Armadillo Sports
Wednesday’s 6-pack
NCAA tourney teams who force highest %age of turnovers:
25.3%— LSU
24.6%— Iowa State
23.6%— Texas Tech
23.3%— Texas
22.9%— Baylor, Tennessee
22.7%— Georgia State
Quote of the Day
“……when I look at my time here with the Rams, it’s no different … I feel great about my time here and what I’ve done. But I’m somebody, if you know me well enough, I’m always chasing something. I just felt like right now, I felt like I’m at a time in my life where maybe chasing the best dad I can be, the best husband, best friend are things to me that are important to me.”
Super Bowl champ Andrew Whitworth, who retired as a player this week
Wednesday’s quiz
Pete Maravich holds the single-game scoring record for a D-I player, set against Alabama in 1970. How many points did he score in that game?
Tuesday’s quiz
76ers’ C Joel Embiid played one year of college hoop, at Kansas.
Monday’s quiz
#15-seed Oral Roberts upset #2-seed Ohio State in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….
13) Texas Southern 76, A&M-Corpus Christi 67:
— Texas Southern was 26-35 on foul line, Corpus Christi 9-19.
— Texas Southern is #3 in country in experience; their subs play the most minutes.
— Tigers move on to play #1-seed Kansas Thursday.
12) Indiana 66, Wyoming 58:
— Hoosiers were too tall for the gritty, gutty Cowboys.
— One kid on Wyoming had 10 turnovers by himself; he was awful.
— Hoosiers move on to play 5-seed Saint Mary’s Thursday.
11) As far as the play-in games go, do the 16-seeds benefit from playing in them? When else will Texas A&M-Corpus Christi get on national TV? Has to help their recruiting, right?
The 16-seeds that don’t play in the play-in games (this year Norfolk State/Georgia State) are going to lose in anonymity and then they go home, unless they can pull a UMBC and shock a top-seed. Getting exposure on TV can help your recruiting.
10) Monday, Oakland traded 1B Matt Olson to the Braves; Tuesday, Olson got an 8-year contract worth $168M from Atlanta. All of which reminds me of a story.
June 15, 1976, I’m finishing my junior year in high school, a nerdy 16-year old. Was playing basketball up the street, then went home, where my dad was sitting in a lawn chair under the big tree on our front lawn. He had a weird look on his face.
Me: What’s up?
Dad: Your A’s just traded their three best players (Joe Rudi/Rollie Fingers to Boston, Vida Blue to Bronx, all for cash)
I’m carrying my brand-new Walt Frazier-brand Puma sneakers; I’m not happy. I think about what he said, got a little upset and one by one, threw my new sneakers over our house into the backyard, kind of close to the woods behind our house.
Not my finest moment.
Back then, June 15 was the trade deadline. Now, 46 years later, I’m a little cooler when the same stuff still happens. No more throwing stuff, I’m just disgusted that these rich people would own teams, and don’t try to win. Whats the point?
9) Which brings to my next point; I now have more interest in my fantasy league and on picking winners in baseball than I do in rooting for the A’s, because it is damn well obvious that the A’s are going to suck for the next couple years, at least.
P.S. on the June 15, 1976 trades: the commissioner voided the trades, the three players went back to Oakland after a week in limbo, and the A’s just missed making the playoffs that year. Then those players left after the season anyway, and the A’s were dreadful the next three years.
8) San Diego Padres’ star Fernando Tatis broke his wrist, is out at least three months; word is he broke his wrist in a motorcycle accident. Oy.
7) NFL quarterback news:
— New Jersey Giants gave Tyrod Taylor two years, $11M, with up to another $6M in incentives. Taylor has a 26-26-1 mark as an NFL starter. Giants will be Taylor’s sixth NFL team.
— Mitchell Trubisky signed with the Steelers for two years, $17M, with up to another $10M in incentives. Trubisky has a 29-23 record as an NFL starter.
6) They announced the other day that Carolina Panthers were interested in Deshaun Watson being their new QB; now Carolina’s division rivals Saints/Falcons are also said to be interested.
My question is this: Do teams sometimes pretend to have interest in a player, to drive the price up for those who really do have an interest?
5) Vanderbilt 82, Belmont 71— These schools are less than five miles apart, but they don’t play each other; this was an NIT game. Why would these schools not play each other?
In an era where everyone wants to make $$$, you would think that this is an annual money maker for sure, unless Vanderbilt doesn’t want to visit Belmont’s gym now and then. Maybe that’s the hangup. Belmont might not want this to be a road game every year.
4) 1B Anthony Rizzo gets two years, $32M to stay in the Bronx, as Freddie Freeman turned the New Yorkers down. Still several good ballplayers who are free agents.
3) Weird college football game this fall; October 8 in Las Vegas of all places, Notre Dame will play BYU at Allegiant Stadium. Why there?
2) Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns scored 60 points Monday night, as the T-Wolves beat the Spurs in San Antonio. Towns was 7-11 on the arc, 12-20 inside arc, 15-16 on the foul line- he had 17 rebounds. Tremendous performance.
Best part of it was after the game, how happy his teammates were for him. So much in the NBA you hear guys whining about this or that; was fun to see guys enjoying the moment.
1) Some conference trends for the first round of the NCAA’s:
— Last six years, underdogs are 14-10 ATS in 6-11 games.
— Since 2009, MEAC teams are 2-7 ATS in this round.
— Last six years, Big South teams are 1-5 ATS in this round.
— Since 2014, A-14 teams are 9-12 ATS in this round.
— Last 11 years, Gonzaga is 7-4 ATS in first round games.
— Last four years, underdogs are 9-7 ATS in 1-16 games.
— Last five tournaments, Big East teams are 6-13-1 ATS in first round.
— Last four tournaments, ACC teams are 7-23 ATS in first round.
— Last 10 tournaments, WAC teams are 3-7 ATS in first round.
— Last five tournaments, underdogs are 12-8 ATS in 5-12 games.
— Since 2010, MAAC teams are 2-10 ATS in NCAA’s.
— Last three tournaments, SEC teams are 9-12 ATS in first round
— Last ten years, America East teams are 6-4 ATS in this round.
— Last three years, underdogs are 9-3 ATS in 4-13 games.
— OVC teams are 12-4-1 ATS in last 17 first-round games.
— Last eight years, favorites are 18-13 ATS in 7-10 games.
