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Completed Picks​

Past Completed Picks
DateW-L-T%UnitsRecord
03/19/202313-23-036.11%-6150Detail
03/18/202310-18-035.71%-4900Detail
03/17/202315-16-148.44%-1300Detail
03/16/202315-17-046.88%-1850Detail
03/15/202310-10-050.00%-500Detail
03/14/202311-8-157.50%+1100Detail
03/12/20233-7-030.00%-2350Detail
03/11/202325-21-054.35%+950Detail
03/10/202339-33-054.17%+1350Detail
03/09/202354-53-450.45%-2150Detail
03/08/202335-33-251.43%-650Detail
03/07/202321-31-040.38%-6550Detail
03/06/20239-17-235.71%-4850Detail
03/05/202330-30-050.00%-1500Detail
03/04/202384-102-045.16%-14100Detail
03/03/202336-24-259.68%+4800Detail
03/02/202363-44-158.80%+7300Detail
03/01/202331-43-242.11%-8150Detail
 

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INDIANA ST is 17-4 ATS (12.6 Units) after 1 or more consecutive wins in the current season.

RICE is 8-0 Over (8 Units) after playing 2 consecutive games as an underdog in the current season.

SAN JOSE ST is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) in road games after 2 straight games with 12 or less assists over the last 2 seasons.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Monday, March 20


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NCAAB
Long Sheet

Monday, March 20


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E KENTUCKY (21 - 13) vs. INDIANA ST (23 - 12) - 3/20/2023, 12:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
INDIANA ST is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all games this season.
INDIANA ST is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
INDIANA ST is 28-16 ATS (+10.4 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
E KENTUCKY is 20-10 ATS (+9.0 Units) in all games this season.
E KENTUCKY is 20-10 ATS (+9.0 Units) in all lined games this season.
E KENTUCKY is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) when playing with one or less days rest this season.
E KENTUCKY is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
E KENTUCKY is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RICE (19 - 15) vs. SOUTHERN UTAH (23 - 12) - 3/20/2023, 2:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
RICE is 15-32 ATS (-20.2 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game after 15+ games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RADFORD (20 - 14) vs. SAN JOSE ST (21 - 13) - 3/20/2023, 4:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE ST is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all games this season.
SAN JOSE ST is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all lined games this season.
SAN JOSE ST is 8-2 ATS (+5.8 Units) as a favorite this season.
SAN JOSE ST is 17-7 ATS (+9.3 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE ST is 26-47 ATS (-25.7 Units) in March games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WI-MILWAUKEE (22 - 11) vs. CHARLOTTE (19 - 14) - 3/20/2023, 6:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CHARLOTTE is 19-35 ATS (-19.5 Units) in road games in March games since 1997.
CHARLOTTE is 78-115 ATS (-48.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLA ATLANTIC (33 - 3) vs. TENNESSEE (25 - 10) - 3/23/2023, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TENNESSEE is 35-24 ATS (+8.6 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
FLA ATLANTIC is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in non-conference games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

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Armadillo Sports

Monday’s 6-pack
Biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history
:
2023– FDU (+23.5) 63-58 over Purdue
2012— Norfolk State (+21.5) 86-84 over Missouri
2018— UMBC (+20.5) 74-54 over Virginia
1993— Santa Clara (+20) 64-61 over Arizona
1997— Coppin State (+18.5) 78-65 over South Carolina
2022— Saint Peter’s (+18) 85-79 over Kentucky

Quote of the Day
“I understand what this program is about. That’s what makes it what it is, and that’s why I tell players, it’s not for everybody because expectations are so high.”
John Calipari, talking about playing for Kentucky

Monday’s quiz
When Santa Clara upset Arizona in the 1993 NCAA’s, what future NBA star was playing for the Broncos?

Last Tuesday’s quiz
Last year was the last time a team lower than a #4 seed got to the Final Four; North Carolina was a #8-seed when they lost the national title game to Kansas.

Last Monday’s quiz
2015 was the last time three #1-seeds got to the Final Four.

**************************

Monday’s Den: Things I learned this week……..

Good to be back; the last 8-9 days were kind of cruddy, but things are better now, so we can begin again. Here are some things I learned in the last week:

College basketball:
— This year’s Sweet 16 contains teams from 11 different leagues:
3— SEC, Big East
2— Big X
1— from eight other leagues

— Miami’s win Sunday night saved the ACC from not having any teams in the Sweet 16; that, according to my records, hasn’t happened since the Field went to 64 in the mid-80’s.

— Princeton is first Ivy League team since Cornell in 2010 to make the Sweet 16; Tigers held Arizona/Missouri to 55-63 points, very impressive. Princeton never trailed against Missouri, which was kind of shocking; they play Creighton in the Sweet 16 Friday.

— #15 or #16-seeds who have made the Sweet 16:
2023— Princeton
2022— Saint Peter’s
2021— Oral Roberts
2013— Florida Gulf Coast

Had never happened until 2013, now it happened three years in a row. The game is changing.

— Teams are more fragile now; rosters are cobbled together every spring/summer, and the fiber of a team isn’t what it once was. Players transfer A LOT; so when practice starts in October, it takes a while to build some chemistry.

NCAA Selection Committee used to use “last 10 games” as a reason to choose/not choose a team for the tournament. Going back to that criteria wouldn’t be a bad idea; teams get on a roll at the right time, which is where Princeton is where they are.

— Purdue’s last three NCAA Tournaments:
2023— #1-seed, lost 63-58 to #16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in first round
2022— #3-seed, lost 67-64 to #15-seed Saint Peter’s in Sweet 16
2021— #4-seed, lost 78-69 in OT to #13-seed North Texas first round

Purdue had 7-4 Zach Edey this year, who is going to be really good in the NBA; in the last 12:00 against FDU, Edey took one shot. One freakin’ shot, against the shortest team in America.

Oy.

— Virginia’s last four NCAA tournaments:
2018— #1-seed, lost by 20 to #16-seed UMBC in the first round.
2019— #1-seed, won the national championship

2021— #4-seed, lost to #13-seed Ohio U in first round
2023— #4-seed, lost 68-67 to #13-seed Furman in first round

Talk about peaks and valleys. Jeez.

— Under went 20-4 in Friday/Saturday games; referees weren’t calling many fouls. Players have to play thru contact. Lot of times I watch games with no sound; you see a play, wait for players to stop and shoot foul shots, but not fouls are called. A ton of contact went uncalled this weekend.

— Tennessee flat-out intimidated Duke; they contested every step the Blue Devils took, the much-older Vols forced their will on Duke, pushed them all over the court. Filipowski had a cut under his left eye in the first 5:00 of the game— he probably needed 3-4 stitches afterwards.

This is what FAU coach Dusty May had to say about playing Tennessee next:
“We’re going to study Australian rugby rules and get ready for the Vols.”

— Big X made a lot of noise this this winter about how they were the best league and for the most part, they were, but their teams laid an egg this weekend, going 7-5 overall, 5-2 in first round, 2-3 in second round— only Kansas State, Texas are left. Not good enough.

Creighton played three starters 37:00+ in Denver’s high altitude, still shot 11-24 on the arc, scored 1.21 points/possession, in a fairly easy win. Ugly performance by Baylor’s defense.

— Arkansas is in the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row; surprised Eric Musselman is still the coach there. Thought a bigger $$$ school might’ve scooped him up by now.

— Apparently St John’s offered Rick Pitino their coaching job, which should attract a lot of the headlines early this week. Once Pitino decides, more coaching dominos will fall.

Coaching changes:
— Ole Miss hired former Texas coach Chris Beard.
— Georgia Tech hired former NBA player/Pacific coach Damon Stoudamire.
— Bowling Green hired former Southern Utah coach Todd Simon
— McNeese State hired former LSU coach Will Wade.
— Western Kentucky hired A&M-Corpus Christi coach Steve Lutz

Baseball:
— Jose Altuve is the best player on my fantasy team; he broke his thumb in the World Baseball thing this weekend, making this week even more joyous. Altuve will be out 8-10 weeks.

NFL:
— Rams traded DB Jalen Ramsey to Miami for a 3rd-round pick
— Buccaneers signed QB Baker Mayfield.
— Panthers signed WR Adam Thielen, QB Andy Dalton
— New England signed TE Mike Gesicki
— Colts signed K Matt Gay
— Eagles signed QB Marcus Mariota
— Colts signed QB Gardner Minshew
— Commanders signed QB Jacoby Brissett
— San Francisco signed QB Sam Darnold

Regular life:
— You can go online and order groceries and someone will bring them to your house; had no idea this was a thing, it isn’t that hard to get them yourself, but I utilized the service this week and it made things a lot better.

— Postponed today’s trip to Las Vegas, which sucks; UConn-Arkansas, UCLA/Gonzaga would have been great fun Thursday night, but now they’ll be fun to watch on TV. There will be other trips; have to start planning one.

— Red Gatorade is very good; I hadn’t had Gatorade in a long, long time, but I was told to drink a lot of fluids to avoid getting dehydrated, so Gatorade was it (some Vitamin Water, too, but that doesn’t taste as good).
 

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MONDAY, MARCH 20​

GameTime(ET)PickUnits
CHAR at MILW06:30 PMMILW +5.0
O 139.5
+500 +500
 

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Completed Picks​

Past Completed Picks
DateW-L-T%UnitsRecord
03/20/20231-1-050.00%-50Detail
03/19/202313-23-036.11%-6150Detail
03/18/202310-18-035.71%-4900Detail
03/17/202315-16-148.44%-1300Detail
03/16/202315-17-046.88%-1850Detail
03/15/202310-10-050.00%-500Detail
03/14/202311-8-157.50%+1100Detail
03/12/20233-7-030.00%-2350Detail
03/11/202325-21-054.35%+950Detail
03/10/202339-33-054.17%+1350Detail
03/09/202354-53-450.45%-2150Detail
03/08/202335-33-251.43%-650Detail
03/07/202321-31-040.38%-6550Detail
03/06/20239-17-235.71%-4850Detail
03/05/202330-30-050.00%-1500Detail
03/04/202384-102-045.16%-14100Detail
03/03/202336-24-259.68%+4800Detail
03/02/202363-44-158.80%+7300Detail
03/01/202331-43-242.11%-8150Detail
 

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Messages
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BEST BETS:

03/19........................................5 - 9..............................35.71%...............................-24.50
03/18........................................4 - 6..............................40.00%............. .................-13.00
03/17........................................4 - 5..............................44,44%............. ................- 7.50
03/16........................................3 - 4..............................42.85%............. .................- 7.00
03/15........................................3 - 1..............................75.00%............. . ...............+9.50
03/14........................................1 - 1..............................50.00%............. . ...............-.0.50

TOTALS;...............................20 - 26.............................43.47%............. . ...............-43.00
 

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Armadillo Sports

Tuesday’s 6-pack

Odds to win the NCAA Tournament:
7-2— Alabama
4-1— Houston
8-1— UCLA, Texas
9-1— UConn
10-1— Gonzaga, Creighton
12-1— Tennessee

Quote of the Day
“Japan advances, but the world of baseball won tonight.”
Mexico’s manager, Benji Gil

Tuesday’s quiz
Who was the last quarterback to start consecutive season openers for the Indianapolis Colts?

Monday’s quiz
When Santa Clara upset Arizona in the 1993 NCAA’s, Steve Nash was playing for the Broncos.

Last Tuesday’s quiz
Last year was the last time a team lower than a #4 seed got to the Final Four; North Carolina was a #8-seed when they lost the national title game to Kansas.

************************************************************************

Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..

Japan 6, Mexico 5— MLB gets what it wants, a US-Japan final in the World Baseball Classic. Japan trailed 5-3 in 8th inning, but scored twice in the 9th to walk it off in dramatic style.

All these games had lot of fans; lucrative event. Everyone seemed to have lot of fun, so in the long run, good for the sport.

I’ll be glad when it is Wednesday and we can point towards the 2023 regular season.

— Was watching this game and was reminded of an old Harry Caray story.

Harry Caray broadcast Cub games, was a total character; one day out of the blue, during a day game at Wrigley, he blurts out:

“Heyyyyyy!!!! Check out the guy in the som-brerrro” Sure enough, a guy in the Wrigley bleachers was having a cold Bud Light while wearing a sombrero.

Lot of people at Marlins Park had sombreros on Monday night. Harry would’ve been happy.

— Rick Pitino is the new basketball coach at St John’s; the 70-year old Pitino signed a six-year deal to return to the Big East. Red Storm hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000; that streak should end fairly soon.

— Ed Cooley bolts from Providence to Big East rival Georgetown; Cooley was 242-153 while the Friars’ coach, 118-99 in Big East games.

It is unusual to switch jobs within a conference, pretty much a slap in the face to the school that gets left behind; curious where Providence will look when they hire a new coach.

— St Francis (NY) announced it is dropping their entire athletics program in May; the Terriers played in the Northeast Conference- their last game was against Fairleigh Dickinson, the team that later upset Purdue in the NCAA’s, the biggest upset in tournament history.

The way this was done is BS; out of the blue, people losing their jobs, the people who made the decisions running for cover.

My cousin KL Wheat went to St Francis, ran track there; this is personal for him.

Maybe down the road the school will come to its senses and bring sports back, help make the school a little more visible. Sounds like they could use it.

— Memphis Grizzlies G Ja Morant got an 8-game suspensions for his off-court antics; Morant is making $12,119,440 this season.

8 games out of 82 is 9.75%, so his fine figures to work out to $945,316.32.

— Brutal bad beat if you bet Gonzaga (-4.5) vs TCU Sunday night; Zags made couple of foul shots with less than a second left to go up 6, but the TCU kid drained a 45-footer at the buzzer to get the backdoor cover.

If you’re in a casino at moments like that, it is fun to watch; some happy, some (very) unhappy people. If gambling was easy, those casinos wouldn’t have such big signs in front of them.

— Cuban baseball player Ivan Prieto Gonzalez defected from his home country after he didn’t board the team’s flight back to Havana on Monday following Cuba’s elimination in the WBC; Gonzalez was Cuba’s bullpen catcher during the tournament.

Gonzalez, 26, has played eight years in the Cuban National Series; he’s hit .291 with 13 home runs and 102 RBIs in 257 career games in his home country.

— This was my first NCAA Tournament with YouTube TV in my house; I give them a thumbs-up, which is promising for the upcoming NFL season. They did the screen with three or four games going on at once, which is a good screen to have. Navigating between channels is fairly simple.

— NBA’s Sacramento Kings are 43-28; this will be the Kings’ first winning season since 2006, a great coaching job by Mike Brown.

— If you like baseball prop bets, bet the over in base stealing props; get the feeling that tons of bases will be stolen this season, it is what MLB wants.

Bigger bases, rules against pickoffs, the pitch clock; it all points in that direction.

— Colorado Rockies are signing OF/IF Jurickson Profar to a one-year, $7.75M deal; Profar hit .243 with 15 homers for San Diego last year.

— Auburn Tigers have their Pro Day for NFL scouts today (Tuesday); one of the QB’s throwing there will be 34-year old Cam Newton, an Auburn alum and an NFL free agent. Newton last played in the NFL, going 0-5 in five games starting for Carolina.

— If you look at the Oakland A’s 40-man roster, they only have two players who were drafted by the Oakland A’s, which seems like a strange way of doing business.

All the good players they’ve drafted/developed have been traded off/sold because the ownership is too freakin’ cheap.

A’s are making noise about moving to Las Vegas; will someone build them a $500M retractable dome in the desert?

Before I agreed to build them a ballpark, we’d get it in writing that the cheap bastards are going to actually try to win ballgames, that’s for damn sure.

— NFL commish Roger Goodell is expected to get a multi-year contract extension at the league’s meetings next week; Goodell makes a boatload of $$$ and he earns it. Denver Broncos just got sold for $4.5B; the league is very profitable, and Goodell steers that ship.
 

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N TEXAS are 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) in road games after 3 straight games forcing opponent to commit 14 or less turnovers over the last...

E KENTUCKY is 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) when playing their 2nd game in 3 days in the current season.

WISCONSIN is 9-0 ATS (9 Units) in road games after 2 consecutive non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Tuesday, March 21


klfHHwb.png





NCAAB

Tuesday, March 21


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Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

North Texas @ Oklahoma State
North Texas
North Texas is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games on the road
North Texas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against North Texas
Oklahoma State is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing North Texas

Wisconsin @ Oregon
Wisconsin
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Wisconsin's last 7 games on the road
Wisconsin is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games on the road
Oregon
Oregon is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Oregon is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, March 21

NIT
North Texas @ Oklahoma State

— North Texas (19-16) ranked #37 by KenPom
— Tempo: #363
— Experience: #166
— Continuity: #137
— North Texas won 13 of its last 15 games.
— Mean Green is 4-4 against top 100 teams.
— North Texas is 11-2 outside Conference USA.
— Mean Green has #7 eFG% defense in country.
— Opponents are getting 23.6% of points on foul line (#354)
— North Texas’ schedule, to this point: #116
— bench minutes: #223
— North Texas’ best wins: 63-52/82-79 2OT over #49 UAB

— Oklahoma State (20-15) ranked #42 by KenPom
— Tempo: #166
— Experience: #78
— Continuity: #175
— Oklahoma State won four of its last five games.
— Oklahoma State is 4-12 against top 50 teams.
— Cowboys turn ball over 20.7% of time (#321)
— Cowboys have #245 eFG% in country.
— Opponents are shooting 44.7% inside arc (#10)
— Oklahoma State’s schedule, to this point: #8
— bench minutes: #54
— Oklahoma State’s best win: 67-60 over #18 West Virginia

Wisconsin @ Oregon
— Wisconsin (19-14) ranked #65 by KenPom
— Tempo: #342
— Experience: #239
— Continuity: #127
— Wisconsin won three of its last four games
— Badgers won 75-71 Sunday despite going 1-15 on arc.
— Wisconsin gets 36.1% of its points on arc (#42)
— Wisconsin is shooting 46.9% inside arc (#305)
— Badgers are 2-0 vs Pac-12 teams (60-50 Stanford/64-59 USC)
— Wisconsin’s schedule, to this point: #16
— bench minutes: #303
— Wisconsin’s best win: 80-77 in OT at #11 Marquette

— Oregon (21-14) ranked #38 by KenPom
— Tempo: #205
— Experience: #119
— Continuity: #138
— Oregon won six of its last seven games
— Ducks have #45 eFG% defense in country.
— Oregon is #44 team in country on offensive boards.
— Ducks are 12-12 against top 100 teams.
— Oregon is 7-6 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Oregon’s schedule, to this point: #28
— bench minutes: #73
— Oregon’s best win: 87-68 over #10 Arizona

CBI (@ Daytona Beach, FL)
Southern Utah vs Eastern Kentucky

— Southern Utah (24-12) ranked #107 by KenPom
— Tempo: #16
— Experience: #36
— Continuity: #115
— Southern Utah won five of its last six games
— Southern Utah only played 7 guys in Monday’s 81-79 win
— T-birds blew a 14-point lead with 5:27 left, but won at the end.
— T-birds have an interim coach; their coach bolted for a better job.
— Southern Utah gets 22% of its points on foul line (#21)
— Southern Utah’s schedule, to this point: #109
— bench minutes: #357
— Southern Utah’s best wins: 79-64/89-88 over #64 Utah Valley

— Eastern Kentucky (22-13) ranked #155 by KenPom
— Tempo: #44
— Experience: #191
— Continuity: #179
— EKU won four of its last five games
— EKU won overtime games the last two days.
— Colonels played all 5 starters 31:00+ the last two days.
— Colonels have #294 eFG% in country.
— EKU is 12-5 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— EKU’s schedule, to this point: #169
— bench minutes: #208
— EKU’s best win: 62-59 over #47 Liberty.

Charlotte vs Radford
— Charlotte (20-14) ranked #113 by KenPom
— Tempo: #362
— Experience: #178
— Continuity: #275
— Charlotte won six of its last nine games.
— Charlotte is 11-9 vs teams ranked in top 200.
— 49ers won last two days, giving up 56-65 points.
— 49ers are #17 team in country on defensive boards.
— Charlotte is shooting 37.7% on the arc (#19)
— Charlotte’s schedule, to this point: #165
— bench minutes: #232
— Charlotte’s best win: 54-42 over #36 Boise State

— Radford (21-14) ranked #165 by KenPom
— Tempo: #317
— Experience: #273
— Continuity: #315
— Radford won four of its last five games.
— Highlanders are forcing turnovers 20.3% of time (#64)
— Opponents are shooting 52.7% inside arc (#302)
— Radford is 1-5 vs teams ranked in top 150.
— Highlanders are 8-7 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Radford’s schedule, to this point: #258
— bench minutes: #35
— Radford’s best win: 67-57 over #97 San Jose State, yesterday
 

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NCAAB
Long Sheet

Tuesday, March 21


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N TEXAS (28 - 7) at OKLAHOMA ST (20 - 15) - 3/21/2023, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA ST is 47-28 ATS (+16.2 Units) when the total is 120 to 129.5 since 1997.
N TEXAS is 53-36 ATS (+13.4 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
N TEXAS is 53-36 ATS (+13.4 Units) in all lined games over the last 3 seasons.
N TEXAS is 54-30 ATS (+21.0 Units) when the total is 120 to 129.5 since 1997.
N TEXAS is 33-20 ATS (+11.0 Units) after allowing 60 points or less over the last 3 seasons.
N TEXAS is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
N TEXAS is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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WISCONSIN (19 - 14) at OREGON (21 - 14) - 3/21/2023, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OREGON is 95-57 ATS (+32.3 Units) in March games since 1997.
WISCONSIN is 10-1 ATS (+8.9 Units) in road games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
WISCONSIN is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
OREGON is 13-28 ATS (-17.8 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 over the last 2 seasons.
OREGON is 17-32 ATS (-18.2 Units) on Tuesday nights since 1997.
OREGON is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) after allowing 60 points or less this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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E KENTUCKY (22 - 13) vs. SOUTHERN UTAH (24 - 12) - 3/21/2023, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
E KENTUCKY is 21-10 ATS (+10.0 Units) in all games this season.
E KENTUCKY is 21-10 ATS (+10.0 Units) in all lined games this season.
E KENTUCKY is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) as an underdog this season.
E KENTUCKY is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) when playing with one or less days rest this season.
E KENTUCKY is 18-8 ATS (+9.2 Units) in non-conference games over the last 3 seasons.
E KENTUCKY is 14-5 ATS (+8.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
E KENTUCKY is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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RADFORD (21 - 14) vs. CHARLOTTE (20 - 14) - 3/21/2023, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CHARLOTTE is 21-13 ATS (+6.7 Units) in all games this season.
CHARLOTTE is 21-13 ATS (+6.7 Units) in all lined games this season.
CHARLOTTE is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) in non-conference games this season.
RADFORD is 8-2 ATS (+5.8 Units) in road games in non-conference games this season.
CHARLOTTE is 20-35 ATS (-18.5 Units) in road games in March games since 1997.
CHARLOTTE is 79-115 ATS (-47.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

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TUESDAY, MARCH 21​

GameTime(ET)PickUnits
UNT at OKST07:00 PMUNT +4.0
O 121.5
+500 +500
SUU at EKY07:00 PMSUU -4.0
U 152.0
+500 +500
CHAR at RAD09:00 PMCHAR -5.0
U 123.0
+500 +500
WIS at ORE09:00 PMWIS +3.0
O 131.5
+500 +500
 

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Armadillo Sports

Wednesday’s 6-pack

Highest paid college basketball coaches:
$8.1M— John Calipari, Kentucky
$6M— Bill Self, Kansas
$5.7M— Tom Izzo, Michigan State
$5.45M— Rick Barnes, Tennessee
$5.4M— Bruce Pearl, Auburn
$4.83M— Tony Bennett, Virgnia

Quote of the Day
“I’m so underpaid right now as far as my contract and what I contribute to the team, it’s like, I am relentlessly pursuing this. I want to get something long-term done. I want a team that wants me long term. I’m at the peak of my game, right? As long as I’m healthy, I’m gonna score you another 20 touchdowns. I’m gonna have, you know, another 1,600 all-purpose yards. I’m getting half my value of what I could be getting. I am relentlessly pursuing someone who wants me for the long term.”
Chargers’ RB Austin Ekeler

Wednesday’s quiz
What semi-famous actor played Richard Gere’s assistant in the movie, Pretty Woman?

Tuesday’s quiz
Andrew Luck in 2015-2016 was the last quarterback to start consecutive season openers for the Indianapolis Colts.

Monday’s quiz
When Santa Clara upset Arizona in the 1993 NCAA’s, Steve Nash was playing for the Broncos.

******************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings………

— Thanks to everyone who reached out last week during my absence; things are slowly getting back to normal. Appreciate your thoughts.

Japan 3, USA 2— Ohtani got a save; Japan used seven pitchers and they win the WBC.

From looks of things, the WBC was really lucrative; games were packed, fans were enthused, am guessing they made a boatload of $$$ selling merchandise.

Now, can we get on with the baseball season? Regular season games start in eight days.

— So you own the LA Angels; you pay Mike Trout $37M a year, Sandoval pitched really well for Mexico in the semi-finals and Ohtani is all anyone ever talks about. Pretty good nucleus right there.

So how come they haven’t been in the playoffs since 2014, haven’t won a playoff game since 2009? Ohtani is a free agent after this season; he’s going to get the biggest contract ever— it seems doubtful it’ll be in Anaheim.

So……..do the Angels trade him during the season, and if they do, what do they get back? Do they keep him this season and try to make the playoffs? Thing is, if they let him walk, they get bupkis in return— that is stuff cheap teams like the A’s usually do.

Other than the pennant races, this is going to be the #1 story this baseball season.

North Texas 65, Oklahoma State 59 OT— Cowboys went 15-25 on foul line at home, losing to a North Texas team that plays the slowest tempo games in America. Mean Green moves on to the NIT semi-finals in Las Vegas next week.

Wisconsin 61, Oregon 58— Badgers ended game on a 15-6 run, also move on to Las Vegas; a Wisconsin-North Texas semi-final game? Tempo #341 vs tempo #363, the total is going to be very low.

Eastern Kentucky 108, Southern Utah 106, 2OT— Quite a week for the Colonels, who’ve won three games in a row, all in overtime, and in this case, two overtimes. EKU was down 12 with 9:11 left in this game; they forced 22 turnovers (+13).

Charlotte 63, Radford 56— Maybe Conference USA needs better TV exposure; Charlotte is still playing, so are UAB and North Texas. Good teams and that is without mentioning the best of the group, Florida Atlantic.

— Wichita State hired Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills, who went 67-28 the last three years, making the Sweet 16 two years ago.

— Arizona State gave Bobby Hurley a 2-year contract extension, bad news for Pac-12 referees. Hurley is the whiniest coach I’ve ever seen; his Sun Devils went 23-13 this year, losing 72-70 to TCU after winning a First Four game.

— FDU coach Tobin Anderson is the new coach at Iona, replacing Rick Pitino; tough act to follow. Iona has been in eight of last 11 NCAA Tournaments.

— Former Notre Dame coach Mike Brey interviewed for the South Florida job, but said he’s going to take a year off and try his hand at TV instead.

— A union representing 30,000 Los Angeles school custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and support staff started a 3-day strike with support from the district’s teachers, effectively stopping classes for more than 500,000 students in the nation’s 2nd-largest school system.

Long time ago, September 1975, when I was a junior in high school, three schools around here had their teachers go on strike at the same time, three of the biggest schools.

First week or two of school, we would pass the teachers picketing by the school, we would wave to them from our bus, then we would go into school, go into class, and have a different teacher in every class every day. Teachers from the other two schools were the subs in our classes, trying to earn back some of the $$$ they were losing by being on strike. It was organized chaos.

Some of the kids we knew organized a walk-out in support of the teachers; they would storm out of school, march to the district offices in protest. Those were the kids who lived near the district offices; they were just skipping school, then walking home. My neighborhood was in the other direction, and it was hot out. No thanks.

Hopefully the situation in LA will get fixed; kids are trying to get ready for college, they need to get smarter. That year our teachers were on strike was a Regents’ year, an important year for grades and all that— the delay put us behind all the other kids that year.

— RIP to former Knicks’ great Willis Reed, who passed away Tuesday at age 80; Reed was an under-sized center with a terrific mid-range lefty jumper. He was the heart of the Knicks’ team that won NBA titles in 1970, 1973.

I was a little kid back then; my dad loved those Knicks, it was fun watching him watch the games. Few years ago in Las Vegas I got to meet Walt Frazier at the NBA Summer League, nicest guy you could meet.

Look up Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals on YouTube; Willis Reed was hurt pretty bad, but he hobbled onto the court, hit two jumpers early in the game and the Knicks pounded the Lakers— they were gods in the Big Apple back then. Willis Reed was the heart of that team. RIP, sir.
 

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VANDERBILT is 7-1 ATS (5.9 Units) after having won 4 of their last 5 games in the current season.

CINCINNATI is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in a home game where the total is 140 to 149.5 in the current season.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Wednesday, March 22


Aplt53I.png





NCAAB
Long Sheet

Wednesday, March 22


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UAB (27 - 9) at VANDERBILT (22 - 14) - 3/22/2023, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
VANDERBILT is 57-37 ATS (+16.3 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
VANDERBILT is 57-37 ATS (+16.3 Units) in all lined games over the last 3 seasons.
VANDERBILT is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in all tournament games over the last 3 seasons.
VANDERBILT is 21-11 ATS (+8.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 2 seasons.
VANDERBILT is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in home games after a non-conference game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UTAH VALLEY ST (27 - 8) at CINCINNATI (23 - 12) - 3/22/2023, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CINCINNATI is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all games this season.
CINCINNATI is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all lined games this season.
CINCINNATI is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in all home games this season.
CINCINNATI is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in home lined games this season.
CINCINNATI is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
CINCINNATI is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) in non-conference games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 23-9 ATS (+13.1 Units) in all games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 23-9 ATS (+13.1 Units) in all lined games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in road games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in road lined games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) on Wednesday games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) after scoring 80 points or more this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 16-4 ATS (+11.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games this season.
CINCINNATI is 143-196 ATS (-72.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, March 22

NIT
UAB @ Vanderbilt

— UAB (27-9) ranked #49 by KenPom
— Tempo: #31
— Experience: #5
— Continuity: #110
— UAB won 14 of its last 16 games.
— Blazers are 3-6 against top 100 teams.
— UAB is 11-2 outside Conference USA.
— Blazers have #58 eFG% defense in country.
— UAB is #8 team in country on offensive boards.
— UAB’s schedule, to this point: #134
— bench minutes: #165
— UAB’s best win: 86-77 over #22 Florida Atlantic

— Vanderbilt (22-14) ranked #80 by KenPom
— Tempo: #196
— Experience: #95
— Continuity: #113
— Vanderbilt won 12 of its last 14 games.
— Vanderbilt is 9-6 outside the SEC.
— Commodores are #308 team on defensive boards.
— Commodores are 6-7 against top 50 teams.
— Vanderbilt is 12-6 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Vanderbilt’s schedule, to this point: #33
— bench minutes: #56
— Vanderbilt’s best win: 66-65 over #6 Tennessee

Cincinnati @ Utah Valley
— Cincinnati (23-12) ranked #48 by KenPom
— Tempo: #114
— Experience: #31
— Continuity: #76
— Cincinnati won six of its last eight games
— Bearcats scored 79+ points in their last five wins.
— Cincinnati has #52 eFG% defense in country.
— Cincinnati split its last eight road games SU.
— Bearcats are 5-8 vs top 100 teams.
— Cincinnati’s schedule, to this point: #91
— bench minutes: #230
— Cincinnati’s best wins: 73-64/73-71 over #53 UCF

— Utah Valley (27-8) ranked #65 by KenPom
— Tempo: #43
— Experience: #142
— Continuity: #136
— Utah Valley won 11 of its last 13 games
— Wolverines get a home game; they won last two games on road.
— Utah Valley has #4 eFG% defense in country.
— Wolverines are 5-3 against top 100 teams.
— Rare national TV game for Utah Valley; big night for them.
— Utah Valley’s schedule, to this point: #108
— bench minutes: #270
— Utah Valley’s best win: 77-72 at #41 Oregon

CBI (@ Daytona Beach, FL)
Charlotte vs Eastern Kentucky

— Charlotte (21-14) ranked #111 by KenPom
— Tempo: #362
— Experience: #180
— Continuity: #275
— Charlotte won seven of its last ten games.
— Charlotte is 12-9 vs teams ranked in top 200.
— 49ers won three of last four days, giving up 56-65-56 points.
— 49ers are #21 team in country on defensive boards.
— Charlotte is shooting 37.5% on the arc (#23)
— Charlotte’s schedule, to this point: #159
— bench minutes: #268
— Charlotte’s best win: 54-42 over #36 Boise State

— Eastern Kentucky (23-13) ranked #148 by KenPom
— Tempo: #44
— Experience: #191
— Continuity: #179
— EKU won five of its last six games
— EKU won overtime games the last three days- double OT yesterday.
— Colonels played three starters 41:00+ yesterday,
— Colonels have #288 eFG% in country.
— EKU is 13-5 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— EKU’s schedule, to this point: #158
— bench minutes: #211
— EKU’s best win: 62-59 over #47 Liberty.




NCAAB

Wednesday, March 22


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UAB @ Vanderbilt
UAB
UAB is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 14 of UAB's last 18 games on the road
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Vanderbilt is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home

Cincinnati @ Utah Valley
Cincinnati
Cincinnati is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games on the road
Utah Valley
Utah Valley is 19-2 SU in its last 21 games at home
Utah Valley is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

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THURSDAY

KANSAS ST
is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) when playing only their 3rd game in a week over the last 2 seasons.

CONNECTICUT is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in road games after covering 4 of their last 5 against the spread in the current season.

FLA ATLANTIC is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) after 2 consecutive non-conference games in the current season.

GONZAGA is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) after 2 straight games forcing opponent to commit 11 or less turnovers in the last 3 seasons.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Thursday, March 23


GDJlfAB.png





NCAAB
Long Sheet

Thursday, March 23


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FLA ATLANTIC (33 - 3) vs. TENNESSEE (25 - 10) - 3/23/2023, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TENNESSEE is 35-24 ATS (+8.6 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
FLA ATLANTIC is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in non-conference games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MICHIGAN ST (21 - 12) vs. KANSAS ST (25 - 9) - 3/23/2023, 6:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
KANSAS ST is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all games this season.
KANSAS ST is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all lined games this season.
KANSAS ST is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 this season.
KANSAS ST is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS ST is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS ST is 17-7 ATS (+9.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARKANSAS (22 - 13) vs. CONNECTICUT (27 - 8) - 3/23/2023, 7:15 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ARKANSAS is 128-176 ATS (-65.6 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1997.
ARKANSAS is 45-69 ATS (-30.9 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 12-5 ATS (+6.5 Units) when the total is 140 to 149.5 this season.
CONNECTICUT is 21-12 ATS (+7.8 Units) as a favorite this season.
CONNECTICUT is 12-1 ATS (+10.9 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
CONNECTICUT is 12-1 ATS (+10.9 Units) in non-conference games this season.
ARKANSAS is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) in road games in non-conference games this season.
ARKANSAS is 29-16 ATS (+11.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GONZAGA (30 - 5) vs. UCLA (31 - 5) - 3/23/2023, 9:45 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GONZAGA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in road games after a non-conference game this season.
GONZAGA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in road games in non-conference games this season.
GONZAGA is 8-16 ATS (-9.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
UCLA is 20-12 ATS (+6.8 Units) as a favorite this season.
GONZAGA is 40-22 ATS (+15.8 Units) in road games after allowing 80 points or more since 1997.
UCLA is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
UCLA is 1-1 against the spread versus GONZAGA over the last 3 seasons
GONZAGA is 2-0 straight up against UCLA over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22​

GameTime(ET)PickUnits
CIN at UVU09:00 PMCIN +2.0
O 148.5
+500 +500
 

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Completed Picks​

Past Completed Picks
DateW-L-T%UnitsRecord
03/22/20230-2-00.00%-1100Detail
03/21/20235-3-062.50%+850Detail
03/20/20231-1-050.00%-50Detail
03/19/202313-23-036.11%-6150Detail
03/18/202310-18-035.71%-4900Detail
03/17/202315-16-148.44%-1300Detail
03/16/202315-17-046.88%-1850Detail
03/15/202310-10-050.00%-500Detail
03/14/202311-8-157.50%+1100Detail
03/12/20233-7-030.00%-2350Detail
03/11/202325-21-054.35%+950Detail
03/10/202339-33-054.17%+1350Detail
03/09/202354-53-450.45%-2150Detail
03/08/202335-33-251.43%-650Detail
03/07/202321-31-040.38%-6550Detail
03/06/20239-17-235.71%-4850Detail
03/05/202330-30-050.00%-1500Detail
03/04/202384-102-045.16%-14100Detail
03/03/202336-24-259.68%+4800Detail
03/02/202363-44-158.80%+7300Detail
03/01/202331-43-242.11%-8150Detail
 

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Wednesday’s 6-pack
Highest paid college basketball coaches:
$8.1M— John Calipari, Kentucky
$6M— Bill Self, Kansas
$5.7M— Tom Izzo, Michigan State
$5.45M— Rick Barnes, Tennessee
$5.4M— Bruce Pearl, Auburn
$4.83M— Tony Bennett, Virgnia

Quote of the Day
“I’m so underpaid right now as far as my contract and what I contribute to the team, it’s like, I am relentlessly pursuing this. I want to get something long-term done. I want a team that wants me long term. I’m at the peak of my game, right? As long as I’m healthy, I’m gonna score you another 20 touchdowns. I’m gonna have, you know, another 1,600 all-purpose yards. I’m getting half my value of what I could be getting. I am relentlessly pursuing someone who wants me for the long term.”
Chargers’ RB Austin Ekeler

Wednesday’s quiz
What semi-famous actor played Richard Gere’s assistant in the movie, Pretty Woman?

Tuesday’s quiz
Andrew Luck in 2015-2016 was the last quarterback to start consecutive season openers for the Indianapolis Colts.

Monday’s quiz
When Santa Clara upset Arizona in the 1993 NCAA’s, Steve Nash was playing for the Broncos.

****************************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings………

— Thanks to everyone who reached out last week during my absence; things are slowly getting back to normal. Appreciate your thoughts.

Japan 3, USA 2— Ohtani got a save; Japan used seven pitchers and they win the WBC.

From looks of things, the WBC was really lucrative; games were packed, fans were enthused, am guessing they made a boatload of $$$ selling merchandise.

Now, can we get on with the baseball season? Regular season games start in eight days.

— So you own the LA Angels; you pay Mike Trout $37M a year, Sandoval pitched really well for Mexico in the semi-finals and Ohtani is all anyone ever talks about. Pretty good nucleus right there.

So how come they haven’t been in the playoffs since 2014, haven’t won a playoff game since 2009? Ohtani is a free agent after this season; he’s going to get the biggest contract ever— it seems doubtful it’ll be in Anaheim.

So……..do the Angels trade him during the season, and if they do, what do they get back? Do they keep him this season and try to make the playoffs? Thing is, if they let him walk, they get bupkis in return— that is stuff cheap teams like the A’s usually do.

Other than the pennant races, this is going to be the #1 story this baseball season.

North Texas 65, Oklahoma State 59 OT— Cowboys went 15-25 on foul line at home, losing to a North Texas team that plays the slowest tempo games in America. Mean Green moves on to the NIT semi-finals in Las Vegas next week.

Wisconsin 61, Oregon 58— Badgers ended game on a 15-6 run, also move on to Las Vegas; a Wisconsin-North Texas semi-final game? Tempo #341 vs tempo #363, the total is going to be very low.

Eastern Kentucky 108, Southern Utah 106, 2OT— Quite a week for the Colonels, who’ve won three games in a row, all in overtime, and in this case, two overtimes. EKU was down 12 with 9:11 left in this game; they forced 22 turnovers (+13).

— Charlotte 63, Radford 56— Maybe Conference USA needs better TV exposure; Charlotte is still playing, so are UAB and North Texas. Good teams and that is without mentioning the best of the group, Florida Atlantic.

— Wichita State hired Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills, who went 67-28 the last three years, making the Sweet 16 two years ago.

— Arizona State gave Bobby Hurley a 2-year contract extension, bad news for Pac-12 referees. Hurley is the whiniest coach I’ve ever seen; his Sun Devils went 23-13 this year, losing 72-70 to TCU after winning a First Four game.

— FDU coach Tobin Anderson is the new coach at Iona, replacing Rick Pitino; tough act to follow. Iona has been in eight of last 11 NCAA Tournaments.

— Former Notre Dame coach Mike Brey interviewed for the South Florida job, but said he’s going to take a year off and try his hand at TV instead.

— A union representing 30,000 Los Angeles school custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and support staff started a 3-day strike with support from the district’s teachers, effectively stopping classes for more than 500,000 students in the nation’s 2nd-largest school system.

Long time ago, September 1975, when I was a junior in high school, three schools around here had their teachers go on strike at the same time, three of the biggest schools.

First week or two of school, we would pass the teachers picketing by the school, we would wave to them from our bus, then we would go into school, go into class, and have a different teacher in every class every day. Teachers from the other two schools were the subs in our classes, trying to earn back some of the $$$ they were losing by being on strike. It was organized chaos.

Some of the kids we knew organized a walk-out in support of the teachers; they would storm out of school, march to the district offices in protest. Those were the kids who lived near the district offices; they were just skipping school, then walking home. My neighborhood was in the other direction, and it was hot out. No thanks.

Hopefully the situation in LA will get fixed; kids are trying to get ready for college, they need to get smarter. That year our teachers were on strike was a Regents’ year, an important year for grades and all that— the delay put us behind all the other kids that year.

— RIP to former Knicks’ great Willis Reed, who passed away Tuesday at age 80; Reed was an under-sized center with a terrific mid-range lefty jumper. He was the heart of the Knicks’ team that won NBA titles in 1970, 1973.

I was a little kid back then; my dad loved those Knicks, it was fun watching him watch the games. Few years ago in Las Vegas I got to meet Walt Frazier at the NBA Summer League, nicest guy you could meet.

Look up Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals on YouTube; Willis Reed was hurt pretty bad, but he hobbled onto the court, hit two jumpers early in the game and the Knicks pounded the Lakers— they were gods in the Big Apple back then. Willis Reed was the heart of that team. RIP, sir.
 

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Thursday’s 6-pack
Highest paid NFL coaches:
$20M— Bill Belichick
$18M— Sean Payton
$15M— Pete Carroll
$14M— Sean McVay
$12.5M— Mike Tomlin
$12M— Andy Reid/John Harbaugh

Quote of the Day
“You get to choose how you respond.”
Virginia coach Tony Bennett, after losing to Furman in the NCAA’s

Thursday’s quiz
The first time Rick Pitino coached in the NCAA Tournament, what team was he coaching?

Wednesday’s quiz
Jason Alexander (George Costanza on Seinfeld) played Richard Gere’s assistant in the movie, Pretty Woman.

Tuesday’s quiz
Andrew Luck in 2015-2016 was the last quarterback to start consecutive season openers for the Indianapolis Colts.

****************************************************

Thursday’s Den: Nine memorable NCAA games, plus my four all-time favorite games

Here are nine of my most memorable NCAA Tournament games, in no particular order, followed by my four all-time favorite tournament games:

Memorable games:
2017 Final Four— I’m in Las Vegas, watching the Final Four with a friend of mine who has a boatload of money on Oregon (+4) vs North Carolina. I’m not going to tell you how much $$$ he had on Oregon, but it was more than $10,000 (I saw the ticket).

I’m a nickel/dime bettor, total small-timer; this was a different world. I remember sitting there munching on Doritos watching the game, I seemed more nervous than he was. Oregon loses but covers, losing 77-76. My friend was very casual about the whole thing.

He also bet the underdog in the other game, but a lot less $$, South Carolina vs Gonzaga and he won that bet too. If I won that much money I’d be strutting around like Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine but serious gamblers are smart and take things in stride.

Funny thing about that night: it was the only time in the last 35 years that both favorites won at the Final Four, but neither one covered the spread.

2016— Yale 79, Baylor 75— It is fun seeing people you know coaching on TV; Yale coach James Jones went to college at Albany, couple of years behind me. He was a good ballplayer, but he is a great coach. Other than Pete Carril, he is the best coach in Ivy League history, and it was a lot of fun to see his team pull a big upset against a basketball blue blood.

2023— Marquette 78, Vermont 61— Same deal here; friend of mine is an assistant coach with Marquette- they had a great season this year. I’m hoping that some D-I program comes to its senses in the next few weeks and gives him a head coaching job. He’s earned it.

1989— Georgetown 50, Princeton 49— This was back when ESPN had the tournament; Bob Ley was the studio host and Dick Vitale did the analysis. Georgetown was a power back then; they were a 22-point favorite in this game, but they were life-and-death against Princeton.

At halftime, Dickie V says that if Princeton wins, he’ll stand on his head on the ESPN set; it was classic TV, totally unscripted. It was hilarious, but Georgetown escaped by a point, and America took a great sign of relief that no one was standing on his head on live TV.

1998— Valparaiso 70, Ole Miss 69— Scott Drew is the Baylor coach; brother Bruce is the coach at Grand Canyon- their father Homer Drew coached Valparaiso for a long time.

His full-court out of bounds play (to Bryce Drew, I think) got Valpo a walk-off win in this game. To this day, that play is still used all over America. One of the best-ever endings to a tournament game.

2023— Furman 68, Virginia 67— Furman hadn’t made the NCAA’s since 1980, hadn’t won a tournament game since 1974; they made couple foul shots with 0:12 left to pull within 67-65, then the Virginia player tries a full-court pass to kill the clock, but it gets picked off, and Furman sticks a 3 from the right-wing with 0:02 left to pull a very unlikely upset.

The camera shot of CBS’ play-by-play guy Kevin Harlan calling all this, then holding his arms out after the game-winning shot, so neither of his analysts says anything to ruin the moment, was just great to see.

2019— Murray State 83, Marquette 64— Back when I was still picking games on this blog, I took the over in this game, Ja Morant against a Big East team. Game was 42-35 at halftime, a good pace, but then Marquette scored 9 freakin’ points in the first 10:00 of second half and when they fell behind, they refused to press Murray State, and lost meekly to a freakin’ OVC team and the game fell several points under. Had they pressed, Murray State would have hung 90-100 points on them.

I laugh about it now, but that night in my living room, I was NOT HAPPY; probably lucky I didn’t have a damn stroke. How could a Big East team quit against an OVC team? To this day, when I see that fraud Steve Wojciechowski in ESPN”s studio stealing money, it makes my blood boil. Anyway, that night is a big part of why I don’t pick games much anymore.

2016— National title game, Villanova-North Carolina, I’m sitting in the Westgate SuperBook having a Cherry Coke and some pizza. The guy next to me is a younger guy who says he has a lot of money on Villanova and the under. We strike up a conversation but he is very nervous as the game comes down the stretch. Things get quiet.

Kid of North Carolina makes a tough shot to put UNC ahead and puts the game over the total; the guy next to me ain’t happy, but then Villanova hits a shot at the buzzer to win the national title and get the guy a split on his bets.

Never seen someone so happy to break even.

2010— I’m at the MGM Grand sportsbook for the first Saturday of the tournament; me and apparently every Kansas fan west of the Rockies. Jayhawks were a #1-seed, a big favorite over Northern Iowa. Ton of people wearing blue/red in the MGM Grand.

Game is early on, some kid makes a shot— the three young guys next to me start hugging each other. I ask one of them “Is that your brother? Why are you so happy?”

I had no idea you could bet on which team got to 15 points first; that obscure basket won the guys their bet and they were celebrating.

Anyway the game goes on and go figure, Northern Iowa hits a shot from the corner at the end and upsets Kansas, big upset. Lot of sad people were walking around, wearing blue/red.

My four all-time favorite NCAA Tournament games:
2006— When the brackets came out, I went on a local radio show here in Albany and gave my quick thoughts on what would happen. I had decided that Northwestern State would upset Iowa in a #3-14 game and I said so on the radio. Fairly bold prediction.

As luck would have it, Northwestern State does pull the upset, winning 64-63. Now that was a fun day.

1990— Loyola Marymount 111, New Mexico State 90— During the WCC tournament, LMU’s star Hank Gathers collapsed and died on the court during a game. It was horrible; they called off the tournament, and LMU got the automatic bid because they finished first.

When the brackets came out 8-9 days later, LMU had the very last time slot in the first round, the midnight Friday game on CBS. Their opponent was New Mexico State, a team that would run with the hyper-fast breaking Lions, coached by Paul Westhead.

Back then, I picked games in the Albany newspaper and I had done very well that year; I really wanted to risk my entire (fictional) bankroll on LMU in his game— there was no way they were losing this game. I didn’t risk my bankroll, just made the normal pick, but I tried to impress that upon the readers. LMU was going to win.

LMU’s Bo Kimble shot his first free throw lefty, in honor of his fallen friend, but Kimble also had four fouls at halftime, and the game was tied. I was queasy about my pick, but LMU exploded in the second half, won by 21, then won two more games in one of the most famous runs in NCAA history. That team was so much fun to watch.

1990— Jerry Tarkanian’s Rebels dispatched LMU in the West Region final, then they played Duke in the national title game, and they crushed Duke, 103-73. Then the weasel from the NCAA had to hand Tarkanian the national championship trophy, after they had harassed the guy for years (NCAA later wrote Tarkanian a $2.5M check to settle a dispute).

Sweet 16 of the West Region is being played in Las Vegas tonight, 33 years after that great night. The NCAA embraces Las Vegas now because more than anything, they love making money.

1974—NC State 80, UCLA 77, 2OT— When Michael Jordan was growing up, his favorite player was David Thompson, a great player for NC State. I was a big Wolfpack fan; friend of my parents lived in Raleigh, and he told me all about Thompson. I used to listen to their games on the radio on WBT in Charlotte.

UCLA beat the Wolfpack in December; this was when Bill Walton was a senior- they had won seven national titles in a row. Every kid in my school who liked basketball was a UCLA fan, except for me; the rematch in the Final Four.

UCLA led by 7 in overtime, but State rallied and won, then beat Marquette in the national title game and I was hooked for life on college basketball.

Dunking was illegal back then in college ball, which is a tribute to how great a player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was. Had Thompson been able to dunk, we would have some amazing highlights to watch on YouTube these days.
 

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NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, March 23

NCAA Tournament
Michigan State vs Kansas State (@ MSG)

— Michigan State (21-12) ranked #24 by KenPom
— Tempo: #303
— Experience: #140
— Continuity: #107
— Michigan State won seven of its last ten games.
— Last 20 years, Michigan State is 6-3 in Sweet 16 games.
— Spartans have #69 eFG% defense in country.
— Spartans are 9-5 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Michigan State is 5-8 vs teams ranked in top 40.
— Michigan State’s schedule, to this point: #5
— bench minutes: #248
— Michigan State’s best win: 69-60 over #11 Marquette

— Kansas State (25-9) ranked #21 by KenPom
— Tempo: #41
— Experience: #30
— Continuity: #316
— K-State won six of its last eight games.
— K-State allowed 76+ points in seven of its nine losses.
— Last 20 years, Wildcats are 2-0 in Sweet 16 (2010/2018)
— K-State is 8-6 vs teams ranked in top 40.
— Wildcats force turnovers 20.8% of time (#52)
— K-State’s schedule, to this point: #21
— bench minutes: #324
— K-State’s best win: 116-103 at #5 Texas.

— This is the first #3-7 matchup in this round in four years.
— Last 10 years, #7-seed is 3-2 vs #3-seed in this round.

Arkansas vs UConn (@ Las Vegas)
— Arkansas (22-13) ranked #18 by KenPom
— Tempo: #50
— Experience: #263
— Continuity: #333
— Arkansas won three of its last four games.
— Arkansas was in Elite 8 each of last two years.
— Hogs have #24 eFG% defense in country.
— Hogs are forcing turnovers 20.3% of time (#63)
— Arkansas is 5-6 ATS as an underdog this season.
— Arkansas’ schedule, to this point: #19
— bench minutes: #297
— Arkansas’ best win: 72-71 over #9 Kansas.

— UConn (21-14) ranked #4 by KenPom
— Tempo: #213
— Experience: #115
— Continuity: #248
— UConn won 11 of its last 13 games.
— Huskies beat two mid-majors (Iona/Saint Mary’s) to get here.
— UConn is 1-5 in games decided by 6 or less points.
— UConn is in Sweet 16 since 2014, when Kevin Ollie was coach.
— Hurley is 2-3 in NCAA games; this is his first Sweet 16.
— UConn’s schedule, to this point: #35
— bench minutes: #216
— UConn’s best win: 82-67 over #2 Alabama

— Last 15 years, #8-seeds are 3-3 SU in Sweet 16 games.
— Last five years, #4-seeds are 3-9 SU in Sweet 16, 1-2 if favored.

Florida Atlantic vs Tennessee (@ MSG)
— Florida Atlantic (33-3) ranked #22 by KenPom
— Tempo: #143
— Experience: #148
— Continuity: #24
— FAU won its last nine games.
— FAU gave up 80-86-74 points in its three losses.
— Owls split pair of games vs SEC TY (loss to Ole Miss/beat Florida)
— Owls have #15 eFG% defense in country, #25 eFG% offense
— FAU is 7-1 against top 100 teams.
— FAU’s schedule, to this point: #125
— bench minutes: #15
— FAU’s best win: 50-46/66-62 over #32 North Texas

— Tennessee (25-10) ranked #6 by KenPom
— Tempo: #278
— Experience: #131
— Continuity: #114
— Last 14 games: 0-7 if they allow 60+ points, 7-0 if they allow less than 60
— Tennessee won five of its last seven games.
— Last 20 years, Vols are 1-5 in Sweet 16 games.
— Since 1997, Barnes is 3-4 in Sweet 16 games (0-1 since ’08)
— Barnes is 3-17 ATS in his last 20 NCAA tourney games.
— Tennessee’s schedule, to this point: #38
— bench minutes: #29
— Tennessee’s best win: 68-59 over #2 Alabama

— Will refs let Tennessee play as aggressively as they did vs Duke?
— Last five years, #4-seeds are 3-9 SU in Sweet 16, 1-2 if favored.

Gonzaga vs UCLA (@ T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas)
— Gonzaga (30-5) ranked #7 by KenPom
— Tempo: #40
— Experience: #44
— Continuity: #18
— Gonzaga won its last eleven games.
— Last 7 tournaments, Gonzaga is 4-3 in Sweet 16 games.
— Zags are shooting 58.7% inside arc (#2), 38.4% on arc (#10)
— Zags have #245 eFG% defense.
— Gonzaga is 0-2 ATS as an underdog this year.
— Gonzaga’s schedule, to this point: #58
— bench minutes: #314
— Gonzaga’s best win: 100-90 over #2 Alabama

— UCLA (31-5) ranked #3 by KenPom
— Tempo: #245
— Experience: #107
— Continuity: #150
— UCLA won 11 of its last 12 games.
— Since 2009, Bruins are 1-4 in Sweet 16 games.
— In his career, Cronin is 1-2 in Sweet 16 games.
— UCLA forces turnovers 23.4% of time (#11)
— Bruins are 31-5 this year, but 2-3 in T-Mobile Arena
— UCLA’s schedule, to this point: #42
— bench minutes: #237
— UCLA’s best win: 82-73 over #10 Arizona.

— Gonzaga beat UCLA 93-90 in OT in national semi-finals two years ago.
— Last eight years, favorites are 4-4 ATS in #2-3 seed games in this round.
— Last 10 years, #2-seeds are 7-4 SU vs #3-seeds in this round
— Both teams played their conference tournament in Las Vegas two weeks ago.




NCAAB

Thursday, March 23


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Trend Report
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Gonzaga @ UCLA
Gonzaga
Gonzaga is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing UCLA
Gonzaga is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing UCLA
UCLA
UCLA is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Gonzaga
UCLA is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Gonzaga


All other matchups showing "No trends to report"


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THURSDAY, MARCH 23​

GameTime(ET)PickUnits
MSU at KSU06:30 PMMSU -1.0
O 138.5
+500 +500
ARK at CONN07:15 PMARK +3.5
U 140.0
+500 +500
FAU at TENN09:00 PMFAU +5.0
O 129.5
+500 +500
GONZ at UCLA09:45 PMGONZ +1.0
U 145.0
+500 +500
 

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