3-21-14

[Can'tPickAWinner]

[Can'tPickAWinner]

RAS

Stanford +3.5
Eastern Ky/Kansas Over 148.5

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Spartan

3* Baylor

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Maddux Sports

VCU -6

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Dr Bob

3* Duke -14
2* VCU -7

[Can'tPickAWinner]

LV Sportsline Friday's Card

Mercer +13

Stanford +3.5

Tulsa +9

Ok State -3

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Vegas Betting Experts

824 Duke - 12 1/2
838 Baylor - 3 1/2
829 Stanford +3
840 Creighton - 13 1/2
839 Creighton Under 155
839 / 840 parlay
5-4

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Vegas Betting Experts
# 521 Pitt + 5 1/2
# 530 Mich St - 7

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Anthony Michael

Kentucky -6

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAA East Regional betting news and notes: Virginia destined for deep run
By BRIAN COVERT

The Round of 64 continues in the East Regional Friday. We look at the biggest betting news and notes coming out of that side of the bracket.

No. 9 George Washington Colonials vs. No. 8 Memphis Tigers (-3, 142.5)

The Tigers may have a leg up on their first-round opposition. David Pellom, a fifth-year senior was at George Washington for three years, two of which were under current Colonials coach Mike Lonergan, before using his final year of eligibility at Memphis.

The Colonials just can’t seem to get any respect. Not only did tournament organizers mistakenly put the logo of the Georgetown Hoyas, G.W.’s D.C. neighbor, on tourney t-shirts but President Obama picked Memphis to topple the local Colonials (their campus is a half mile from the White House) in the first round. "You picked Memphis over your neighbors in Foggy Bottom? Come on man!" tweeted head coach Mike Lonergan.

No. 11 Providence Friars vs. No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels (-4, 143.5)

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said Tuesday that the Tar Heels had one of their best practices of the year and had been focusing on rebounding. North Carolina is already one of the nation’s best rebounding teams - ranking eighth with 39.8 per game - and the ability to control the glass could be instrumental to controlling the pace, which the Heels inevitably want to push against the Friars’ seven-man rotation.

No. 16 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers vs. No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (-21.5, 122.5)

Since the tournament field expanded to 48 teams in 1980, 14 teams have both won at least a share of the ACC regular season title and claimed the ACC tournament. The first 13 all reached at least the Round of 16, with four claiming national titles and seven getting to the Final Four. Virginia pulled off the double this year and the Cavaliers seem unlikely to break from that trend.

No. 14 N.C. Central Eagles vs. No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones (-8, 145)

N.C. Central comes to the tournament by way of the MEAC - one of the two worst conferences in the nation - which has previously only had one team in the Top 150 in the nation at the end of the year. However, N.C. Central is currently 78th having won 12 of 15 conference games by double digits. The Eagles went 1-2 in three games against tournament teams, beating North Carolina State and losing to Wichita State and Cincinnati by 11 and 14 points respectively.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAA Midwest Regional betting news and notes: Duke struggling in crunch time
By CHASE RUTTIG

No. 1 Wichita State Shockers vs No. 16 Cal Poly Mustangs (-16, 125.5)

Cal Poly coach Joe Callero has hope that his Mustangs can become the first No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 seed when they take on the undefeated Wichita State Shockers Friday. In fact, Callero says he has been cheering against No. 16 seeds so he can coach the first team to do it.

"I'm so weird that I was cheering the last five years that a 16 (seed) never upsets a 1," Callero said following the Mustang's 12 point win over Texas Southern in the First Four. "Because if we ever got a bid, we'd be a 16 seed and then we'd have a chance to make real history."

No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats vs No. 9 Kansas State Wildcats (-6, 132.5)

Ever since coach John Calipari made a "big tweak" during the SEC Tournament the Kentucky Wildcats have looked like a much better offensive team. Asking Andrew Harrison to pass first and score second, Coach Cal has Harrison's APG number rising from 3.8 in the regular season to 6.3 in the SEC Tournament (19 total). Kentucky looks like a different team with Harrison as a facilitator, something that KU will be hoping continues in the tourney.

No. 3 Duke Blue Devils vs No. 14 Mercer (-12.5, 140.5)

Heading into the tournament, the Blue Devils have been developing a trend of faltering down the stretch late in games. In the final five minutes of their past five contests, the Blue Devils have been outscored 76-47 and have been favored by -9.5 in all of those games excluding the ACC Championship where Duke crumbled late again against Virginia. Going in as massive favorites against Mercer, Coach K (and bettors) will be hoping that Duke's late struggles are a thing of the past as fatigue may be settling in for the Blue Devils.

No. 6 UMass Minutemen vs No. 11 Tennessee Vols (+4, 136)

After watching Tennessee squeeze out an overtime win over Iowa in the First Four, UMass will go into Friday's game feeling confident that, despite the Vols clutch win, it will have the edge should the game go down to the wire. The Minutemen are 13-4 in games decided by six points or fewer. The Vols, however, are known for their fast starts, outscoring teams by an average of 5.3 points in the opening ten minutes of their SEC games.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAA South Regional betting news and notes: Colonels' not-so-secret receipe

Friday marks the second day of South Regional action at the NCAA tournament. Check out our news and notes on the eight teams in action:

No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 15 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (+14, 150.5)

The Colonels have an obvious game plan entering their encounter with the heavily-favored Jayhawks: Make their two-point shots. Eastern Kentucky finished second in the nation in two-point shooting percentage (56.2), which is good because its offensive rebound rate of 23 percent is sixth-worst in all of Division I.

No. 5 Virginia Commonwealth Rams vs. No. 12 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (+6.5, 137)

The Rams' outside shooting takes a serious hit with the absence of Melvin Johnson, who will sit out the tournament opener with a knee sprain. The sophomore made better than 39 percent of his 3-point attempts, pacing a VCU team that led the Atlantic-10 conference with 252 3-pointers. In Johnson's absence, head coach Shaka Smart leaned on backup JeQuan Lewis for 24 minutes in the A-10 title game, getting five points and five assists from the reserve.

No. 4 UCLA Bruins vs. No. 13 Tulsa Golden Hurricane (+8.5, 146)

Tulsa head coach Danny Manning emphasized an uptempo offense last season - his first at the helm - but it didn't bear frui. His freshman-dominated lineup struggled through fatigue and leg injuries to average just 67.9 points. This year, with the same core a season older and in better shape, Tulsa put up 73.1 points per game - good for second in C-USA. Despite that pace, the Golden Hurricane are just 6-10 O/U away from the Donald Reynolds Center this season.

No. 7 New Mexico Lobos vs. No. 10 Stanford Cardinal (+3, 137)

No team in the South Regional is as starter-driven as the Cardinal, whose lineup of Chasson Randle, Anthony Brown, Josh Huestis, Dwight Powell and Stefan Nastic started every game this season. Stanford's bench scored 10 or fewer points 18 times, while the starting five accounted for more than 87 percent of the team's scoring. The Lobos are great at drawing fouls and forced an average of 23.7 whistles in their three MWC tournament games - 14th most in the country in a three-game span. New Mexico could test the Cardinal's depth if they can get Stanford in foul trouble.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAA West Regional betting news and notes: Zona's Miller sterling in tourney
By COLIN KELLY

The Round of 64 continues in the West Regional Friday. Here’s some betting news and notes from that quadrant of the bracket.

No. 16 Weber State Wildcats vs. No. 1 Arizona Wildcats (-20, 127.5)

Arizona, the No. 1 seed in the West Region, shouldn’t have any problem winning against No. 16 seed Weber State. No. 1 seeds are a spotless 116-0 SU against No. 16 seeds. Another stat that favors the Wildcats (30-4 SU, 20-13 ATS) well beyond Friday’s game: In 10 years as a head coach (previously at Xavier, currently at Arizona), Sean Miller has never lost SU to a worse-seeded team in the NCAA tournament. This will be Miller’s seventh trip to the Big Dance.

No. 11 Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. No. 6 Baylor Bears (-3.5, 131)

Nebraska has never won an NCAA tournament game, going 0-6 SU. So picking the 11th-seeded Huskers to pull the outright upset of No. 6 Baylor might not be the best move. On the flip side, the Huskers (19-12 SU) have a 20-10 ATS mark this year, eighth nationally.

No. 14 UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns vs. No. 3 Creighton Bluejays (-14, 154.5)

Experience can count for a lot this time of year, and Creighton has plenty of it. This is the Bluejays’ third straight NCAA tournament and they have four seniors, including likely National Player of the Year Doug McDermott. Those four seniors are all starters (guard Austin Chatman is a junior) and of Creighton’s top eight players, seven have NCAA tournament experience. The Ragin’ Cajuns, meanwhile, are in the Big Dance for the first time since 2005 and have just two seniors among their starters and top reserves.

No. 9 Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs (+2.5, 139)

Cowboys star Marcus Smart (18.7 points. 6.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds in his last seven games) has been all the rage in getting his squad to the NCAA tournament. But the key for Oklahoma State could be less-heralded Phil Forte, according to the Daily Oklahoman’s John Helsley.

The 5-foot-11 guard was named co-Sixth Man of the Year in the Big 12, but he’s been a starter the past 10 games. His sharpshooting from 3-point range – hitting 44.5 percent (98 of 220) and is 24th nationally in made 3-pointers per game (2.97) – has stretched defenses, opening up things for Smart and standout teammates Markel Brown and Le’Bryan Nash.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAA Round 2 betting cheat sheet: East region Day 2

(9) George Washington Colonials vs. (8) Memphis Tigers (-3, 142.5)

The Colonials finished behind only Massachusetts and VCU among the American Athletic Conference's scoring leaders, averaging 73.4 points. George Washington boasts a balanced offensive attack that features four players among the Atlantic 10's top 30 scorers. Maurice Creek's 14.3 points per game are a team best.

Memphis has lost three of its last five games overall and has yielded an average of 82 points in its last three losses. The Tigers' 53 points against Connecticut last time out matched their lowest output of the season and leading scorer Joe Jackson was held to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

TRENDS:

* George Washington is 0-3-1 ATS in its last four NCAA Tournament games.
* Memphis is 4-1 ATS in its last five neutral site games.
* Under is 7-1 in Memphis' last eight non-conference games.

(11) Providence Friars vs. (6) North Carolina Tar Heels (-4, 143.5)

The Friars are making their first NCAA tournament appearance in 10 years and Bryce Cotton seems intent on capping his four-year career at Providence with a tournament victory. The 6-1 point guard is averaging 21.4 points and 5.8 assists and has scored at least 22 in eight of the last 10 games.

There may be some concern that Tar Heels' forward James Michael McAdoo is slipping back into a rough patch after the 6-9 forward went without a rebound in 24 minutes of the regular-season finale against Duke, then shot 4-for-13 in the loss to Pittsburgh. In the last eight games, he’s shooting 37.7 percent while averaging 8.6 points, dropping his season average to 14.2.

TRENDS:

* Providence is 2-6 ATS in its last eight games versus the ACC.
* North Carolina is 0-5 ATS in its last five games overall.
* Under is 9-2 in Providence's last 11 non-conference games.

(16) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers vs. (1) Virginia Cavaliers (-21.5, 122.5)

While Coastal Carolina will be playing 2 1/2 hours from its campus in Conway, S.C., it enters NCAA play knowing that a No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1. The Chanticleers earned their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1993 by rolling over Winthrop 76-61 in the Big South championship game, their fifth consecutive victory.

Malcolm Brogdon scored 23 points and the Cavaliers played their usual stingy defense in Sunday's win over Duke to become the 15th team to win both the ACC regular-season and postseason titles. Joe Harris, who was second to Brogdon in scoring at 11.6 per game, had 15 points against Duke to earn tournament MVP honors for Virginia, which entered Sunday's game leading the nation in points allowed at 55.1 per game.

TRENDS:

* Coastal Carolina is 3-7-1 ATS in its last 11 games versus a team with a winning SU record.
* Virginia is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six games following a SU win.
* Over is 5-2 in Virginia's last seven neutral site games.

(14) North Carolina Central Eagles vs. (3) Iowa State Cyclones (-8, 145)

The 14th-seeded Eagles are making their tournament debut in just their fourth season as a full-fledged Division I program after dominating the MEAC, winning 15 straight conference games and 17 in a row overall to finish the regular season before claiming three conference tourney games by an average of 26 points.

Iowa State owns the nation's sixth-ranked offense - led by Big 12 Player of the Year Melvin Ejim (18.1 points) - and has won 11 of its last 14 overall, including seven victories over tournament teams. With four double-digit scorers and an unselfish style that yielded the most assists per game in the nation, the Cyclones have many ways to hurt you, as evidenced by the Big 12 tournament title game in which Ejim was limited to just three baskets in 32 minutes.

TRENDS:

* North Carolina Central is 2-6-1 ATS in its last nine games overall.
* Iowa State is 4-0 ATS in its last four games overall.
* Over is 8-3 in Iowa State's last 11 games following a SU win.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAA Round 2 betting cheat sheet: Midwest region Day 2

(14) Mercer Bears vs. (3) Duke Blue Devils (-12.5, 140.5)

Mercer, located in Macon, Ga., makes its third tournament appearance and first since 1985 after a 68-60 victory at Florida Gulf Coast - last year's Sweet 16 Cinderella team - in the Atlantic Sun final March 9. The Bears split four games against major conference teams this season, losing to Texas and Oklahoma while defeating Seton Hall and Mississippi.

With a player the caliber of freshman Jabari Parker (19.2 points, 8.8 rebounds), the Blue Devils are capable of outperforming their seed. Sophomore forward Rodney Hood (16.5 points) did not play in last season's tournament after transferring from Mississippi State and sitting out the sesaon, so he is also without NCAA experience.

TRENDS:

* Mercer is 1-5 ATS in its last six non-conference games.
* Duke is 1-6-1 ATS in its last eight games overall.
* Under is 6-1 in Duke's last seven non-conference games.

(11) Tennessee Volunteers vs. (6) Massachusetts Minutemen (+4, 136)

Jarnell Stokes keyed the Volunteers’ victory over Iowa with 18 points and 13 boards, notching his 20th double-double, and scores 14.8 while grabbing 10.4 rebounds per game overall. First team All-SEC pick Jordan McRae leads the team in scoring (18.6) and has recorded at least 20 points 16 times, including Wednesday.

Senior guard Chaz Williams, the team’s all-time assist leader, stirs the drink for a deep Minutemen squad that includes seven players averaging at least 8.8 points. Williams registers 15.8 points and hands out seven assists per contest – third in the nation – while junior Cady Lalanne is second in scoring (11.4) and leads the team in rebounding (eight).

TRENDS:

* Tennessee is 5-1 ATS in its last six games overall.
* Massachusetts is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 vs. the SEC.
* Under is 6-0 in Tennessee's last six games overall.

(16) Cal Poly SLO Mustangs vs. (1) Wichita State Shockers (-16, 125.5)

The Mustangs lost nine of their last 11 games in the regular season, but with a healthier lineup they swept through three games in the conference tournament and scored almost 18 more than their average coming in against Texas Southern. Senior Chris Eversley has recorded 17 points per game the in last three and sophomore Dave Nwaba 14.8 over the previous four contests.

The Shockers are the first team since UNLV in 1991 to enter the tournament unbeaten and look to make their 11th appearance overall a special one, starting in the difficult Midwest Regional. The Shockers showed their balance in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament as their top four scorers each totaled between 40 and 47 points combined in three games.

TRENDS:

* Cal Poly is 5-12 ATS in its last 17 games overall.
* Wichita State is 5-0 AS in its last five NCAA Tournament games.
* Over is 7-2 in Wichita State's last nine games overall.

(9) Kansas State Wildcats vs. (8) Kentucky Wildcats (-6, 132.5)

Kansas State, who is 0-8 all-time against Kentucky, are led by freshman guard Marcus Foster, who averages 15.6 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting better than 40 percent from the field and on 3-pointers. He is complemented by junior Thomas Gibson, who is first in rebounding (6.5 per game) and second in points (11.8) and senior Shane Southwell, who averages 9.8 points.

Kentucky, who enter the tournament unranked, opened the season as the No. 1 team in the nation and stayed there for one week before falling down the rankings. Julius Randle leads a group of five freshmen starters with 15.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, but after posting six straight double-doubles, he struggled in the SEC final, going 1-of-7 and scoring four points and grabbing seven rebounds.

TRENDS:

* Kansas State is 2-6 ATS in its last eight games overall.
* Kentucky is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six neutral site games.
* Under is 4-1 in Kentucky's last five neutral site games.