Pac-10 tournament: Semifinals preview and picks

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Pac-10 tournament: Semifinals preview and picks

Pac-10 tournament games are being played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. All times are ET.

UCLA Bruins vs. California Golden Bears (-10, 140), 9 p.m.

The Bruins got an opening-round victory in front of their home crowd, but will have their hands full when they meet the regular season Pac-10 champs Friday.

UCLA got a big boost from the return of its freshman forward Reeves Nelson, who scored 18 points and collected 11 rebounds. Nelson had missed four straight games after having surgery on his retina.

"My legs were all right. When I first came in, they were really tired, but I got my second wind pretty quickly," Nelson told the media.

Nelson played 32 minutes Thursday, so back-to-back games could pose a fatigue problem. He is also wearing protective goggles and said they are ?annoying.?

Cal cruised to a 94-70 win over Oregon with only one starter playing more than 30 minutes. Compare that to UCLA, where only one starter played fewer than 32 minutes. The Bruins have a three-man bench while the Bears have six bodies coming off the pine.

Prediction: Cal 82, UCLA 70

Stanford Cardinal vs. Washington Huskies,11:30 p.m.

If you want to put your money behind high basketball I.Q. then look no further than the Stanford Cardinal.

The boys from The Farm took down No. 2 seed Arizona State in Thursday?s quarterfinal matchup as 7.5-point underdogs. But the Cardinal won?t beat their next opponent if they shoot 56 percent from the charity stripe like they did against ASU.

Washington nearly had its bubble popped after trailing by nine points at halftime versus Oregon State and playing a close game throughout. The Beaver?s zone defense had some success keeping Quincy Pondexter at bay so it will be interesting to see if Stanford utilizes the same scheme.

Pondexter posted 18 and 27 points in two routs of the Cardinal this season. Stanford couldn?t cover a spread against the Huskies, getting pummeled by 17 points at home and 33 on the road.

Friday?s semifinal will be a matchup of the league?s No. 1 and No. 2 scorers as Landry Fields (21.4 ppg) and Pondexter (20.2 ppg) try to carry their team to the championship game.

Prediction: Washington 76, Stanford 68

 

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Big East tournament: Semifinals preview and picks

Big East tournament: Semifinals preview and picks

Big East tournament: Semifinals preview and picks

Big East Tournament games are played at Madison Square Garden. All time EST.

Marquette Golden Eagles vs. Georgetown Hoyas (-3.5, 130.5), 7 p.m.

No Marquette regular stands taller than 6-foot-7. But that didn?t stop the undersized Eagles from out-rebounding Georgetown in a 62-59 win at home in early January.

Just like nearly every Marquette conference game, that one was close throughout. Six of the Eagles? last seven games have been decided by four points or less with four going into overtime.

No reason to expect anything different than another close game tonight, which certainly favors Marquette.

The Eagles (22-10, 13-17 ATS) are the best free-throw shooting team in the Big East and are very good at taking care of the basketball. They turned it over just nine times in their first meeting with the Hoyas.

Georgetown (22-9, 15-12) used 17 Syracuse turnovers to rally back and knock off the Orange Friday. The Hoyas can?t rely on turnovers to generate offense again Friday.

Instead, they?ll look to big man Greg Monroe to expose the smaller Eagle interior. An excellent passer, Monroe added seven assists to go with 15 points and 10 boards against Syracuse. He had nine points, 10 boards and three assists in the first meeting with Marquette.

Monroe?s presence inside combined with the hot shooting of Chris Wright (27 points against Cuse) will put Marquette in quite a dilemma defensively. That?s why you can expect the Eagles to control the pace, shorten the game and make sure they take good shots to prevent Georgetown from getting any baskets off run outs.

Bettors would be wise to shop around for the best number. The line opened at Georgetown -3, but has been bet up to four at most books. In what?s expected to be another close game, that one point could prove to be extremely valuable.

Prediction: Georgetown 61, Marquette 57

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (-4.5, 129.5), 9:25 p.m.

No one?s hotter than the Irish, which makes it very difficult to bet against them.

Notre Dame (23-10, 16-10-1 ATS) has won six straight, including Friday?s 50-45 victory against Pittsburgh.

The Irish also own a win at West Virginia, 70-68 back in early January. Notre Dame led by 20 at halftime of that game, but had to hold for dear life down the stretch.

The most interesting stat from that game was that Notre Dame out-rebounded West Virginia by seven. The Irish also shot nearly 54 percent from the field against the Mountaineers? 1-3-1 zone.

West Virginia (25-6, 13-17 ATS) has won four straight, but struggled to oust a mediocre-at-best Cincinnati squad Friday.

Bob Huggins? athletic roster rarely wins pretty and lives off the offensive glass. The Mountaineers were the top rebounding team in Big East play. They shot just 35 percent against Cincinnati, but still managed to pull out the victory on a banked-in 3-pointer at the buzzer by Da?Sean Butler.

Irish star Luke Harangody, who has been coming off the bench while trying to recover from a leg injury, has had success against the Mountaineers, averaging 26.5 points and 10 rebounds in six career games against West Virginia.

With Syracuse?s loss, the Mountaineers have an outside chance of earning a No. 1 seed, if they were to win the Big East Tournament.

 

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SEC tournament: Quarterfinals preview and picks

SEC tournament: Quarterfinals preview and picks

SEC tournament: Quarterfinals preview and picks

SEC tournament games are being played at Brudgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. All times are ET.

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Kentucky Wildcats (-9.5, 134.5), 1 p.m.

The Crimson Tide (17-14) went on a 32-9 closing run for a 68-63 comeback victory over South Carolina in Thursday's opening round to advance to face the top-seeded Wildcats.

But the loudest cheer in that game came when Kentucky's freshman duo of John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were shown sitting courtside on the Jumbotron, awakening the blue-clad fans in the stands.

That pretty much sums up the SEC tourney. Kentucky fans outnumbered all the other team's fans and the Wildcats (29-2) weren't even playing. There were more waiting outside the exits trying to buy tickets from departing Gamecock fans.

So the stage is set for the Wildcats to play the Tide in a home-like environment. Kentucky scored a 66-55 victory over Alabama in Lexington last month, when Wall and Cousins combined for 38 points and 23 rebounds.

Kentucky out-rebounded Alabama 40-29, held the Tide to 33 percent shooting and limited leading scorer Mikhail Torrance to eight points. The Wildcats have the confidence and energy to take care of business today.

Predicted score: Kentucky 77, Alabama 65

Tennessee Volunteers vs. Mississippi Rebels (1, 137), 3:20 ET

Tennessee (24-7) sleep-walked its way through Thursday's opening round against LSU, waking up in time to score a 59-49 victory and advance to face Ole Miss (21-9).

The Volunteers improved to 10-4 in Nashville under Bruce Pearl and 8-1 in Bridgestone Arena, including a seven-game winning streak at the facility.

The Vols catch the rebels in a rematch of a Jan. 16 game in Knoxville, where Tennessee won a 71-69 decision in overtime. Wayne Chism scored 26 in that game and could have another big day against Ole Miss' soft middle.

The Rebels have won four straight coming into the game and they are led in scoring by Chris Warren, who averages 17.2 points per game. But senior guard Eniel Polynice (9.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.1 apg) was suspended for the regular-season finale and his status has not been announced for today's game.

The Vols, winners of six of their last seven, may have worked out the opening-game jitters and be ready to run past the Rebels today.

Predicted score: Tennessee 72, Ole Miss 66

Florida Gators vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs, 7:30 p.m.

There's a lot more at stake than a berth to the SEC semifinals for these two teams. A bid to the NCAA Tournament is on the line.

The Gators (20-11) got a first-round win over Auburn Thursday to snap a three-game losing skid and they probably need to beat the Bulldogs (21-10) to get in the Big Dance. Florida defeated Mississippi State at home last month for its sixth win in seven games before going 3-5 SU and ATS the rest of the way.

Mississippi State also closed the regular season on a sour note by falling at Auburn and getting blown out by Tennessee at home. The Bulldogs were out-rebounded 75-58 over those games and the boards could play a big role in this one as the Gators have been struggling from the field.

Florida team leaders Kenny Boykin, Vernon Macklin and Erving Walker went a combined 4-of-17 on Thursday, but the Gators got on the glass for a 38-30 rebounding edge over the Tigers

Mississippi State is led by Ravern Johnson's 13.5 points and Jarvis Varnador's 10.6 boards per game, but second-leading scorer and top assistman Dee Bost (12.9 ppg, 5.4 apg) is questionable with an ankle injury.

Predicted score: Florida 66, Mississippi State 58

Georgia Bulldogs vs. Vanderbilt Commodores, 9:50 p.m.

Don't be fooled by all the Kentucky blue in the stands. This is a home-court advantage for Vanderbilt, which is playing about 20 blocks away from its campus and the sidewalk alumni will be out in full force for the Commodores.

Unfortunately, they should have been there Thursday night rooting for Arkansas not to lose 77-64 to Georgia, which despite its bottom seeding has been a thorn in Vanderbilt's butt this year. Vandy dominated the Razorbacks in their lone meeting but split the season series with the Bulldogs.

Georgia pounded the 'Dores in Athens 72-58 then lost a 96-94 OT heartbreaker in Nashville despite going to the free throw line up by two with 14 seconds left in regulation. Georgia out-rebounded Vandy by a combined 70-55 in those meetings.

Georgia's athleticism seems to give the Commodores fits. Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie teamed up to hang 77 points on Vandy this season and both are coming off big games Thursday.

Vandy counters with Jermaine Beal (14.8 ppg) and A.J. Ogilvy (13.9 ppg), plus a little love from the hometown crowd.

Predicted score: Vanderbilt 78, Georgia 73

 

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Big 12 tournament: Semifinals preview and picks

Big 12 tournament: Semifinals preview and picks

Big 12 tournament: Semifinals preview and picks

Big 12 tournament games are being played at Kansas City?s Sprint Center. All times ET.

Texas A&M Aggies vs. Kansas Jayhawks, 7 p.m.

In the second round of the Big 12 tournament, 12th-seeded Nebraska kept it close with Texas A&M much of the game but, in the end, the Aggies prevailed 70-64 over the upset-minded Cornhuskers. Texas A&M, an 8-point favorite, had won 10 in a row against the spread dating back to late January.

Donald Sloan had a game-high 23 points and added four assists for the Aggies. The senior guard, who averages 18.1 points per game, is Texas A&M?s main and sometimes only scoring threat. No other healthy player for the Aggies averages in double digits.

In becoming only the third team to reach 2,000 wins in its history, Kansas pulled away from Texas Tech late in the game to defeat the Red Raiders 80-68 Thursday. The Jayhawks, who might have been thinking ahead to the next round of play, led by only two points with 5:55 remaining, but went on a 15-5 run to close the game out. The win was Kansas? ninth loss ATS in its last 12 games.

Not surprisingly, first-team All-Big 12 performers Cole Aldrich (11.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 3.5 blocks) and Sherron Collins (15.4 ppg, 4.3 apg) starred in the victory. Aldrich scored 12 points, had 18 rebounds and blocked three shots. Collins led all players with 19 points and added six assists.

The first game of today?s tournament semifinals will match these two excellent defensive squads. When Kansas and Texas A&M faced one another in mid-February, the teams combined for only 113 points and shot just 38.5 percent from the field in a 5-point Kansas win.

Friday?s matchup between the Jayhawks and Aggies should be more of the same - a defensive grind between the conference?s two best under teams. The under is 33-21 this season for Texas A&M and Kansas combined.

Prediction: Kansas 64, Texas A&M 56

Baylor Bears vs. Kansas State Wildcats, 9:30 p.m.

Baylor is undoubtedly a legitimate Final Four candidate, which Texas found out last night in a 19-point victory for the Bears. The Longhorns have dropped four in a row to Baylor dating back to last year?s Big 12 tournament. In their three wins over Texas this season, the Bears impressively covered by an average of 14 points.

As usual, Baylor was led by its three players who earned All-Big 12 recognition: guard LaceDarius Dunn (19.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg), guard Tweety Carter (16.0 ppg, 6.2 apg) and forward Ekpe Udoh (13.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 4.0 blocks) - the conference?s newcomer of the year. The tremendous trio combined for 64 of the Bears? 86 points against the Longhorns.

Kansas State also won by a 19-point margin in an 83-64 victory over Oklahoma State Thursday. The Wildcats, who led by 33 points midway through the second half, had lost two in a row SU and ATS entering the game and had fallen victim to the Cowboys 73-69 back on January 23.

Kansas State?s Jamar Samuels proved why he won the conference?s sixth man award, scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds off the bench in 27 minutes of play. After averaging 11.4 points per game during the regular season, the sophomore forward scored 21 points in the first half alone.

The tourney?s nightcap pits the conference?s second and third seeds in what is considered a close matchup. The Wildcats are outstanding but have the misfortune of facing arguably the hottest team in college basketball. Baylor has won four consecutive games ATS, covering by an average of nearly 12 points a game.

Baylor, who was upset by Kansas State at home during the regular season, should get revenge on its way to a second consecutive finals appearance in the Big 12 tournament.

Prediction: Baylor 78, Kansas State 71