Archive for March, 2009
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – North Carolina -6.5, O/U 164 Two of the most prominent teams from the regular season will take center court on Sunday afternoon in a big Elite Eight match-up. The North Carolina Tarheels are among all four remaining number one seeded teams who have yet to be beaten in the NCAA Tournament. However, they will take on the Oklahoma Sooners who have been playing extremely well this Sunday in a fight to determine who moves on to the Final Four. Both teams enter the game coming off impressive performances in the sweet sixteen. North Carolina took down Gonzaga by 21 points while Oklahoma took down Syracuse 84-71. The Tarheels have long been considered the most talented team in America, but they will take on what most consider the best player in America that is Blake Griffin and the Sooners. Will Griffin make another marvelous performance to take down the Tarheels or will North Carolina’s star studded lineup be too much to handle? The game within the game will highlight two of the best players to step on a college basketball court in quite some time. Former Player of the Year winner Tyler Hansbrough is the ACC’s all-time leading scorer from the conference that produced the names Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, and more. Hansbrough will be in a classic battle with Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin who will likely win this year’s Player of the Year award. Hansbrough has been the leading weapon on offense this year for the Tarheels who are among the best scoring offense in the country averaging 93 points per game. Hansbrough has posted a healthy 21.3 scoring average this season while pulling down 8 rebounds per game as well. However, Hansbrough is just the tip of the iceberg considering North Carolina has countless weapons on offense. The guard play has really giving all competitors too much they can handle. Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington have been superb all season posting 16 points per game averages. These 3 standouts combined for 62 points in their victory over Gonzaga and they will probably place a big influence for their outcome against Oklahoma. Oklahoma struggled to end the regular season after dominating most of the year. However, those struggles have been nothing but a forgotten memory for the Sooner nation. Oklahoma has come out playing very well in the tournament and has yet to be seriously challenged. The Sooners success has fallen in the shadow of the play of superstar Blake Griffin. Griffin has averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds per game throughout tournament play which is simply incredible. The rebounds and the scoring have played huge dividends for the Sooners success and it will be interesting to see if North Carolina has anything to slow down the extremely talented sophomore. However, Oklahoma will need more help from the rest of the team now more than ever to keep up with the Tarheels scoring offense. Willie Warren has been one of the most impressive freshmen guards in the nation averaging 15 points per game this season. Also, junior Tony Crocker blasted 28 points which was well over his season average against Syracuse on Friday night. These two guards along with forward Taylor Griffin will need a strong collective effort to take down the extremely talented Tarheels in march to the Final Four this Sunday. Betting Trends.. Pick- North Carolina wins convincingly
No. 1 North Carolina Tarheels (31-4) vs. No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners (30-5)
Sunday, 5:05PM Eastern
Oklahoma is 18-4 SU in their last 22 games and is 13-8 in the over/under category in the last 22 games as well. North Carolina is 17-2 SU in the last 19 games and is 5-9 ATS in the last 13 games. The Tarheels have also reached the over total in 12 of their last 18 games.
Tags: Elite Eight, ncaa basketball, NCAA Tournament, north carolina, Oklahoma
NCAA Tournament Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Pittsburgh -2.5, O/U 142 The road to the Final Four is only one game away for two Big East Conference rivals out of the East bracket in top seeded Pittsburgh and number 3 seed Villanova. Pittsburgh has been one of the top front runners in the potent conference all season long and earned a number one seed in the tournament recently defeating Xavier 60-55 in the sweet sixteen. Villanova has been the biggest surprise in the tournament playing very solid and absolutely crushing the Duke Blue Devils in the sweet sixteen by score of 77-54. The Elite Eight grudge match will actually be a re-match from earlier this season when the Villanova Wildcats upset the Panthers handing them their biggest loss of the regular season 67-57. However, the first meeting means nothing as everything will be on the line this Saturday night as these two stellar teams continue their march towards a National Championship. Pittsburgh has not been overwhelmingly impressive throughout their stay in the big dance. The Panthers unlike any other top seed have failed to beat any team by more than ten points despite making it to the Elite Eight. Pittsburgh is coming off a struggle of a victory over Xavier where the game went right down to the closing seconds. If not for a huge 3 pointer drained by Levance Fields, the Panthers would likely be watching this game on television this weekend. However, Pittsburgh will try to bounce back with a superb performance like they are so capable of doing. The Panthers have been stellar on offensive as well against the boards this season. Sam Young leads the scoring efforts averaging 19 points per game while the Panthers have averaged a strong 78 points per game this season that ranks in the top 25 for offenses across the country. DeJuan Blair is the big reason that Pittsburgh has been so strong against the glass this season and a big reason that the Panthers were able to beat Xavier on Thursday night. Blair’s defense stood out tremendously in the closing minutes of their win over the Musketeers. Blair has averaged 12.4 rebounds per game this season along with 16 points per game as well. These two standouts will be the biggest influence for Pittsburgh’s success and chance to reach the final four when they take on Villanova. Villanova has emerged out of the darkness as a quiet number 3 seed and is making their voice heard as one of the top teams left in the tournament. The Wildcats completely dominated every aspect of the game against Duke playing terrific defense. The speed that Villanova possesses gave them a big advantage over Duke and will likely be the same against Pittsburgh. Junior guard Reggie Redding led the Wildcats in their victory over Pittsburgh earlier this season with 18 points. Dante Cunningham has been the most effective scorer all season for Villanova averaging 16 points per game while Scottie Reynolds has posted 15 points per game as well. The Wildcats surprisingly out rebounded Duke 48-32 in their big win on Thursday night and they will need a lot of rebounding help to get the edge over Pittsburgh who has been very strong on the boards this season. Villanova may be the underdog going into the contest, but they already know how to take down the Panthers. The question is will they be able to do it again? Betting Trends… Pick – Villanova +2.5
No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers (31-4) vs. No. 3 Villanova Wildcats (29-7)
Saturday, 7:05PM Eastern
Pittsburgh is 13-2 SU in their last 15 games while reaching the under in 4 of their last 5 games. Villanova is 6-1 SU in their last 7 games. In previous meeting between the schools, Pittsburgh is 4-1 ATS over Villanova in the last 5 games while all 5 previous games have reached the under total.
Tags: Elite Eight, ncaa basketball, NCAA Tournament, Pittsburgh, Villanova
NCAA Tournament Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Oklahoma -1, O/U 152.5 Day two of the sweet sixteen will host many exciting games with one of the most anticipating venues coming out of Memphis, T.N when the Oklahoma Sooners battle the Syracuse Orange. Oklahoma has been stellar throughout the tournament despite ending the season losing 4 of their last 6 games. The Sooners took down the Michigan Wolverines in impressive fashion 73-63 to earn a sweet sixteen appearance and the road to the final four gets even tougher on Friday when they take on Syracuse. The Orange have went through the entire season in the shadows of the top names in the Big East. However, Syracuse is shaping out to be a very tough tournament team heading into their showdown with Oklahoma. Syracuse best Arizona State 78-67 in their last outing and they will look to slow down Blake Griffin and the Sooners in quest for an Elite Eight appearance. Oklahoma will be a mere one point favorite heading into the game with Syracuse in what many people are expecting to be a hard fought contest. The Sooners appeared to lose their momentum when they ending the year disappointingly missing out on the Big 12 regular season title they seemed to have locked up midway through the season. However, Oklahoma has bounced back on good terms playing solid basketball in the opening rounds. Future Player of the Year for 2009 Blake Griffin has been amazing through the Tournament. Griffin has averaged right at 30 points through his first two games while pulling down 30 rebounds combined in those games as well. Griffin is the difference maker in every game for Oklahoma and it will be interesting to see if Syracuse can do anything to slow down the sophomore sensation. Another sensational player is freshmen guard Willie Warren. Warren has had a solid season and his ability to knock down shots from the outside gives Oklahoma a huge advantage along with Griffin. Warren knocked down 16 points in the win over Michigan. Oklahoma will be nearly impossible to beat if Griffin is controlling the inside and Warren is hitting shots from the perimeter. Syracuse may be in the position to surprise a lot of people. The Orange may appear as a quiet number 3 seed, but they are on the verge of making a lot of noise. Syracuse has closed out the season as strong as anyone winning 9 of their last 10 games with their only loss coming from Louisville in the Big East Tournament. Syracuse held Stephen F. Austin to a season low 44 points in the opening round and their defense will definitely need to be sound against the major threats from Oklahoma based around Blake Griffin. Unfortunately for Syracuse, they have given up as many points as any team in the country this season allowing 71.4 points per game. However, the Orange sport one of the best scoring offenses in America ranking inside the top 10 with 80 points per game. Syracuse defensive number however may be a little misleading considering they were battling some of the best offenses in the country week in and week out. The Orange offense is led by two talented guards in Eric Devendorf and Jonny Flynn. Flynn has been the most efficient performer all season long averaging 17.3 points and 6.3 assist per game this season. Devendorf has been equally dangerous averaging 16 points per game for the year and also knocked down 21 in their win over Arizona State. Syracuse will look for these two guards to lead them past the impressive two from Oklahoma this Friday night. Betting Trends… Pick – Under 152.5
No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners (29-5) vs. No. 3 Syracuse Orange (28-9)
Friday, 7:27PM Eastern
Syracuse is 9-1 ATS and 9-1 SU in their last 10 games. The Orange have also reached the over total in 6 of their last 7 games as well. Oklahoma on the other hand is 17-4 SU in their last 21 games while reaching the under total in 4 of their last 6 games.
Tags: ncaa basketball, NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
NCAA Tournament Betting Preview Betus.com betting preview – Duke -2.5, O/U 148 The most interesting match-up in the sweet sixteen will likely come out of Boston this Thursday when the Duke Blue Devils take center court with the Villanova Wildcats. Duke has been playing well after capturing the ACC Tournament Championship and come into the game after a hard fought victory with Texas 74-69. Villanova got off to a lousy start in the first round against no. 14 seed American. However, the Wildcats responded by dominating the second half and going on to win by 13 points. Villanova backed their 2nd half performance with two halves of impressive play blowing out UCLA by 20 points to earn their trip to the sweet sixteen. The Wildcats and the Blue Devils will square off in what is predicted to be a very physical and hard fought meeting between the ACC and Big East conferences. Duke has played well on both sides of the ball this season. The Blue Devils averaged 78 points per game which is among the top 25 scoring offenses in the country. Duke also has held opponents to only 65 points per game in the high scoring conference of the ACC. One big reason that Duke has had a lot of success this season lies in the emergence of Gerald Henderson. Through the first 10 games, Henderson was barely averaging double figures with 10.2 points per game. However, as the season has progressed Henderson has really developed into the biggest offensive weapon in the Blue Devils’ roster and has posted 17 points per game now on the season. Forward Kyle Singler has posted similar numbers with 16.5 points per game as these two standouts really influence how well the offense performs. If these two guys do not put up solid numbers, Duke has struggled. The Blue Devils are a smaller sized team, but they are very disciplined. Duke does not turn the ball over much and they play sound defense meaning it will take a very solid effort for anybody to be able to bring them down. Villanova had a surprisingly strong season in the tough schedule of the Big East. The Wildcats wrapped up the season with a 26-7 record after falling to Louisville one game shy of the Big East Tournament Championship. The Wildcats as a team are very similar to the Blue Devils. Villanova has posted 77 points per game this season while holding opponents to 67 points per game on the defensive side of the ball. The Wildcats are a smaller team like the Blue Devils. However, there are some things Villanova does well that could present some problems for Duke. The Wildcats drive to the basket, set screens, and roll to the ball well. The same type teams that have given the Blue Devils troubles. Leading the Wildcats offense is a pair of standouts. Dante Cunningham leads the team averaging 16.3 points per game this season while Scottie Reynolds has an impressive 15 point average. These two stars will try to lead the number 3 seeded Wildcats into a big victory this Thursday and possibly to take on Pittsburgh in the Elite Eight. Betting Trends… Villanova has won 5 of their last 6 games heading into the contest while reaching the over total in 4 of their last 5 games. Duke is only 5-9 ATS in their last 14 games and have reached the over total in all of their last 3 games. The interesting aspect of this game to watch will be how the Villanova guards match-up with the Duke guards. Both teams have had some success from their backcourt, but it could mean a lot more from these players this time around. Pick – Duke Blue Devils
No. 3 Villanova Wildcats (28-7) vs. No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (30-6)
Thursday, 9:57PM Eastern
Tags: ncaa basketball, NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
NCAA Tournament Preview Betus.com betting line – Michigan State -4 The USC Trojans continued to stay hot in their opening round convincing victory over Boston College. USC won the last 5 games of the season wrapping it up with their first ever Pac-10 Tournament Title and that momentum has apparently carried over into the NCAA Tournament. USC completely dominated Boston College beating the Eagles 72-55. They will now take on the number 2 seeded Michigan State Spartans in a battle to go to the sweet sixteen. Michigan State came away with a solid victory over Robert Morris in the opening round 77-62. The Spartans are one of the favorites to have a chance to win the Midwest bracket, but USC will have the chance to bust everyone’s brackets if somehow they have not been already. Even though Michigan State is the number 2 seed of the Tournament they still have a very difficult path in their bracket. If the Spartans are to manage a victory over the Trojans like they are expected, Michigan State will still have to deal possibly Kansas in the next round of the sweet sixteen. However, the Spartans must be focused on the Trojans considering they are playing extremely well right now. Michigan State forward Raymar Morgan led the Spartan scoring attack over Robert Morris with 16 points. Freshmen forward Draymond Green had the best scoring effort of his short career as he also added with 16 points. Michigan State would love nothing more than to have some unexpected faces like Green step up big during the big dance. Kalin Lucas has been the leader of the Spartan scoring attack all season and probably is due for a big night considering he has been rather quietly effective of late. Michigan State made a sweet sixteen appearance last season before losing to runner up National Champions Memphis. The Spartans will look to get back to the sweet sixteen by trying to take down the USC Trojans on Sunday. The Trojans come into the second round of the NCAA Tournament as one of the hottest teams in college basketball. Fresh off their dominating win over Boston College, USC will be trying to make it back to the sweet sixteen as they did back in 2006. The Trojans were very impressive in their win over the Eagles on Friday. Taj Gibson led the scoring effort in a big way for USC. Gibson did not miss a single shot from the floor going an amazing 10-10 from field goal range in their match-up with Boston College. Gibson only missed shot come from the stripe where he ended up going 4 for 5 on the night resulting in 29 points. Dwight Lewis aided the red hot Trojans offense with 20 points as he continues to play well down the stretch. As a show of expect to how well USC has been playing the no. 10 seed Trojans will enter their match-up with no. 2 Michigan State as only 4 point underdogs. The only question left to be answered is will the Trojans momentum continue to roll when they take on a highly rated Spartans team. Michigan State should be the better rebounding team heading into the contest averaging right at 40 rebounds per game which ranks them inside the top 30 in America this season. Senior Goran Suton pulled down a very impressive 17 rebounds in their opening round game with Robert Morris and could make a big impact on the boards again. However, USC has shot better than the Spartans as a team on average this season not to mention they have been shooting the ball even better over the last couple of games. Over the last 6 games, the Trojans have knocked down an amazing 52% as a team from the floor and has yet to show any signs of slowing down. This game has the making to be a grudge match that could go right down to the wire. Pick – This will be a tough pick, but we will go against what most are predicting and take USC in the upset. Take USC +4
No. 10 USC Trojans (22-12) vs. No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (27-6)
Sunday, 5:40PM Eastern
Tags: Michigan State, ncaa basketball, NCAA Tournament, USC
NCAA Tournament Preview Betus.com betting line – USC -2.5, O/U 135.5 Day two of the first round will be highlighted by a highly anticipated opening round match-up between the 10th seeded USC Trojans and 7th seeded Boston College. The contest will be the second straight day between a 10 and 7 seed battle between the ACC and Pac-10. Maryland got the win over California on Day 1 in convincing fashion and the Boston College Eagles will attempt to give the ACC another victory over Pac-10 opponent USC. USC is coming off their first ever Pac-10 Tournament Championship with a win over Arizona State in the title game 66-63. The Trojans will be riding a wave of momentum into the game as they will try to take down a solid opponent in Boston College. The Eagles have won some big games this season over Duke and North Carolina. Boston College is a well balanced disciplined team that could give a number of teams a hard time in the NCAA Tournament, but they will have to hold off an emerging Trojan team on Friday. Boston College has played well on the offensive side of the ball this season posting 75 points per game ranking in the top half of the high scoring ACC. The Eagles on the other hand has also given up nearly 70 points on average this season as well. The Eagles made a strong showing in the ACC Tournament barely losing to Duke by a single point as the Blue Devils went on to win the Championship. Boston College definitely has the talent to play with any team in the country, but they have also been inconsistent at times this season as well. However, senior guard Tyrese Rice will try to lead the Eagles to a respectable victory. Rice has led the Eagles all season in scoring with 17.1 points per game. Aiding the cause for the Eagles will be Joe Trapani and Rakim Sanders. Both players are averaging 13 points per game and will need to be effective on Friday. One portion of the game the ACC schools have really looked strong in during the early first round games is the rebounding. Boston College is another strong rebounding team as well and if the other games are any indication of things to come then the Trojans will have to find a way to not let the Eagles dominate the boards. The Trojans Pac-10 Tournament Championship was their first in team history. USC put together 5 straight wins in their Conference surge and it will be interesting to see if they can stay hot entering the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans are averaging 68.4 points per game on the season and have held teams to a fairly low 63 points per game this season as well. USC freshmen sensation DeMar DeRozan had a brilliant showing in the conference tournament. In the Trojans 3 games, DeRozan averaged over 20 points well ahead of his 13 point averaged he carried through the season. DeRozan’s emergence is a big reason that the Trojans have had so much success late in the season. However, Taj Gibson and Dwight Lewis have posted the most points this season for the Trojans. Both stellar athletes are sporting a 14 points average while Gibson is pulling down 9.4 boards per contest as well. Gibson could very well be the difference maker for the Trojans if DeRozan does not have another big performance. Regardless of who steps up to shine for USC they well need a collective effort to capture the win over a solid Boston College basketball club. Betting Trends.. Pick – Boston College
No. 10 USC Trojans (21-12) vs. No. 7 Boston College Eagles (22-11)
Minneapolis, MN., Friday, 7:20PM Eastern
USC is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games while reaching the over total in 5 of their last 7 games. Boston College has been a bit more inconsistent ATS, but the Eagles have reached the under total in all 5 of their previous contests.
Tags: ncaa basketball, NCAA Tournament
NCAA Tournament Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Arizona State -5.5 The Temple Owls scored their second straight Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship in exciting fashion last Saturday taking down Duquesne 69-64. The win guaranteed the Owls an NCAA Tournament bid ultimately resulting in their number 11 seed they will enter the tournament carrying. Arizona State nearly came up big in the Pac-10 Tournament dropping the Championship game by only 3 points to the USC Trojans. The game will highlight some interesting one on one match-ups on the floor. Both teams are led by stellar guards that can change the entire complexion of the game on any given night. However, the guard that will shine through on Friday afternoon has yet to be determined as we wait to find out which team will come out of the first round with a solid victory. Temple will head into the game as the slight underdogs with a balanced team who can play well on both ends of the court. The Owls are led by the play of senior guard Dionte Christmas. Christmas got very hot in the Owls Championship game last Saturday knocking down one point shy of a season high that equaled 29 points for the game. Christmas has averaged 19 points per game on the season and will go face to face with the Arizona State standout guard James Harden. The Owls have faired well on the boards this season and have also held opponents to shoot a low 40% from the field. Temple will try to confuse the Sun Devils with some different defensive looks and look for Christmas and others to earn the Owls first NCAA Tournament win in nearly 10 years. Arizona State had lost 3 of their last 4 games to close out the regular season. However, the Sun Devils made a strong showing in the Pac-10 Tournament that nearly resulted in a Championship. The Sun Devils sophomore guard James Harden has been the difference maker all season averaging 20.8 points per game. Harden played extremely well through the conference games and will look to make an equally big impact in the NCAA Tournament for the Sun Devils. Opposed to the scorers for Arizona State, their defense could actually be the biggest difference in the game. Arizona State sports one of the top 25 scoring defenses in the country holding teams to only 60 points per game. Add to the fact that Temple has struggled at times shooting the ball this season and the Sun Devils could match up well in this opening round game. The match-up between the two guards will be very intriguing as we wait to see who will make the biggest impact for their team. Also, Arizona State’s James Pendergraph and Temple’s Lavoy Allen will have their own interesting battle inside the paint that should be fun to watch as well which could determine the team that gets the most second chance opportunities. Betting Trends… Pick – Sun Devils and the points. Take ASU -5.5
No. 6 Arizona State Sun Devils (24-9) -5.5 vs. No. 11 Temple Owls (22-11) +5.5
Friday, 2:45PM Eastern
Temple is 5-0 SU and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 outings. The Owls have also reached the under total in 4 of those last 5 games as well. Arizona State is 3-1 ATS in their last 4 games while reaching the over in 4 of their last 5 games.
Tags: Arizona State, First Round, ncaa basketball, NCAA Tournament, Temple
NCAA Tournament Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – California -1.5 The no. 10 seeded Maryland Terrapins and the no. 7 seeded California Golden Bears will square of Friday afternoon in what many people are considering the most intriguing game in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. California really struggled down the stretch losing 4 of their last 6 games to close out the season. Maryland was pretty similar losing 4 of their last 7 games as well. However, one of those teams will have the chance to right the ship and get a respectable first round victory and will go on to likely meet the no. 2 seed the Memphis Tigers in round two. Unlike many of the first round match-ups, both of these schools have the potential to score some points. Do not be expected to see a fairly high scoring game in this opener which is something you may not see much of in the first round. The Maryland Terrapins got their bid to the NCAA Tournament after a descent 23-10 record on the season. Maryland had some big wins this year on their resume to help them seal that bid. The Terrapins knocked off highly rated North Carolina and Wake Forest during the season and played teams well despite their 7-9 record in the conference. The Terrapins averaged 72 points per game on the season which ranked right outside the top 100 teams in the country. The Terrapins scoring defense was rather poor given the higher scoring style of the ACC as they allowed nearly 70 points per game on the defensive side of the court. The Terrapins will face another solid scoring team in California on Friday and must keep the Golden Bears scoring down. Junior guard Greivis Vasquez will be the go to guy for the Terrapins. Vasquez leads the team in scoring with 17 points per game this year. Vasquez and the rest of the Terrapins will look for strong scoring efforts as they try to take down California in the opening round. The California Golden Bears got off to a brilliant start to their season with a record of 15-2. However, as the season got into conference play the Golden Bears started having struggles and only ended up with an 11-7 mark in the Pac-10. California has sported a fairly strong scoring offense this season that has averaged 75 points per game on the year. Even more impressive is that the Golden Bears rank inside the top 10 teams in the country in terms of shooting efficiency knocking down 48.5% of their shots as a team on the year. The biggest impact player on the California roster is junior guard Jerome Randle. Randle has posted 18.4 points per game this season while adding 5 assist per game as well. Randle is a sharp shooter who has knocked down 50% from the floor and an amazing 47% from behind the arc. The Golden Bears would love nothing more than their standout guard to have a big game on Friday. Also keep an eye on the other guard Patrick Christopher. Christopher is averaging 15 points per game and these two guys in the backcourt could make it extremely difficult for the Terrapins. Betting Trends… Pick – California pulls away late in the 2nd half. Take Cal -1.5
No. 7 California Golden Bears (22-10) vs. No. 10 Maryland Terrapins (20-13)
Thursday, 3:00PM Eastern
California is only 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games while reaching the over total in 4 of their last 5 games. The Golden Bears are 16-8 SU in the last 24 games and only 2-4 SU in the last 6 games. Maryland is 9-4 ATS in their last 13 outings while reaching the under total in 6 of the last 7 games.
Tags: California, Maryland, ncaa basketball, NCAA Tournament
Colonial Athletic Association Championship  SBG Global Opening Line: Virginia Commonwealth -  4 , Total 122.5  An NCAA Tournament berth will be on the line as George Mason plays Virginia Commonwealth on Monday for the Colonial Athletic Association Championship. It is the third straight year the Patriots have been in the title game. George Mason is the second seed in the tournament while VCU is the top seed. SBG Global reports that early College basketball line has the public taking Virginia Commonwealth at Home.  George Mason was able to get past Towson on Sunday as Cam Long hit three 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes as the Patriots pulled away to win 56-48.  VCU has played in five previous CAA title games, winning three times, the last of which came in 2007 against George Mason. VCU is led by Eric Maynor, the conference Player of the Year the last two seasons. He had 23 points in Virginia Commonwealth’s 61-53 semifinal win over Old Dominion.  The two teams met earlier this season and VCU came away with a 76-71 victory. Maynor led all scorers with 28 points in that game and he had help as Larry Sanders, Kirill Pishchalnikov and Brandon Rozzell all scored in double-digits. George Mason was led by Long’s 24 points while Dre Smith added 16.  Here are the College Basketball betting stats for Monday’s game. The Patriots are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Colonial Athletic Association. The Patriots are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 Monday games. The Patriots are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.  The Rams are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 Monday games. The Rams are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Rams are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 neutral site games. The favorite is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings between the two teams.  SBG Global Current Line: Virginia Commonwealth -  3.5 , Total 121.5  The Under is 6-0-1 in the Patriots last 7 vs. the Colonial Athletic Association. The Under is 6-1-1 in the Patriots last 8 overall. The Under is 4-1 in the Patriots last 5 neutral site games.  The Under is 4-0 in the Rams last 4 overall. The Under is 6-1 in the Rams last 7 Monday games. The Under is 5-1-1 in the Rams last 7 neutral site games.  Pick: Gmason!
George Mason (20-9) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (23-9)
Monday, 7:00 pm Eastern – ESPN 2
Tags: basketball, Colonial Athletic Association Championship, ncaa, sports
NBA Betting Preview Bookmaker.com betting line – Boston -2 Eastern Conference bragging rights are on the line this Friday night as two of the top teams in the East square off. The defending champion Boston Celtics are one of the leading favorites to win the Eastern Conference this season especially after Orlando dropped out of the picture. However, the Cleveland Cavaliers will likely be standing in the Celtic’s path to stop them from any repeat hopes. Cleveland owns the best record in the East at 48-12 slightly better than the Celtics and has won 9 of their last 10 games through an impressive stretch of basketball. Friday night’s contest will be interesting to watch to see how both teams stack against each other and give a glimpse of what to expect in the playoffs this season considering many believe these two teams will meet in the post season. The Cleveland Cavaliers have won 4 straight games with their win over Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Cleveland was defeated by the Boston Celtics in their opening game this season, but scored a win when they hosted the Celtics in their 2nd meeting of the season in January. Cleveland owns the NBA’s best all-around defense. The Cavaliers have held opposing teams to only 90 points per game on the season. Cleveland number 1 defense may be surprising considering Boston is the most well known defensive team in the league. Cleveland held the Celtics to only 83 points in their latest win over the Celtics and they will certainly be attempting to shut down the talented Boston lineup again on Friday night. Lebron James scored 38 points in the last meeting and recently posted a big 42 point performance on Monday against Miami. Perhaps, James will have another big night in one of the biggest games on the schedule. Boston trails the Cavaliers scoring defense slightly only allowing 92 points per game on the season. The Celtics premier defense took a hit with the loss of Kevin Garnett. Garnett is one of the best defensive players in the NBA and has been battling a knee injury for nearly two weeks. In Garnett’s absence, the Celtics have been a bit inconsistent giving up 99 points or more in 4 of the last 6 games. Paul Pierce has stepped up on the offensive side of the ball knocking down 20 or more points in 8 of his last 9 games. The Celtics will need one of their featured players to step up on Friday night to compensate for the unsatisfying defensive performances of the last few weeks. Ray Allen really ended the month of February shooting the ball really well, but has been held to only 13 point average over the last two games. If Allen can step in and have a big night along with Pierce, the Celtics will be extremely tough to beat at home. What to watch for… The loss of Kevin Garnett gives Boston a weaker look inside on defense. Expect Cleveland to try and exploit the paint and score some points on some give and go type passes down low. Although the other two games have been both held under the 185 total, this game may go a bit on the higher side. Expect a bit more scoring from both teams rather than the defensive battles that highlighted the first two meetings. Pick – Cleveland -2
Cleveland Cavaliers (48-12) at Boston Celtics (48-14)
8:00PM Eastern, Friday
Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Eastern Conference, nba
