Allstar's College Basketball March Madness Selections

[Allstar]

Looks like we got the split yesterday with Uconn winning and Ok St losing by half a point!!!! Here are today's selections:

5 Units Georgia Tech +4 (SU WINNER 79-71) + 5.00 UNITS
You need to have some big guys in the frontcourt if you want to hang with Kansas, which routed UAB on Friday, 100-74. Fortunately, Georgia Tech has excellent balance. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (26-9 SU, 19-14 ATS) have 7'-1" junior Luke Schenscher and 6'-6" Isma'il Muhammad up front and a deep backcourt anchored by guard B.J. Elder (16 ppg) and fiery Jarrett Jack. Although, G-Tech was without Elder in Friday's win over Nevada. He has an ankle sprain and is questionable to play here. G-Tech is a strong 11-6 SU on the road, and they played a tough schedule, beating UConn (77-61), Texas Tech (85-65) and Ohio State (73-53 on the road). The Kansas Jayhawks (24-8) have Power forward 6'-9" Wayne Simien (18 ppg - 9 rpg) up front, and guard Keith Langford (16 ppg) in the backcourt. Centers Jeff Graves and David Padgett team with Simien to form a strong inside rotation for the Jayhawks. Georgia Tech allows 39% shooting and Kansas is just 7-7 SU, 6-8 ATS away from home this season, even after beating UAB. This is an evenly matched game all-around and look for a close one.

Allstar

[This message was edited by Allstar on March 28, 2004 at 05:06 PM.]

 

[Allstar]

10 Units Duke -8 -102

20 Units Duke OVER 146.5 -106

Xavier has defied the experts and keeps on rolling, after beating Texas Friday, 79-71. But they get their toughest test here against mighty Duke. Xavier (26-10 SU, 20-14 ATS) has a trio of talented athletes in fearless point guard Lionel Chalmers, ultra-athletic Romain Sato and low-post operator 6'-9" Anthony Myles. But Duke has excellent guard play and depth, as well as several big guys who can control the boards, which might be the difference here. The Blue Devils are 8-2 SU/6-4 ATS on the road where it outscores teams by a 78-69 average, and shoot 37% from long range. They’re also the best shooting team in the ACC (47%). This team has tons of depth, with 6’-4” J.J. Redick, who leads the team in scoring, 6’-3” junior Daniel Ewing and senior point guard Chris Duhon leading a deep backcourt. A big plus has been highly touted 6’-8” freshman Luol Deng, who teams with 6’-9”, 255-lb Shelden Williams and 6’-10” sophomore Shavlik Randolph to anchor a tall front line. The Blue Devils (30-5 SU, 18-15 ATS) used defense to top Illinois Friday, 72-62. Xavier has won 16 of their last 17 games and is on a remarkable 16-1 SU/ATS the last 17 games!!! However, the guards will have to play tough defense and shoot lights out if they want to hang with Duke. This should be a run-and-gun game from start to finish, but Duke's defense and inside game should be the difference.

Good Luck Today,

Allstar

 

[Allstar]

ONE DOWN AND TWO TO GO!!!

Allstar

 

[truelyhandicapping]

 

[Allstar]

10 Units Duke +2 -110

It's been too easy for the Huskies so far as they've outscored opponents by an average 17 ppg after the weekend rout of Alabama 87-71 in the Regional Finals. Of course Duke hasn't been easy on their opponents either as even with the three point win over Xavier, they are outscoring opponents by 19 ppg. The health of Emeka Okafor is important but even without him, the Huskies (31-6) will have an inside presence. Against Alabama, Ben Gordon the All-America scored 36 and Rashad Anderson added 27 points. Anderson has been among the team's most productive players down the stretch. UConn is cooking, though during the regular season they were 7-4 SU, 2-9 ATS on the road. Duke (31-5) went 8-2 SU, 6-4 ATS on the road where they outscored teams by an impressive 78-69 average. Duke has plenty of depth and height, too, with 6’-8” freshman Luol Deng, 6’-9”, 255-lb Shelden Williams and 6’-10” sophomore Shavlik Randolph. Duke plays great defense, too, holding opponents to 40% shooting while the offense shoots 47%. Duke has allowed 61, 62, 62 and 63 points the last four games! UConn has allowed 53, 55, 53 and 71 points the last four, and has held teams to 37% shooting for the season, so both teams can bring the 'D'. With UConn's Rashad Anderson hot from the outside, the paint is wide open for a healthy Emeka Okafor and the rest of the UConn big men to complete the balanced offensive attack. This should be a thriller with plenty of defense that comes down to the last shot. By the way, UConn went 1-7 ATS during the regular season as an away favorite.

Allstar

 

[Allstar]

5 Units Oklahoma State -4 -110

OSU's John Lucas son of a former NBA player and coach, drilled a three pointer with 6.9 seconds left leading the Cowboys (31-3) to a 64-62 win over St. Joseph's. Jameer Nelson's final shot was off the mark for the Hawks. In the first half, the Cowboys had 23 boards to 11 by the Hawks, and yet Saint Joseph's still had a 33-27 lead. They didn't shoot any better, but the difference was turnovers; Saint Joseph's scored 16 points off 10 Cowboy turnovers while committing only two and led by as many as nine. Joey Graham scored 17 with 11 rebounds, Tony Allen 12 points and Lucas 19. The 10 turnovers Oklahoma State committed while digging a first-half hole against Saint Joseph's is some cause for alarm. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (27-9 SU, 20-15 ATS) have 7'-1" junior Luke Schenscher and 6'-6" Isma'il Muhammad up front and a deep backcourt anchored by guard B.J. Elder (16 ppg) and fiery Jarrett Jack. Elder is recovering from an ankle sprain and is day to day. G-Tech went a strong 9-6 SU on the road. They played a tough schedule, too, beating UConn (77-61), Texas Tech (85-65) and Ohio State (73-53 on the road). Oklahoma State shoots 51% from the field, and allows opponents 41%. In fact, they've really turned on the 'D', allowing 60, 54, 67 and 67 points the last four games (three of four went UNDER the total). Lucas and Georgia Tech star Jarrett Jack, who had 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists against Kansas, are worth the price of admission. Oklahoma State is 25-1 SU as a favorite, and 1-2 SU/ATS as a dog. Georgia Tech is an impressive 9-4 SU/ATS as a dog, including wins over Kansas and North Carolina in the postseason. This shapes up as a close one all the way with Oklahoma St taking control in the final minutes!!!

Good luck tonight,

Allstar