CNOTES 2024 - 2025 COLLEGE BASKETBALL NEWS-BEST BETS-OPINIONS THRU THE CHAMPIONSHIP !

[CNOTES 3,265]

Friday, March 14​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
ORE at MSU	12:00 PM	MSU -6.0 U 142.0	+500 +500
KENN at LIB	12:30 PM	LIB -7.0	+500
MISS at AUB	01:00 PM	AUB -13.0	+500
GRAM at ALST	02:00 PM	GRAM +2.5	+500
SLU at L-IL	02:00 PM	L-IL -1.0	+500
WIS at UCLA	02:30 PM	WIS -1.5	+500
MTU at JVST	03:00 PM	JVST -1.5	+500
FAU at TULN	03:30 PM	TULN +3.0 O 147.0	+500 +500
TEX at TENN	03:30 PM	TEX +10.0	+500
GW at GMU	05:00 PM	GMU -3.5 U 129.5	+500 +500
TOL at AKR	05:00 PM	AKR -8.5 O 163.0	+500 +500
MORG at NORF	06:00 PM	MORG +11.5 O 154.5	+500 +500
IONA at QUIN	06:00 PM	IONA +4.5 O 143.5	+500 +500
ILL at MD	06:30 PM	MD -1.5 U 156.5	+500 +500

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

BYU at HOU	07:00 PM	BYU +7.5	+500
MIZZ at FLA	07:00 PM	O 162.0	+500
JOES at DAY	07:30 PM	DAY -1.5 U 141.5	+500 +500
KENT at M-OH	07:30 PM	M-OH +4.0 O 144.0	+500 +500
COOK at JKST	08:30 PM	JKST -3.5	+500
MSM at MW	08:30 PM	U 124.0	+500
NCCU at SCST	08:30 PM	SCST -7.5	+500
UCSB at UCSD	09:00 PM	UCSD -11.5	+500
CONN at CREI	09:00 PM	CONN -4.0	+500
PUR at MICH	09:00 PM	PUR -2.5	+500
SEA at UVU	09:00 PM	UVU -3.0	+500
CLEM at LOU	09:30 PM	CLEM -2.0	+500
ARIZ at TTU	09:30 PM	TTU -2.0 O 152.5	+500 +500
ECU at UAB	09:30 PM	UAB -5.5	+500
UK at ALA	09:30 PM	ALA -7.0	+500
BSU at UNM	09:30 PM	BSU +1.0	+500
CP at UCI	11:30 PM	CP +11.0	+500
CBU at GC	11:30 PM	GC -8.0 O 141.0	+500 +500

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

NCAA COLLEGE HOOPS BEST BETS !

03/14/2025.................22 - 10 - 1.................68.75%...................+ 55,00
03/13/2025.................15 - 14 - 0.................51.72%....................- 2.00
03/12/2025.................16 - 18 - 0.................47.05%....................- 19.00
03/11/2025.................15 - 15 - 0..................50.00%....................- 7,50
03/10/2025.................12 - 5 - 0....................70.58%....................+ 32.50
03/09/2025.................20 - 20 - 1.................50.00%.....................- 10.00
03/08/2025.................16 - 19 - 0.................45.71%.....................- 24.50
03/07/2025.................15 - 13 - 1.................53.57%.....................+ 3.50
03/06/2025.................18 - 16 - 2.................52.94%......................+ 2.00
03/05/2025....................7 - 8 - 0.................46.66%......................- 9.00
03/04/2025..................5 - 10 - 0.................33.33%.....................- 30.00
03/03/2025....................3 - 9 - 0.................25.00%......................- 34.50
03/02/2025....................4 - 5 - 0.................44.44%......................- 7.50
03/01/2025.................34 - 25 - 0.................57.62%......................+ 32.50

TOTALS:...................202 - 187 - 2.................51.92%......................- 18.50

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

Saturday’s 6-pack:
According to ESPN’s Bracketology, these are last six teams in Field of 68:
63) West Virginia
64) Vanderbilt
65) San Diego State
66) Xavier
67) Boise State
68) North Carolina

Quote of the Day
“We went 30-4 against the ACC. Put their high-end teams in our league, and they’re in a very different place. You do that with the Big 12, they’re in a very different place.”
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, campaigning for his league’s teams to get into the NCAA’s

Saturday’s quiz
Bruce Pearl has been Auburn’s basketball coach for 11 years; what other SEC team has he coached?

Friday’s quiz
Last time the Jets played in a playoff game, Mark Sanchez was their quarterback.

Thursday’s quiz
Toronto Blue Jays won back/back World Series in 1992/1993; Cito Gaston was their manager.

******************************************

Saturday’s Den: Wrapping up a Friday full of basketball…….​

Lot of conference tournaments going on; here is what we know:

— SEC
Alabama 99, Kentucky 70
Crimson Tide outscored 54-35 in second half.
Alabama had three subs score in double figures
Crimson Tide is shooting 59.9% inside the arc (#3)

Auburn 62, Ole Miss 57
Fewest points Auburn has scored since January 25 vs Tennessee
Game was tied with 6:26 left; then Auburn went on a 10-1 run.
Teams shot a combined 10-44 on the arc.

Saturday’s semi-finals:
Auburn-Tennessee…….Florida-Alabama

— Big X
Arizona 86, Texas Tech 80
Caleb Love scored 27 points for Arizona.
Wildcats shot 8-16 on the arc, scored 1.26 points/possession.
Texas Tech’s best player was sick, barfing during timeouts.

Saturday’s final: Arizona-Houston

— ACC
Duke 74, North Carolina 71
Duke star Flagg didn’t play, is done for the weekend.
Duke led 45-24 at halftime.
Teams combined to shoot 8-39 on the arc.
Blue Devils are 26-1 since Thanksgiving.

Louisville 76, Clemson 73
Cardinals led 69-54 with 3:24 left, held on for dear life.
Lousiville’s wins last two nights were by 2-3 points.
Cardinals have won 11 games in a row.
Loss snaps Clemson’s nine-game winning streak.

Duke-Louisville is Saturday’s ACC final

— Big East
St John’s 79, Marquette 63
6-9 Ejiofor scored 33 points, had nine rebounds.
Marquette led 24-9 early on, 37-35 at halftime.
Marquette is 5-7 in its last 12 games.
St John’s is in Big East final for first time in 25 years.

Creighton 71, UConn 62
Bluejays had only 4 turnovers, scored 1.27 points/possession.
Creighton was 13-18 on foul line, UConn 2-4
Creighton is shooting 60.6% inside arc (#1 in country)

St John’s-Creighton is the Big East final Saturday

— Big 18
All four games Friday were decided by 10+ points.
Wisconsin 86, UCLA 70
Badgers shot 19-32 on arc, 12-17 in first half.
UCLA split its last eight games.

Saturday’s semi-finals:
Wisconsin-Michigan State
Michigan-Maryland

— Mountain West
Boise State 72, New Mexico 69
#1-seed New Mexico led 34-28 at halftime.
Boise State shot 64% inside the arc.
Broncos won 11 of their last 13 games.

Saturday’s final is Boise State-Colorado State

— Big West
Cal-San Diego 69, Cal-Santa Barbara 51
Gauchos led 27-26 at halftime.
Cal-San Diego shot 62.5% inside the arc.
Tritons have won their last 14 games.

Saturday’s final is Cal-San Diego/Cal-Irvine.

— Famous birthdays, March 15th:
Judd Hirsch, 90
Mike Kruczek, 72
Clay Matthews, 69
Stump Mitchell, 66
Harold Baines, 66
Terry Cummings, 64
Eva Longoria, 50
Kevin Youkilis, 46
Tavon Austin, 35
Nick Ahmed, 35
Taylor Heinicke, 32
Matt Gay, 31

— American
Memphis 83, Wichita State 80
Wichita led 20-10 early in the game.
PJ Haggerty scored 42 points, shot 16-23 inside arc.
Tigers have won six in row, 14 of last 15 games.
Bubble teams all over America are rooting for Memphis; if they lose in this tournament, whoever wins AAC tournament would be a bid stealer.

Saturday’s semi-finals:
Memphis-Tulane…….North Texas-UAB

— MAC
Miami OH 72, Kent State 64
Kent State led by a hoop with 4:57 left to play.
Golden Flashes were only 11-21 on the foul line.
Miami is 19-4 in its last 23 games.

Saturday’s final is #1-seed Akron vs Miami.

— Atlantic 15
St Joe’s 73, Dayton 68 OT
Dayton led by 4 with 0:18 left in regulation.
St Joe’s was 20-28 on foul line, Flyers 7-11.
Hawks have won seven of their last eight games.

Saturday’s semi-finals: Saint Louis-VCU…….St Joe’s-George Mason

— Conference USA
Jacksonville State 70, Middle Tennessee 68
Middle Tennessee played a 2pm game, after playing a 2OT game Thursday nite
Blue Raiders shot 11-24 on arc, but were only 9-17 on foul line.
Jax State senior G Pierre played all 40:00, scored 19 points.

Saturday’s final: #1-seed Liberty vs Jacksonville State

— WAC
Grand Canyon 75, Cal Baptist 66
Grand Canyon led 25-16 at half; 2nd half had a faster pace.
Grand Canyon is trying to win WAC tourney for third year in a row.
Antelopes have won eight of their last nine games.

Saturday’s final: Utah Valley-Grand Canyon

— Metro Atlantic
Iona 81, Quinnipiac 73
Iona shot 59.2% inside arc, upsets top-seeded Quinnipiac
Iona has been in six of last eight NCAA tournaments.
Quinnipiac shot 9-29 on arc; for year, they’re shooting 29.8% on arc (#346)

Saturday’s final: Iona-Mount St Mary’s

 

[Udog 3,450]

NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, March 15

5 of Saturday’s best college basketball games:

SEC Tournament (@ Nashville)
Tennessee vs Auburn (-4.5)
Tennessee (26-6, 13-6)
KenPom rating: 5
Tempo: 346
Experience: 14
Continuity: 159
Tennessee won nine of its last 11 games.
Vols played seven guys 16:00+ in Friday’s 83-72 win.
Tennessee has the #1 eFG% defense in country.
Vols are #20 team in country on offensive boards.
Since 2018, Tennessee is 10-5 in SEC tournaments.

Auburn (28-4, 16-3)
KenPom rating: 2
Tempo: 147
Experience: 25
Continuity: 40
Auburn lost two of its last three games.
Tigers played three guys 31:00+ yesterday.
Auburn won SEC tourney 2 of last 4 times they were in it.
Tigers are shooting 56.3% inside arc (#30)
Auburn has #12 eFG% defense in country.


Auburn nipped Tennessee 53-51 at home January 25.
Auburn outscored the Vols 6-0 over the final 2:07 of play.
Teams split the last six series games.


Big X tournament (@ Kansas City)
Houston (-7.5) vs Arizona
Houston (29-4, 21-1)
KenPom rating: 3
Tempo: 360
Experience: 41
Continuity: 8
Houston won 12 in row, 25 of last 26 games.
Cougars led 41-20 at half, had stress-free win Friday.
Houston has #3 eFG% defense in country.
Cougars are forcing turnovers 21.8% of time (#14)
Houston is shooting 39.8% on the arc (#4)

Arizona (22-11, 16-6)
KenPom rating: 14
Tempo: 56
Experience: 30
Continuity: 150
Arizona split its last ten games overall.
Wildcats scored 88-86 points winning the last two days.
Arizona played two starters 32:00+ Friday.
Wildcats are #16 team in country on offensive boards.
Arizona has #34 eFG% defense in country.


Houston beat Arizona 62-58 in Tucson February 15th.
Arizona led by 7 with 9:10 left in the game.


Big East tournament (@ Madison Square Garden)
Creighton @ St John’s (-6.5)
Creighton (24-9, 17-5)
KenPom rating: 36
Tempo: 193
Experience: 37
Continuity: 88
Creighton won six of its last seven games.
Bluejays played 3 starters 36:00+ Friday; 4 starters 35:00+ Thursday
Creighton is shooting 60.6% inside arc (#1)
Bluejays have #19 eFG% defense in country.
Creighton gets 37.9% of its points on 3’s (#42)


St John’s (29-4, 20-2)
KenPom rating: 13
Tempo: 49
Experience: 69
Continuity: 275
St John’s has won eight in row, 18 of last 19 games.
Red Storm won last two days, by 21-16 points.
St John’s has #18 eFG% defense in country.
Red Storm is forcing turnovers 21.9% of time (#12)
St John’s is #9 team in country on offensive boards.


Home teams won both series games this season.
Creighton won eight of last 10 meetings (2-2 last four)


ACC Tournament (@ Charlotte, NC)
Duke (-6.5) vs Louisville
Duke (30-3, 21-1)
KenPom rating: 1
Tempo: 256
Experience: 129
Continuity: 268
Duke lost star freshman Flagg (ankle) for the weekend.
Blue Devils have won 10 in row, 26 of last 27 games.
Duke led 45-24 at half Friday, wound up winning 74-71.
Blue Devils have #2 eFG% defense in country.
Duke is shooting 58.1% inside arc (#8)


Louisville (27-6, 20-2)
KenPom rating: 23
Tempo: 86
Experience: 5
Continuity: 352
Louisville has won 11 in row, 21 of last 22 games.
Cardinals won last two days, by 2-3 points.
Louisville led by 15 with 3:28 left Friday, won 76-73.
Cardinals wound up playing three starters 38:00+.
Louisville is shooting 57.3% inside the arc (#16)

Duke won 76-65 at Louisville December 8th.
Louisville led by 7 with 13:23 left in the game.
Duke won last five series games.


Big 18 tournament (@ Indianapolis)
Michigan vs Maryland (-4.5)
Michigan (23-9, 15-6)
KenPom rating: 27
Tempo: 63
Experience: 81
Continuity: 262
Michigan snapped its 3-game losing skid Friday.
Wolverines shot 68.8% inside arc, played only 2 starters more than 25:00
Michigan is turning ball over 19.9% of time (#330)
Wolverines are shooting 58.6% inside arc (#7)
Michigan has #24 eFG% defense in country.


Maryland (25-7, 15-6)
KenPom rating: 11
Tempo: 57
Experience: 98
Continuity: 237
Maryland has won four in row, 12 of last 14 games.
Last four games, Terps allowed 63.8 ppg.
Maryland led 57-31 at half, had stress-free win Friday.
Terps are forcing turnovers 20% of time (#42)
Maryland has #25 eFG% defense in country.


Maryland won 71-65 in Ann Arbor ten days ago.
Terrapins were +8 in turnovers (16-8) in that game.
Maryland won three of last four series games

 

[Udog 3,450]

NCAAB
Dunkel

Saturday, March 15

 

[Udog 3,450]

NCAAB

Saturday, March 15

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Trend Report
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[CNOTES 3,265]

Saturday, March 15​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
L-IL at VCU	01:00 PM	L-IL +9.5	+500
SCST at NORF	01:00 PM	NORF -1.0	+500
WIS at MSU	01:00 PM	MSU -2.5	+500
TENN at AUB	01:00 PM	TENN +5.0	+500
DART at COR	02:00 PM	COR -5.5 U 160.5	+500 +500
TULN at MEM	03:00 PM	MEM -8.5	+500
MICH at MD	03:30 PM	MICH +4.5 U 149.0	+500 +500
JOES at GMU	03:30 PM	JOES -1.0	+500
ALA at FLA	03:30 PM	ALA +3.0 O 177.0	+500 +500
UAB at UNT	05:30 PM	UAB +2.5	+500
ARIZ at HOU	06:00 PM	HOU -6.0 O 135.0	+500 +500
BSU at CSU	06:00 PM	CSU +1.5 O 138.0	+500 +500
CREI at SJU	06:30 PM	CREI +6.5 U 141.5	+500 +500
M-OH at AKR	07:30 PM	AKR -6.5 O 159.0	+500 +500
MSM at IONA	07:30 PM	IONA -4.5 O 131.5	+500 +500
LOU at DUKE	08:30 PM	LOU +6.0 U 147.5	+500 +500
JVST at LIB	08:30 PM	JVST +5.5	+500
ALST at JKST	09:30 PM	ALST +2.5 U 139.0	+500 +500
UCI at UCSD	09:30 PM	UCI +5.5 O 134.5	+500 +500
GC at UVU	11:30 PM	UVU +5.0 O 143.0	+500 +500

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

NCAA COLLEGE HOOPS BEST BETS !

03/15/2025.................12 - 11 - 1.................52.19%...................- 0.50
03/14/2025.................22 - 10 - 1.................68.75%...................+ 55.00
03/13/2025.................15 - 14 - 0.................51.72%....................- 2.00
03/12/2025.................16 - 18 - 0.................47.05%....................- 19.00
03/11/2025.................15 - 15 - 0..................50.00%....................- 7,50
03/10/2025.................12 - 5 - 0....................70.58%....................+ 32.50
03/09/2025.................20 - 20 - 1.................50.00%.....................- 10.00
03/08/2025.................16 - 19 - 0.................45.71%.....................- 24.50
03/07/2025.................15 - 13 - 1.................53.57%.....................+ 3.50
03/06/2025.................18 - 16 - 2.................52.94%......................+ 2.00
03/05/2025....................7 - 8 - 0.................46.66%......................- 9.00
03/04/2025..................5 - 10 - 0.................33.33%.....................- 30.00
03/03/2025....................3 - 9 - 0.................25.00%......................- 34.50
03/02/2025....................4 - 5 - 0.................44.44%......................- 7.50
03/01/2025.................34 - 25 - 0.................57.62%......................+ 32.50

TOTALS:...................214 - 198 - 3.................51.94%......................- 19.00

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

Sunday’s 6-pack:
Teams with the best 2-point shooting %age defense:
42.6%— Hofstra 15-18
43%— Cal-Irvine 28-5
43.4%— Duke 31-3
43.9%— Houston 30-4
44.1%— VCU 27-6
44.5%— George Mason 26-7

Quote of the Day
“I have to look at it like, hey, I can pitch at that velocity [from 2018]. It is less stress on your body. You get out there and you’re throwing pitches at 100 miles an hour for however many pitches it is — it’s a lot of stress. It’s something that I’m going to look into — using it when I need it, backing off and just trusting that I can locate the ball.”
Jacob deGrom

Sunday’s quiz
Which NBA team did Dick Vitale coach?

Saturday’s quiz
Bruce Pearl has been Auburn’s basketball coach for 11 years; he has also coached Tennessee in the SEC.

Friday’s quiz
Last time the Jets played in a playoff game, Mark Sanchez was their quarterback.

***************************************

Sunday’s Den: Thinking out loud as we wait for the brackets……..​

Have watched a ton of college basketball this week; the teams that win are really happy, the teams that don’t win tend to fire their coach……..

— UNLV fired Kevin Kruger, who was 77-65/40-34 in four years with the Rebels. UNLV hasn’t been in the NCAA’s since 2013, when UNLV alum Dave Rice was the coach, but only four of those 12 years were with Kruger as coach.

UNLV’s point guard/best player Dedan Thomas missed the last seven games this year, but UNLV went 7-3 in its last ten games, played hard until the end. I’m not sure who they’re going to hire to replace Kruger, but this seems like a bad decision.

Why? Because UNLV’s coach next year will be their 7th head coach in 16 years; this isn’t 1990 anymore, when the Rebels were like Gonzaga is now, a huge fish in a shallow pond (Big West wasn’t a great league and UNLV dominated it).

Plus, back when Jerry Tarkanian’s Rebels were awesome, UNLV had Las Vegas to itself; now there is an NHL team in Las Vegas, an NFL team in a domed stadium. UNLV basketball isn’t as big a deal as it used to be in Las Vegas. A coach goes 23-15 in league games over two seasons, not really sure why he got fired.

— Iowa fired Fran McCaffery, who was at Iowa for 15 years; he made the NCAA’s seven times, going 4-7 in NCAA Tournament games.

— Villanova fired Kyle Neptune, who was 54-47/31-29 in three years there, taking over for Jay Wright, who quit after leading the Wildcats to the Final Four three years ago.
Villanova made the NCAA’s 16 of last 17 years with Wright as coach; they haven’t made it back since he left. This will be an interesting hire; does Villanova spend a lot of NIL money????

— Minnesota fired coach Ben Johnson, who was 56-71/19-57 in four years- they went 19-15 last year, but the Big 18 is a really tough league. Gophers have finished over .500 in conference play once in the last 19 years; this isn’t a good job.

— How is Mark Schmidt still the coach at St Bonaventure? The guy wins at a place that is a few miles past the middle of nowhere.

Seriously, go on MapQuest and look up Olean, NY, then draw a 50-mile circle around it.
Lot of trees, maybe some hockey players, not many, if any basketball players, but Schmidt has won fairly consistently with the Bonnies- they don’t get on TV very often.

Over the last ten years, Bonnies are 111-65 in conference games; they’ve made the NCAA’s three times since 2012. Someone (you listening UNLV???) Should give the guy a chance.

— Movie of the Day:
The Ides of March– A campaign’s press secretary becomes involved in a scandal that threatens his candidate’s chance to get elected.
Excellent cast: George Clooney, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti…….I’ve become exhausted with all the political BS, but this is a very good movie.

— WR Cooper Kupp was the 69th player taken in the 2017 draft; he was awesome for eight years, the MVP of the Super Bowl three years ago when the Rams beat Cincinnati.

But the NFL is a business, and Kupp turns 32 in June. He’s missed 18 games the last three years; Seattle Seahawks signed him this week for three years, $45M.

In his eight years with the Rams, Kupp caught 634 passes, for 12.3 yards/catch, with 57 TDs. He went to college at Eastern Washington, so now he goes home to finish his career.

Kupp’s father and grandfather both played in the NFL; his dad played one game at QB for the Cardinals in 1991, his grandfather was an offensive lineman for 12 years, mostly with the Saints.

— Atlanta Falcons are keeping QB Kirk Cousins for now; they had to pay him $27.5M next fall whether they kept him or not, but now he is guaranteed another $10M in 2026.
You get the idea there is a battle of wills going on within the Falcons’ organization; they drafted Michael Penix with the 8th pick of the ’24 draft- he started three games and did pretty well last year, but not well enough for them to let Cousins walk.

— Backup QB news

Chiefs signed up Gardner Minshew to be the backup QB; Minshew has started 46 NFL games for four teams. Fans in Kansas City pray that they never get to see him play.

Steelers brought back Mason Rudolph to be their backup QB; they have zero idea who their starting QB will be this fall, but Rudolph is 8-4-1 as a Steeler backup over the years- he was 1-4 starting for Tennessee last season.

49ers gave former Patriots/Jaguars’ QB Mac Jones $7M to be their backup QB the next couple years. Jones was 18-24 in three years as a starter in Foxboro, replacing Tom Brady.

— It is odd that Russell Wilson/Aaron Rodgers are free agents; Wilson will be 37 in November; he is going to be on his fourth team in five years.
Rodgers tore his achilles in 2023; he’ll be 42 in December, will be on his third team in four years.

— Famous birthdays, March 16th:
Erik Estrada, 76
Kate Nelligan, 75
Joe DeLamielleure, 74
Sammy White, 71
Ozzie Newsome, 69
Rodney Peete, 59
Todd Heap, 45
Curtis Granderson, 44
Blake Griffin, 36
Tim Hardaway Jr, 33
Joel Embiid, 31
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 26

— Random bet for this baseball season:
Will any pitcher win more than 19.5 games?
Over last four years, only three pitchers have won 20+ games in a season.

— Two more baseball prop bets:

Will the Dodgers get the most regular season wins?
Yes -200/No +175

Will the White Sox get the most regular season losses?
Yes -200/No +175

— St John’s star Kadary Richmond had a triple-double vs Marquette March 8th; it was the first triple-double for a St John’s player since Ron Artest, in 1999.

— Next year, Delaware is bolting from the CAA to Conference USA, which is bad for basketball as they ramp up their football program.
UMass is going from the Atlantic 15 to the Mid-American Conference, which is good for their basketball program.

— UFL starts up in two weeks; an 8-team league with a 10-game regular season. Going to be a lot of stuff going on in two weeks; second weekend of the NCAA’s, first weekend of baseball, plus the NBA, NHL and UFL. Should be a lot of fun.

 

[Udog 3,450]

NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, March 16

5 of Sunday’s best college basketball games:

Ivy League tournament
Cornell @ Yale (-5.5)
Cornell (18-10, 10-5)
KenPom rating: 129
Tempo: 21
Experience: 239
Continuity: 26
Cornell won its last five games, scoring 92.8 ppg.
Big Red played only two starters 30:00+ Saturday
Cornell is shooting 37.2% on the arc (#28)
Big Red is getting 39.2% of its points on 3’s (#20)
Opponents are shooting 52.5% inside arc (#249)

Yale (21-7, 14-1)
KenPom rating: 74
Tempo: 174
Experience: 195
Continuity: 49
Yale is 15-1 since Christmas.
Bulldogs played four starters 34:00+ in Saturday’s 59-57 win.
Yale has #51 eFG% offense in country.
Bulldogs have #59 eFG% defense in country.
Yale has been in NCAA’s three of last five years.


Yale beat Cornell twice this season, 103-88/92-88
Yale shot 69.8%/59.4% inside arc in those games.
Yale is 7-3 in last ten series games.


SEC Tournament (@ Nashville)
Tennessee vs Florida (-4.5)
Tennessee (27-6, 14-6)
KenPom rating: 5
Tempo: 348
Experience: 14
Continuity: 159
Tennessee won 10 of its last 12 games.
Vols played eight guys 15:00+ in Saturday’s 70-65 win.
Tennessee has the #1 eFG% defense in country.
Vols are #19 team in country on offensive boards.
Since 2018, Tennessee is 11-5 in SEC tournaments.

Florida (29-4, 16-4)
KenPom rating: 2
Tempo: 62
Experience: 62
Continuity: 46
Florida won 11 of its last 12 games.
Gators played only one guy 30:00+ in Saturday’s 104-82 win
Florida outscored Alabama 57-37 in second half yesterday.
Gators have #6 eFG% defense in country.
Florida is shooting 56.5% inside arc (#26)


Teams split pair of one-sided games this season.
Tennessee is 5-3 in last eight series games.


Atlantic 15 tournament (@ Washington, DC)
George Mason vs VCU (-8.5)
George Mason (26-7, 17-3)
KenPom rating: 78
Tempo: 318
Experience: 23
Continuity: 154
George Mason won 16 of its last 18 games.
Patriots played three starters 32:00+ in yesterday’s 74-64 win.
George Mason played 8 guys Saturday: 6 seniors, 2 juniors.
Patriots have #4 eFG% defense in country.
George Mason hasn’t been in NCAA’s since 2011.


VCU (27-6, 17-3)
KenPom rating: 30
Tempo: 241
Experience: 37
Continuity: 52
VCU won 15 of its last 17 games.
Rams played only one guy 30:00+ in Saturday’s win.
VCU starts four seniors.
Rams have #3 eFG% defense in country.
VCU has been in NCAA’s 11 of last 14 years.


George Mason lost 70-54 at VCU February 22nd.
Rams won last five series games.


AAC Tournament (@ Fort Worth, TX)
Memphis (-4.5) vs UAB
Memphis (28-5, 18-2)
KenPom rating: 52
Tempo: 28
Experience: 6
Continuity: 314
Memphis won last two days, by 1-3 points.
Tigers won their last seven games.
Two best Memphis guys played 38:00/40:00 Saturday
Tigers have #63 eFG% offense in country.
Memphis is #283 team in country on defensive boards.


UAB (22-11, 15-5)
KenPom rating: 102
Tempo: 83
Experience: 183
Continuity: 27
UAB won seven of its last nine games.
Blazers played four starters 31:00+ Saturday.
UAB is #6 team in country on offensive boards.
Blazers are 2-5 vs top 100 teams this season.
UAB’s best wins: 64-61/66-56 over #72 North Texas

Memphis beat UAB twice this year, 100-77/88-81
Tigers won three of last four series games.


Big 18 tournament (@ Indianapolis)
Michigan vs Wisconsin (-3.5)
Michigan (24-9, 16-6)
KenPom rating: 26
Tempo: 61
Experience: 79
Continuity: 265
Michigan won last two days, scoring 86-81 points.
Wolverines played three starters 31:00+ in Saturday’s win.
Michigan is turning ball over 20% of time (#333)
Wolverines are shooting 58.2% inside arc (#7)
Michigan is 12-1 in league games decided by 4 or fewer points.


Wisconsin (26-8, 16-7)
KenPom rating: 11
Tempo: 148
Experience: 45
Continuity: 90
Wisconsin is 3-0 this weekend, scoring 77.7 ppg.
Badgers played three guys 30:00+ in yesterday’s win.
Wisconsin is shooting 55.5% inside the arc (#38)
Badgers have #57 eFG% defense in country.
Wisconsin gets 37.3% of its points on 3’s (#50)


Michigan won 67-64 at Wisconsin December 3rd.
Teams split their last six meetings.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Sunday, March 16

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

Sunday, March 16​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
COR at YALE	12:00 PM	COR +5.5 O 157.5	+500 +500
TENN at FLA	01:00 PM	FLA -5.5 O 143.5	+500 +500
GMU at VCU	01:00 PM	VCU -8.0 U 127.5	+500 +500
UAB at MEM	03:15 PM	UAB +3.5 O 157.5	+500 +500
WIS at MICH	03:30 PM	WIS -4.0 U 151.0	+500 +500

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

NCAA COLLEGE HOOPS BEST BETS !

03/16/2025...................4 - 6 - 0....................40.00%...................- 13.00
03/15/2025.................12 - 11 - 1.................52.19%...................- 0.50
03/14/2025.................22 - 10 - 1.................68.75%...................+ 55.00
03/13/2025.................15 - 14 - 0.................51.72%....................- 2.00
03/12/2025.................16 - 18 - 0.................47.05%....................- 19.00
03/11/2025.................15 - 15 - 0..................50.00%....................- 7,50
03/10/2025.................12 - 5 - 0....................70.58%....................+ 32.50
03/09/2025.................20 - 20 - 1.................50.00%.....................- 10.00
03/08/2025.................16 - 19 - 0.................45.71%.....................- 24.50
03/07/2025.................15 - 13 - 1.................53.57%.....................+ 3.50
03/06/2025.................18 - 16 - 2.................52.94%......................+ 2.00
03/05/2025....................7 - 8 - 0.................46.66%......................- 9.00
03/04/2025..................5 - 10 - 0.................33.33%.....................- 30.00
03/03/2025....................3 - 9 - 0.................25.00%......................- 34.50
03/02/2025....................4 - 5 - 0.................44.44%......................- 7.50
03/01/2025.................34 - 25 - 0.................57.62%......................+ 32.50

TOTALS:...................218 - 204 - 3.................51.65%......................- 32.00

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

Monday’s 6-pack:
Six highest-rated teams who missed the NCAA Tournament:
— Ohio State 17-15
— Northwestern 17-16
— SMU 23-10
— Indiana 19-13
— Boise State 24-10
— West Virginia 19-13

Quote of the Day
“I’d rather steal 30 (bases) and play the whole season as opposed to trying to steal 70, injuring myself and missing the whole year.”
Ronald Acuna Jr, on his plans when he comes back in May from his second ACL tear

Monday’s quiz
Which college basketball team has had only two head coaches since 1976?

Sunday’s quiz
Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons for 94 games from 1978-80.

Saturday’s quiz
Bruce Pearl has been Auburn’s basketball coach for 11 years; he has also coached Tennessee in the SEC.

*********************************************

Monday’s Den: Quick thoughts/facts after my first look at the brackets……​

We’ll get into the games more as the week goes on, but here are some quick thoughts, facts after seeing the brackets/Field of 68.

— #8-seeds are a prominent group: UConn, Gonzaga, Louisville, Mississippi State.
How would you like to be a #1-seed and see the two-time champ Huskies in your bracket?
Auburn-Louisville would be in Lexington, KY; Bruce Pearl must be thrilled with that.
Gonzaga has made nine straight Sweet 16’s; they’re going to have to upset Houston to make it ten in a row.

— Brackets came out out between 6-7 pm; Maryland coach Kevin Willard was on a CBS brackets show at 8:30- he said his team had already had a film session on Grand Canyon, their first round opponent in Seattle Friday.
These teams don’t waste any time studying their opponents.

— Iowa State point guard Keshon Gilbert is out for the NCAA Tournament; he missed four of the Cyclones’ last seven games, and Iowa State went 1-3 in those games.

— Clemson-McNeese State is a first round game; McNeese coach Will Wade was a student manager at Clemson, later a grad assistant coach there.
Wade’s Wikipedia page says that he is the new coach at NC State, which might be wishful thinking by whoever posted that note.

— Teams that played on Sunday who have a tournament game this Thursday:
VCU, Yale, Michigan, Wisconsin, all in Denver, in high altitude. Tennessee plays in Kentucky.
Sunday/Thursday is a quick turnaround, especially if a lot of travel is involved.

— Arkansas-Kansas; John Calipari vs Bill Self, with the winner probably playing against Rick Pitino’s St John’s team. Lot of Hall of Famers in that bracket.
St John’s hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000, which is also the last time they won the Big East tournament (before this week).

— With no Pac-12 this season or next, there was an extra at-large bid this season; two years from now, the Pac-12 will be back, and the tournament will have one fewer at-large team.

— Famous birthdays, March 17th:
Cito Gaston, 81
Patrick Duffy, 75
Kurt Russell, 74
Gary Sinise, 70
Danny Ainge, 66
Arye Gross, 65
Sam Bowie, 64
Rob Lowe, 61
Kyle Korver, 44
Juan Lagares, 36
Cordarrelle Patterson, 34
Rhys Hoskins, 32

— 14 of 16 SEC teams made the tournament; Texas was the lowest ranked of the 14- they play Xavier in a play-in game in Dayton.

— #1-seeds won 17 of the 31 conference tournaments this year.
Some trends on conferences in the NCAA’s:

— Since 2019, Mountain West teams are 3-14 SU/2-15 ATS in first round games.
New Mexico, Utah State, Colorado State, San Diego State are in this year’s tournament.

— Since 2010, Ivy League teams are 10-3 ATS in first round games; Yale is a 7.5-point underdog against Texas A&M Thursday.

— CAA teams are 0-11 SU in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments, 0-5 ATS in the last five. NC-Wilmington is a 15.5-point underdog against Texas Tech Thursday night.

— Big West teams are 7-3 ATS in their last ten first round games; the last five years, five different schools have represented the Big West.
Was surprised to see that Cal-San Diego is only a 3.5-point underdog vs Michigan in their first round game. This is the first year the Tritons were eligible for March Madness- they’re 30-4 and have won their last 15 games. They’re 3-2 vs teams ranked in the top 100.

— There must be a lot of $$$ involved with the advertising involved in these bracket pools; ESPN pushes their contest pretty hard.

— I’m off to do more studying; will be back tomorrow with some more knowledge.

 

[Udog 3,450]

 

[Udog 3,450]

 

[fredo777 1,995]

Monday’s 6-pack:
Six highest-rated teams who missed the NCAA Tournament:
— Ohio State 17-15
— Northwestern 17-16
— SMU 23-10
— Indiana 19-13
— Boise State 24-10
— West Virginia 19-13

Quote of the Day
“I’d rather steal 30 (bases) and play the whole season as opposed to trying to steal 70, injuring myself and missing the whole year.”
Ronald Acuna Jr, on his plans when he comes back in May from his second ACL tear

Monday’s quiz
Which college basketball team has had only two head coaches since 1976?

Sunday’s quiz
Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons for 94 games from 1978-80.

Saturday’s quiz
Bruce Pearl has been Auburn’s basketball coach for 11 years; he has also coached Tennessee in the SEC.

*********************************************

Monday’s Den: Quick thoughts/facts after my first look at the brackets……​

We’ll get into the games more as the week goes on, but here are some quick thoughts, facts after seeing the brackets/Field of 68.

— #8-seeds are a prominent group: UConn, Gonzaga, Louisville, Mississippi State.
How would you like to be a #1-seed and see the two-time champ Huskies in your bracket?
Auburn-Louisville would be in Lexington, KY; Bruce Pearl must be thrilled with that.
Gonzaga has made nine straight Sweet 16’s; they’re going to have to upset Houston to make it ten in a row.

— Brackets came out out between 6-7 pm; Maryland coach Kevin Willard was on a CBS brackets show at 8:30- he said his team had already had a film session on Grand Canyon, their first round opponent in Seattle Friday.
These teams don’t waste any time studying their opponents.

— Iowa State point guard Keshon Gilbert is out for the NCAA Tournament; he missed four of the Cyclones’ last seven games, and Iowa State went 1-3 in those games.

— Clemson-McNeese State is a first round game; McNeese coach Will Wade was a student manager at Clemson, later a grad assistant coach there.
Wade’s Wikipedia page says that he is the new coach at NC State, which might be wishful thinking by whoever posted that note.

— Teams that played on Sunday who have a tournament game this Thursday:
VCU, Yale, Michigan, Wisconsin, all in Denver, in high altitude. Tennessee plays in Kentucky.
Sunday/Thursday is a quick turnaround, especially if a lot of travel is involved.

— Arkansas-Kansas; John Calipari vs Bill Self, with the winner probably playing against Rick Pitino’s St John’s team. Lot of Hall of Famers in that bracket.
St John’s hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000, which is also the last time they won the Big East tournament (before this week).

— With no Pac-12 this season or next, there was an extra at-large bid this season; two years from now, the Pac-12 will be back, and the tournament will have one fewer at-large team.

— Famous birthdays, March 17th:
Cito Gaston, 81
Patrick Duffy, 75
Kurt Russell, 74
Gary Sinise, 70
Danny Ainge, 66
Arye Gross, 65
Sam Bowie, 64
Rob Lowe, 61
Kyle Korver, 44
Juan Lagares, 36
Cordarrelle Patterson, 34
Rhys Hoskins, 32

— 14 of 16 SEC teams made the tournament; Texas was the lowest ranked of the 14- they play Xavier in a play-in game in Dayton.

— #1-seeds won 17 of the 31 conference tournaments this year.
Some trends on conferences in the NCAA’s:

— Since 2019, Mountain West teams are 3-14 SU/2-15 ATS in first round games.
New Mexico, Utah State, Colorado State, San Diego State are in this year’s tournament.

— Since 2010, Ivy League teams are 10-3 ATS in first round games; Yale is a 7.5-point underdog against Texas A&M Thursday.

— CAA teams are 0-11 SU in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments, 0-5 ATS in the last five. NC-Wilmington is a 15.5-point underdog against Texas Tech Thursday night.

— Big West teams are 7-3 ATS in their last ten first round games; the last five years, five different schools have represented the Big West.
Was surprised to see that Cal-San Diego is only a 3.5-point underdog vs Michigan in their first round game. This is the first year the Tritons were eligible for March Madness- they’re 30-4 and have won their last 15 games. They’re 3-2 vs teams ranked in the top 100.

— There must be a lot of $$$ involved with the advertising involved in these bracket pools; ESPN pushes their contest pretty hard.

— I’m off to do more studying; will be back tomorrow with some more knowledge.

Thanks for the info. Good luck with your tourney bets.

 

[Udog 3,450]

Good luck to you too fredo!

 

[Udog 3,450]

 

[CNOTES 3,265]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
NIT games scheduled for tonight:
— Kent State @ St Bonaventure (-4.5)
— Jacksonville State @ Georgia Tech (-5.5)
— Chattanooga @ Middle Tennessee (-2.5)
— Saint Louis @ Arkansas State (-4.5)
— Wichita State @ Oklahoma State (-5.5)
— Cal-Northridge @ Stamford (-6.5)
— Cal-Riverside @ Santa Clara (-10.5)

Quote of the Day
“I’m not perfect, but I’m grateful for being here right now, including all the imperfections. I’m also really thankful to the people in America who helped develop and bring baseball to Japan.”
Shohei Ohtani

Tuesday’s quiz
Who was the Chicago Cubs’ manager when they won the 2016 World Series?

Monday’s quiz
Michigan State has had only two basketball coaches since 1976.

Sunday’s quiz
Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons for 94 games from 1978-80.

**********************************************

Tuesday’s Den: NCAA Tournament trends…….​

— Final Four by seed, the last five tournaments:
2024- 1-1-4-11 (NC State was #11)
2023- 4-5-5-9 (Florida Atlantic was #9)
2022- 1-2-2-8 (North Carolina was #8)
2021- 1-1-2-11 (UCLA was #11)
2019- 1-2-3-5

Last five tournaments, only six #1-seeds made the Final Four

— Final Four by conference, the last five tournaments:
2024- ACC, Big East, Big 18, SEC
2023- ACC, Big East, C-USA, Mountain West
2022- ACC (2), Big East, Big X
2021- AAC, Big X, Pac-12, WCC
2019- ACC, Big 18, Big X, SEC
5- ACC
3- Big East, Big X
2- Big 18, SEC
1- AAC, C-USA, Mountain West, Pac-12, WCC

First round trends…….
— Last four years, #1-seeds are 9-7 ATS in first round games.

— Last three years, #2-seeds are 8-4 ATS

A #2-seed has been upset in first round in three of last four years.

— Last five years, #3-seeds are 13-7 ATS.

Last seven years, only 2 of 28 #3-seeds lost in first round.

— Last six years, underdogs are 16-8 ATS in 4-13 first round games.

— Last five years, underdogs are 11-9 ATS in 5-12 games.

— Last six years, the underdog is 6-0 SU/ATS in the 6-11 game in the Midwest region; this year, #6-seed Illinois will play the Texas-Xavier play-in winner.

— Last six years, underdogs are 14-10 SU/20-4 ATS in 8-9 games.

— Famous birthdays, March 18
Jeff Mullins, 83
Dwayne Murphy, 70
Vanessa Williams, 62
Pat Terrell, 57
Andre Rison, 57
Rob Johnson, 52
Brian Griese, 50
Adam Levine, 46
JT Realmuto, 34
Trey Mancini, 33

Conference trends:
— Last three years, ACC teams are 11-4 ATS in first round
Since 2018, ACC teams are 18-8 ATS in second round.

— No team from the A-15 has made the Sweet 16 since Dayton in 2014.

— Last three years, Big East teams are 9-5 ATS in first round
Last three years, Big East had a team in Final Four (Villanova-UConn-UConn)

— Since 2006, Big Sky teams are 0-17 SU/3-13-1 ATS in first round games.
Last Big Sky team to win an NCAA game: Montana 87, Nevada 79 in 2006.

— Last three years, Big 18 teams are 13-8-1 ATS in first round
Last four years, Big 18 teams are 9-12 ATS in second round.
Last four years, only one Big 18 team made the Final Four (Purdue LY)
Last Big 18 team to win a national title? Michigan State, in 2000.

— Since 2019, Big X teams are 21-11 ATS in first round
Since 2021, Big X teams are 6-16 ATS in second round

— Since 2015, Big West teams are 7-3 ATS in first round

— Since 2013, CAA teams are 0-11 SU/5-6 ATS in first round

Last five years, CAA teams are 0-5 ATS

— Since 2015, U-USA teams are 6-3 ATS in first round

— Last three years, Horizon teams are 5-0 ATS in play-in/first round games.

— Since 2010, Ivy League teams are 10-3 ATS in first round.

— Since 2010, MAAC teams are 3-12 ATS in first round (3-2 in last five)

— Since 2017, MAC teams are 6-2 ATS in first round

— Last three years, MVC teams were 0-3 ATS in first round

From 2013-21, MVC teams were 11-3 ATS in first round

— Since 2019, Mountain West teams are 3-14 SU/2-15 ATS in first round

— Last three years, SEC teams are 9-12 ATS in first round

Since 2016, SEC teams are 11-18 ATS in second round

— Last six years, SoCon teams are 5-1 ATS in first round.

— Last five years, WAC teams are 2-3 SU?5-0 ATS in first roun