NCAAB
Thursday, March 14
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Trend Report
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Thursday, March 14
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Trend Report
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THURSDAY, MARCH 14
| Game | Time(ET) | Pick | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| STJOE at RICH | 11:30 AM | RICH -3.0 U 143.0 | +500 +500 |
| XAV at CONN | 12:00 PM | XAV +15.0 O 150.5 | +500 +500 |
| MINN at MSU | 12:00 PM | MINN +6.5 O 136.5 | +500 +500 |
| FSU at UNC | 12:00 PM | UNC -11.0 U 156.5 | +500 +500 |
| BYU at TTU | 12:30 PM | TTU +3.0 O 153.5 | +500 +500 |
| TLSA at ECU | 12:30 PM | TLSA +3.0 O 138.0 | +500 +500 |
| MSST at LSU | 01:00 PM | MSST -4.5 O 145.5 | +500 +500 |
| BGSU at CMU | 01:30 PM | BGSU -3.0 O 131.0 | +500 +500 |
| VCU at MASS | 02:00 PM | MASS +1.5 O 138.5 | +500 +500 |
| SJU at HALL | 02:30 PM | SJU -4.0 O 142.0 | +500 +500 |
| WAKE at PITT | 02:30 PM | PITT +2.0 U 145.5 | +500 +500 |
| MD at WIS | 02:30 PM | WIS -4.5 U 132.5 | +500 +500 |
| WICH at MEM | 02:30 PM | WICH +9.0 | +500 |
| USC at ARIZ | 03:00 PM | USC +8.5 O 156.5 | +500 +500 |
| JKST at TXSO | 03:00 PM | JKST +3.0 O 140.5 | +500 +500 |
| TCU at HOU | 03:00 PM | HOU -11.0 U 137.5 | +500 +500 |
| FRES at USU | 03:00 PM | USU -12.5 U 141.5 | +500 +500 |
| ARK at SCAR | 03:30 PM | SCAR -5.5 U 143.0 | +500 +500 |
| M-OH at AKR | 04:00 PM | AKR -8.0 O 134.5 | +500 +500 |
| SBON at L-IL | 05:00 PM | SBON +2.5 O 138.0 | +500 +500 |
| UCLA at ORE | 05:30 PM | UCLA +3.5 U 129.0 | +500 +500 |
| SDSU at UNLV | 05:30 PM | UNLV +4.5 U 133.5 | +500 +500 |
| MORG at HOW | 06:00 PM | HOW -5.0 U 148.5 | +500 +500 |
| NIAG at MRST | 06:30 PM | NIAG +1.0 U 127.5 | +500 +500 |
| WMU at OHIO | 06:30 PM | OHIO -9.0 U 146.5 | +500 +500 |
| UTEP at LIB | 06:30 PM | LIB -3.5 U 131.5 | +500 +500 |
| OSU at IOWA | 06:30 PM | OSU -2.0 U 153.5 | +500 +500 |
| KSU at ISU | 07:00 PM | KSU +7.5 U 132.5 | +500 +500 |
| MISS at TAM | 07:00 PM | TAM -4.0 U 141.0 | +500 +500 |
| TULN at UNT | 07:00 PM | TULN +5.0 U 141.0 | +500 +500 |
| PROV at CREI | 07:00 PM | CREI -8.0 U 141.5 | +500 +500 |
| NCST at DUKE | 07:00 PM | DUKE -11.0 O 148.0 | +500 +500 |
| DUQ at DAY | 07:30 PM | DAY -6.0 U 135.5 | +500 +500 |
| DSU at SCST | 08:00 PM | SCST -1.5 U 134.5 | +500 +500 |
| SPU at RID | 09:00 PM | RID +1.0 O 130.5 | +500 +500 |
| TEM at SMU | 09:00 PM | TEM +12.0 U 142.0 | +500 +500 |
| CSN at HAW | 09:00 PM | HAW -5.5 U 139.5 | +500 +500 |
| NMSU at WKU | 09:00 PM | WKU -6.5 U 147.5 | +500 +500 |
| PSU at IND | 09:00 PM | IND +2.0 O 149.0 | +500 +500 |
| STAN at WSU | 09:00 PM | WSU -8.0 O 140.5 | +500 +500 |
| CSU at NEV | 09:00 PM | NEV -2.5 U 138.5 | +500 +500 |
| CALBA at SEA | 09:00 PM | SEA -6.5 U 126.5 | +500 +500 |
| COOK at SOU | 09:30 PM | SOU -4.0 U 131.5 | +500 +500 |
| CIN at BAY | 09:30 PM | BAY -6.5 O 141.0 | +500 +500 |
| VILL at MARQ | 09:30 PM | MARQ -3.5 O 141.5 | +500 +500 |
| BC at UVA | 09:30 PM | UVA -5.0 U 125.0 | +500 +500 |
| UGA at FLA | 09:30 PM | UGA +8.0 O 155.0 | +500 +500 |
| UTAH at COLO | 11:30 PM | COLO -3.5 U 152.5 | +500 +500 |
| UCRV at LBSU | 11:30 PM | LBSU -3.0 U 150.0 | +500 +500 |
| SFA at UTA | 11:30 PM | UTA -2.0 U 141.5 | +500 +500 |
Friday’s 6-pack:
Last six national title games in college basketball:
2023— UConn 76, San Diego State 59
2022— Kansas 72, North Carolina 69
2021— Baylor 86, Gonzaga 70
2019— Virginia 85, Texas Tech 77 OT
2018— Villanova 79, Michigan 62
2017— North Carolina 71, Gonzaga 65
Thought of the Day
“Everyone is going through their own struggles. Be kind.”
Friday’s quiz
Who was Vanderbilt’s coach, the last time they made the NCAA Tournament?
Hint: He is coaching another D-I team now, and is a #1-seed in his league
Thursday’s quiz
Kirk Cousins played his college football at Michigan State.
Wednesday’s quiz
In the history of the Seattle Mariners, Edgar Martinez has scored the most runs.
**********************************************
First two games on Thursday were #1-seeds getting upset in their tournaments.
— Mid-American
Kent State 67, Toledo 59
Last four years, Toledo is 62-13 in MAC regular season games, but only 4-4 in MAC Tournament games. Rockets haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 1980.
— Atlantic 15
St Joe’s 66, Richmond 61
Spiders led by 10 with 11:27 left in the game.
Hawks out-rebounded Richmond, 40-29.
Duquesne 65, Dayton 57
This is a disaster for bubble teams; Dayton is going to be in the NCAA’s, so now the winner of this tournament becomes a bid-stealer from a bubble team.
St Bonaventure 75, Loyola 74, 2OT
Bonnies were down 10, with 6:06 left in the game.
St Bonaventure won the last two days, by total of 3 points.
Daryl Banks scored 22 points in 42:00, and he didn’t start.
— Coaches who win (South Carolina, Florida) get new contracts.
Coaches who don’t win enough lose their jobs; this is a tough week for that.
Fresno State
Oklahoma State
Rice
Saint Louis
Texas-San Antonio
Vanderbilt…….all these schools fired their coach in the last day or two.
— ACC
NC State 74, Duke 69
12th-seed Wolfpack are first double-digit seed since 2010 to make the semi-finals of the ACC Tournament.
Last time Duke lost its first ACC Tourney game was 2013 (18-3 since 2003).
Pitt 81, Wake Forest 69
Panthers have won 10 of their last 12 games.
Wake Forest went 4-6 in its last ten games.
— Big East
St John’s 91, Seton Hall 72
Red Storm scored 1.32 points/possession; in their two losses to Seton Hall during the season, they scored 0.97/0.85 points/possession.
St John’s has won six in a row; their Selection Sunday will be stress-free.
Providence 78, Creighton 73
Friars held Creighton to 37.9% from the floor.
Bracketology suggests that Providence still needs a win Friday to make the NCAA’s.
Marquette 71, Villanova 65 OT
Loss figures to send Villanova to the NIT.
Wildcats shot 9-35 on the arc.
— Big X
Iowa State 76, Kansas State 57
Iowa State was 24-40 inside arc, 1-14 on arc, 25-31 on foul line.
Cyclones were +14 in turnovers; they’ve won nine of their last 11 games.
— Mountain West
Both afternoon games went to overtime.
Utah State 87, Fresno State 75, OT
Aggies have won six games in a row, two of them in OT.
Utah State’s Great Osobar was 15-24 on the foul line; Fresno’s whole team was 11-14.
San Diego State 74, UNLV 71, OT
Aztecs have won nine in a row vs UNLV in the MW Tournament.
San Diego State out-rebounded UNLV, 50-31.
Aztecs survived shooting 6-23 on arc, 16-26 on foul line.
— SEC
Mississippi State 70, LSU 60
Bulldogs outscored LSU 48-31 in second half.
Miss State snaps a 4-game losing skid; they’re on right side of the bubble, for now.
— Pac-12
Oregon 68, UCLA 66
UCLA’s last 26 games this season:
1-8 from December 9-January 11
8-1 from January 14-February 15
2-6 from February 18-today.
Arizona 70, USC 49- Because ESPN is ESPN, they have a story on the front page of their website about Bronny James’ NBA prospects. The kid started 6 of USC’s 33 games this season; let him progress at his own pace.
— American
Wichita State 71, Memphis 65
Shockers shot 56.8% inside arc.
Penny Hardaway said Memphis would pass on playing in the NIT; in his six years coaching the Tigers, Memphis is 133-62, but only 1-2 in NCAA Tournament games.
— Big 14
Ohio State 90, Iowa 78
Buckeyes are 6-1 since they fired their coach; that coach, by the way, got hired Thursday by DePaul to be their new coach.
— MAAC
Saint Peter’s 50, Rider 48
Teams combined to shoot 5-28 on the arc. No bueno.
Peacocks never trailed; they were up 14 at one point, hung on for dear life.
— Conference USA
Texas El-Paso 66, Liberty 57
Thursday would’ve been Don Haskins’ 94th birthday; he was UTEP’s coach when they won the 1966 national title. UTEP has won four games in a row, after starting out 4-9 in C-USA.
— WAC
Tex-Arlington 109, Stephen F Austin 78
Mavericks have won seven games in a row; they led 48-27 at halftime.
Tex-Arlington made 19-40 shots on the arc.
Seattle 81, Cal Baptist 57
Seattle snaps a 3-game losing skid.
Redhawks made 12-23 shots on the arc.
— Big West
Hawai’i 75, Northridge 68
Rainbows won eight of their last ten games.
Long Beach State 86, Cal-Riverside 67
Long Beach snaps a 5-game losing skid.
— Oakland Griizlies have a player, Jack Gohlke, who this season has taken:
121-327 on 3-pointers (37%)
4-8 on 2-point shots
45-57 on foul shots (78.9%)
Turns out that Gohlke is a graduate student who played four years at D-II Hillsdale College, and wasn’t starting there until January 15 of his junior year. Hillsdale made the Elite 8 of the D-II tournament for the first time in 2022.
Shooting is marketable.
***********************************************
— Saw something last week I haven’t seen in years; on Wolf Road, one of the main streets around here, a middle-aged guy was hitch-hiking, around 3:00 on a weekday afternoon.
Can’t remember the last time I saw a hitchhiker; kids today probably don’t even know what it is.
The world has become a stranger place. Giving total strangers a ride in your car seems like a potentially bad idea these days.
— NFL schedule makers probably scrambled to adjust their 2024 schedule when Russell Wilson went to the Steelers; Denver-Pittsburgh wouldn’t normally be a big primetime draw, but you have to think now that it’ll be a Sunday or Monday night game.
As far as Wilson’s departure goes, Denver will take a $53M cap hit this year, $32M in 2025
— There have been some free agents who jumped to divisional rivals; those games figure to get some attention on national TV this fall:
Eagles-Giants (Saquon Barkley)
Aaron Jones (Vikings-Packers)
Steelers-Ravens (Patrick Queen)
Dolphins-Bills (Jordan Poyer)
Also, Panthers-Buccaneers (Baker Mayfield)
— When he was coach of the Houston Texans, Boston College coach Bill O’Brien once told his team “…….welcome to the most competitive business in the world.” There is such a fine line between winning and losing, but some teams are smarter than others.
Take the Carolina Panthers…..in the past three years, they’ve traded/given away:
RB Christian McCaffrey
WR DJ Moore
EDGE Brian Burns
QB Baker Mayfield
Their first-round draft pick in 2023, 2024 AND 2025.
2nd round pick in 2023.
In return, they’ve gotten……
QB Bryce Young
LB DJ Johnson
Two 5th round picks
An extra year of Brian Burns, who they wound up trading away anyway.
In December, 2022, Carolina released Mayfield; their division rival Tampa Bay just gave Mayfield a 3-year contract worth $100M. Slight difference of opinion there.
— Over the last five seasons, Washington Commanders have started 10 different QB’s, the most of any NFL team during that time.
— After signing free-agent QB Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons traded QB Desmond Ridder to Arizona, for WR Rondale Moore.
— NFL Network is going to show 30 or so Arena Football games this spring.
— NFL awarded compensatory draft picks for next month’s draft, 34 in all:
5- Rams, 49ers
4- Eagles
3- Saints, Packers, Jets
2- Jaguars, Cowboys, Bengals
1- Bills, Ravens, Chiefs, Bucs, Chargers
— Milwaukee Brewers’ closer Devin Williams is out for 10-12 weeks with a couple of stress fractures in his back.
— 1B/OF Adam Duvall signed with the Braves, for one year, $3M. Duvall hit .247 with 21 home runs last year for the Red Sox.
— It is March 15; Blake Snell, JD Martinez and Jordan Montgomery are still unsigned; those three players can’t be real happy.
— I’m an A’s fan; how about they pretend they’re trying to win and sign Trevor Bauer to a one-year deal? He can’t be very expensive, at this point, and if he did well for the A’s this year, he could make a whole lot of $$$ next year.
— Arizona doesn’t do Daylight Savings Time, so while spring training games start at 3:00 here in the east early in spring training, after the clocks spring ahead in most of the country, they start at 4:00 from that point on.
— Major League Baseball hasn’t expanded since 1998, when Arizona/Tampa Bay came aboard, but they’ll be going to 32 teams in the next few years. Would be smart if they scrapped the current American/National League set-up and went to geographic realignment.
— Los Angeles Angels’ TV guys were talking the other day how it’ll help their starting pitchers this season to be back in a 5-man rotations, something they never would’ve said last year, when they had a 6-man rotation, because Shohei Ohtani only pitches once a week.
— In case you were wondering, the last villain on the old Batman TV series as Zsa Zsa Gabor, who played Minerva; she then went on to co-star on Green Acres, one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid.
— I’m off to Las Vegas next month for a vacation, which reminds me…….
In the movie Last Vegas, Morgan Freeman wins $87,000 playing blackjack at Aria.
In The Hangover, Zach Galifianakis wins $85,000 playing blackjack at Caeser’s Palace.
I’m looking forward to sitting down at a table and cashing in……..(ha!!!)
Last six national title games in college basketball:
2023— UConn 76, San Diego State 59
2022— Kansas 72, North Carolina 69
2021— Baylor 86, Gonzaga 70
2019— Virginia 85, Texas Tech 77 OT
2018— Villanova 79, Michigan 62
2017— North Carolina 71, Gonzaga 65
Thought of the Day
“Everyone is going through their own struggles. Be kind.”
Friday’s quiz
Who was Vanderbilt’s coach, the last time they made the NCAA Tournament?
Hint: He is coaching another D-I team now, and is a #1-seed in his league
Thursday’s quiz
Kirk Cousins played his college football at Michigan State.
Wednesday’s quiz
In the history of the Seattle Mariners, Edgar Martinez has scored the most runs.
**********************************************
Two Lists for Friday: List #1, wrapping up a great day of hoop
Thursday of Champ Week is the best basketball day of the year.First two games on Thursday were #1-seeds getting upset in their tournaments.
— Mid-American
Kent State 67, Toledo 59
Last four years, Toledo is 62-13 in MAC regular season games, but only 4-4 in MAC Tournament games. Rockets haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 1980.
— Atlantic 15
St Joe’s 66, Richmond 61
Spiders led by 10 with 11:27 left in the game.
Hawks out-rebounded Richmond, 40-29.
Duquesne 65, Dayton 57
This is a disaster for bubble teams; Dayton is going to be in the NCAA’s, so now the winner of this tournament becomes a bid-stealer from a bubble team.
St Bonaventure 75, Loyola 74, 2OT
Bonnies were down 10, with 6:06 left in the game.
St Bonaventure won the last two days, by total of 3 points.
Daryl Banks scored 22 points in 42:00, and he didn’t start.
— Coaches who win (South Carolina, Florida) get new contracts.
Coaches who don’t win enough lose their jobs; this is a tough week for that.
Fresno State
Oklahoma State
Rice
Saint Louis
Texas-San Antonio
Vanderbilt…….all these schools fired their coach in the last day or two.
— ACC
NC State 74, Duke 69
12th-seed Wolfpack are first double-digit seed since 2010 to make the semi-finals of the ACC Tournament.
Last time Duke lost its first ACC Tourney game was 2013 (18-3 since 2003).
Pitt 81, Wake Forest 69
Panthers have won 10 of their last 12 games.
Wake Forest went 4-6 in its last ten games.
— Big East
St John’s 91, Seton Hall 72
Red Storm scored 1.32 points/possession; in their two losses to Seton Hall during the season, they scored 0.97/0.85 points/possession.
St John’s has won six in a row; their Selection Sunday will be stress-free.
Providence 78, Creighton 73
Friars held Creighton to 37.9% from the floor.
Bracketology suggests that Providence still needs a win Friday to make the NCAA’s.
Marquette 71, Villanova 65 OT
Loss figures to send Villanova to the NIT.
Wildcats shot 9-35 on the arc.
— Big X
Iowa State 76, Kansas State 57
Iowa State was 24-40 inside arc, 1-14 on arc, 25-31 on foul line.
Cyclones were +14 in turnovers; they’ve won nine of their last 11 games.
— Mountain West
Both afternoon games went to overtime.
Utah State 87, Fresno State 75, OT
Aggies have won six games in a row, two of them in OT.
Utah State’s Great Osobar was 15-24 on the foul line; Fresno’s whole team was 11-14.
San Diego State 74, UNLV 71, OT
Aztecs have won nine in a row vs UNLV in the MW Tournament.
San Diego State out-rebounded UNLV, 50-31.
Aztecs survived shooting 6-23 on arc, 16-26 on foul line.
— SEC
Mississippi State 70, LSU 60
Bulldogs outscored LSU 48-31 in second half.
Miss State snaps a 4-game losing skid; they’re on right side of the bubble, for now.
— Pac-12
Oregon 68, UCLA 66
UCLA’s last 26 games this season:
1-8 from December 9-January 11
8-1 from January 14-February 15
2-6 from February 18-today.
Arizona 70, USC 49- Because ESPN is ESPN, they have a story on the front page of their website about Bronny James’ NBA prospects. The kid started 6 of USC’s 33 games this season; let him progress at his own pace.
— American
Wichita State 71, Memphis 65
Shockers shot 56.8% inside arc.
Penny Hardaway said Memphis would pass on playing in the NIT; in his six years coaching the Tigers, Memphis is 133-62, but only 1-2 in NCAA Tournament games.
— Big 14
Ohio State 90, Iowa 78
Buckeyes are 6-1 since they fired their coach; that coach, by the way, got hired Thursday by DePaul to be their new coach.
— MAAC
Saint Peter’s 50, Rider 48
Teams combined to shoot 5-28 on the arc. No bueno.
Peacocks never trailed; they were up 14 at one point, hung on for dear life.
— Conference USA
Texas El-Paso 66, Liberty 57
Thursday would’ve been Don Haskins’ 94th birthday; he was UTEP’s coach when they won the 1966 national title. UTEP has won four games in a row, after starting out 4-9 in C-USA.
— WAC
Tex-Arlington 109, Stephen F Austin 78
Mavericks have won seven games in a row; they led 48-27 at halftime.
Tex-Arlington made 19-40 shots on the arc.
Seattle 81, Cal Baptist 57
Seattle snaps a 3-game losing skid.
Redhawks made 12-23 shots on the arc.
— Big West
Hawai’i 75, Northridge 68
Rainbows won eight of their last ten games.
Long Beach State 86, Cal-Riverside 67
Long Beach snaps a 5-game losing skid.
— Oakland Griizlies have a player, Jack Gohlke, who this season has taken:
121-327 on 3-pointers (37%)
4-8 on 2-point shots
45-57 on foul shots (78.9%)
Turns out that Gohlke is a graduate student who played four years at D-II Hillsdale College, and wasn’t starting there until January 15 of his junior year. Hillsdale made the Elite 8 of the D-II tournament for the first time in 2022.
Shooting is marketable.
***********************************************
Friday’s Den #2: Some non-basketball thoughts……..
This den is about anything but basketball…….— Saw something last week I haven’t seen in years; on Wolf Road, one of the main streets around here, a middle-aged guy was hitch-hiking, around 3:00 on a weekday afternoon.
Can’t remember the last time I saw a hitchhiker; kids today probably don’t even know what it is.
The world has become a stranger place. Giving total strangers a ride in your car seems like a potentially bad idea these days.
— NFL schedule makers probably scrambled to adjust their 2024 schedule when Russell Wilson went to the Steelers; Denver-Pittsburgh wouldn’t normally be a big primetime draw, but you have to think now that it’ll be a Sunday or Monday night game.
As far as Wilson’s departure goes, Denver will take a $53M cap hit this year, $32M in 2025
— There have been some free agents who jumped to divisional rivals; those games figure to get some attention on national TV this fall:
Eagles-Giants (Saquon Barkley)
Aaron Jones (Vikings-Packers)
Steelers-Ravens (Patrick Queen)
Dolphins-Bills (Jordan Poyer)
Also, Panthers-Buccaneers (Baker Mayfield)
— When he was coach of the Houston Texans, Boston College coach Bill O’Brien once told his team “…….welcome to the most competitive business in the world.” There is such a fine line between winning and losing, but some teams are smarter than others.
Take the Carolina Panthers…..in the past three years, they’ve traded/given away:
RB Christian McCaffrey
WR DJ Moore
EDGE Brian Burns
QB Baker Mayfield
Their first-round draft pick in 2023, 2024 AND 2025.
2nd round pick in 2023.
In return, they’ve gotten……
QB Bryce Young
LB DJ Johnson
Two 5th round picks
An extra year of Brian Burns, who they wound up trading away anyway.
In December, 2022, Carolina released Mayfield; their division rival Tampa Bay just gave Mayfield a 3-year contract worth $100M. Slight difference of opinion there.
— Over the last five seasons, Washington Commanders have started 10 different QB’s, the most of any NFL team during that time.
— After signing free-agent QB Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons traded QB Desmond Ridder to Arizona, for WR Rondale Moore.
— NFL Network is going to show 30 or so Arena Football games this spring.
— NFL awarded compensatory draft picks for next month’s draft, 34 in all:
5- Rams, 49ers
4- Eagles
3- Saints, Packers, Jets
2- Jaguars, Cowboys, Bengals
1- Bills, Ravens, Chiefs, Bucs, Chargers
— Milwaukee Brewers’ closer Devin Williams is out for 10-12 weeks with a couple of stress fractures in his back.
— 1B/OF Adam Duvall signed with the Braves, for one year, $3M. Duvall hit .247 with 21 home runs last year for the Red Sox.
— It is March 15; Blake Snell, JD Martinez and Jordan Montgomery are still unsigned; those three players can’t be real happy.
— I’m an A’s fan; how about they pretend they’re trying to win and sign Trevor Bauer to a one-year deal? He can’t be very expensive, at this point, and if he did well for the A’s this year, he could make a whole lot of $$$ next year.
— Arizona doesn’t do Daylight Savings Time, so while spring training games start at 3:00 here in the east early in spring training, after the clocks spring ahead in most of the country, they start at 4:00 from that point on.
— Major League Baseball hasn’t expanded since 1998, when Arizona/Tampa Bay came aboard, but they’ll be going to 32 teams in the next few years. Would be smart if they scrapped the current American/National League set-up and went to geographic realignment.
— Los Angeles Angels’ TV guys were talking the other day how it’ll help their starting pitchers this season to be back in a 5-man rotations, something they never would’ve said last year, when they had a 6-man rotation, because Shohei Ohtani only pitches once a week.
— In case you were wondering, the last villain on the old Batman TV series as Zsa Zsa Gabor, who played Minerva; she then went on to co-star on Green Acres, one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid.
— I’m off to Las Vegas next month for a vacation, which reminds me…….
In the movie Last Vegas, Morgan Freeman wins $87,000 playing blackjack at Aria.
In The Hangover, Zach Galifianakis wins $85,000 playing blackjack at Caeser’s Palace.
I’m looking forward to sitting down at a table and cashing in……..(ha!!!)
NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Friday, March 15
Friday’s 5 interesting games
SEC tournament (@ Nashville)
Mississippi State vs Tennessee (-10.5)
Mississippi State (20-12, 9-10)
KenPom rating: 39
Tempo: 189
Experience: 56
Continuity: 29
Miss State snapped a 4-game losing skid Thursday.
Bulldogs trailed 29-22 at half; they played 4 starters 30:00+
Miss State has #51 eFG% defense in country.
Bulldogs are turning ball over 18.5% of time (#283).
Bulldogs went WL in their last six SEC tournaments.
Miss State is 4-9 vs top 50 teams.
Tennessee (24-7, 14-4)
KenPom rating: 5
Tempo: 75
Experience: 29
Continuity: 67
Tennessee won seven of its last eight games.
Vols are 10-7 ATS as an SEC favorite.
Tennessee has #5 eFG% defense in country.
Vols are 9-7 vs teams in the top 50.
since 2018, Vols are 9-4 in SEC tourney games (won title in ’22).
Miss State (+2.5) upset Tennessee 77-72 at home January 10.
Volunteers won nine of last 11 series games.
Texas A&M vs Kentucky
Texas A&M (19-13, 10-9)
KenPom rating: 48
Tempo: 293
Experience: 46
Continuity: 44
Texas A&M won last four games, scoring 77.8 ppg.
Aggies played five guys 31:00+ in yesterday’s 80-71 win.
Aggies are a terrible shooting team (#348 eFG%)
On bright side, they’re #1 in country on offensive boards.
Last 2+ years, Texas A&M is 6-2 in SEC tourney.
Texas A&M is 6-5 vs teams ranked in the top 50.
Kentucky (23-8, 13-5)
KenPom rating: 17
Tempo: 14
Experience: 194
Continuity: 317
Kentucky won its last five games, scoring 99.4 ppg.
Wildcats have the #4 eFG% in country.
Kentucky is #227 team on defensive boards.
Wildcats are shooting 41.2% on arc (#1)
Kentucky is only 2-4 in last four SEC tourneys.
Kentucky is 10-7 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Texas A&M (-3) beat Kentucky 97-92 in OT at home on January 13.
Aggies had 25 offensive boards in that game.
Wildcats won seven of last nine series games.
Big East tournament (@ Madison Square Garden)
UConn (-9.5) at St John’s
UConn (29-3, 19-2)
KenPom rating: 2
Tempo: 332
Experience: 72
Continuity: 149
UConn won 19 of its last 20 games.
Huskies covered eight of last nine games.
UConn has #7 eFG%, #3 eFG% defense in country.
Opponents are shooting 43.7% inside arc (#8)
UConn had a stress-free win Thursday.
Huskies went WL in last four Big East tournaments.
UConn is 10-2 vs teams in the top 50.
St John’s (20-12, 12-9)
KenPom rating: 29
Tempo: 84
Experience: 9
Continuity: 333
St John’s won its last six games, scoring 88.8 ppg.
Red Storm are #6 team in country on offensive boards.
St John’s is 5-4 ATS as Big East underdogs.
Opponents are shooting 47.5% inside arc (#60)
St John’s is 2-6 vs teams ranked in the top 50.
St John’s went WL in five of last six Big East tournaments.
Red Storm played three starters 31:00+ in yesterday’s win.
UConn beat St John’s twice this year, 69-65/77-64
Huskies won four of last five series games.
Big X tournament (@ Kansas City)
Baylor vs Iowa State
Baylor (23-9, 12-7)
KenPom rating: 14
Tempo: 284
Experience: 91
Continuity: 238
Baylor won four of its last five games.
Bears are 3-3 ATS as Big X underdogs.
Baylor has #13 eFG% in the country.
Bears are #27 team on the offensive boards.
Since 2015, Baylor is 4-8 in Big X tournaments.
Last time Baylor won twice in a Big X tournament; 2014.
Bears are 11-8 vs teams ranked in top 50.
Baylor played four guys 31:00+ last night.
Iowa State (25-7, 14-5)
KenPom rating: 9
Tempo: 179
Experience: 124
Continuity: 200
Iowa State won nine of its last 11 games.
Cyclones are 7-4 ATS as Big X favorites.
Iowa State is forcing turnovers 26.1% of time (#2)
Cyclones are 14-7 vs teams in top 100.
Last four years, Iowa State is 2-3 in Big X tournament.
Cyclones won by 19 last night, and were 1-14 on arc.
From 2014-19, ISU won this tournament 4 times in 6 years.
Baylor (-3.5) made 12-23 on arc, beat Iowa State 70-68 at home February 3rd.
Cyclones led by 7 with 7:56 left in game.
Bears won seven of last ten series games.
Mountain West tournament (@ UNLV)
San Diego State vs Utah State
San Diego State (23-9, 12-7)
KenPom rating: 21
Tempo: 253
Experience: 48
Continuity: 120
San Diego State split its last six games.
Aztecs had OT win yesterday; four guys played 31:00+.
Aztecs out-rebounded UNLV 50-31 yesterday.
San Diego State starts five seniors.
Last 10 years, Aztecs are 10-0 in 2nd MW tourney games.
Aztecs are 11-10 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Utah State (27-5, 15-4)
KenPom rating: 47
Tempo: 115
Experience: 79
Continuity: 360
Utah State won its last six games.
Aggies are shooting 57.4% inside arc (#11)
Opponents are shooting 53.1% inside arc (#303)
Aggies are #31 team on defensive boards.
Utah State had OT win yesterday; 4 guys played 33:00+
Aggies are 8-5 vs teams ranked in top 100.
since 2018, Aggies are 13-4 in the MW tournament.
Home team won both series games this season.
Aztecs won six of last eight games vs Utah State.
Armadillo's Write-Up
Friday, March 15
Friday’s 5 interesting games
SEC tournament (@ Nashville)
Mississippi State vs Tennessee (-10.5)
Mississippi State (20-12, 9-10)
KenPom rating: 39
Tempo: 189
Experience: 56
Continuity: 29
Miss State snapped a 4-game losing skid Thursday.
Bulldogs trailed 29-22 at half; they played 4 starters 30:00+
Miss State has #51 eFG% defense in country.
Bulldogs are turning ball over 18.5% of time (#283).
Bulldogs went WL in their last six SEC tournaments.
Miss State is 4-9 vs top 50 teams.
Tennessee (24-7, 14-4)
KenPom rating: 5
Tempo: 75
Experience: 29
Continuity: 67
Tennessee won seven of its last eight games.
Vols are 10-7 ATS as an SEC favorite.
Tennessee has #5 eFG% defense in country.
Vols are 9-7 vs teams in the top 50.
since 2018, Vols are 9-4 in SEC tourney games (won title in ’22).
Miss State (+2.5) upset Tennessee 77-72 at home January 10.
Volunteers won nine of last 11 series games.
Texas A&M vs Kentucky
Texas A&M (19-13, 10-9)
KenPom rating: 48
Tempo: 293
Experience: 46
Continuity: 44
Texas A&M won last four games, scoring 77.8 ppg.
Aggies played five guys 31:00+ in yesterday’s 80-71 win.
Aggies are a terrible shooting team (#348 eFG%)
On bright side, they’re #1 in country on offensive boards.
Last 2+ years, Texas A&M is 6-2 in SEC tourney.
Texas A&M is 6-5 vs teams ranked in the top 50.
Kentucky (23-8, 13-5)
KenPom rating: 17
Tempo: 14
Experience: 194
Continuity: 317
Kentucky won its last five games, scoring 99.4 ppg.
Wildcats have the #4 eFG% in country.
Kentucky is #227 team on defensive boards.
Wildcats are shooting 41.2% on arc (#1)
Kentucky is only 2-4 in last four SEC tourneys.
Kentucky is 10-7 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Texas A&M (-3) beat Kentucky 97-92 in OT at home on January 13.
Aggies had 25 offensive boards in that game.
Wildcats won seven of last nine series games.
Big East tournament (@ Madison Square Garden)
UConn (-9.5) at St John’s
UConn (29-3, 19-2)
KenPom rating: 2
Tempo: 332
Experience: 72
Continuity: 149
UConn won 19 of its last 20 games.
Huskies covered eight of last nine games.
UConn has #7 eFG%, #3 eFG% defense in country.
Opponents are shooting 43.7% inside arc (#8)
UConn had a stress-free win Thursday.
Huskies went WL in last four Big East tournaments.
UConn is 10-2 vs teams in the top 50.
St John’s (20-12, 12-9)
KenPom rating: 29
Tempo: 84
Experience: 9
Continuity: 333
St John’s won its last six games, scoring 88.8 ppg.
Red Storm are #6 team in country on offensive boards.
St John’s is 5-4 ATS as Big East underdogs.
Opponents are shooting 47.5% inside arc (#60)
St John’s is 2-6 vs teams ranked in the top 50.
St John’s went WL in five of last six Big East tournaments.
Red Storm played three starters 31:00+ in yesterday’s win.
UConn beat St John’s twice this year, 69-65/77-64
Huskies won four of last five series games.
Big X tournament (@ Kansas City)
Baylor vs Iowa State
Baylor (23-9, 12-7)
KenPom rating: 14
Tempo: 284
Experience: 91
Continuity: 238
Baylor won four of its last five games.
Bears are 3-3 ATS as Big X underdogs.
Baylor has #13 eFG% in the country.
Bears are #27 team on the offensive boards.
Since 2015, Baylor is 4-8 in Big X tournaments.
Last time Baylor won twice in a Big X tournament; 2014.
Bears are 11-8 vs teams ranked in top 50.
Baylor played four guys 31:00+ last night.
Iowa State (25-7, 14-5)
KenPom rating: 9
Tempo: 179
Experience: 124
Continuity: 200
Iowa State won nine of its last 11 games.
Cyclones are 7-4 ATS as Big X favorites.
Iowa State is forcing turnovers 26.1% of time (#2)
Cyclones are 14-7 vs teams in top 100.
Last four years, Iowa State is 2-3 in Big X tournament.
Cyclones won by 19 last night, and were 1-14 on arc.
From 2014-19, ISU won this tournament 4 times in 6 years.
Baylor (-3.5) made 12-23 on arc, beat Iowa State 70-68 at home February 3rd.
Cyclones led by 7 with 7:56 left in game.
Bears won seven of last ten series games.
Mountain West tournament (@ UNLV)
San Diego State vs Utah State
San Diego State (23-9, 12-7)
KenPom rating: 21
Tempo: 253
Experience: 48
Continuity: 120
San Diego State split its last six games.
Aztecs had OT win yesterday; four guys played 31:00+.
Aztecs out-rebounded UNLV 50-31 yesterday.
San Diego State starts five seniors.
Last 10 years, Aztecs are 10-0 in 2nd MW tourney games.
Aztecs are 11-10 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Utah State (27-5, 15-4)
KenPom rating: 47
Tempo: 115
Experience: 79
Continuity: 360
Utah State won its last six games.
Aggies are shooting 57.4% inside arc (#11)
Opponents are shooting 53.1% inside arc (#303)
Aggies are #31 team on defensive boards.
Utah State had OT win yesterday; 4 guys played 33:00+
Aggies are 8-5 vs teams ranked in top 100.
since 2018, Aggies are 13-4 in the MW tournament.
Home team won both series games this season.
Aztecs won six of last eight games vs Utah State.
NCAAB
Friday, March 15
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Friday, March 15
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Trend Report
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FRIDAY, MARCH 15
| Game | Time(ET) | Pick | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSU at PUR | 12:00 PM | MSU +7.5 O 143.0 | +500 +500 |
| UTEP at SHSU | 12:30 PM | UTEP +5.0 U 133.5 | +500 +500 |
| ECU at USF | 01:00 PM | USF -7.0 U 136.0 | +500 +500 |
| MSST at TENN | 01:00 PM | TENN -10.0 O 142.0 | +500 +500 |
| WIS at NW | 02:30 PM | WIS -4.5 O 136.0 | +500 +500 |
| COOK at GRAM | 03:00 PM | GRAM -3.0 U 130.0 | +500 +500 |
| MTU at WKU | 03:00 PM | MTU +6.0 U 147.0 | +500 +500 |
| WICH at UAB | 03:00 PM | WICH +5.0 U 146.0 | +500 +500 |
| SCAR at AUB | 03:30 PM | AUB -7.5 O 142.5 | +500 +500 |
| KENT at BGSU | 05:00 PM | KENT -2.0 U 138.5 | +500 +500 |
| SJU at CONN | 05:30 PM | SJU +9.0 O 146.0 | +500 +500 |
| HOW at NORF | 06:00 PM | HOW +4.0 O 136.5 | +500 +500 |
| SPU at QUIN | 06:30 PM | SPU +2.0 U 136.5 | +500 +500 |
| OSU at ILL | 06:30 PM | ILL -4.5 O 153.5 | +500 +500 |
| TTU at HOU | 07:00 PM | HOU -9.0 O 131.0 | +500 +500 |
| TAM at UK | 07:00 PM | TAM +5.5 O 159.0 | +500 +500 |
| UNT at FAU | 07:00 PM | UNT +5.5 U 137.0 | +500 +500 |
| PITT at UNC | 07:00 PM | PITT +7.5 U 147.5 | +500 +500 |
| OHIO at AKR | 07:30 PM | OHIO +2.0 O 140.0 | +500 +500 |
| DSU at NCCU | 08:00 PM | NCCU -4.5 U 137.5 | +500 +500 |
| PROV at MARQ | 08:00 PM | PROV +5.0 O 137.5 | +500 +500 |
| ORE at ARIZ | 08:00 PM | ORE +11.0 O 155.5 | +500 +500 |
| MRST at FAIR | 09:00 PM | FAIR -5.0 O 134.0 | +500 +500 |
| IND at NEB | 09:00 PM | IND +4.5 O 145.5 | +500 +500 |
| TEM at CHAR | 09:00 PM | TEM +7.0 O 130.5 | +500 +500 |
| LBSU at UCI | 09:00 PM | UCI -8.0 O 149.5 | +500 +500 |
| SEA at GRC | 09:00 PM | SEA +6.0 O 138.0 | +500 +500 |
| BAY at ISU | 09:30 PM | BAY +1.5 O 133.5 | +500 +500 |
| NCST at UVA | 09:30 PM | UVA -2.5 U 121.0 | +500 +500 |
| FLA at ALA | 09:30 PM | FLA +4.0 O 171.0 | +500 +500 |
| AAMU at TXSO | 09:30 PM | TXSO -6.5 U 135.5 | +500 +500 |
| SDSU at USU | 09:30 PM | SDSU -3.5 U 137.0 | +500 +500 |
| COLO at WSU | 10:30 PM | WSU +2.0 U 138.0 | +500 +500 |
| HAW at UCD | 11:30 PM | HAW +1.5 O 135.5 | +500 +500 |
| UTA at TST | 11:30 PM | TST -1.0 O 145.0 | +500 +500 |
| CSU at UNM | 11:59 PM | CSU +2.5 O 150.0 | +500 +500 |
Armadillo Sports
Saturday’s 6-pack:
Spring training leaders in RBI
14— Freeman, LA
13— DeJong CWS
13— Andujar A’s
12— Jimenez CWS
12— Serven Tor
10— Raleigh Sea/Soto NYY/Wall Atl
Quote of the Day
“For 10 years, I have been fortunate to play the game of football at the highest level. I’m thankful for the people I’ve met along the way, the friendships I’ve built and the things I’ve accomplished with my teammates and individually.”
Aaron Donald, who retired Friday, after a great 10-year NFL career
Saturday’s quiz
Which two teams played a 6-overtime game in the Big East tournament, back in 2009?
Friday’s quiz
Bryce Drew was Vanderbilt’s coach, the last time they made the NCAA Tournament in 2017; he is coaching Grand Canyon now.
Thursday’s quiz
Kirk Cousins played his college football at Michigan State.
****************************************************
Since 1985, every team that won the college basketball national championship also made it to the semi-finals of their conference tournament.
Last 12 years, only 4 of 48 Final Four teams lost their first conference tournament game.
This week……..
Alabama, Creighton, Kentucky, Tennessee all lost their first conference tournament game.
— SEC
It was an upsetting day in Nashville; three of four favorites got beat.
Mississippi State 73, Tennessee 56
Bulldogs never trailed, led 38-19 at halftime.
Tennessee is #29 experience team, but they shot 30.6% from the floor.
Texas A&M 97, Kentucky 87
Aggies had only 6 turnovers, scored 1.28 points/possession.
Texas A&M has won five in a row, is now 20-13.
This win would appear to put Texas A&M in the NCAA’s.
Florida 102, Alabama 84
Alabama thinks de-fence is what you put around de-garden.
Crimson Tide gave up 100+ points in three of last six games.
Gators shot 58.1% inside arc, made 31-36 on foul line.
— ACC
NC State 73, Virginia 65, OT
12th-seed Wolfpack is in ACC Final for first time since 2007.
Kid on NC State hit a desperation 28-footer at the buzzer, to force OT.
North Carolina 72, Pitt 65
Carolina has won 8 games in a row, is looking like a #1-seed next week.
Panthers have won 10 of their last 13 games; is it enough to get in NCAA’s?
— Big X
Iowa State 76, Baylor 62
If Iowa State’s uniforms said “Duke” on the front, they might be a #1-seed next week.
Cyclones have won 10 of their last 12 games.
Iowa State forces turnovers 25.9% of time (#2)
Houston 82, Texas Tech 59
This game was tied with 17:40 left to play.
Houston was +11 (19-8) in turnovers.
Cougars have the best eFG% defense in the country.
— American
Temple 58, Charlotte 54
11th-seed Owls have posted upset wins three nights in a row.
Temple is 7-2 in last nine games, which followed an 0-10 streak.
Florida Atlantic 77, North Texas 71
Bubble teams need FAU to win this tournament.
FAU outscored North Texas 26-16 over final 7:51 of game.
— Big 14
Nebraska 93, Indiana 66
Nebraska has won seven of its last eight games.
Cornhuskers are going to NCAA’s for first time in ten years.
Illinois 77, Ohio State 74
Buckeyes led 56-46 with 11:00 left in game.
Illinois is 24-8, looking like a #3-seed in NCAA’s.
Bubble teams liked this score.
— Big East
UConn 95, St John’s 90
UConn shot 11-22 on arc, scored 1.40 points/possession in spirited game.
Huskies are 19-1 since Christmas.
It is possible that St John’s-New Mexico will be a First Four game: Pitino vs Pitino
Marquette 79, Providence 68
Marquette shot 8-15 on arc, Friars were 7-31.
Shaka Smart is now 24-9 in conference tournament games.
Bracketology has Providence on wrong side of the bubble.
— Famous birthdays for March 16:
Chuck Woolery, 84
Kate Nelligan,, 73
Ozzie Newsome, 68
Rodney Peete, 58
Blake Griffin, 35
Tim Hardaway Jr, 32
Joel Embiid, 30
Vladimir Guerrero Jr, 25
— Mountain West
San Diego State 86, Utah State 70
Utah State led 39-36 at halftime.
Aztecs are in final of MW tourney for 7th straight year (3-3 previous six)
New Mexico 74, Colorado State 61
Colorado State didn’t score for last 6:45 of first half.
Rams shot 34.3% from the floor.
This win probably puts New Mexico in the NCAA’s.
— Pac-12
Oregon 67, Arizona 59
Ducks upset #1-seed Arizona.
Game was 33-33 at halftime.
Bubble teams are rooting hard against the Ducks Saturday night.
Colorado 58, Washington State 52
Buffaloes have won eight games in a row.
Colorado is shooting 40.2% on the arc (#3).
Buffaloes start four seniors and a junior.
— MAAC
Saint Peter’s 62, Quinnipiac 60
Peacocks upset the MAAC’s #1-seed.
Saint Peter’s has won seven of its last nine games.
Both teams shot under 40% inside the arc.
Fairfield 65, Marist 61
Stags started season 1-6; they’re 21-5 since then.
Marist led by 9 with 10:10 left in the game.
Fairfield hasn’t made the NCAA’s since 1997.
— Mid-American
Kent State 73, Bowling Green 60
Kent State made 12-18 shots on the arc.
Senior PG Santiago played all 40:00 two nights in a row.
Golden Flashes were only 8-10 in MAC regular season, but play for MAC title tonight.
Akron 65, Ohio U 62
Bobcats led by 10 early in 2nd half, but shot 5-23 on the arc.
Akron is shooting 54.6% inside arc in MAC games, best in league.
— WAC
Grand Canyon 80, Seattle 72
Seattle led 34-32 at halftime.
Antelopes are 28-4; they’ve got #8 eFG% defense in country.
Tex-Arlington 87, Tarleton State 84
Tex-Arlington shot 67.6% inside the arc
Mavericks have won eight games in a row.
Weird thing here; Tarleton State isn’t eligible for NCAA’s this year; had they won this game, Grand Canyon would’ve won the automatic bid to NCAA’s Friday night. Now, they need to beat Tex-Arlington Saturday to make the Field of 68.
— Big West
Cal-Davis 68, Hawai’i 65
Cal-Davis led 22-8 early on, then held on for dear life.
Aggies won their last four games.
Cal-Davis hasn’t made the NCAA’s since 2017.
Long Beach State 83, Cal-Irvine 79
Long Beach upsets the #1-seed Anteaters.
Irvine was only 10-19 on the foul line.
This happened three days after Long Beach fired coach Dan Monson, who is coaching the team thru the end of this season- he’s been at Long Beach for 17 years.
— Conference USA
Tex-El Paso 65, Sam Houston State 63
UTEP upsets the #1-seed Bearkats.
Sam Houston led by 14 with 12:44 left in game.
Sam Houston lost by 2, was 19-34 on foul line.
Western Kentucky 85, Middle Tennessee 54
WKU led 46-27 at half; they shot 11-22 on the arc.
Hilltoppers scored 89-85 points the last two nights.
Saturday’s 6-pack:
Spring training leaders in RBI
14— Freeman, LA
13— DeJong CWS
13— Andujar A’s
12— Jimenez CWS
12— Serven Tor
10— Raleigh Sea/Soto NYY/Wall Atl
Quote of the Day
“For 10 years, I have been fortunate to play the game of football at the highest level. I’m thankful for the people I’ve met along the way, the friendships I’ve built and the things I’ve accomplished with my teammates and individually.”
Aaron Donald, who retired Friday, after a great 10-year NFL career
Saturday’s quiz
Which two teams played a 6-overtime game in the Big East tournament, back in 2009?
Friday’s quiz
Bryce Drew was Vanderbilt’s coach, the last time they made the NCAA Tournament in 2017; he is coaching Grand Canyon now.
Thursday’s quiz
Kirk Cousins played his college football at Michigan State.
****************************************************
Saturday’s Den: Wrapping up a Friday full of basketball…….
Since 1985, every team that won the college basketball national championship also made it to the semi-finals of their conference tournament.
Last 12 years, only 4 of 48 Final Four teams lost their first conference tournament game.
This week……..
Alabama, Creighton, Kentucky, Tennessee all lost their first conference tournament game.
— SEC
It was an upsetting day in Nashville; three of four favorites got beat.
Mississippi State 73, Tennessee 56
Bulldogs never trailed, led 38-19 at halftime.
Tennessee is #29 experience team, but they shot 30.6% from the floor.
Texas A&M 97, Kentucky 87
Aggies had only 6 turnovers, scored 1.28 points/possession.
Texas A&M has won five in a row, is now 20-13.
This win would appear to put Texas A&M in the NCAA’s.
Florida 102, Alabama 84
Alabama thinks de-fence is what you put around de-garden.
Crimson Tide gave up 100+ points in three of last six games.
Gators shot 58.1% inside arc, made 31-36 on foul line.
— ACC
NC State 73, Virginia 65, OT
12th-seed Wolfpack is in ACC Final for first time since 2007.
Kid on NC State hit a desperation 28-footer at the buzzer, to force OT.
North Carolina 72, Pitt 65
Carolina has won 8 games in a row, is looking like a #1-seed next week.
Panthers have won 10 of their last 13 games; is it enough to get in NCAA’s?
— Big X
Iowa State 76, Baylor 62
If Iowa State’s uniforms said “Duke” on the front, they might be a #1-seed next week.
Cyclones have won 10 of their last 12 games.
Iowa State forces turnovers 25.9% of time (#2)
Houston 82, Texas Tech 59
This game was tied with 17:40 left to play.
Houston was +11 (19-8) in turnovers.
Cougars have the best eFG% defense in the country.
— American
Temple 58, Charlotte 54
11th-seed Owls have posted upset wins three nights in a row.
Temple is 7-2 in last nine games, which followed an 0-10 streak.
Florida Atlantic 77, North Texas 71
Bubble teams need FAU to win this tournament.
FAU outscored North Texas 26-16 over final 7:51 of game.
— Big 14
Nebraska 93, Indiana 66
Nebraska has won seven of its last eight games.
Cornhuskers are going to NCAA’s for first time in ten years.
Illinois 77, Ohio State 74
Buckeyes led 56-46 with 11:00 left in game.
Illinois is 24-8, looking like a #3-seed in NCAA’s.
Bubble teams liked this score.
— Big East
UConn 95, St John’s 90
UConn shot 11-22 on arc, scored 1.40 points/possession in spirited game.
Huskies are 19-1 since Christmas.
It is possible that St John’s-New Mexico will be a First Four game: Pitino vs Pitino
Marquette 79, Providence 68
Marquette shot 8-15 on arc, Friars were 7-31.
Shaka Smart is now 24-9 in conference tournament games.
Bracketology has Providence on wrong side of the bubble.
— Famous birthdays for March 16:
Chuck Woolery, 84
Kate Nelligan,, 73
Ozzie Newsome, 68
Rodney Peete, 58
Blake Griffin, 35
Tim Hardaway Jr, 32
Joel Embiid, 30
Vladimir Guerrero Jr, 25
— Mountain West
San Diego State 86, Utah State 70
Utah State led 39-36 at halftime.
Aztecs are in final of MW tourney for 7th straight year (3-3 previous six)
New Mexico 74, Colorado State 61
Colorado State didn’t score for last 6:45 of first half.
Rams shot 34.3% from the floor.
This win probably puts New Mexico in the NCAA’s.
— Pac-12
Oregon 67, Arizona 59
Ducks upset #1-seed Arizona.
Game was 33-33 at halftime.
Bubble teams are rooting hard against the Ducks Saturday night.
Colorado 58, Washington State 52
Buffaloes have won eight games in a row.
Colorado is shooting 40.2% on the arc (#3).
Buffaloes start four seniors and a junior.
— MAAC
Saint Peter’s 62, Quinnipiac 60
Peacocks upset the MAAC’s #1-seed.
Saint Peter’s has won seven of its last nine games.
Both teams shot under 40% inside the arc.
Fairfield 65, Marist 61
Stags started season 1-6; they’re 21-5 since then.
Marist led by 9 with 10:10 left in the game.
Fairfield hasn’t made the NCAA’s since 1997.
— Mid-American
Kent State 73, Bowling Green 60
Kent State made 12-18 shots on the arc.
Senior PG Santiago played all 40:00 two nights in a row.
Golden Flashes were only 8-10 in MAC regular season, but play for MAC title tonight.
Akron 65, Ohio U 62
Bobcats led by 10 early in 2nd half, but shot 5-23 on the arc.
Akron is shooting 54.6% inside arc in MAC games, best in league.
— WAC
Grand Canyon 80, Seattle 72
Seattle led 34-32 at halftime.
Antelopes are 28-4; they’ve got #8 eFG% defense in country.
Tex-Arlington 87, Tarleton State 84
Tex-Arlington shot 67.6% inside the arc
Mavericks have won eight games in a row.
Weird thing here; Tarleton State isn’t eligible for NCAA’s this year; had they won this game, Grand Canyon would’ve won the automatic bid to NCAA’s Friday night. Now, they need to beat Tex-Arlington Saturday to make the Field of 68.
— Big West
Cal-Davis 68, Hawai’i 65
Cal-Davis led 22-8 early on, then held on for dear life.
Aggies won their last four games.
Cal-Davis hasn’t made the NCAA’s since 2017.
Long Beach State 83, Cal-Irvine 79
Long Beach upsets the #1-seed Anteaters.
Irvine was only 10-19 on the foul line.
This happened three days after Long Beach fired coach Dan Monson, who is coaching the team thru the end of this season- he’s been at Long Beach for 17 years.
— Conference USA
Tex-El Paso 65, Sam Houston State 63
UTEP upsets the #1-seed Bearkats.
Sam Houston led by 14 with 12:44 left in game.
Sam Houston lost by 2, was 19-34 on foul line.
Western Kentucky 85, Middle Tennessee 54
WKU led 46-27 at half; they shot 11-22 on the arc.
Hilltoppers scored 89-85 points the last two nights.
PURDUE is 18-6 Over (11.4 Units) when playing only their 2nd game in a week in the current season.
AUBURN is 52-34 ATS (14.6 Units) as a favorite in the last 3 seasons.
BROWN is 7-1 ATS (5.9 Units) in road games after a conference game in the current season.
VERMONT is 7-0 Under (7 Units) in home games after failing to cover the spread in 2 or more consecutive games in the current season.
VA COMMONWEALTH is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) in road games after 1 or more consecutive unders in the current season.
CORNELL is 7-1 ATS (5.9 Units) when playing with 5 or 6 days rest in the current season.
UAB is 9-2 ATS (6.8 Units) as a dog in the current season.
ST BONAVENTURE is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) in road games when the line is +3 to -3 in the last 3 seasons.
W KENTUCKY is 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6 games over the last 2 seasons.
AUBURN is 52-34 ATS (14.6 Units) as a favorite in the last 3 seasons.
BROWN is 7-1 ATS (5.9 Units) in road games after a conference game in the current season.
VERMONT is 7-0 Under (7 Units) in home games after failing to cover the spread in 2 or more consecutive games in the current season.
VA COMMONWEALTH is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) in road games after 1 or more consecutive unders in the current season.
CORNELL is 7-1 ATS (5.9 Units) when playing with 5 or 6 days rest in the current season.
UAB is 9-2 ATS (6.8 Units) as a dog in the current season.
ST BONAVENTURE is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) in road games when the line is +3 to -3 in the last 3 seasons.
W KENTUCKY is 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6 games over the last 2 seasons.
NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Saturday, March 16
Saturday’s 5 interesting games
SEC tournament (@ Nashville)
Mississippi State vs Auburn (-7.5)
Mississippi State (21-12, 10-10)
KenPom rating: 29
Tempo: 199
Experience: 56
Continuity: 29
Miss State won last two nites, giving up 60-56 points.
Miss State is 4-6 ATS as an SEC underdog.
Bulldogs led 38-19 at half Friday; they played 4 starters 30:00+
Miss State has #38 eFG% defense in country.
Bulldogs are turning ball over 18.7% of time (#290).
Last time Bulldogs won two games in same SEC tournament: 2010.
Miss State is 5-9 vs top 50 teams.
Auburn (25-7, 14-5)
KenPom rating: 4
Tempo: 57
Experience: 119
Continuity: 77
Auburn won its last four games, all by 14+ points.
Tigers are 13-4 ATS as an SEC favorite.
Auburn has #2 eFG% defense in country.
Tigers are 13-7 vs teams in the top 100.
Tigers won SEC tourney in 2019; overall, since 2006, they’re 9-15 in this event.
Auburn had stress-free game Friday; no one played more than 25:00.
Home team won both series games this season.
Auburn won six of last seven games vs Miss State.
Texas A&M vs Florida
Texas A&M (20-13, 11-9)
KenPom rating: 42
Tempo: 278
Experience: 46
Continuity: 44
Texas A&M won last five games, scoring 81.6 ppg.
Aggies played four guys 31:00+ in yesterday’s 97-87 win.
Aggies are #1 team in country on offensive boards.
A&M was 11-26 on arc Friday; for year, they’re 28.2% on arc (#356)
Last 2+ years, Texas A&M is 7-2 in SEC tourney.
Texas A&M is 7-5 vs teams ranked in the top 50.
Florida (23-10, 13-7)
KenPom rating: 27
Tempo: 22
Experience: 78
Continuity: 284
Florida won eight its last 11 games.
Last two days, Gators scored 85-102 points.
Florida played 3 guys 30:00+ in Friday’s 80-possession win.
Florida is #6 team on offensive boards.
Gators are 7-7 in games decided by 6 or less points.
Florida won SEC tourney in 2014; they’re 7-8 in tourney since then.
Florida is 5-7 vs teams ranked in top 50.
Texas A&M (-3.5) beat Florida 67-66 at home February 3.
Gators led that game by 13 in first half.
Aggies won last five series games, all by 3 or fewer points.
Big X tournament (@ Kansas City)
Houston vs Iowa State
Houston (30-3, 17-3)
KenPom rating: 1
Tempo: 348
Experience: 95
Continuity: 123
Houston won its last 11 games (7-2 ATS last nine)
Cougars have the best eFG% defense in country.
Houston is also forcing turnovers 24.9% of time (#3)
Cougars are #11 team on offensive boards.
Houston is 10-1 SU in its last 11 conference tourney games.
Cougars are 15-3 vs top 50 teams.
Houston isn’t deep; five guys played 30:00+ Friday.
Iowa State (26-7, 15-5)
KenPom rating: 9
Tempo: 174
Experience: 123
Continuity: 200
Iowa State won 10 of its last 12 games.
Cyclones are 5-3 ATS as Big X underdogs.
Iowa State is forcing turnovers 25.9% of time (#2)
Cyclones are 15-7 vs teams in top 100.
Last four years, Iowa State is 3-3 in Big X tournament.
From 2014-19, ISU won this event 4 times in 6 six years.
Cyclones played four guys 30:00+ last night.
Home team won both meetings this season.
Cyclones were first team to beat Houston this year.
This is their first year as conference rivals.
ACC tournament (@ Washington DC)
NC State vs North Carolina
NC State (21-14, 13-11)
KenPom rating: 66
Tempo: 140
Experience: 15
Continuity: 243
NC State has won four games in four days to get here.
Wolfpack was 2-7 in last nine regular season games.
NC State played four guys 35:00+ in yesterday’s OT win.
Wolfpack hit a 3 at the buzzer to force OT last night.
Wolfpack is 7-6 ATS as an ACC underdog.
NC State is 3-8 vs teams in the top 50.
Wolfpack is in ACC final for first time since 2007.
NC State has to win this game to make NCAA’s.
North Carolina (27-6, 19-3)
KenPom rating: 7
Tempo: 45
Experience: 6
Continuity: 179
UNC won its last eight games (5-3 ATS)
Tar Heels are 13-7 ATS as an ACC favorite.
UNC has #13 eFG% defense in the country.
Tar Heels are #13 team in country on defensive boards.
UNC is 17-5 vs teams ranked in the top 100.
UNC hasn’t won an ACC tournament since 2016.
Tar Heels are #333 in bench minutes; they played 4 guys 33:00+ Friday.
North Carolina beat NC State 67-54/79-70 in this year’s meetings.
Tar Heels won 11 of last 13 series games.
Mountain West tournament (@ UNLV)
San Diego State vs New Mexico
San Diego State (24-9, 13-7)
KenPom rating: 18
Tempo: 252
Experience: 45
Continuity: 119
San Diego State won six of its last nine games.
Aztecs trailed 34-17 early on Friday.
Aztecs played eight guys 12:00+ yesterday.
San Diego State has #36 eFG% defense in country.
San Diego State starts five seniors.
Last six years, Aztecs are 3-3 in MW tourney finals.
Aztecs are 12-10 vs teams ranked in top 100.
New Mexico (24-9, 12-8)
KenPom rating: 30
Tempo: 5
Experience: 41
Continuity: 222
New Mexico won the last three nights to get here.
Lobos are #51 team in country on offensive boards.
This game starts 16 hours after their game ended Friday nite.
New Mexico are #133 in country in bench minutes.
Lobos are 9-8 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Lobos haven’t won MW tournament since 2014 (won it 3 years in row back then).
Home team won both meetings this season.
Aztecs won seven of last ten series games.
Armadillo's Write-Up
Saturday, March 16
Saturday’s 5 interesting games
SEC tournament (@ Nashville)
Mississippi State vs Auburn (-7.5)
Mississippi State (21-12, 10-10)
KenPom rating: 29
Tempo: 199
Experience: 56
Continuity: 29
Miss State won last two nites, giving up 60-56 points.
Miss State is 4-6 ATS as an SEC underdog.
Bulldogs led 38-19 at half Friday; they played 4 starters 30:00+
Miss State has #38 eFG% defense in country.
Bulldogs are turning ball over 18.7% of time (#290).
Last time Bulldogs won two games in same SEC tournament: 2010.
Miss State is 5-9 vs top 50 teams.
Auburn (25-7, 14-5)
KenPom rating: 4
Tempo: 57
Experience: 119
Continuity: 77
Auburn won its last four games, all by 14+ points.
Tigers are 13-4 ATS as an SEC favorite.
Auburn has #2 eFG% defense in country.
Tigers are 13-7 vs teams in the top 100.
Tigers won SEC tourney in 2019; overall, since 2006, they’re 9-15 in this event.
Auburn had stress-free game Friday; no one played more than 25:00.
Home team won both series games this season.
Auburn won six of last seven games vs Miss State.
Texas A&M vs Florida
Texas A&M (20-13, 11-9)
KenPom rating: 42
Tempo: 278
Experience: 46
Continuity: 44
Texas A&M won last five games, scoring 81.6 ppg.
Aggies played four guys 31:00+ in yesterday’s 97-87 win.
Aggies are #1 team in country on offensive boards.
A&M was 11-26 on arc Friday; for year, they’re 28.2% on arc (#356)
Last 2+ years, Texas A&M is 7-2 in SEC tourney.
Texas A&M is 7-5 vs teams ranked in the top 50.
Florida (23-10, 13-7)
KenPom rating: 27
Tempo: 22
Experience: 78
Continuity: 284
Florida won eight its last 11 games.
Last two days, Gators scored 85-102 points.
Florida played 3 guys 30:00+ in Friday’s 80-possession win.
Florida is #6 team on offensive boards.
Gators are 7-7 in games decided by 6 or less points.
Florida won SEC tourney in 2014; they’re 7-8 in tourney since then.
Florida is 5-7 vs teams ranked in top 50.
Texas A&M (-3.5) beat Florida 67-66 at home February 3.
Gators led that game by 13 in first half.
Aggies won last five series games, all by 3 or fewer points.
Big X tournament (@ Kansas City)
Houston vs Iowa State
Houston (30-3, 17-3)
KenPom rating: 1
Tempo: 348
Experience: 95
Continuity: 123
Houston won its last 11 games (7-2 ATS last nine)
Cougars have the best eFG% defense in country.
Houston is also forcing turnovers 24.9% of time (#3)
Cougars are #11 team on offensive boards.
Houston is 10-1 SU in its last 11 conference tourney games.
Cougars are 15-3 vs top 50 teams.
Houston isn’t deep; five guys played 30:00+ Friday.
Iowa State (26-7, 15-5)
KenPom rating: 9
Tempo: 174
Experience: 123
Continuity: 200
Iowa State won 10 of its last 12 games.
Cyclones are 5-3 ATS as Big X underdogs.
Iowa State is forcing turnovers 25.9% of time (#2)
Cyclones are 15-7 vs teams in top 100.
Last four years, Iowa State is 3-3 in Big X tournament.
From 2014-19, ISU won this event 4 times in 6 six years.
Cyclones played four guys 30:00+ last night.
Home team won both meetings this season.
Cyclones were first team to beat Houston this year.
This is their first year as conference rivals.
ACC tournament (@ Washington DC)
NC State vs North Carolina
NC State (21-14, 13-11)
KenPom rating: 66
Tempo: 140
Experience: 15
Continuity: 243
NC State has won four games in four days to get here.
Wolfpack was 2-7 in last nine regular season games.
NC State played four guys 35:00+ in yesterday’s OT win.
Wolfpack hit a 3 at the buzzer to force OT last night.
Wolfpack is 7-6 ATS as an ACC underdog.
NC State is 3-8 vs teams in the top 50.
Wolfpack is in ACC final for first time since 2007.
NC State has to win this game to make NCAA’s.
North Carolina (27-6, 19-3)
KenPom rating: 7
Tempo: 45
Experience: 6
Continuity: 179
UNC won its last eight games (5-3 ATS)
Tar Heels are 13-7 ATS as an ACC favorite.
UNC has #13 eFG% defense in the country.
Tar Heels are #13 team in country on defensive boards.
UNC is 17-5 vs teams ranked in the top 100.
UNC hasn’t won an ACC tournament since 2016.
Tar Heels are #333 in bench minutes; they played 4 guys 33:00+ Friday.
North Carolina beat NC State 67-54/79-70 in this year’s meetings.
Tar Heels won 11 of last 13 series games.
Mountain West tournament (@ UNLV)
San Diego State vs New Mexico
San Diego State (24-9, 13-7)
KenPom rating: 18
Tempo: 252
Experience: 45
Continuity: 119
San Diego State won six of its last nine games.
Aztecs trailed 34-17 early on Friday.
Aztecs played eight guys 12:00+ yesterday.
San Diego State has #36 eFG% defense in country.
San Diego State starts five seniors.
Last six years, Aztecs are 3-3 in MW tourney finals.
Aztecs are 12-10 vs teams ranked in top 100.
New Mexico (24-9, 12-8)
KenPom rating: 30
Tempo: 5
Experience: 41
Continuity: 222
New Mexico won the last three nights to get here.
Lobos are #51 team in country on offensive boards.
This game starts 16 hours after their game ended Friday nite.
New Mexico are #133 in country in bench minutes.
Lobos are 9-8 vs teams ranked in top 100.
Lobos haven’t won MW tournament since 2014 (won it 3 years in row back then).
Home team won both meetings this season.
Aztecs won seven of last ten series games.
SATURDAY, MARCH 16
| Game | Time(ET) | Pick | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| STJOE at VCU | 01:00 PM | STJOE +2.5 U 139.0 | +500 +500 |
| DSU at HOW | 01:00 PM | HOW -4.5 O 139.0 | +500 +500 |
| WIS at PUR | 01:00 PM | WIS +5.5 U 142.0 | +500 +500 |
| MSST at AUB | 01:00 PM | AUB -7.5 U 142.5 | +500 +500 |
| COR at YALE | 02:00 PM | YALE -2.5 U 153.5 | +500 +500 |
| NEB at ILL | 03:00 PM | NEB +4.5 O 153.0 | +500 +500 |
| UAB at USF | 03:00 PM | USF -2.0 U 144.5 | +500 +500 |
| TAM at FLA | 03:30 PM | TAM +3.0 O 151.0 | +500 +500 |
| SBON at DUQ | 03:30 PM | SBON +2.0 O 134.5 | +500 +500 |
| TEM at FAU | 05:00 PM | TEM +13.5 U 141.5 | +500 +500 |
| ISU at HOU | 06:00 PM | ISU +5.5 U 122.5 | +500 +500 |
| UNM at SDSU | 06:00 PM | SDSU -2.5 U 141.0 | +500 +500 |
| MARQ at CONN | 06:30 PM | CONN -9.0 U 141.5 | +500 +500 |
| SPU at FAIR | 07:30 PM | FAIR -3.0 O 128.0 | +500 +500 |
| KENT at AKR | 07:30 PM | AKR -4.5 U 132.0 | +500 +500 |
| UTEP at WKU | 08:30 PM | UTEP +3.0 U 145.0 | +500 +500 |
| NCST at UNC | 08:30 PM | UNC -10.5 U 144.5 | +500 +500 |
| ORE at COLO | 09:00 PM | COLO -2.5 U 141.5 | +500 +500 |
| LBSU at UCD | 09:30 PM | UCD -2.0 U 144.0 | +500 +500 |
| TXSO at GRAM | 09:30 PM | GRAM +3.0 U 127.0 | +500 +500 |
| UTA at GRC | 11:30 PM | UTA +6.0 O 145.0 | +500 +500 |
