NCAA March Madness

Elite 8 Preview: No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers vs. No. 5 Michigan State Spartans
2010-03-30

In a great Elite 8 matchup set to take place on Sunday March 28, 2010 at St. Louis, No. 6 seeded Tennessee will face No. 5 seeded Michigan State as the Volunteers will play in the a regional final game for the first time in school history. Both teams are looking to prove that they belong among the elite teams of college basketball this season, and Sunday's game should be very competitive. The Midwest bracket was supposed to be either Kansas or Ohio State playing for a spot in the Final Four, with some choosing Georgetown or Maryland to find a lot of success.


The Spartans (27 - 8) were the No. 5 seed in this year's Midwest Regional, knocking off 12th seeded New Mexico State and No. 4 seeded Maryland. Then they met with No. 9 seeded Northern Iowa, which shocked No. 1 seeded Kansas in the previous round.


Coach Tom Izzo’s been to 5 Final Fours during his time as the head coach in East Lansing, Michigan; this is his time of the year, and this shows how dominant a head coach he is. Add in superstar Durrell Summers, who had his best, maybe best of the tournament, offensive game of the NCAA tournament on Friday night, and voted best team player Draymond Green among others and their improbable, probable now, run will continue on to Indianapolis to the Final Four and hopefully to another Michigan State Spartan championship. Without Kalin Lucas, the Michigan State Spartans still held the Panthers without a shot made for the last 10 minutes, 21 seconds of the game.


The Tennessee Volunteers (28 - 8) have had a long year dealing with injuries, arrests and player suspensions all in this one season, but are still just one win away from their first ever Final Four appearance in Indianapolis.


Korie Lucious and crew will struggle to take care of the rock against the Tennessee Vols defense, allowing the Tennessee Volunteers to run when they want to, and they can’t do anything about it. In the last three tournament games the sophomore has 8 assists and 4 turnovers, but he’s shooting only 39.1 percent for those three games. Lucious will have to shoot well if the Michigan State Spartans expect to get to the Final Four.


Wayne Chism had a great second half on Friday night, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the last 20 minutes against the Ohio State Buckeyes. But that’s only child’s play compared to the number of people the Spartans will put on him. I expect Chism to have a tough game and he may get frustrated down in the paint and start moving to the outside perimeter, which will be bad for his team. Wayne Chism and Brian Williams will both combine to control the backboards and the inside paint as they did in their teams win over Ohio State Buckeyes.


www.sportsbook.com has the Vols as 1.5 point favorites and the over / under at 136.5. The game will be close, but expect Tom Izzo and his team to find a way to beat the Vols.




$13,000,000.00 Perfect Bracket
2010-03-15








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  1. The March Madness Perfect Bracket Contest starts on Monday, March 15, 2010 and closes on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 10:59 AM EST. All entries after this point will be considered void and will not be eligible for any of the prizes below.

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CBB: West Virginia at Villanova (12:00 PM ET, CBS)
2010-03-05

It’s OK to feel a little choked up, real men do. The end of the regular season for college basketball is already here. It seems like football just ended and now this. But it’s fine, it’s time for March Madness, with more crazy twists and turns than Charlie Sheen’s marriage. In some conferences, like the Big East, there is still a ton of tournament seeding yet to be determined by games of Saturday and Sunday. One of the best contests matches West Virginia and Villanova at noon ET on CBS. Be sure to follow the latest lines and key betting information for this contest and the rest of Saturday’s board on the LIVE ODDS & GAME MATCHUPS pages of Sportsbook.com.

The impact on the Big East standings will be minimal, but for West Virginia (23-6, 12-16 ATS), this trip to Philadelphia is very meaningful. The Mountaineers, who are 6-4 and 4-6 ATS as visitors, lack a defining road win all season, with a December victory at Seton Hall probably the best of the lot. West Virginia plays many of the aspects of basketball expertly, however they lack a true point guard and a shooter at the end of the game. WVU lost earlier at home to Villanova and is 1-5 ATS revenging a straight up loss vs. opponent as a favorite.

Has the lack of Wildcats scoring and defense in the low blocks finally caught up to them? The immediate answer would be yes, as Nova has fallen four times since Feb. 6. Opposing teams are brazenly attacking Villanova (24-5, 18-10 ATS) at the rim and coach Jay Wright’s team is drawing fouls like clicks to Megan Fox’s website. Most of the points in the lane come on dribble penetration or put-backs, not conventional scoring. The Wildcats are 21-11 ATS playing a team with a winning record past the mid-point of schedule since last year.

One interesting trend to note regarding this head-to-head series is that the straight up winner is 15-0 ATS dating back to 1999. In other words, pick the game winner, pick the spread winner. According to the StatFox Power Line, which shows Villanova by 4, the winner will be the hosts.


CBB: Villanova at St. John’s (12:00 PM ET, ESPN)
2010-01-22

A quick check of the Big East standings in college basketball shows that only one team remains unbeaten in league play heading into Saturday’s games, that being Villanova, at 6-0. The Wildcats could be in for a test on Saturday afternoon though, as they face one of those “land mine” type of games at St. Johns. The Red Storm are 9-2 at home this season, and hungry for the upset? Can they get it? Be sure to check the BETTING TRENDS page on Sportsbook.com to see what other bettors are thinking.

Though seldom mentioned with the coaching elites, it’s time Jay Wright starts getting his props nationally as one of the finest coaches in college basketball. He recruits young men with a certain type of work ethic, they leave Villanova (17-1, 13-4 ATS) a far better player than when they arrived, and as any opposing coach will honestly admit, watching film on Nova is a treat with the intensity and execution they play. Senior Scottie Reynolds is the tougher than nails leader who gives the Wildcats a chance to win each time out. This season, Villanova is 8-2 ATS against teams with winning record.

This was supposed to be the year. Coach Norm Roberts had preached patience as he collected more talent for St. John’s (12-6, 8-6-1 ATS) and this season the Red Storm were to move up the Big East pecking order. With a number of good non-conference outings, expectations were percolating, however a 0-3 start turned the attention on Roberts and where the program is truly headed. St. John’s players openly have questioned each other’s commitment to winning, which means that unless they can make something positive happen immediately, it’s setting up to be another sorry season for the Johnnies. The St. John’s have responded lately though, by winning two of last three and upset of Villanova could be a signature win. The Red Storm is on a 13-3 ATS run when on playing on Saturday’s.

Villanova has won seven of last eight (6-2 ATS) encounters between these teams, and the StatFox Power Line shows Villanova by 11. The hosts will have to come up with a truly special effort to hand the Wildcats their first league loss.