since in-studio analyst Charles Barkley called Miami's Dwyane Wade "Michael Jackson playing with a bunch of Tito Jacksons." The "Titos" took offense and said they were treating it like a playoff game, but they will face a more playoff-like challenge tonight against the Bucks, winners of 15 of their last 18 SU.

March is when depth and fatigue start to play larger roles and Tennessee has a big edge over Ohio State in those areas. The Vols have one more day of rest than the Buckeyes, whose bench accounted for no points in 13 minutes Sunday. Tennessee's bench scored 28 points in 64 minutes Saturday and only starter played more than 33 minutes. Three OSU starters played all 40 minutes.

**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:17 AM

Friday six-pack

According to Baseball America, these are six of the top prospects in the New York Mets minor league system.......

6) Jon Neise, LHP-- 2-2, 5.22 in eight big league starts; tore hamstring covering first in a game last summer. Hopefully in Mets' rotation.

5) Brad Holt, P-- Got roughed up in AA; Mets got him when Tom Glavine signed with the Braves. Will probably start '10 in AA.

4) Ike Davis, 1B-- Hit .309 with 12 HRs in half a season in AA; son of former big league reliever Ron Davis has a future at first in Flushing.

3) Fernando Martinez, OF-- Hit .176 in 91 big league ABs LY, but he's having a terrific spring. Won't be 22 until October 10th.

2) Wilmer Flores, SS-- Won't be 19 until August; hit .264 in SAL in '09.

1) Jenrry Mejia, P-- Struck out 47 batters in 44 IP at AA, but was 0-5 in 10 starts on bad team. Should get to the big leagues this season.

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Friday's List of 13: Random stuff for the last Friday in March

13) Way back in 1956, Canisius beat NC State in four OTs in an NCAA tournament game; the Xavier-Kansas State game that just ended had to be just as good a game as that one. Wildcats survived all kinds of chaos and advanced to the regional final with a thrilling

12) Under-the-radar stat: Back in December, K-State beat Xavier 71-56 in a game that saw Wildcat sub Jamar Samuels go 2-11 from foul line. Kid was 6-8 from line Thursday, on a much bigger stage, so good for him.

11) Xavier's Jordan Crawford is an ABA-level gunner; he was 13-29 with only two assists in this game, but he also drained couple of huge 3's that extended the game into overtime. At some point, if he's going to become an NBA player, he has to learn what a good shot is and isn't.

10) If you told me Butler would be 6-24 from arc, I'd tell you Syracuse would be playing Saturday, but Bulldogs forced 18 turnovers, as Orange didn't pass fake much, and seemed surprised when Butler deflected a lot of passes and got fairly easily steals. It took Syracuse 7:02 to score first basket of the night, but team that got only 31 minutes from its bench all night ran out of gas at the end, as Bulldogs advance to regional final.

9) Early lines for Saturday: Kentucky -4; Kansas State, -3.5.

8) Washington/West Virginia played an intense, sloppy game, with WVa surviving its first game without PG Bryant (foot), winning 69-56 on nite where they played 15:00 with no point guard on floor. In 25:00 they had Mazzulla on floor, he was 1-8 with four turnovers. Ebanks showed why he needs at least another year in college, turning ball over eight times.

7) Nine Cornell seniors who gave Big Red fans many thrills ended their careers in 62-45 loss to an athletically superior Kentucky squad. Big Red made just 5-21 from arc, but did creep back with 40-34 in second half.

6) Bob Huggins won't want to see Lorenzo Romar again anytime soon-- he coached against Romar tonight with his point guard out with a broken foot; last time he coached against him, it was Cincinnati-Saint Louis in a conference tourney game, the day Kenyon Martin broke his leg. Those are Huggins' two best teams since he made the '92 Final Four.

5) Gonzaga assistant coach Leon Rice took the Boise State job; rumors have Boise winding up in Mountain West, so thats a pretty big job.

4) Portland Trailblazers had their 108th straight sellout Thursday.

3) Whomever gets the UTEP job will probably have everyone back except for Caracter, who figures to declare for NBA Draft. Miners, Memphis are going to be the favorites in C-USA next winter.

2) Eagles have no leverage now; they have to trade Donovan McNabb in wake of this week's fiasco as far as rumored trades to every corner of the country. They're locked into Kevin Kolb as their '10 starter. Good luck.

1) Paul Hewitt turned down St John's; if I was the AD there, I'd make a run at Jeff Van Gundy and see if he would coach my team. He'd make a terrific Big East coach- his NBA pedigree would attract bigtime players.

**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:18 AM

NBA
Write-Up

Friday, March 26

Hot Teams
-- Orlando won eleven of its last thirteen games.
-- Jazz won five of their last six games. Pacers won last four games, covered last seven.
-- Hawks won five of their last six games.
-- Bobcats won nine of last 12 games (9-2-1 vs spread).
-- Celtics won, covered five of last six games.
-- Lakers won last seven games (4-3 vs spread). Thunder won nine of last thirteen games.
-- Heat won nine of its last twelve games. Bucks won 15 of last 18.
-- Cavaliers won last 15 games (10-4 vs spread in last 14). Spurs are 5-0 (4-1 vs spread) in game following their last five losses.
-- Suns won 13 of last 16 games, are 3-1-1 vs spread in last five. Knicks covered five of their last seven games.

Cold Teams
-- Minnesota lost 13 of last 14 games (1-6 vs spread last seven).
-- Nuggets lost last three games, are 0-6 vs spread in last six. Raptors lost 11 of their last 15 games.
-- 76ers lost eight of their last ten games.
-- Wizards lost their last 13 games (4-9 vs spread).
-- Sacramento lost four of last five games.
-- Nets are 1-4 vs spread in last five games, but 4-3 vs spread in game that followed one of their infrequent wins. Pistons haven't won or covered any of their last six games.

Playing Second of Back-to-Back Nights
-- Miami is 2-6 vs spread if on road a second consecutive night.

Totals
-- Over is 8-4 in Minnesota's last twelve games.
-- Five of last seven Indiana games stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Denver games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 5-2 in Atlanta's last seven road games.
-- Under is 11-4 in last fifteen Charlotte games.
-- Six of last nine Boston games went over the total. Four of Kings' last five games stayed under.
-- Seven of last nine Laker games stayed under the total. Over is 5-2-1 in last eight Oklahoma City games.
-- Eight of last twelve Detroit games went over the total.
-- Under is 3-1-1 in last five Miami games.
-- Last four Cleveland games stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five New York games stayed under the total.

**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:19 AM

NBA

Friday, March 26

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
ATLANTA vs. PHILADELPHIA
Atlanta is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Atlanta's last 8 games on the road
Philadelphia is 3-13 SU in its last 16 games
Philadelphia is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games at home

7:00 PM
DENVER vs. TORONTO
Denver is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games
Denver is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Toronto is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Denver
Toronto is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Denver

7:00 PM
MINNESOTA vs. ORLANDO
Minnesota is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
Orlando is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
Orlando is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota

7:00 PM
UTAH vs. INDIANA
Utah is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games on the road
Utah is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Indiana
Indiana is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Utah
Indiana is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Utah

7:00 PM
WASHINGTON vs. CHARLOTTE
Washington is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Charlotte
Washington is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing Charlotte
Charlotte is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Charlotte's last 8 games when playing at home against Washington

7:30 PM
SACRAMENTO vs. BOSTON
Sacramento is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Sacramento is 4-18 SU in its last 22 games on the road
Boston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Boston's last 10 games when playing at home against Sacramento

8:00 PM
DETROIT vs. NEW JERSEY
Detroit is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing New Jersey
Detroit is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing New Jersey
New Jersey is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games
New Jersey is 1-14 SU in its last 15 games at home

8:00 PM
LA LAKERS vs. OKLAHOMA CITY
LA Lakers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
LA Lakers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games
Oklahoma City is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home

8:30 PM
CLEVELAND vs. SAN ANTONIO
Cleveland is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
San Antonio is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Cleveland
San Antonio is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland

8:30 PM
MIAMI vs. MILWAUKEE
Miami is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
Miami is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Milwaukee's last 14 games when playing at home against Miami
Milwaukee is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Miami

10:00 PM
NEW YORK vs. PHOENIX
New York is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
New York is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
Phoenix is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing New York
Phoenix is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing New York

7:00 PM
UTAH vs. WASHINGTON
Utah is 5-1-1 SU in its last 7 games
Utah is 1-3-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Washington is 8-13-2 ATS in its last 23 games when playing Utah
Washington is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Utah

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**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:20 AM

NBA

Friday, March 26

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Pick 'n' Roll: Today's best NBA bets
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Utah Jazz at Indiana Pacers (+5, 210.5)

The Pacers don’t have anything left to play for. They won’t make the playoffs (again) and right now they’re playing second fiddle in the state of Indiana to some college team called Butler.

They’re banged up with three starters either out or fighting through injuries and every loss increases their chances of moving up in the June draft.

But coach Jim O’Brien doesn’t believe in any of that.

"We get paid to win," he told the Indianapolis Star. "I'll play the guys I think give us the best chance of winning. Flat out and simple. There won't be any deviating from that.

"I've never been asked to deviate from that from management. That hurts the integrity of the NBA when you do that."

Normally we’d call bulls**t on a statement like that but O’Brien’s club is backing up their coach’s words.

The Pacers are 9-1 against the spread in their last 10 games and are currently riding a four-game win streak.

We’ll take the points and the hot home team.

Pick: Pacers

Denver Nuggets at Toronto Raptors (+5, 217)

Make sure to look up before you step out the door because the sky is falling in Denver. Woody Paige wrote a column saying that the Nuggets’ season might as well end today because there’s no way Denver is going to contend for the title this season.

Sure the Nuggets have lost three straight, but let’s not jump ship on them just yet. Kenyon Martin’s knee will get better (expected to be back in a week or two) and Ty Lawson will be back up to speed in no time.

Sure it’s tough losing George Karl (undergoing cancer treatment) but he’s just the coach. Players win games, not coaches.

Chauncey Billups will settle down the troops and Denver will score over 110 points against a free-falling Toronto club.

Pick: Nuggets

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**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:21 AM

NBA

Friday, March 26

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What bettors need to know: Lakers at Thunder
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Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder (Pick 'em, 199)

The skinny

Oklahoma City is currently in sixth place in the Western Conference playoff standings, but its final positioning is far from set. The Thunder are just 3.5 games out of second place and just 2.5 out of being in eighth place.

The Lakers are sitting comfortably in first place, six games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks. Barring a huge letdown, the Lakers will own the No. 1 seed in the West. They have their sights set on the best overall record in the NBA, which the Cavaliers currently own. Los Angeles is 3.5 games behind the Cavs.

Playoff push

The Thunder got a huge win over the Houston Rockets Wednesday. For the moment, the victory puts to rest questions about the direction this team is headed down the stretch. Oklahoma City had lost three of its past four games after winning five straight and eight of nine. It had lost to Charlotte, Indiana and San Antonio before last night’s victory.

"It was a great game for us,” coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "We came back after a tough loss against the Spurs and played great basketball.”

The Thunder put on one of its best offensive showings this season, leading by as many as 25 points, scoring 101 points through three quarters and shooting 58.8 percent for the game.

Rookie James Harden returned from a six-game absence to give the Thunder a huge lift, scoring 23 points off the bench Wednesday. That included 13 straight points from Harden in the first quarter, propelling Oklahoma City to 81 percent shooting in the first quarter on its way to a season-high 74 points in the first half.

Oklahoma City now finds themselves in uncharted territory, nearly a lock for the playoffs for the first time since the team moved from Seattle. Every game is huge from here on out, especially the next two against fellow playoff squads Los Angeles and Portland.

The L. A. (good and bad) Times

Los Angeles has won seven straight games, but you’d never guess that by the attitude of its players or head coach Phil Jackson.

"I can't really judge or gauge that right now," Jackson said after a number of what he calls "lackluster" wins. "I haven't been sufficiently impressed by them, but keep getting assurances that they are better than they show.''

He was referring to close wins over Toronto (two points), Golden State (three points), Sacramento (seven points), Minnesota (eight points) and Washington (seven points). The Lakers did get a reassuring win on the road over San Antonio Wednesday night.

Los Angeles turned a 7-point halftime deficit into a 9-point win, sparked by strong defense. The Lakers dismantled the Spurs in the second half, outscoring them, 51-35. They allowed 18 points in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth. San Antonio shot just 29.7 percent after halftime and All-Star forward Tim Duncan made just 2-of-11 shots and finished with six points.

Los Angeles is dealing with its share of injuries. Andrew Bynum and Luke Walton are out until early April while Lamar Odom has a sore shoulder but continues to play on. Twice before Odom has felt the same kind of pain and in both cases he underwent surgery.

"I'll just play," Odom told the media. "It's simple. I have to. I've done it before. It's going to hurt, some people learn how to play with pain whether it be emotionally or physical. I've been one of those guys."

Bynum and Walton both hope to come back quickly after the Lakers' five-game trip, either against Utah April 2 or against San Antonio April 4, both game at Staples Center.

Head to head

Oklahoma City has lost 12 consecutive times to the Lakers (dating back to games against the SuperSonics), the longest active losing streak against them.

The Lakers have won all three meetings this season, winning by three (OT), 16 and three points. Oklahoma City is 2-1 ATS against the Lakers this season.

Clash of the titans

Kobe Bryant is averaging 32.3 points in three games against the Thunder this season, shooting 47.8 percent (34-of-71). Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant is averaging 25.6 points in three games against L.A., shooting 46 percent (29-of-63). Durant is 0.1 points behind LeBron James for the NBA scoring title.

Trends

Los Angeles is 4-1 ATS in its last five road games but just 5-11-1 ATS in its last 17 games overall.

Oklahoma City is 5-1 ATS in its last six vs. Western Conference and 13-5 ATS in its last 18 games vs. a team with a winning SU record.

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**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:22 AM

NCAAB
Dunkel

FRIDAY, MARCH 26

Game 873-874: Northern Iowa vs. Michigan State
Dunkel Ratings: Northern Iowa 68.950; Michigan State 70.494
Dunkel Line: Michigan State by 1 1/2
Vegas Line: Michigan State by 2
Dunkel Pick: Northern Iowa (+2)

Game 875-876: Tennessee vs. Ohio State
Dunkel Ratings: Tennessee 69.386; Ohio State 74.523
Dunkel Line: Ohio State by 5
Vegas Line: Ohio State by 4 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Ohio State (-4 1/2)

Game 877-878: St. Mary's (CA) vs. Baylor
Dunkel Ratings: St. Mary's (CA) 65.631; Baylor 73.884
Dunkel Line: Baylor by 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Baylor by 4
Dunkel Pick: Baylor (-4)

Game 879-880: Purdue vs. Duke
Dunkel Ratings: Purdue 68.089; Duke 77.558
Dunkel Line: Duke by 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Duke by 8
Dunkel Pick: Duke (-8)

**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:22 AM

NCAAB
Long Sheet

Friday, March 26

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N IOWA (30 - 4) vs. MICHIGAN ST (26 - 8) - 3/26/2010, 9:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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TENNESSEE (27 - 8) vs. OHIO ST (29 - 7) - 3/26/2010, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TENNESSEE is 23-42 ATS (-23.2 Units) in all neutral court games since 1997.
TENNESSEE is 23-42 ATS (-23.2 Units) when playing on a neutral court since 1997.
TENNESSEE is 17-38 ATS (-24.8 Units) in all tournament games since 1997.
OHIO ST is 37-23 ATS (+11.7 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
OHIO ST is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) in all tournament games over the last 3 seasons.
OHIO ST is 13-6 ATS (+6.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
OHIO ST is 29-15 ATS (+12.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 3 seasons.
TENNESSEE is 72-50 ATS (+17.0 Units) as an underdog since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
OHIO ST is 1-0 against the spread versus TENNESSEE over the last 3 seasons
TENNESSEE is 1-0 straight up against OHIO ST over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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ST MARYS-CA (28 - 5) vs. BAYLOR (27 - 7) - 3/26/2010, 7:25 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BAYLOR is 12-3 ATS (+8.7 Units) in road games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
BAYLOR is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
BAYLOR is 29-16 ATS (+11.4 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
ST MARYS-CA is 22-9 ATS (+12.1 Units) in all games this season.
ST MARYS-CA is 22-9 ATS (+12.1 Units) in all lined games this season.
ST MARYS-CA is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) when the total is 140 to 149.5 over the last 2 seasons.
ST MARYS-CA is 14-2 ATS (+11.8 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
ST MARYS-CA is 14-2 ATS (+11.8 Units) in non-conference games this season.
ST MARYS-CA is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in all tournament games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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PURDUE (29 - 5) vs. DUKE (31 - 5) - 3/26/2010, 9:55 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PURDUE is 53-79 ATS (-33.9 Units) as an underdog since 1997.
PURDUE is 39-62 ATS (-29.2 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games since 1997.
DUKE is 36-59 ATS (-28.9 Units) in March games since 1997.
DUKE is 8-20 ATS (-14.0 Units) on Friday nights since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
DUKE is 1-0 against the spread versus PURDUE over the last 3 seasons
DUKE is 1-0 straight up against PURDUE over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:23 AM

NCAAB
Short Sheet

Friday, 3/26/2010

NCAA Tournament - Regional Semifinals - Edward Jones Dome - St. Louis, MO
N IOWA vs. MICHIGAN ST, 9:35 PM ET
N IOWA: 23-10 ATS in all games this season
MICHIGAN ST: 1-5 ATS off SU dog win

TENNESSEE vs. OHIO ST, 7:05 PM ET
TENNESSEE: 17-38 ATS in tournament games
OHIO ST: 15-6 ATS in tournament games

NCAA Tournament - Regional Semifinals - Reliant Stadium - Houston, TX
ST MARYS-CA vs. BAYLOR, 7:25 PM ET
ST MARYS-CA: 14-2 ATS off non-conference game
BAYLOR: 11-2 Over off BB SU wins

PURDUE vs. DUKE, 9:55 PM ET
PURDUE: 7-0 Over on Friday nights
DUKE: 8-20 ATS on Friday nights

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:24 AM

NCAAB
Write-Up

Friday, March 26

Friday's NCAA games

Northern Iowa-Michigan State is just second game between 5-9 seeds in history of this round (BC upset Indiana in '94); Spartans are without PG Lucas; they're 7-2 in last nine games, but were -12 (18-6) in turnovers vs Maryland, needed to make 10-18 from arc to pull out 85-83 win. UNI is Kurt Warner's alma mater, playing in Rams' dome. #5 seeds are 7-3 vs spread in last 10 in this round, but they were underdog in all 10 games. UNI beat Iowa by 17, in its only game this year vs Big 11 opponent.

Tennessee had 17-point lead on Ohio State in this round of '07 tourney, but lost 85-84 (+4), when Buckeyes were #1 seed, Vols #5. Underdogs are 4-2 vs spread in games involving 2-6 seeds in this round since 2001. Buckeyes won last nine games, but best team they've beaten outside the Big 11 is still either Cal/Florida State (not that impressive). Vols are 9-2 in last 11 games; they're 2-4 vs spread in last six games as an underdog. Tennessee lost 73-72 to Purdue in only game vs Big 11 foe this season.

St Mary's won last seven games, and was underdog in last three; Gaels are 14-2 outside WCC, losing to USC by 11 in Hawai'i, to Vandy by 2 at home- they held Villanova to 36% from floor in win six days ago. Baylor will have crowd edge in Houston; Bears are 10-2 in last 12 games, 4-1 vs spread in last five as a favorite. St Mary's is most diverse offensive club Baylor has faced since Kansas. #10 seeds are 4-10 in this round since '97, with underdog 9-5 against the spread in those games.

Duke won six in row, 14 of last 15 games; they beat Cal by 15 despite shooting 3-15 from arc. Purdue beat Siena (CJackson didn't play) in first round, Texas A&M in OT in second (Roland broke leg during season); as far as we know, Duke is at full strength. Duke lost 73-69 at Wisconsin in December, its only game vs Big 11 foe; last time Blue Devils beat team seeded higher than 5th was way back in 2001, long time ago. After last night's results, #1 seeds are 7-3 vs spread in last 10 games in this round.

**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:25 AM

NCAAB

Friday, March 26

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Trend Report
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7:07 PM
TENNESSEE vs. OHIO STATE
Tennessee is 6-11-1 ATS in its last 18 games
Tennessee is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Ohio State's last 5 games

7:27 PM
ST. MARY'S vs. BAYLOR
St. Mary's is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
St. Mary's is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Baylor is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
Baylor is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games

9:37 PM
NORTHERN IOWA vs. MICHIGAN STATE
Northern Iowa is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Northern Iowa is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Michigan State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games

9:57 PM
PURDUE vs. DUKE
Purdue is 2-6-1 ATS in its last 9 games
Purdue is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games
Duke is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Duke's last 6 games

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**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:26 AM

NCAAB

Friday, March 26

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NCAA Tournament: regional Sweet 16 picks
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South

No. 10 St. Mary's Gaels vs. No. 3 Baylor Bears (-4.5, 142.5), 7:27 p.m.

The first game of the semifinals in Houston counters two teams in uncharted territory. St. Mary’s is making its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1959 while it’s been 60 years since Baylor reached this round of the NCAA tourney.

Including the West Coast Conference championship, the Gaels have won three straight games as an underdog, covering by an average of nearly 15 points. For the season, St. Mary’s is an impressive 5-2 SU and ATS in an underdog role.

Led by 6-foot-11 center Omar Samhan (21.5 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 2.9 blocks), the Gaels have upset No. 7 Richmond and No. 2 Villanova. The confident center is averaging 30.5 points, shooting 75 percent from the floor and has been almost impossible to stop in the tournament.

St. Mary’s must face one of the better defenses in college basketball. Baylor’s large frontcourt of 6-foot-10 Ekpe Udoh, 6-foor-10 Anthony Jones and 7-footer Josh Lomers should keep Samhan from having his third dominating performance in as many tourney games.

"We were just trying to pound people inside (in the first two rounds) - and we did,” Samhan said. "You can't do that against (Baylor).”

Besides being intimidating inside, the Bears are also extremely athletic, especially their two starting guards – All-Big 12 performers LaceDarius Dunn (19.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Tweety Carter (15.1 ppg, 6.0 apg). Baylor will also have the decided advantage of playing in front of a partial-Bears crowd at the Reliant Center.

St. Mary’s has been a nice, Cinderella story for this tournament but one that’s about to come to an end. Since 1998, a 10th-seed or higher has won just six of 27 games in the Sweet 16 round. I expect the No. 10 Gaels to continue this losing trend.

Final score prediction: Baylor 73, St. Mary’s 67

No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers vs. No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (-8.5, 127.5), 9:57 p.m.

Duke will attempt to defeat a fourth-seed or better for the first time in nine years when it meets Purdue in the South Region’s nightcap Friday. The Boilermakers are trying for their first win over a No. 1 seed in five tries.

Purdue continues to make believers out of those that doubted it could advance in the tournament without injured Robbie Hummel. In Hummel’s absence, guard Chris Kramer has stepped up, averaging 13.5 points (twice his scoring average), 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game in the tourney.

In Duke’s 15-point win over California Sunday, the Blue Devils made just 3-of-17 3-pointers, including 1-of-8 from star guard Jon Scheyer (18.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.8 apg). For the tournament, the Wooden Award finalist has been held to 10 points per game and is shooting less than 28 percent from the field.

Duke’s big men and bench - not its big three of Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith – have carried the Blue Devils this March. Brian Zoubek, Miles Plumlee and Lance Thomas have scored 47 combined points after averaging less than 16 per game entering the tournament.

“We get the most attention," Singler said of himself, Scheyer and Smith, "but when it comes down to it, Zoobs, Lance and our guys coming off the bench have won games for us.”

The main difference between these two teams is their abilities to crash and control the boards. Duke ranks 14th in the nation in rebounding margin with a plus-6.4 margin (plus-10.0 in the tournament) while Purdue is minus-7.5 in its two tournament games.

The loss of Hummel finally catches up with the Boilermakers as the Blue Devils, in a double-digit victory, reach the Elite Eight for the first time in six years.

Final score prediction: Duke 68, Purdue 54

Midwest

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers (+4.5, 134), 6:07 p.m.

Tennessee (27-8) is the next team to take a crack at slowing Ohio State (29-7) and its all-everything Evan Turner, trying to use the Buckeyes’ lack of depth against them.

It’s been a while since anybody’s been able to do it either and come out with a win.

Turner didn’t have to do much in the opening-round win over UC Santa Barbara. In his team’s 75-66 victory over Georgia Tech Sunday, he had 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, but also nine of his team’s 19 turnovers.

Clearly, Turner will be the focus of Tennessee’s defense. Expect Vols coach Bruce Pearl to throw all he has into making sure Turner doesn’t dominate. But the Buckeyes do have other players.

Jon Diebler, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, hit 11 3-pointers in the opening two rounds. He and David Lighty combined for 38 points against Georgia Tech, as OSU shot 49 percent overall.

Neither team is particularly tall or bulky, so this will be one of the more up-and-down games of the Sweet 16.

The play of on-again, off-again guard J.P. Prince has been big for the Volunteers. In the team’s last 12 games, UT is 9-0 when the senior scored in double figures and 0-3 when he doesn’t. He had 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting in an 83-68 win over upstart Ohio Saturday.

But really, the team’s key will be the play of 6-foot-7 guard Scotty Hopson. He is the team’s leading scorer (12.5 ppg) but is also its best perimeter defender, and could get the bulk of responsibility slowing Turner.

We’re still waiting for a team to take advantage of the Buckeyes’ lack of depth. Three OSU starters played the full 40 minutes Sunday and the bench played a total of 15 minutes. Only 6-foot-8, 250-pound starting forward Dallas Lauderdale regularly gets rest.

If any team can do so, it may be the high-octane Vols. They went a solid nine deep in the win over Ohio.

But that was the chief plan for Georgia Tech, before OSU’s pressure on both ends got the Yellow Jackets in foul trouble and caused 21 turnovers.

Prediction: Ohio State 82, Tennessee 76

No. 5 Michigan State Spartans vs. No. 9 Northern Iowa Panthers (+1.5, 125), 8:37 p.m.

This is a matchup of two teams that did what it took to get through to the Sweet 16 in the unpredictable Midwest Regional. Northern Iowa (30-4) knocked off tournament favorite Kansas 69-67, while MSU (26-8) got a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by reserve guard Korie Lucious to stun Maryland 85-83.

Michigan State will be without its top player, point guard Kalin Lucas, who ruptured his Achilles on Sunday. Lucious takes his spot in the starting lineup.

Two big advantages for the Spartans: Few teams can hang on the boards with them. They rank No. 2 nationally in rebounding and held a 42-24 advantage over Maryland Sunday.

And few coaches get their teams better prepared for games than Tom Izzo, who has his Spartans in the Sweet 16 for the ninth times in 13 seasons. He’s had five days to figure out Northern Iowa.

Some more positive news for MSU, starting guard Chris Allen, who played just four minutes against Maryland (foot), expects to be at full speed by Friday. The team also hopes hobbling 6-foot-8 starting forward Delvon Roe (knee) will continue to improve as he heals.

Taking care of the ball has been an issue for MSU of late. The Spartans committed 19 turnovers against Maryland’s pressure defense, but UNI doesn’t press the ball the same way.

“We’re going to need everybody we have in uniform to step up,” Izzo said on Monday. “There were times we had two walk-ons, a freshman and a sophomore on the court Sunday and that probably won’t be the last time in the tournament. Northern Iowa is good, but thank God they’re not a team that presses like Maryland.”

No team is more confident than the Panthers. The current face of the NCAA Tournament is UNI guard Ali Farokhmanesh, who hit the all-guts 3-pointers to close out Kansas and UNLV.

The Panthers had just nine turnovers in the win over Kansas and they rank No. 2 in scoring defense, allowing only 54.8 ppg.

“We feel like we are a good team and can play with anyone,” said senior forward Adam Koch after the Kansas win. “We never doubted we could play with them at all.”

Seven-foot center Jordan Eglseder, the team’s leading scorer at 12 ppg, was a force in the two opening rounds. Michigan State doesn’t have that kind of height, though its center, freshman Derrick Nix (6-foot-8), is listed at the same weight (280 pounds) as Eglseder.

Both teams are physical and big and have good shooters. Two big questions the game will likely hinge on: How will Lucious do taking over at the point for the Spartans and will anyone for the Panthers be able to matchup with Spartans athletically strong forward Raymar Morgan?

Prediction: Michigan State 68, Northern Iowa 62

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**Udog** · 03-26-2010, 05:28 AM

NHL
Write-Up

Friday, March 26

Hot Teams
-- Red Wings won 10 of their last 13 games.
-- Ottawa won last two games, both by 2-0 scores, after losing nine of its previous ten games. Sabres won last four games, outscoring foes 17-8.
-- Oilers won last three games, outscoring opponents 11-5.

Cold Teams
-- Minnesota lost five of its last six road games.
-- Anaheim lost last five road games, outscored 20-7.

Totals
-- Over is 5-2 in Detroit's last seven home games.
-- Under is 9-4 in last thirteen Buffalo games.
-- Last four Anaheim road games stayed under the total.

Playing second of back-to-back nights
-- Minnesota is 0-6 when playing second night in row on road.

Series Records
-- Detroit won 13 of its last 17 games against Minnesota.
-- Senators won their last eight games against Buffalo.
-- Ducks won their last three visits to Edmonton.

Announcement

Friday Trends and Indexes 3/26 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, Misc.)

Friday Trends and Indexes 3/26 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, Misc.)

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