NCAA Second Round

[Smitty]

alright, not a great day yesterday, but i won a couple units. that is a great improvement over the last few weeks. hope to keep it going today.

butler (+5.5) 2 units. as well as they've played lately, i'm not sold on maryland. rumor has it, dj strawberry was up 'til 6:00 this morning, doing coke with daddy. could just be a rumor. just in case, i'm taking the bulldogs though.

vcu (+7) 1 unit. if the rams can bring the same intensity again tonight, then they will wear gray right out. he will be a non-factor, just like he was in the big east finals. and pitt needs him scoring inside.

georgetown (-8.5) 1 unit. bc got past a poor texas tech team (i truly still cannot believe they were in the tournament). just a small step up in class tonight. as good as dudley is, he can't do it himself. if williams was still playing, the eagles might have an answer inside for hibbert. he's not, and they don't. hoyas should dominate.

texas a&m (-3) 2 units. just not impressed with louisville. i don't think they've seen defense all year like what they'll see this afternoon.

xavier (+7.5) 1 unit. i've decided i'm going against ohio state the rest of the tournament. i am just not sold on them as an elite team.

vandy (+2.5) 1 unit. shooters, shooters, shooters.

indiana (+7) 2 units. let's not forget, ucla did not finish the year strongly. i expect this game to come right down to the wire.

 

[Morris]

GL today Smitty. Is it baskets or pucks today?

 

[Smitty]

thanks, morris. you, too. this makes me so sad, i may cry... i'm heading out in about half an hour. we're gonna grab some food then head down to the knick/pepsi/tu arena/center. whatever the f--- it is. and watch some college hockey. the action gets under way with the consolation game. wow. now i like hockey, i really do. but a consolation game? hockey without intensity? whee.

so basically i'll see most of the first half of the xavier/osu game. and i have to behave myself, and not spend the entire hockey tournament at the tv sets they have set up. the things we do for our women... this is one of the most painful i've ever had to do. oh, and naturally she has picked up on my reluctance, so now there is tension. add her mother (who i like just fine) into the mix... this is gonna be quite an afternoon/evening for smitty. i wonder if i can just dvr 10 hours of hoops and watch it all starting at 11:00 tonight.

 

[Morris]

Sneak down to Broadway Joe's. They have stuff there to help heal the pain! :shrug:

 

[Smitty]

Sunday

Sunday

well, my pain was eased greatly. i saw almost the entire end of the xavier game at lunch. just before the end of regulation, ii even told my gf, "watch this, he's going to miss this free throw, then ohio state will hit a 3-pointer." it was like i was watching a re-run. and i've lost so many games like that over the years... 'dog winning the entire game, then losing not only the game, but the cover in OT. i hurried us out of the restaurant with about 25 seconds left in OT, as osu was icing the game from the FT line. just assumed i'd lose by a point or two, and i couldn't bear to watch. anyways... the only other game i saw was vandy/wsu going into OT #1. and i got home so late, i didn't need any stress before going to bed, so i had no idea what happened in any game until i watched the DVR this morning. imagine my pleasant surprise... smitty had a heck of a day. and i got to see some excellent college hockey. let's keep that going... riding the 'dogs again today.

tennessee (-3) 2 units. ok, one fav. let's not forget... just 3 days ago, everybody knew that virginia was seeded too high. and they were right. they simply overwhelmed an outclassed opponent on friday. not gonna happen today. the vols can match the cavs on the perimeter, but they also have a little inside scoring to compliment the guards. and how can you not love dane bradshaw? what a ballplayer.

southern ill (-1) 2 units. ok, ok... one more fav. really like the salukis here. first of all, they have already beaten the hokies this year, so there will be no fear of the big bad acc team. second, you know they will play tenacious defense. and the hokies have been inconsistent all year. they were lucky to get by a mediocre illinois squad. not gonna happen today.

unlv (+6) 1 unit. really like the rebs here, but i'm gonna pull back to one unit because i have them beating wisconsin in all my brackets, so i already have enough riding on them today. wisconsin is really not that good, and they miss butch probably more than most people realize. by the way, did anybody see his injury? that was one of the nastiest things i've ever seen. anyways... if either tucker or taylor have an off day, it could be a long day for the badgers.

nevada (+5.5) 1 unit. is memphis the worst 2 seed ever? the last time they beat a good team was back in december, and that's counting mississippi as a good team. otherwise you have to go back to november, when they beat kentucky. they did win at gonzaga, but that was after heytvelt got caught with the 'shrooms. now some may say nevada hardly has any big wins recently either. but, first of all, they don't have to win today, they only need to keep it close. the wac was probably slightly tougher than conference usa this year. and let's look at their schedule... certainly a weaker non-conference schedule than memphis, but they did also win at gonzaga. however, the bulldogs were at full strength when the wolfpack beat 'em. fazekas is a heck of a ballplayer, and he has some help this year.

winthrop (+3) 2 units. what can i say? i love this winthrop team. the eagles get a matchup with an oregon team that tends to lose focus. in fact, i think they are very similar to notre dame. their offense is very perimeter oriented. i like the eagles to make the sweet 16.

usc (+2.5) 1 unit. don't remember the details, but when seth davis and doug gottlieb were breaking down the matchups before the tournament started, one of them made some good points about why usc matches up so well with texas. i've made a decent amount of money going against the longhorns this year, and i see no reason to stop going against them today. usc's biggest problem is they will take a game off every once in a while. have to believe they're gonna come to play today.

i'm tempted to play purdue, but i smell a rat with the highest spread on the board. i do, however, love the quote from carl landry... "if a few possessions go our way, and the ball's going down, florida has no chance." that's gold, jerry, gold!! of course, it's possible that the gators love that quote also.

 

[Morris]

GL today buddy. May jump on Nev. with you.:00hour