Announcement

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 09:54 AM

Daily Sports Roundup: April 2

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: VCU takes on Butler and Kentucky meets UConn in the Final Four, the Clippers play host to the Thunder, and the Astros battle the Phillies.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA offers up five games on Saturday, with Toronto at Chicago, Minnesota at Memphis, Philadelphia at Milwaukee, Dallas at Golden State, and Oklahoma City at the Clippers. The Thunder blasted the Clippers when the two teams last met on February 22, winning 111-88 as a 9-point home favorite in an UNDER result. Jeff Green (since traded to Boston) poured in 22 points for Oklahoma City in that victory, while Kevin Durant was good for 21 points, and Russell Westbrook picked up 13 points and seven assists. Blake Griffin had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers in that losing cause.

As well, the Final Four is set for Houston's Reliant Stadium on Saturday night, with Virginia Commonwealth taking on Butler in the first matchup, and Kentucky battling with Connecticut in the second matchup. Oddsmakers like Butler's chances of getting past VCU and claiming a berth in the NCAA Tournament's championship game for the second year in a row, as they've been listed as 2.5-point favorites at most books; the total for the early contest is sitting at 133 points. Kentucky is the other team favored by the books to grab a Final Four victory on Saturday night, as they're giving 2.5 points in their game against Connecticut. The oddsmakers have the total for that one set at 140.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The American League slate for Saturday has the White Sox at Cleveland, Minnesota at Toronto, the Angels at Kansas City, Baltimore at Tampa Bay, Boston at Texas, Seattle at Oakland, and Detroit at the Yankees. The Tigers' Brad Penny will take on New York's A.J. Burnett in that last matchup. Righthander Penny appeared in nine games for the Cardinals last season, going 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA in those outings. Righthander Burnett had a 10-15 record with an ugly 5.26 ERA over his 33 starts with the Yankees last year.

Over in the NL on Saturday it's then Pittsburgh at the Cubs, Atlanta at Washington, San Diego at St. Louis, San Francisco at the Dodgers, the Mets at Florida, Milwaukee at Cincinnati, Arizona at Colorado, and Houston at Philadelphia. Cliff Lee gets the ball for the Phillies in their game against the Astros, with Houston countering with Wandy Rodriguez. Lefthander Lee split last season between the Mariners and Rangers, going 12-9 with a 3.18 ERA. Lefthander Rodriguez was 11-12 with a 3.60 ERA last season.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there are 11 games on the NHL's schedule for Saturday, with Atlanta at Boston, Tampa Bay at Minnesota, Detroit at Nashville, Dallas at Los Angeles, Montreal at New Jersey, Carolina at the Islanders, Toronto at Ottawa, Buffalo at Washington, Pittsburgh at Florida, Edmonton at Vancouver, and Anaheim at San Jose. The Ducks improved to 44-28-5 on the season by knocking off Calgary 4-2 on the road in their last game on Wednesday night. Anaheim and San Jose have split their season series 2-2 to date, with the Sharks winning the last matchup 4-3 in Anaheim on February 2. Antti Niemi stopped 27 of 30 shots that night for the Sharks. Bobby Ryan had a goal for the Ducks in the loss.

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 09:57 AM

Saturday's betting tips: Yankees, Grizzlies in tough spots

3 Tips

Beware Yankees starter A.J. Burnett, who gets the ball today against the visiting Tigers. No starter cost bettors more money in 2010 than Burnett. If you bet $100 on each of Burnett’s 33 starts, you ended up down $1,568. Burnett and the Yankees are -154 favorites over Brad Penny and the Tigers.

Memphis has been the best bet in the NBA this season, going 48-26-1 against the number. But one situation the Grizzlies haven’t been money in is the one they face tonight. Memphis, 1-11 ATS as a double-digit home favorite, is laying 11.5 to visiting Minnesota.

Home-court advantage in the NBA is dwindling down the stretch. Road underdogs were 20-12 ATS over the last seven days, before Friday’s games.

Weather

The wind is forecast to be blowing out to right-center field at 15 mph at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Yankee Stadium produced more OVERs (46) last year than any other outdoor stadium.

Key Stat

57.7 percent – That’s UConn’s field-goal percentage in the Huskies’ 84-67 rout of Kentucky in late November in Maui. Kemba Walker made 10 of 17 shots and finished with 29.

Brandon Knight, Kentucky’s freshman point guard who has been spectacular in the NCAA tournament, had just six points and five turnovers in the loss to UConn.

Who’s Hot

Butler has been deadly against good teams with winning percentages above .600, going 21-4-2 ATS in that situation. In case you were wondering, VCU, at 28-11, qualifies.

Who’s Not

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano allowed six runs, including five on home runs by Scott Rolen and Joey Votto, in his last Spring Training start on March 18. Zambrano, who is making $18 million this season, gets the ball for Cubs today against the Pirates. Zambrano is 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA over the last three seasons against Pittsburgh.

Injury to watch

The St. Louis Cardinals will be without outfielder Matt Holliday for Saturday’s home game against San Diego. Holliday had an appendectomy Friday and will be out for undetermined amount of time.

Holliday was the Cards’ primary offensive weapon in Thursday’s 11-inning loss to the Padres. He went 3-for-4 and hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning.

Jon Jay and Allen Craig are likely to platoon in left field in Holliday’s absence.

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 09:59 AM

Saturday's six-pack

-- Oklahoma hired Lon Kruger away from UNLV; from what you read, Kruger's new job is almost a total reconstruct.

-- Whats next for UNLV? I nominate Reggie Theus, but people in the desert are pushing BYU assistant Dave Rice, who was a reserve on the great Anthony-Augmon-Johnson teams of 1989-91.

-- UConn beat Kentucky by 17 in finals of Maui Classic way back in November; Huskies led 50-29 at halftime.......

-- Most expensive ticket to see the A's is $48; there are tickets to Mets games that cost freakin' $440........to see that team? Wow. From what I can tell, the most expensive ticket in the Bronx is $325 a game.

-- Jeremy Guthrie went 8 innings in Baltimore's 4-1 win at Tampa Bay. Last Oriole starting pitcher to go 8+ innings on Opening Day? It was way back in 1992, Rick Sutcliffe.

-- Reason baseball season starts earlier now? Season no longer ends on a Sunday, it ends on a Wednesday; playoffs will start on a Saturday.

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Saturday's List of 13: Thats what I'm thinking............

13) Last November, some rascal put $10 on VCU to win the national championship at odds of 5,000-1; now he/she stands to make $50,000 if the Rams win two more games. Butler is only favored by couple points on Saturday; if he/she put $10,000 on Bulldogs and they cover, he still wins $10,000. If VCU won, he’s still alive to win $40,000. Problem would be if Butler won by a point or two- that would be bad.

12) Why does baseball waste rivalry games on season openers? Rivalry games will draw no matter what and so will the opener. Dodgers-Giants and Mariners-A’s, with four warm weather teams playing each other right off the bat, makes no sense.

11) Mike Krzyzewski has a 5-day fantasy basketball camp for adults; only cost $10,000. Wonder if he teaches you how to scowl at refs even though you’ve gotten every call.

10) Is it really true that eight Alabama ASSISTANT football coaches are making at least $225,000 a year? If that’s true, its pretty amazing.

9) Why would Rutgers pay Snooki from Jersey Shore $32,000 to speak to kids about tanning? Seriously, why?

8) President’s Cup in NHL goes to the regular season champ; its pretty cool, being rewarded for six months’ work, but its otherwise meaningless. Vancouver Canucks won it this year for this first time. It is not, I repeat not, an indicator of postseason success.

7) OK, baseball season is two days old and two of my top four fantasy baseball OFs are hurt. Awesome. Matt Holliday had an appendectomy, Mike Stanton hurt his hamstring (again). Holliday will be useless for the whole month of April, at least. Stanton needs to stretch more. Terrific.

6) Sacramento stole Marcus Thornton away from the Hornets; he was the NBA’s 10th leading scorer in March. Not sure what else he does other than shoot, but Kings needed that skill.

5) Tough home opener in Cleveland; Tribe was down 14-0 in the fourth inning, lost 15-10. Has Austin Kearns ever played on a good team?

4) Florida Marlins don't allow their players to wear chains around their necks during games. Some of these ballplayers wear multiple chains.

3) Phillies had four hits thru eight innings, then had six hits in the ninth as they rallied to nip the Astros 5-4, making only one out in the ninth.

2) VCU is shooting 43.8% from the arc in the NCAAs, an unnaturally high percentage; they’re going into a domed stadium that isn’t often used for basketball. Could be a problem, but dammit, they’ve overcome so much else this month, who could go against them?

1) Think about UConn finishing 9th in the Big East and making the Final Four; in 1974, Maryland was 3rd in the COUNTRY, lost the ACC title game in OT to NC State but didn’t get into the NCAAs, winning the NIT instead. Today, those Terps will would've been a #1 seed in the NCAAs for sure. Times have definitely changed. A lot.

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:01 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Oklahoma City at LA Clippers
The Thunder look to bounce back from last night's loss at Portland and take advantage of a Clippers team that is 0-6 ATS in its last 6 home games. Oklahoma City is the pick (-4) according to Dunkel, which has the Thunder favored by 7 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Oklahoma City (-4). Here are all of today's picks.

SATURDAY, APRIL 2

Game 801-802: Minnesota at Memphis (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota 109.843; Memphis 124.606
Dunkel Line & Total: Memphis by 15; 198
Vegas Line & Total: Memphis by 12 1/2; 205
Dunkel Pick: Memphis (-12 1/2); Under

Game 803-804: Toronto at Chicago (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto 110.469; Chicago 127.431
Dunkel Line & Total: Chicago by 17; 183
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 805-806: Philadelphia at Milwaukee (8:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia 123.949; Milwaukee 118.936
Dunkel Line & Total: Philadelphia by 5; 207
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 807-808: Dallas at Golden State (10:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Dallas 122.990; Golden State 114.509
Dunkel Line & Total: Dallas by 8 1/2; 225
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 809-810: Oklahoma City at LA Clippers (10:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Oklahoma City 123.844; LA Clippers 116.233
Dunkel Line & Total: Oklahoma City by 7 1/2; 200
Vegas Line & Total: Oklahoma City by 4; 205 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Oklahoma City (-4); Under

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:03 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Saturday, April 2

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MINNESOTA (17 - 58) at MEMPHIS (42 - 33) - 4/2/2011, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 71-85 ATS (-22.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 60-74 ATS (-21.4 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 48-26 ATS (+19.4 Units) in all games this season.
MEMPHIS is 24-12 ATS (+10.8 Units) in home games this season.
MEMPHIS is 13-2 ATS (+10.8 Units) against Northwest division opponents this season.
MEMPHIS is 36-24 ATS (+9.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 24-14 ATS (+8.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season.
MEMPHIS is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
MEMPHIS is 30-13 ATS (+15.7 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
MEMPHIS is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
MEMPHIS is 5-5 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
MEMPHIS is 6-4 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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TORONTO (20 - 54) at CHICAGO (54 - 20) - 4/2/2011, 8:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 6-4 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 6-4 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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PHILADELPHIA (39 - 36) at MILWAUKEE (30 - 44) - 4/2/2011, 8:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 6-3 against the spread versus MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA is 7-3 straight up against MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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DALLAS (53 - 22) at GOLDEN STATE (32 - 44) - 4/2/2011, 10:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 6-4 against the spread versus GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 8-2 straight up against GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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OKLAHOMA CITY (50 - 24) at LA CLIPPERS (29 - 46) - 4/2/2011, 10:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 90-70 ATS (+13.0 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 47-33 ATS (+10.7 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 69-85 ATS (-24.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 75-101 ATS (-36.1 Units) as an underdog over the last 3 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 72-94 ATS (-31.4 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 3 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 20-39 ATS (-22.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 11-24 ATS (-15.4 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 37-50 ATS (-18.0 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 13-30 ATS (-20.0 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
LA CLIPPERS is 5-4 against the spread versus OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
LA CLIPPERS is 5-4 straight up against OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:05 AM

NBA
Write-Up

Saturday, April 2

Hot Teams
-- Memphis won six of last seven games, covered last six.
-- Bulls are 16-3-1 vs spread in their last 20 home games.
-- 76ers won/covered last three games, winning by 12-11-25 points.
-- Mavericks covered four of their last five road games.
-- Thunder won five of their last six games.

Cold Teams
-- Minnesota lost its last nine games, last two by 17-19 points.
-- Toronto lost its last five games (2-3 vs spread).
-- Milwaukee lost three of its last four games.
-- Warriors lost eight of their last ten games.
-- Clippers lost three of last four games, covered one of last nine.

Totals
-- Five of last seven Memphis games stayed under the total.
-- Seven of last eight Chicago games went over the total.
-- Five of last seven Philly games went over the total.
-- Five of last seven Dallas games stayed under the total. Four of last five Golden State games went over.
-- Six of last nine Clipper games stayed under the total.

Back-to-Back
-- Memphis is 13-3-1 vs spread overall if it played the night before. Minnesota is 7-4 vs spread on road if it played night before.
-- Bulls are 12-7-1 vs spread if they played the night before.
-- Milwaukee is 3-6 vs spread at home if it played night before. 76ers are 1-4 vs spread on road if they won the night before.
-- Oklahoma City is 5-2 vs spread when it is playing second straight night on road. Clippers are 3-4 vs spread at home if they played night before.

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:07 AM

NBA

Saturday, April 2

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
TORONTO vs. CHICAGO
Toronto is 3-12 ATS in its last 15 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto's last 6 games on the road
Chicago is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Chicago's last 8 games

8:00 PM
MINNESOTA vs. MEMPHIS
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 7 games when playing on the road against Memphis
Minnesota is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Memphis
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Memphis's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Memphis's last 7 games

8:30 PM
PHILADELPHIA vs. MILWAUKEE
Philadelphia is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Milwaukee
Philadelphia is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Milwaukee's last 14 games at home

10:30 PM
DALLAS vs. GOLDEN STATE
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Dallas's last 18 games on the road
Dallas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Golden State
Golden State is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Dallas
Golden State is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games

10:30 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY vs. LA CLIPPERS
Oklahoma City is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing LA Clippers
Oklahoma City is 7-16 ATS in their last 23 games when playing LA Clippers
LA Clippers are 8-17 SU in their last 25 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City
LA Clippers are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games when playing Oklahoma City

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**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:09 AM

NBA
Write-Up

Saturday, April 2

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Pick 'n' roll: Saturday's best NBA bets
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Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors

All signs point to a Dallas victory on Saturday night at Golden State.

The Mavericks have won five of their last six games (4-2 ATS), although they are coming off a blowout loss to the Lakers on Thursday night. Dallas has won six in a row against the Warriors, including all three of their meetings this season (2-1 ATS).

Golden State, on the other hand, has dropped two straight and eight of 10 (2-8 ATS). While the Warriors’ first two contests against Dallas during the 2010-11 campaign were competitive, the March 20 tilt was not. The host Mavericks rolled 101-73, won the rebounding battle 51-39 and held Golden State to dismal 35.1 percent shooting.

The Warriors, though, could have some hope. They are 23-14 at home, and Dallas completely lost its emotion on Thursday, engaging in a melee with the Lakers. Both Jason Terry and Brendan Haywood were ejected.

"Emotions got the best of me tonight,” said Terry, who added that he does not anticipate a suspension. “I already apologized to the team. You just can’t let that happen in big games. But the game was getting out of hand, so things happen."

Pick: Mavericks

Oklahoma City Thunder (-3.5, 205.5) at Los Angeles Clippers

Garth Brooks once sang “The Thunder Rolls,” and that is exactly what it is doing right now.

Oklahoma City has won five in a row (2-2-1 ATS), 11 of 12 (8-3-1 ATS) and 14 of 15 (10-4-1 ATS). The team has all but locked up no worse than the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, meaning it will have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Thunder recorded their best month in franchise history in March, and they've matched their 50-win total from last season. Even better news, though, is that their minds are still focused on more important things.

"I think it's a good sign for our team that this is not a huge deal," Nick Collison told The Daily Oklahoman of 50 wins. "Our minds are in the right place, I think. At this time of year, it's good to be on a roll."

The Thunder are coming off a Friday night date at Portland, while the Clippers also have a quick turnaround following their visit to Phoenix. Oklahoma City is 8-6 (9-5 ATS) in the second of back-to-back games this season and Los Angeles is 7-12 (9-9-1 ATS) in such games.

Pick: Thunder

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**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:12 AM

NCAAB
Dunkel

VCU vs. Butler
The Bulldogs look to build on their 15-2 ATS record in their last 17 neutral site games. Butler is the pick (-2 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Bulldogs favored by 4 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Butler (-2 1/2). Here are all of today's games.

SATURDAY, APRIL 2

Game 811-812: VCU vs. Butler (6:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: VCU 68.423; Butler 72.839
Dunkel Line: Butler by 4 1/2
Vegas Line: Butler by 2 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Butler (-2 1/2)

Game 813-814: Kentucky vs. Connecticut (8:50 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Kentucky 76.301; Connecticut 72.298
Dunkel Line: Kentucky by 4
Vegas Line: Kentucky by 2
Dunkel Pick: Kentucky (-2)

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:13 AM

NCAAB
Long Sheet

Saturday, April 2

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CREIGHTON (23 - 15) at OREGON (20 - 18) - 4/1/2011, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CREIGHTON is 16-8 ATS (+7.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
OREGON is 25-42 ATS (-21.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
OREGON is 1-1 against the spread versus CREIGHTON over the last 3 seasons
OREGON is 1-1 straight up against CREIGHTON over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:14 AM

NCAAB
Short Sheet

Saturday, April 2

NCAA Tournament - Final Four - Reliant Stadium - Houston, TX

VA COMMONWEALTH vs. BUTLER, 6:05 PM ET CBS
VA COMMONWEALTH: 9-0 ATS in NCAA Tournament
BUTLER: 13-1 ATS when seeded 5 to 8 in the NCAA Tournament

KENTUCKY vs. CONNECTICUT, 8:45 PM ET CBS
KENTUCKY: 6-0 ATS Away revenging SU loss as a favorite
CONNECTICUT: 11-1 ATS on neutral court

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:14 AM

NCAAB
Write-Up

Saturday, April 2

VCU is shooting 43.8% from arc in this tournament; now they move to a domed football stadium, harder to shoot in a dome. Butler has advantage in that they they won a day earlier, had 24 extra hours to deal with all the hype, plus Bulldogs played in Final Four LY, so they should be OK dealing with distractions. That said, VCU is on incredible run; who can give them points? Butler beat Old Dominion at buzzer in first round of NCAAs; VCU lost two of three to the Monarchs this season. Only one of Rams' five wins in NCAAs has been by less than 10 points- they've covered 10 of last 12 as an underdog. Butler hasn't lost since being upset Feb 3 at Youngstown-- they covered four of last six as a favorite.

2006 was last time a Final Four didn't have a #1 seed; favorites covered two of three games that year. UConn (+5) hammered Kentucky 84-67 in final of Maui Classic back in November, leading 50-29 at half!!!! Knight was 3-15 from floor, 0-8 on arc; Huskies' emerging star Lamb played 11 minutes; he has a much bigger role now. Odd stat: winner of East Region is 0-5 in national semifinals the last five years. Wildcats covered six of last seven as a favorite. UConn covered four in a row as a dog. SEC team favored over a Big East team would appear to be spot for the Big East side. Under is 7-1-1 last nine Kentucky games, 4-1 in Huskies' last five.

**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:15 AM

NCAAB

Saturday, April 2

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Trend Report
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6:09 PM
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH vs. BUTLER
No trends available
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Butler's last 10 games
Butler is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

8:49 PM
KENTUCKY vs. CONNECTICUT
No trends available
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games
Connecticut is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

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**Udog** · 04-02-2011, 10:16 AM

NCAAB

Saturday, April 2

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Final Four betting notes and top trends
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It’s onward to Houston for the Final Four games. To put the wraps on the 2011 NCAA Tournament, listed below are some interesting trends and angles to consider before our Fab Four tips off this weekend.

All results listed below are ATS (against the spread) and most recent since 1991 unless noted otherwise.

FINAL FOUR NOTES

• No. 3 seeds are 7-3 (4-0 SU and ATS as favorites or underdogs of four points or fewer)
• No. 8 or lower seeds are 0-3
• Teams off back-to-back straight up underdog wins are 1-8
• Teams who are 3-0 ATS last three games are 9-24
• Teams with revenge are 2-7
• Big East teams are 1-4 SU and 0-5 ATS
• SEC teams are 6-2 as underdogs or favorites of fewer than seven points
• Teams with the greater win percentage are 10-2 SU and ATS since 2005
• Returnees from last year in this round are 8-0 SU and 7-1 ATS as favorites

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NOTES

• No. 3 seed dogs are 1-3
• No. 5 or worse seeds are 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS
• Favorites of five or fewer points are 10-1
• Favorites who scored more than 80 points in the Final Four round are 4-1
• Teams with a win percentage of less than .810 are 0-4 SU and ATS
• Teams off an ATS win of 16 or more points are 1-5 SU and ATS
• Underdogs of more than two points who allowed 60 or more points in Final Four are 1-5
• Underdogs of three or more points off a straight up underdog win are 1-5
• Big East teams are 3-0 SU and ATS
• SEC teams are 3-0 ATS as favorites

COACH ME UP

• Butler’s Brad Stevens is:
48-56-4 ATS as a favorite and 16-6-1 ATS as an underdog
33-16-2 ATS vs. non-conference
10-3 SU and ATS in NCAA tournament
2-2 SU and ATS vs. Big East
1-0 SU and ATS vs. CAA
1-2 SU and ATS vs. SEC

• Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun is:
228-236-12 ATS as a favorite and 63-57-1 ATS as an underdog
98-98-5 ATS vs non-conference
43-13 SU and 28-27-1 ATS in NCAA tournament
7-1 SU and 2-6 ATS vs. CAA
0-0 SU and 0-0 ATS vs. Horizon League
13-5 SU and 11-7 ATS vs. SEC

• Kentucky’s John Calipari is:
237-204-14 ATS as a favorite and 53-27-1 ATS as an underdog
129-98-5 ATS vs non-conference
32-13 SU and 23-21-1 ATS in NCAA tournament
23-8 SU and 17-13-1 ATS vs. Big East
6-0 SU and ATS vs. CAA
2-0 SU and ATS vs. Horizon League

• VCU’s Shaka Smart is:
24-26-1 ATS as a favorite and 9-6 ATS as an underdog
14-12 ATS vs. non-conference
5-0 SU and ATS in NCAA tournament
1-1 SU and ATS vs. Big East
0-0 SU and ATS vs. Horizon League
0-1 SU and ATS vs. SEC

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Announcement

Saturday's Trends and Indexes - 4/2 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, MLB, Misc.)

Saturday's Trends and Indexes - 4/2 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, MLB, Misc.)

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