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West Region Semifinals
March 22, 2011
Last week showed us the madness reined supreme over college basketball as we spent four straight days up until midnight on the Eastern seaboard. Now we get down to the nitty gritty of who will make the trip to Reliant Stadium in Houston next week.
The West Region semifinals will kick off the action on Thursday night from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It all starts off at 7:15 p.m. EDT on CBS with the third-seeded Huskies taking on No. 2 seed San Diego State (34-2 straight up, 22-12 against the spread).
Most betting shops opened this game up with the Aztecs as one-point favorites with a total of 128 ½. Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon, and we find Connecticut (28-9 SU, 20-11 ATS) is a one-point “chalk” with the total getting bounced up to 130. The Aztecs are getting even money to get the outright victory.
It might sound strange for Jim Calhoun’s club to get this kind of by the gambling public since the Big East took a nose dive in the tournament (11 teams in, 2 remain). But the Huskies are arguably the hottest team from that league.
UConn comes into the Sweet Sixteen after rolling over 14th-seeded Bucknell and 6th-seeded Cincinnati last week at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. And that doesn’t take into account that the Huskies had to win five games in as many days to win the Big East tournament. Plus, Connecticut is riding a seven-game ATS win streak into this game.
Kemba Walker has been the catalyst for this drive for the Huskies, scoring 33 points against Cincy in the third round and 18 points versus the Bison in the previous game. Freshman Jeremy Lamb has also been extremely effective in the NCAA tournament so far, averaging 15.0 points per game. There could be some concern for Walker in this game after hurting his wrist against the Bearcats, but he’s listed as “probable” and fully expected to start.
The Aztecs are coming into this game in virgin territory for their program. They had not won an NCAA tourney game before this year, which is undoubtedly the best they’ve had in school history.
San Diego State has reached the regional semifinals thanks to a dominating second round win over 15th-seed Northern Colorado and survived a double-overtime thriller against 7th-seed Temple last Saturday. Steve Fisher’s team is riding a 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS streak heading into this game in the O.C.
Kawhi Leonard (15.6 PPG, 10.6 RPG) and Malcolm Thomas (11.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG) have been the two players for SDSU to make them really move, but now they’re getting some help. Billy White has played with a great sense of urgency in the Aztecs’ last three games, scoring 16.3 PPG and grabbing 12.7 rebounds per game.
San Diego State has only been an underdog three times this season. In those situations, the Aztecs are 2-1 SU and ATS with the ‘under’ going 2-1. That total play would make sense as the ‘under’ is on a 5-2 run to close out the season.
The Huskies have not been that great as single-digit favorites this season, going 9-6 SU and 6-9 ATS. The ‘under’ has gone 9-5-1 in those contests.
Our nightcap starts up at 9:45 p.m. EDT on CBS, when the Blue Devils and Wildcats tip off. The oddsmakers have listed Duke as an 8 ½-point favorite with a total of 144 ½. The Wildcats can be had to make the Elite Eight for a plus-400 (risk $100 to win $400) return.
Arizona (29-7 SU, 18-15-1 ATS) wasn’t expected to do too much in the NCAA tournament outside of a couple of handicappers. Yet the Wildcats stand two wins away from the Final Four. They got to this point by holding off Memphis in the second round and Texas in the third round in two of the more intense games we’ve seen during the even thus far.
The Wildcats would simply not be in this game if it weren’t for Derrick Williams’ heroics. Arizona’s Williams had 17 points and nine rebounds in the 70-69 win over the Longhorns as a 5 ½-point underdog. The sophomore and Pac-10 Player of the Year completed a three-point play with 9.6 left in the second half to take the lead. And Williams made a game-saving block with just two seconds left against Memphis for a 77-75 win last Friday.
We shouldn’t be all that surprised by the good fortunes of Arizona right now as they closed the year with a 14-3 SU and 9-7-1 ATS mark. However, they went 0-7 ATS from Feb. 19 to March 10. Since then, the ‘Cats are 3-1 SU and ATS. The ‘under’ is on a 3-1 run as well.
Duke (32-4 SU, 20-15 ATS) is certainly groomed for a second straight national championship after being graced with the top seed in the West Region. The Blue Devils destroyed 16th-seeded Hampton in the second round and then held off 8th-seeded Michigan in the third round in Charlotte.
Looking at the Blue Devils’ body of work in the NCAA tournament can say that they are folding freshman Kyrie Irving into the game quite well. Irving posted 14 points and four boards against the Pirates last Friday, then 11 more points two days later versus the Wolverines. Nolan Smith is still running show for Duke, averaging 16.5 PPG in the tourney.
These two teams haven’t met one another in a long time, but the history is tilted towards Duke. The Blue Devils are 2-0 SU and ATS in the two meetings they’ve had since 1997. The most recent decision coming in the 2001 national final, where Duke rolled to a 82-71 win as a four-point pup.
Being an underdog isn’t exactly foreign for the Wildcats, having happened nine times during the campaign. Arizona is 3-6 SU and 5-4 ATS in those contests as a pup, which isn’t that inspiring. However, Sean Miller’s kids have gone 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS in their last three games listed as ‘dogs. The ‘under’ is 6-2 during those test for gamblers that love playing totals.
Duke has gone 6-3 SU in the nine games this year that the sportsbooks listed them as a single-digit “chalk.” Gamblers have enjoyed taking the Blue Devils in this role as well as they’ve gone 6-3 ATS. The ‘under’ is 5-4 in those matches.
March 22, 2011
Last week showed us the madness reined supreme over college basketball as we spent four straight days up until midnight on the Eastern seaboard. Now we get down to the nitty gritty of who will make the trip to Reliant Stadium in Houston next week.
The West Region semifinals will kick off the action on Thursday night from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It all starts off at 7:15 p.m. EDT on CBS with the third-seeded Huskies taking on No. 2 seed San Diego State (34-2 straight up, 22-12 against the spread).
Most betting shops opened this game up with the Aztecs as one-point favorites with a total of 128 ½. Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon, and we find Connecticut (28-9 SU, 20-11 ATS) is a one-point “chalk” with the total getting bounced up to 130. The Aztecs are getting even money to get the outright victory.
It might sound strange for Jim Calhoun’s club to get this kind of by the gambling public since the Big East took a nose dive in the tournament (11 teams in, 2 remain). But the Huskies are arguably the hottest team from that league.
UConn comes into the Sweet Sixteen after rolling over 14th-seeded Bucknell and 6th-seeded Cincinnati last week at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. And that doesn’t take into account that the Huskies had to win five games in as many days to win the Big East tournament. Plus, Connecticut is riding a seven-game ATS win streak into this game.
Kemba Walker has been the catalyst for this drive for the Huskies, scoring 33 points against Cincy in the third round and 18 points versus the Bison in the previous game. Freshman Jeremy Lamb has also been extremely effective in the NCAA tournament so far, averaging 15.0 points per game. There could be some concern for Walker in this game after hurting his wrist against the Bearcats, but he’s listed as “probable” and fully expected to start.
The Aztecs are coming into this game in virgin territory for their program. They had not won an NCAA tourney game before this year, which is undoubtedly the best they’ve had in school history.
San Diego State has reached the regional semifinals thanks to a dominating second round win over 15th-seed Northern Colorado and survived a double-overtime thriller against 7th-seed Temple last Saturday. Steve Fisher’s team is riding a 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS streak heading into this game in the O.C.
Kawhi Leonard (15.6 PPG, 10.6 RPG) and Malcolm Thomas (11.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG) have been the two players for SDSU to make them really move, but now they’re getting some help. Billy White has played with a great sense of urgency in the Aztecs’ last three games, scoring 16.3 PPG and grabbing 12.7 rebounds per game.
San Diego State has only been an underdog three times this season. In those situations, the Aztecs are 2-1 SU and ATS with the ‘under’ going 2-1. That total play would make sense as the ‘under’ is on a 5-2 run to close out the season.
The Huskies have not been that great as single-digit favorites this season, going 9-6 SU and 6-9 ATS. The ‘under’ has gone 9-5-1 in those contests.
Our nightcap starts up at 9:45 p.m. EDT on CBS, when the Blue Devils and Wildcats tip off. The oddsmakers have listed Duke as an 8 ½-point favorite with a total of 144 ½. The Wildcats can be had to make the Elite Eight for a plus-400 (risk $100 to win $400) return.
Arizona (29-7 SU, 18-15-1 ATS) wasn’t expected to do too much in the NCAA tournament outside of a couple of handicappers. Yet the Wildcats stand two wins away from the Final Four. They got to this point by holding off Memphis in the second round and Texas in the third round in two of the more intense games we’ve seen during the even thus far.
The Wildcats would simply not be in this game if it weren’t for Derrick Williams’ heroics. Arizona’s Williams had 17 points and nine rebounds in the 70-69 win over the Longhorns as a 5 ½-point underdog. The sophomore and Pac-10 Player of the Year completed a three-point play with 9.6 left in the second half to take the lead. And Williams made a game-saving block with just two seconds left against Memphis for a 77-75 win last Friday.
We shouldn’t be all that surprised by the good fortunes of Arizona right now as they closed the year with a 14-3 SU and 9-7-1 ATS mark. However, they went 0-7 ATS from Feb. 19 to March 10. Since then, the ‘Cats are 3-1 SU and ATS. The ‘under’ is on a 3-1 run as well.
Duke (32-4 SU, 20-15 ATS) is certainly groomed for a second straight national championship after being graced with the top seed in the West Region. The Blue Devils destroyed 16th-seeded Hampton in the second round and then held off 8th-seeded Michigan in the third round in Charlotte.
Looking at the Blue Devils’ body of work in the NCAA tournament can say that they are folding freshman Kyrie Irving into the game quite well. Irving posted 14 points and four boards against the Pirates last Friday, then 11 more points two days later versus the Wolverines. Nolan Smith is still running show for Duke, averaging 16.5 PPG in the tourney.
These two teams haven’t met one another in a long time, but the history is tilted towards Duke. The Blue Devils are 2-0 SU and ATS in the two meetings they’ve had since 1997. The most recent decision coming in the 2001 national final, where Duke rolled to a 82-71 win as a four-point pup.
Being an underdog isn’t exactly foreign for the Wildcats, having happened nine times during the campaign. Arizona is 3-6 SU and 5-4 ATS in those contests as a pup, which isn’t that inspiring. However, Sean Miller’s kids have gone 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS in their last three games listed as ‘dogs. The ‘under’ is 6-2 during those test for gamblers that love playing totals.
Duke has gone 6-3 SU in the nine games this year that the sportsbooks listed them as a single-digit “chalk.” Gamblers have enjoyed taking the Blue Devils in this role as well as they’ve gone 6-3 ATS. The ‘under’ is 5-4 in those matches.
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