way more games than normal, but lots of games stand out
stronger plays:
oregon (-1) over california
toledo mline (+105) over buffalo
normal plays:
ohio state (+3.5) over indiana
rice (-1.5) over hawaii
auburn mline (+120) over georgia
charlotte/birmingham over 147.5
kent state 1st half (-4) over bowling green
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OREGON (stronger)
underachieving but talented teams are always the first teams i look to play in the conference tourneys. ducks qualify nicely. both teams won on their home floors, but ducks had a shot to win in OT on the road in california. oregon has started a little slow lately (vs usc and ucla) and thats a concern but i think they just have too much firepower for cal on a neutral court. got a small bet on oregon to win the pac10 tourney; needless to say, i see them advancing past the first round with zero problem
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TOLEDO (stronger)
bulls looked impressive in their campus site mac tourney opener vs northern illinois. but toledo is no northern illinois. buffalo probably has the advantage inside, but toledo holds a big edge on the perimeter. rockets hold a +6% edge at the free throw line and that could prove to be very big if this one stays tight down the stretch. bulls made some big strides this season, but their stay in cleveland should be a short one. very likely they could be back next year and make a deeper run, but toledo is just too talented on the perimeter with villegas, ingram, and triplett. rockets could be a sleeper on their side of the bracket. i could easily see a toledo/kent state matchup for the mac title. triplett has been playing like the mac player of the year down the stretch. dont see buffalo having an answer for him
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OHIO STATE
probably backed osu more the last week than i have the last two or three years. but i gotta give credit where its due: obrien is a money coach in the big ten tourney. hes had deep runs with good teams; hes had deep runs with garbage teams (like last year). indiana just seems like they want the season to end, having lost 8 of their L10. osu has been surprisingly resilient down the stretch. indiana holds the pseduo-home court edge here, but thats about it. other than that, really think indiana gets outworked by osu. and , while im sure ill ill eat these words -- it looks like tony stockman is FINALLY buying into what obrien is teaching and he is playing well the last two weeks. talent is not the problem with that kid. he can fill it up in a hurry if he gets hot. but hes become their go-to guy now and hes played well. hopefully he wont regress now that it counts in the tourney
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RICE
kinda stumped by this line, but ill take it. i suppose by looking at the team records (and recent meeting in hawaii), this probably projects as a close game but rice (at least in my opinion) is considerably better than hawaii. must say, however, that hawaii has been a solid team in the wac tourney so their experience should be noted. but athletically- its no contest. rice outclasses them. and hawaii has been on the mainland for a long time the last few weeks. 3gm road swing, then back to the island for a two-night homestand (friday/saturday), then back across to the mainland for the final 2 regular season games. and now this, their 3rd roadie. so 6 of L8 have been away from home. owls win this game and send hawaii home one-and-done
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AUBURN
i just think the tigers are gonna be a tough out in the sec tourney. i think theyre better than their record indicates. not gonna spew bullshit....not sure what it is about auburn but when they play well, theyre really not outclassed by anyone in the conference. theyve had their share of clunkers, but something tells me this could be a dangerous team in the sec tourney. then again, they could go out in round one, lol. we'll see.
==============================================
...............pending conference tourney wagers....................
* kent to win the mac (+250)
* oregon to win the pac10 (+1000)
* "field" (anyone but boise,nevada,utep) to win wac (+160)
stronger plays:
oregon (-1) over california
toledo mline (+105) over buffalo
normal plays:
ohio state (+3.5) over indiana
rice (-1.5) over hawaii
auburn mline (+120) over georgia
charlotte/birmingham over 147.5
kent state 1st half (-4) over bowling green
=============================================
OREGON (stronger)
underachieving but talented teams are always the first teams i look to play in the conference tourneys. ducks qualify nicely. both teams won on their home floors, but ducks had a shot to win in OT on the road in california. oregon has started a little slow lately (vs usc and ucla) and thats a concern but i think they just have too much firepower for cal on a neutral court. got a small bet on oregon to win the pac10 tourney; needless to say, i see them advancing past the first round with zero problem
==============================================
TOLEDO (stronger)
bulls looked impressive in their campus site mac tourney opener vs northern illinois. but toledo is no northern illinois. buffalo probably has the advantage inside, but toledo holds a big edge on the perimeter. rockets hold a +6% edge at the free throw line and that could prove to be very big if this one stays tight down the stretch. bulls made some big strides this season, but their stay in cleveland should be a short one. very likely they could be back next year and make a deeper run, but toledo is just too talented on the perimeter with villegas, ingram, and triplett. rockets could be a sleeper on their side of the bracket. i could easily see a toledo/kent state matchup for the mac title. triplett has been playing like the mac player of the year down the stretch. dont see buffalo having an answer for him
==============================================
OHIO STATE
probably backed osu more the last week than i have the last two or three years. but i gotta give credit where its due: obrien is a money coach in the big ten tourney. hes had deep runs with good teams; hes had deep runs with garbage teams (like last year). indiana just seems like they want the season to end, having lost 8 of their L10. osu has been surprisingly resilient down the stretch. indiana holds the pseduo-home court edge here, but thats about it. other than that, really think indiana gets outworked by osu. and , while im sure ill ill eat these words -- it looks like tony stockman is FINALLY buying into what obrien is teaching and he is playing well the last two weeks. talent is not the problem with that kid. he can fill it up in a hurry if he gets hot. but hes become their go-to guy now and hes played well. hopefully he wont regress now that it counts in the tourney
==============================================
RICE
kinda stumped by this line, but ill take it. i suppose by looking at the team records (and recent meeting in hawaii), this probably projects as a close game but rice (at least in my opinion) is considerably better than hawaii. must say, however, that hawaii has been a solid team in the wac tourney so their experience should be noted. but athletically- its no contest. rice outclasses them. and hawaii has been on the mainland for a long time the last few weeks. 3gm road swing, then back to the island for a two-night homestand (friday/saturday), then back across to the mainland for the final 2 regular season games. and now this, their 3rd roadie. so 6 of L8 have been away from home. owls win this game and send hawaii home one-and-done
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AUBURN
i just think the tigers are gonna be a tough out in the sec tourney. i think theyre better than their record indicates. not gonna spew bullshit....not sure what it is about auburn but when they play well, theyre really not outclassed by anyone in the conference. theyve had their share of clunkers, but something tells me this could be a dangerous team in the sec tourney. then again, they could go out in round one, lol. we'll see.
==============================================
...............pending conference tourney wagers....................
* kent to win the mac (+250)
* oregon to win the pac10 (+1000)
* "field" (anyone but boise,nevada,utep) to win wac (+160)
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