sherwood
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- Sep 21, 2004
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Y-T-D 48-35-1 (+20.84 units)
Notre Dame –1.10 over PROVIDENCE (12:00 PM)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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One thing we can almost be certain about here is that this game can go one of two ways. The first way is that the Irish open up a lead and cruise to victory. The second way is that it remains close throughout and whoever executes better down the stretch wins. Either way works for us as the Friars have not shown an ability to close out games and that has a way of working negatively on the psyche of the team. Providence is 1-10 in the league and has some work to do to avoid the school's worst 16-game record (3-13 in 1985). The Friars' inability to win close games has become epidemic. Seven of PC's 11 conference losses have come by five points or less and their coming off a double OT loss to UConn in a game they had plenty of chances to close out. The Friars have lost 10 of their past 12 games and will be facing an Irish team that has faced a slew of powers over their past seven games. In fact, Notre Dame, over its past seven, has opposed Georgetown twice, sandwiched between five games versus ranked schools, Villanova, UConn, Syracuse, Boston College and Pittsburgh. Remember, this Irish team was on the bubble last year and with virtually the same team, is likely to be on the bubble again this year. They were left out last year and this group is extremely motivated to not suffer the same fate. This Fighting Irish team owns a 15-7 record (7-5 Big East) and has the chance to either sail into the tourney or put itself in jeopardy again. A win here would lock up at least a .500 conference mark, an achievement that could be enough to get the job done. Notre Dame has not looked a bit out of place against some of the nations best teams and we just can’t imagine them not bringing it all today and disposing of this inferior foe. Play (#703) Notre Dame –1.10 (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o></o>
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Ohio +4 over DETROIT (4:00 PM)<o></o>
We get a rather sweet price here on the Bobcats due to the 20-point shellacking Akron hung on them in their last outing. Fact is, this Ohio team is simply the better team here and should not be receiving anything, let alone 4 points. This is a non-conference tilt as Detroit plays in the Horizon League and Ohio plays in the MAC. With an 8-6 record, Ohio is tied with Kent State for third place in the tough Mid-American Conference East Division, trailing the pacesetters from Miami of Ohio by three games. All five OU starters average more than nine points per game and they’ve already beaten one Horizon League team this year. Detroit has not played a single good team all year with the exception of an early season 17-point loss to Cincinnati. Of the 24 games they’ve played only six of them have been against teams ranked higher then 100th in the country. In those six games they’ve compiled a 2-4 record. They’re 10-14 overall, which indicates that they’re 8-10 against teams ranked lower than 100. The Titans have been decent at home, however, they’ve faced every marshmallow possible and with the Bobcats coming off that embarrassing loss, we’ll expect them to get right back on track here heading for the homestretch. The MAC is a much tougher conference than the Horizon and any points here are significant. An outright win by this intruder is highly probable. Play: (#827) Ohio +4 (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o></o>
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MINNESOTA –2½ over Ohio St. (5:00 PM)<o></o>
The Gophers have dropped three straight while the Buckeyes have won six of their past seven and as a result of all that we get a very beatable number here on the host. Frankly, we’re just not down with this Buckeye squad, whose wins have been frequent recently but unimpressive all the same. Prior to winning six of seven over mediocre competition (Penn St. twice, Northwestern, Purdue, Michigan, and Indiana), the Buckeyes dropped four in a row. One of those losses was at home to this same Gopher squad and now their asked to switch venues and beat this host minus third leading scorer, Matt Sylvester, suspended for one game because of unsportsmanlike conduct toward a fan in last week's loss at Michigan State. The Buckeyes have one notable win all year and that came well over a month ago against Iowa. Their 18-8 record is one of the more misleading won/loss records in the nation and on the road they’re a miserable 3-6. The three wins came at Houston, Texas Tech and Northwestern. The Gophers, after three straight losses, will go back to what they do best and that’s play defense. With just four games remaining this one is absolutely crucial if the Gophers hope to get to the big dance. Four victories would give the Gophers a 10-6 Big Ten record and 20 regular-season victories, two significant benchmarks. Since the Big Ten went to a 16-game schedule, no team with 10 victories has been left out. In addition, since the NCAA tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1985, only three schools from the top six conferences have failed to get in after recording 20 or more victories. The Gophers are 13-3 at home and two of the losses have come against ranked foes, Alabama and Michigan St. The other loss was by one point to Florida St early in the year. They recently beat the Badgers at home by 10 and any effort close to resembling that one gets us to the cashier’s window. Ohio St is missing a key player here and come in as one of the most over-rated schools in the land. Play: (#748) Minnesota –2½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o></o>
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Pepperdine +8½ over St. MARY’S (10:00 PM)<o></o>
The Waves are playing very decent ball over their past few games and with just one game remaining after this one, you know they’ll bring it all. Pepperdine played both No. 20 Gonzaga and Santa Clara this week and went 1-1, losing to Gonzaga by seven and beating Santa Clara on the road as six point pups in OT. The Waves hosted these same Gaels on Jan. 22 and lost by 12 points. However, that was than and this is now. At the time Pepperdine was not playing well but things have since changed. All of the Gaels past five games have been extremely close and while they went 3-2 over that stretch, they could have just as easily gone 0-5. They’re coming off a one-point home win over Loyola Marymount, they just beat Portland by one also and in the first game of the aforementioned five, they beat Portland at home by just four. The two losses came against the same two that Pepperdine just played, Gonzaga and Santa Clara. The Gaels are an impressive 21-7 and they’ve had a great year, however, as the year has gone on this team is showing real signs of fading while the Waves appear to be gaining steam. Just a tad too many points to be spotting Pepperdine and we’ll gladly endorse riding this Wave. Play: (#809) Pepperdine +8½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).
Notre Dame –1.10 over PROVIDENCE (12:00 PM)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o> One thing we can almost be certain about here is that this game can go one of two ways. The first way is that the Irish open up a lead and cruise to victory. The second way is that it remains close throughout and whoever executes better down the stretch wins. Either way works for us as the Friars have not shown an ability to close out games and that has a way of working negatively on the psyche of the team. Providence is 1-10 in the league and has some work to do to avoid the school's worst 16-game record (3-13 in 1985). The Friars' inability to win close games has become epidemic. Seven of PC's 11 conference losses have come by five points or less and their coming off a double OT loss to UConn in a game they had plenty of chances to close out. The Friars have lost 10 of their past 12 games and will be facing an Irish team that has faced a slew of powers over their past seven games. In fact, Notre Dame, over its past seven, has opposed Georgetown twice, sandwiched between five games versus ranked schools, Villanova, UConn, Syracuse, Boston College and Pittsburgh. Remember, this Irish team was on the bubble last year and with virtually the same team, is likely to be on the bubble again this year. They were left out last year and this group is extremely motivated to not suffer the same fate. This Fighting Irish team owns a 15-7 record (7-5 Big East) and has the chance to either sail into the tourney or put itself in jeopardy again. A win here would lock up at least a .500 conference mark, an achievement that could be enough to get the job done. Notre Dame has not looked a bit out of place against some of the nations best teams and we just can’t imagine them not bringing it all today and disposing of this inferior foe. Play (#703) Notre Dame –1.10 (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o
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></o>Ohio +4 over DETROIT (4:00 PM)<o
></o>We get a rather sweet price here on the Bobcats due to the 20-point shellacking Akron hung on them in their last outing. Fact is, this Ohio team is simply the better team here and should not be receiving anything, let alone 4 points. This is a non-conference tilt as Detroit plays in the Horizon League and Ohio plays in the MAC. With an 8-6 record, Ohio is tied with Kent State for third place in the tough Mid-American Conference East Division, trailing the pacesetters from Miami of Ohio by three games. All five OU starters average more than nine points per game and they’ve already beaten one Horizon League team this year. Detroit has not played a single good team all year with the exception of an early season 17-point loss to Cincinnati. Of the 24 games they’ve played only six of them have been against teams ranked higher then 100th in the country. In those six games they’ve compiled a 2-4 record. They’re 10-14 overall, which indicates that they’re 8-10 against teams ranked lower than 100. The Titans have been decent at home, however, they’ve faced every marshmallow possible and with the Bobcats coming off that embarrassing loss, we’ll expect them to get right back on track here heading for the homestretch. The MAC is a much tougher conference than the Horizon and any points here are significant. An outright win by this intruder is highly probable. Play: (#827) Ohio +4 (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o
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></o>MINNESOTA –2½ over Ohio St. (5:00 PM)<o
></o>The Gophers have dropped three straight while the Buckeyes have won six of their past seven and as a result of all that we get a very beatable number here on the host. Frankly, we’re just not down with this Buckeye squad, whose wins have been frequent recently but unimpressive all the same. Prior to winning six of seven over mediocre competition (Penn St. twice, Northwestern, Purdue, Michigan, and Indiana), the Buckeyes dropped four in a row. One of those losses was at home to this same Gopher squad and now their asked to switch venues and beat this host minus third leading scorer, Matt Sylvester, suspended for one game because of unsportsmanlike conduct toward a fan in last week's loss at Michigan State. The Buckeyes have one notable win all year and that came well over a month ago against Iowa. Their 18-8 record is one of the more misleading won/loss records in the nation and on the road they’re a miserable 3-6. The three wins came at Houston, Texas Tech and Northwestern. The Gophers, after three straight losses, will go back to what they do best and that’s play defense. With just four games remaining this one is absolutely crucial if the Gophers hope to get to the big dance. Four victories would give the Gophers a 10-6 Big Ten record and 20 regular-season victories, two significant benchmarks. Since the Big Ten went to a 16-game schedule, no team with 10 victories has been left out. In addition, since the NCAA tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1985, only three schools from the top six conferences have failed to get in after recording 20 or more victories. The Gophers are 13-3 at home and two of the losses have come against ranked foes, Alabama and Michigan St. The other loss was by one point to Florida St early in the year. They recently beat the Badgers at home by 10 and any effort close to resembling that one gets us to the cashier’s window. Ohio St is missing a key player here and come in as one of the most over-rated schools in the land. Play: (#748) Minnesota –2½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o
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></o>Pepperdine +8½ over St. MARY’S (10:00 PM)<o
></o>The Waves are playing very decent ball over their past few games and with just one game remaining after this one, you know they’ll bring it all. Pepperdine played both No. 20 Gonzaga and Santa Clara this week and went 1-1, losing to Gonzaga by seven and beating Santa Clara on the road as six point pups in OT. The Waves hosted these same Gaels on Jan. 22 and lost by 12 points. However, that was than and this is now. At the time Pepperdine was not playing well but things have since changed. All of the Gaels past five games have been extremely close and while they went 3-2 over that stretch, they could have just as easily gone 0-5. They’re coming off a one-point home win over Loyola Marymount, they just beat Portland by one also and in the first game of the aforementioned five, they beat Portland at home by just four. The two losses came against the same two that Pepperdine just played, Gonzaga and Santa Clara. The Gaels are an impressive 21-7 and they’ve had a great year, however, as the year has gone on this team is showing real signs of fading while the Waves appear to be gaining steam. Just a tad too many points to be spotting Pepperdine and we’ll gladly endorse riding this Wave. Play: (#809) Pepperdine +8½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).
al watts
