Thursday's plays

[Nickelback]

Tulsa -2 over UTEP above average

Funny, at first I thought I was gonna like UTEP but after looking deeper into this matchup, Tulsa has won the last 10 straight (at least) in this series! Also, UTEP has not played a road game in over a month. Public will be all over UTEP given the differences in records but I'll take the team that continually dominates the other year after year.

SMU +7 over Fresno State average

Fresno has looked great but I think they struggle at home after their last two road games one of them down in Hawaii. SMU has played great against very solid teams. . . especially their win at Purdue. Look for a very low scoring game with 7 points being huge in the end.

Fairfield -6 over Elon average

Yes, I know this will be a huge public favorite. . . but what can I say, they are right! Fairfield has a huge center in Gei (sp?) that will create huge problems inside for Elon.


Also like Stanford ML but not sure if I'll work it in. . . they have beaten Arizona State at least 10 straight and I don't see it changing as ASU doesn't have much to create problems for the Cardinal.

 

[THE WIZZARD]

GREAT JOB TONIGHT.

HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THURSDAY BOARD YET, JUST GOT BACK IN.



GOOD LUCK AND KEEP THE HOT STREAK GOING.

WIZZ.

 

[ststrl]

Didn't ASU beat Stanford like 2 or 3 years ago at Wells Fargo? Rob Evans told an AZ Republic reporter that Stanford is a better team than UofA, so is it safe to expect Stanford to beat ASU by 38?

I like Stanford -6.5, and sure feel that though ASU will be more prepared than they were vs UofA, Stanford ML looks almost guarenteed.

 

[Nickelback]

LOL. . .I personally don't care what Rob Evans believes given how they looked against Arizona (as I'm sure you don't either)! Even though ASU lacks talent, they lack a good coach as well.

Couple things: ASU will match up better with Stanford because the Cardinal are not as fast as the Wildcats. Speed is what might kill the Cardinal on Saturday in the big game but against ASU, they are talented and well coached enough to find a way to beat Ike which is all they have to do.

Can't wait to see the line for Arizona/Stanford Arizona has gotten up for every big game this year and it won't change with a team that many believe are better than the Cats. If the game was at Stanford, I'd have to give them a solid edge, but Arizona takes the solid edge right back when the game is at McKale.

 

[gman2]

nickel:

on paper, fairfield is much better. in fact, theyre a GOOD team. but they look exhausted right now.

look at their brutal travel the last 2 weeks.

this is their sixth game in just 12 days.

all on the road.

3 games in 3 straight nights in hawaii.

then travel to madison square garden in new york

then to carolina to play duke.

then stay on the road and play 2 nights later in elon.

the fairfield AD or whomever made this schedule is one stupid son of a bitch.

i dont even think a pro team could perform well with this kind of ridiculous travel in a 2-week span, let alone a maac team.

elon sucks, but fairfield is running on fumes and it showed when they couldnt even stay within 40 with the duke walkons playing a handful of minutes late in that one. coach K tried to call the dogs off but stags couldnt keep it respectable

heck, maybe fairfield wins by 15. theyre capable of it. but seems like a dangerous spot. (6 gms in 12 days, all on the road including 3 in hawaii)

on a brighter note, i do like the tulsa play. theyre a dominant home team.

 

[ststrl]

Can't wait to see the line for Arizona/Stanford Arizona has gotten up for every big game this year and it won't change with a team that many believe are better than the Cats. If the game was at Stanford, I'd have to give them a solid edge, but Arizona takes the solid edge right back when the game is at McKale.

I 100% agree but look at the past. I think over the last 2 years Stanford is 2-0 @ McKale and we are 2-0 @ Maples. Should be an exciting game regardless.

 

[Nickelback]

Very good point Gman. . . question:

Did Fairfield keep their starters in for the entire 2nd half? I just don't think Fairfield gave a crap at the end of the Duke game. . . whether it was fatigue or not I'm not certain but yes they have played a lot of games. Still though, I can't see Elon doing anything to Gei even if he simply has to sit underneath the basket all game long

Your explanation though explains the low line and perhaps why the public is biting on it so hard. Its still only an average play. Always appreciate your input and I'll be sure not to get carried away with that one.

 

[gman2]

alright maac guys. does fairfield even have their own gym?
i just looked more into that fairfield schedule.

i thought the elon game would be the finale of a "6 games in 12 nights roadtrip".

theyve got three more road games AFTER this one before they play a home game.

what retard made this schedule? is their gym/arena being used for a circus or something?

fairfields last home game was 12/23/03
their next home game is 1/21/04

what the hell?

 

[Nickelback]

Arliss,

I'll have to look into that a little closer when the lines come out and the matchups are available.

 

[gman2]

nickel:

just goin by the gamecast, looks like fairfield's starters stayed in the game until there were about 4:00 left in the game. scrubs and walkons played the final 4:00.

so youre right, they didnt play until the final horn. still got some substantial minutes though. gai, thomson, and todd played 31,34,32 minutes respectively. i would assume maxwell only played 10 minutes because of fouls (4 PFs)

im still scratchin my head over the fairfield schedule.

another thing that scares me: its a non-conf game. if they were to ever rest guys, it might be this one (since they stay on the road to play 3 conference foes coming up).

elon looks pretty lame though. they played some big name teams (cincy, wake, xavier, georgetown) but were waxed in all 4.

 

[Nickelback]

Still though, I was kinda hoping that Fairfield staff emptied their bench a little earlier but four minutes helps. Hopefully Fairfield will take advantage of the matchup problems that Elon will have enough to take control early and win this with ease.

Like your points a lot Gman. . . hopefully others won't put too much on this game either way if they even decide to play it.

 

[GreyStreet]

Fairfield

Fairfield

Nickel,
Congrats on the big night last night, was looking at Iowa but I was looking at so many other games that I didn't have time to get to it. Great call with NC State as well, I had a feeling their athleticism would overwhelm plodding BYU.

As for Fairfield, the bad road schedule is a concern, BUT: before Duke, their game was in NYC against Michigan, not too far way from Fairfield. Before that, Fairfield played in a tourney in Honolulu. I doubt that was a trip the team was eager to get done with. Finally, Elon is a short bus drive away from Durham NC, where they played Duke. Considering they barely leave home during their last two months, it's not TOO brutal a schedule.

I think that, if this game is tight, Fairfield's ability to hit foul shots will be key. Fairfield shoots a very good 75% from the line, with their top three players in minutes shooting 76% (Gai), 88% (Todd), and 78% (Thomson). Obviously, if they are tired, those percentages will be affected, but the stats are encouraging.

As long as Fairfield isn't playing catch-up with under 3 minutes to go, you have to like the free-throw shooting factor. Just my two cents, this isn't the strongest play in the world, but I like Fairfield as the better team against a bottom feeder.

Grey

 

[Nickelback]

Things that make you go hmmmmm

Things that make you go hmmmmm

Over 80% consensus on UCLA yet Washington State has been hit from +1.5 all the way down to a pick :shrug:

For those of you thinking about laying down big on the Bruins, I'd think again as that line move is scary.

I do like the fact that Tulsa is up to 3.5. . . can't imagine the line coming back down but you never know. Overall the card just doesn't look that great to me. . . kinda like Tuesday.

Gl all. . . should be an interesting night

 

[gman2]

nickel:

any truth to ucla winning the last 12 meetings in this matchup? read it somewhere but didnt want to take it as truth w/o checking with the pac10 guys here.

 

[Nickelback]

Yeah, that appears to be the case even though I can only see the last 10 matchups but all won by UCLA. . . gotta figure the line move came from a high roller with some good information . . . just can't see Washington State winning this game but I'm not about to put my money out there against such a strange move.

 

[x2man]

Thank for the Big winners yesterday Nickelback
Good luck on today winners.

 

[Box and one]

G-man,you said...
"the fairfield AD or whomever made this schedule is one stupid son of a bitch. "

Ohhhhhhhh man.That hurt.The AD's name is Gene Doris.A great guy.He coached at my HS for yrs.In fact Timmy O'Toole the Fairfield coach also went to my high school.Timmy coached one of my players when he coached at west Point in the NY state Empire games.
But Gene was a great coach.He was Digger's asst. at Fordham.Then became the AD at Marist for yrs.Now he's envolved in the Fairfield scandal.
Gene is really a good guy.Funny as hell. A good friend.
But I think your right about the scheduling.That is a lot of games.But these kids will play all day and nite.And in the Duke game they played in neutral the last 20 minuts.
GL

 

[gman2]

box:

meant no harm to doris . what im more interested in knowing is how fairfield has a full one month in between home games. cant say ive ever seen anything quite like that