This is certainly one of the most exciting NCAA tourneys in recent memory, and it all culminates this weekend at Indianapolis for the Final Four. Don't make any moves before checking out Elite Sports Investing's preview taken from our website, www.elitesportsinvesting.com.
There are also pay-after-you picks and Bonus Plays available on the site, as well as handicapping articles like this one. Unlike some services, ESI is not ashamed to admit that its been a rocky NCAA postseason for us, but overall its been an excellent basketball season. (+9 units so far on the heels of a +24 unit football season) Our results are available for you to check out at www.sportswatch.ws. Contact information for ESI ,as well as comp. phone line is available at www.elitesportsinvesting.com.
No gimmicks, no intense sales pressure, just good ole' fashioned sports handicapping!
George Mason vs. Florida - The Patriots of George Mason knocked off some of college basketball's most prestigious heavyweights in North Carolina, Michigan St., and finally the team that was the consensus most talented team in CBB, the UConn Huskies. Mason has shown it can play both fast and slow in the tourney, and have shot 47% from the field. They are led by three seniors, guards Butler and Skinn, and PF Lewis. This team has played with a tremendous energy, which led to them actually outrebounding enigmatic UConn, the nation's top rebounding team, despite not having a starter over 6'7 and any bench player over 6'8. The Patriots forte all season has been defense, as they came into this tournament allowing only 38% from the field. That has only gone up slightly to 40% in this tourney despite facing three offensive powerhouses. Two areas of concern for GMU is that they benefitted from playing the last two games in Washington DC, right down the road from their home, Fai fax, VA, and although as such a Cinderella Story will still have crowd support, it will not be the same as in DC. They are also not a good free throw shooting team averaging 66% during the regular season and 64% during this tourney.
Their opponent the Florida Gators are, however, an excellent free throw shooting club, averaging 74% on over 22 attempts a game. Florida's young studs, Brewer and Noah, play with tremendous emotion and GMU will not be able to "outenergize" the Gators the way they did UConn. Florida has overcame a sharp learning curve, as they play only 1 senior, and the balk of their lineup is made up of sophomores. Coach Billy Donovan should be commended for the job he has done with such a young squad that was not even ranked in the preseason top 25. The Gators dominated their first two round opponents in Jacksonville, and then combined heart and a bit of luck down the stretch to overcome Georgetown. They then overpowered and wore down Villanova, one of the top 5 teams in the country. They may have benefitted from the fact that Villanova had to play an overtime war with one of the nation's most physical teams on Friday night, and that the Wildcats, a team that lives and dies by the 3 Pointer, never really adjusted to shooting in a dome notoriously known for being a brick-haven for outside shooters. Last weekend teams went a combined 18-74 from behind the arc from 3. That being said, Florida is really peaking right now both offensively and defensively, and an excellent stat is that all 5 of their starters ahve a positive assist/turnover ratio. They have only played 1 close game in this tourney.
Early on, I thought there was some value with Florida, hailing from the vastly underrated SEC, but the line has since corrected and continues to climb higher. Not sure that value is there against a team with the defensive numbers of Mason at -6 or higher. Florida has also had trouble with guard based teams that can pressure on the perimeter, as their 1-4 SU/0-5 ATS mark against Tennessee indicates. For now, I'll call it Florida 68-62
UCLA vs. LSU- LSU is another SEC team peaking at the right time. PF Thomas has seen his stock soar in this tourney, and there is not a more explosive dunker and shot blocker in CBB. This team features three possible NBA first round picks in all, and their frontline is as imposing and athletic as you will find. They are one of the nation's top rebounding teams at nearly +8 per game, but are only outrebounding foes by +1 per game in this tourney. For as physically imposing as the Tigers are, it is very impressive that they send teams to the free throw stripe only 14 times a game. They just beat two teams that were in the nation's top 5 all season long after gutting out a war over Texas A&M in the second round. This young team keeps improving and must be respected coming out of the rugged SEC which features two Final Four teams plus South Carolina in the NIT final.
UCLA does not jump off the statsheet at you, and also have not been overly impressive to watch in this tourney, winning two nailbiters, and an ugly one over Memphis last round. It is alsoimportant to note that the Bruins have not played a game outside of their homestate of California since the second week of February. The friendly confines certainly have not hurt as the Bruins have ripped off 11 in a row SU, covering 9 out of those 11. However, the basketball IQ and team defense of the Bruins is a product of excellent HC Howland. They are a team whose sum is greater than its parts, and they are the deepest team left in the Final Four. Their 41.7% defensive field goal percentage is very good but does not begin to tell the way that this team can take you out of what you want to do offensively. They have about 5 options at the the 4-5 positions to help with LSU's devastating front line, and although not quite as athletic as the Tigers, they can definitely hold their own in that regard. PG's Farmar's play has been a bit inconsistent in this tourney, but frosh. Collison is a capable sub giving the Bruins a nice platoon. UCLA must improve their free throw shooting, as they should have been up by 15 points against Memphis, but simply could not make a free throw the first 3/4 of the game (started 7-23!), and also struggled greatly from the stripe against Alabama (4-13). They cannot afford that kind of performance here, as this is definitely the best team they have faced in this tourney, and LSU will get far more easier baskets than did Memphis, no matter how good the Bruins D is.
UCLA will definitely have to show more than it has thus far in this tourney, and they will not have the home court advantage they have enjoyed thus far. Expect another low-scoring, grind-it- out affair perhaps decided at the free throw line. The team whose youth handles the pressure better will come out victorious. Line on the way up, and if it continues so, the gutty Bruins may be worth a look. UCLA 60-59
There are also pay-after-you picks and Bonus Plays available on the site, as well as handicapping articles like this one. Unlike some services, ESI is not ashamed to admit that its been a rocky NCAA postseason for us, but overall its been an excellent basketball season. (+9 units so far on the heels of a +24 unit football season) Our results are available for you to check out at www.sportswatch.ws. Contact information for ESI ,as well as comp. phone line is available at www.elitesportsinvesting.com.
No gimmicks, no intense sales pressure, just good ole' fashioned sports handicapping!
George Mason vs. Florida - The Patriots of George Mason knocked off some of college basketball's most prestigious heavyweights in North Carolina, Michigan St., and finally the team that was the consensus most talented team in CBB, the UConn Huskies. Mason has shown it can play both fast and slow in the tourney, and have shot 47% from the field. They are led by three seniors, guards Butler and Skinn, and PF Lewis. This team has played with a tremendous energy, which led to them actually outrebounding enigmatic UConn, the nation's top rebounding team, despite not having a starter over 6'7 and any bench player over 6'8. The Patriots forte all season has been defense, as they came into this tournament allowing only 38% from the field. That has only gone up slightly to 40% in this tourney despite facing three offensive powerhouses. Two areas of concern for GMU is that they benefitted from playing the last two games in Washington DC, right down the road from their home, Fai fax, VA, and although as such a Cinderella Story will still have crowd support, it will not be the same as in DC. They are also not a good free throw shooting team averaging 66% during the regular season and 64% during this tourney.
Their opponent the Florida Gators are, however, an excellent free throw shooting club, averaging 74% on over 22 attempts a game. Florida's young studs, Brewer and Noah, play with tremendous emotion and GMU will not be able to "outenergize" the Gators the way they did UConn. Florida has overcame a sharp learning curve, as they play only 1 senior, and the balk of their lineup is made up of sophomores. Coach Billy Donovan should be commended for the job he has done with such a young squad that was not even ranked in the preseason top 25. The Gators dominated their first two round opponents in Jacksonville, and then combined heart and a bit of luck down the stretch to overcome Georgetown. They then overpowered and wore down Villanova, one of the top 5 teams in the country. They may have benefitted from the fact that Villanova had to play an overtime war with one of the nation's most physical teams on Friday night, and that the Wildcats, a team that lives and dies by the 3 Pointer, never really adjusted to shooting in a dome notoriously known for being a brick-haven for outside shooters. Last weekend teams went a combined 18-74 from behind the arc from 3. That being said, Florida is really peaking right now both offensively and defensively, and an excellent stat is that all 5 of their starters ahve a positive assist/turnover ratio. They have only played 1 close game in this tourney.
Early on, I thought there was some value with Florida, hailing from the vastly underrated SEC, but the line has since corrected and continues to climb higher. Not sure that value is there against a team with the defensive numbers of Mason at -6 or higher. Florida has also had trouble with guard based teams that can pressure on the perimeter, as their 1-4 SU/0-5 ATS mark against Tennessee indicates. For now, I'll call it Florida 68-62
UCLA vs. LSU- LSU is another SEC team peaking at the right time. PF Thomas has seen his stock soar in this tourney, and there is not a more explosive dunker and shot blocker in CBB. This team features three possible NBA first round picks in all, and their frontline is as imposing and athletic as you will find. They are one of the nation's top rebounding teams at nearly +8 per game, but are only outrebounding foes by +1 per game in this tourney. For as physically imposing as the Tigers are, it is very impressive that they send teams to the free throw stripe only 14 times a game. They just beat two teams that were in the nation's top 5 all season long after gutting out a war over Texas A&M in the second round. This young team keeps improving and must be respected coming out of the rugged SEC which features two Final Four teams plus South Carolina in the NIT final.
UCLA does not jump off the statsheet at you, and also have not been overly impressive to watch in this tourney, winning two nailbiters, and an ugly one over Memphis last round. It is alsoimportant to note that the Bruins have not played a game outside of their homestate of California since the second week of February. The friendly confines certainly have not hurt as the Bruins have ripped off 11 in a row SU, covering 9 out of those 11. However, the basketball IQ and team defense of the Bruins is a product of excellent HC Howland. They are a team whose sum is greater than its parts, and they are the deepest team left in the Final Four. Their 41.7% defensive field goal percentage is very good but does not begin to tell the way that this team can take you out of what you want to do offensively. They have about 5 options at the the 4-5 positions to help with LSU's devastating front line, and although not quite as athletic as the Tigers, they can definitely hold their own in that regard. PG's Farmar's play has been a bit inconsistent in this tourney, but frosh. Collison is a capable sub giving the Bruins a nice platoon. UCLA must improve their free throw shooting, as they should have been up by 15 points against Memphis, but simply could not make a free throw the first 3/4 of the game (started 7-23!), and also struggled greatly from the stripe against Alabama (4-13). They cannot afford that kind of performance here, as this is definitely the best team they have faced in this tourney, and LSU will get far more easier baskets than did Memphis, no matter how good the Bruins D is.
UCLA will definitely have to show more than it has thus far in this tourney, and they will not have the home court advantage they have enjoyed thus far. Expect another low-scoring, grind-it- out affair perhaps decided at the free throw line. The team whose youth handles the pressure better will come out victorious. Line on the way up, and if it continues so, the gutty Bruins may be worth a look. UCLA 60-59
