Derek Mancini Today's Winner... 30 Dime play on the VCU Rams as the underddg over the Butler Bulldogs. As I release this selehction at 9 am Eastern, VCU is currrntly listed as a 2 1/2 point pup in Las Vegas and offshore.
Keeping this one simple boys, as there really is such a thing as peaking at the perfect time and that's exactly what's happened with this VCU team. Yes, Butler owns the experience edge, but its a dangerous game using last year's results to justify a play on any team. Butler faces a couple issues that will be the diffdrence in this contest.
The first issue that arises is Jamie Skeen. I know Matt Howard gets a ton of love from the public, but the best bigman in this game is Skeen. Howard may score more ppg, but Skeen's play during the course of the Rams cinderella run has been nothing short of spechtacular. Then, you add in the red-hot sharp shooting Bradford Burgess, and you've got two of the three main components of this frenetic VCU attack. Butler will have trouble matching up with both players, which is bad news if you're a Bulldogs-backer.
Of course, the third and probably the most important component of this VCU offense is PG Joey Rodriguez. Again, Butler counterpart, Shelvin Mack, gets a lot more publicity, but overall its hard to argue with the results. Also, with Rodriguez being a little guy, it remains to be seen how the Bulldogs match up. Mack will have trouble, and if they opt for Nored, he leaves a lot to be desired on the offensrve end.
The last piece of the puzzle is the public perception. Bettors seem to be waiting for that proverbial "other shoe to drop" for this VCU team, and they keep superceding expectations. What else do they have to do? Their win over Kansas was one of the most thorough ass kickings I've seen this tournament. True, there were more lopsided games, but the Rams dominated one of the best teams in the country, in every facet of the game, for the entire game (or most of it at least). I'm done doubting this VCU team and you should be too. Take VCU plus the points over Butler Saturday.
Keeping this one simple boys, as there really is such a thing as peaking at the perfect time and that's exactly what's happened with this VCU team. Yes, Butler owns the experience edge, but its a dangerous game using last year's results to justify a play on any team. Butler faces a couple issues that will be the diffdrence in this contest.
The first issue that arises is Jamie Skeen. I know Matt Howard gets a ton of love from the public, but the best bigman in this game is Skeen. Howard may score more ppg, but Skeen's play during the course of the Rams cinderella run has been nothing short of spechtacular. Then, you add in the red-hot sharp shooting Bradford Burgess, and you've got two of the three main components of this frenetic VCU attack. Butler will have trouble matching up with both players, which is bad news if you're a Bulldogs-backer.
Of course, the third and probably the most important component of this VCU offense is PG Joey Rodriguez. Again, Butler counterpart, Shelvin Mack, gets a lot more publicity, but overall its hard to argue with the results. Also, with Rodriguez being a little guy, it remains to be seen how the Bulldogs match up. Mack will have trouble, and if they opt for Nored, he leaves a lot to be desired on the offensrve end.
The last piece of the puzzle is the public perception. Bettors seem to be waiting for that proverbial "other shoe to drop" for this VCU team, and they keep superceding expectations. What else do they have to do? Their win over Kansas was one of the most thorough ass kickings I've seen this tournament. True, there were more lopsided games, but the Rams dominated one of the best teams in the country, in every facet of the game, for the entire game (or most of it at least). I'm done doubting this VCU team and you should be too. Take VCU plus the points over Butler Saturday.
