sherwood
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- Sep 21, 2004
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Boston College –2½ over Milwaukee/Wisc (2:30 PM)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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There’s no doubt that the Panthers are a dangerous team. They shoot the ball extremely well and when they get hot from beyond the arc, like they have on many occassions this year, they’re even more dangerous. A win over the Crimson Tide has instantly given them more credibility and many are calling for them to pull another upset. A win here wouldn’t be as big an upset according to the point-spread, however, according to us, it would be much bigger. The Tide limped into the tournament and we’re ripe to get beat, the Eagles aren’t nearly as ripe. All season, Boston College's critics have talked about a soft schedule being responsible for the Eagles' 20-0 start and then, ultimately, a No. 3 national ranking. We’re not buying that for a minute. B.C. is an extremely focused bunch that features almost the exact same team that got knocked out in the second round last year by Georgia Tech. The same fate isn’t likely as the Eagles admittedly went into last year’s game a little over-confident. There’s no danger of that here as that lesson was learned. Instead, the Eagles will come out with the same swagger they showed early in the year and in the first round when they crushed the Quakers. The Panthers may an edge from the perimeter but they’re going to have to hit them. Fact is, the Eagles have a huge edge inside and last season's second-round loss still stings. The Eagles continue to feel disrespected despite this year's lofty heights. In short, they have a lot to play for and we doubt that this Panther squad, made up of mostly transfers and juniors, is going to end their run. Play: Boston College –2½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o></o>
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West Virginia +9½ over Wake Forest (5:00 PM)<o></o>
It’s been said that a wise man learns from his mistakes and a man that doesn’t is considered a fool. Well, if you haven’t learned anything about laying big points in this tournament than you might be in that latter category. Win or lose, the Mountaineers are a tough out for any team including the Deacons. Wake live and die with Chris Paul and at this stage, relying on one guy to carry you has never been very successful. Don’t get us wrong, the Deacons are a very good team and some have picked them to go all the way, however, they struggled against the Mocs and only 22 turnovers by Chattanooga allowed Wake to pull away. West Virginia got off to a terrific start to the year going 10-0 but than the roof caved in by losing seven of their next nine. Since than, however, the Mountaineers have won 10 of 13 and that includes wins over B.C, Villanova and Pittsburgh twice. Wake has gotten off to slow starts on more than a few occasions this year and when you’re asked to spot the opposition 9½ points bad starts are not conducive to covering. This is simply too many points to be spotting a very confident Mountaineer team that is presently at the top of their game. Play: West Virginia +9½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o></o>
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Oklahoma –4½ over Utah (12:40 PM)<o></o>
We said it before the dance began and will repeat it again. We believe the Utes to be a very average team that will be on a plane home sooner rather than later and will be booking their flight about 3:00 PM. Utah is a one-dimensional team with one standout player and that can be easily exploited by good teams like the Sooners. Forget all the stats when looking at this match-up. Utah’s stats may be slightly better as far as FG percentage, points allowed per game, rebounds per game, etc, but what those stats don’t tell you is that Utah played in a conference that had zero good teams. Of course their stats are going to be flattering, they played a bunch of cupcakes all year and while they were beating up on Wyoming, Colorado St., San Diego St., BYU and Air Force, the Sooners were compiling a 25-7 record against the likes of Oklahoma St, Texas Tech, Kansas, Texas, Iowa St, not to mention non-conference games against Duke, UConn, Washington and Minnesota. The Utes went 28-5 during the season and not surprisingly, four of the five losses occurred against, yes, you guessed it, tournament teams, Washington, New Mexico (twice), and Arizona. The other loss came against Utah St, the only other team in the conference that was even considered remotely talented. Utah did not beat a single tournament team all year and the Sooners are certainly not going to be its first. Sooners are peaking at the right time and the Utes will get exposed here for what they are. Play Oklahoma –4½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).
Cincinnati +1.30 over Kentucky (8:10 PM)
The first red flag here is that the line came out a little too small and it’s not because the oddsmakers came out with a “soft” number. They knew that the books would get pounded with Wildcat money and that’s precisely what they wanted to happen. Amazingly enough, these two teams, separated by just 85 miles haven’t faced one another in 14 years. Even more interesting is that CBS decided to make this game its prime time affair and what that means is that’s it’s going to attract even more action than the others. The point being, is that the linesmakers had to be especially sharp with this line because of all the attention it will get, and already has. Kentucky opened as a 1½-point favorite, has been bet up to 3 in some places and will likely get to 3½ by game time. Bog Huggins Bearcats is as tough as nails and defensively, they just might be the best the NCAA’s has to offer. The problem is the offense, which disappears at times and the Bearcats fall behind. However, Cinci looked real sharp in its win in round one and when you have a defense as good as this one it can take you a long way. This is actually a very good match-up for Cinci because the Wildcats aren’t even close to being one of the more talented teams left in the tourney. The real key to the 'Cats is the backcourt. When freshman Rajon Rondo is confidently penetrating on offense and disrupting on defense and junior Patrick Sparks is making shots, Kentucky is tough to beat. When those two can be contained, Kentucky is vulnerable. The Bearcats defense can contain anyone and we just believe this is not the best match-up for Kentucky and if any team has a chance of opening up a nice lead, it’s not the Wildcats. Play Cincinnati +1.30 (Risking 0.8 units) Play Cincinnati +3 (Risking 0.88 units to win 0.8).
fficeffice" /><o></o>There’s no doubt that the Panthers are a dangerous team. They shoot the ball extremely well and when they get hot from beyond the arc, like they have on many occassions this year, they’re even more dangerous. A win over the Crimson Tide has instantly given them more credibility and many are calling for them to pull another upset. A win here wouldn’t be as big an upset according to the point-spread, however, according to us, it would be much bigger. The Tide limped into the tournament and we’re ripe to get beat, the Eagles aren’t nearly as ripe. All season, Boston College's critics have talked about a soft schedule being responsible for the Eagles' 20-0 start and then, ultimately, a No. 3 national ranking. We’re not buying that for a minute. B.C. is an extremely focused bunch that features almost the exact same team that got knocked out in the second round last year by Georgia Tech. The same fate isn’t likely as the Eagles admittedly went into last year’s game a little over-confident. There’s no danger of that here as that lesson was learned. Instead, the Eagles will come out with the same swagger they showed early in the year and in the first round when they crushed the Quakers. The Panthers may an edge from the perimeter but they’re going to have to hit them. Fact is, the Eagles have a huge edge inside and last season's second-round loss still stings. The Eagles continue to feel disrespected despite this year's lofty heights. In short, they have a lot to play for and we doubt that this Panther squad, made up of mostly transfers and juniors, is going to end their run. Play: Boston College –2½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o
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></o>West Virginia +9½ over Wake Forest (5:00 PM)<o
></o>It’s been said that a wise man learns from his mistakes and a man that doesn’t is considered a fool. Well, if you haven’t learned anything about laying big points in this tournament than you might be in that latter category. Win or lose, the Mountaineers are a tough out for any team including the Deacons. Wake live and die with Chris Paul and at this stage, relying on one guy to carry you has never been very successful. Don’t get us wrong, the Deacons are a very good team and some have picked them to go all the way, however, they struggled against the Mocs and only 22 turnovers by Chattanooga allowed Wake to pull away. West Virginia got off to a terrific start to the year going 10-0 but than the roof caved in by losing seven of their next nine. Since than, however, the Mountaineers have won 10 of 13 and that includes wins over B.C, Villanova and Pittsburgh twice. Wake has gotten off to slow starts on more than a few occasions this year and when you’re asked to spot the opposition 9½ points bad starts are not conducive to covering. This is simply too many points to be spotting a very confident Mountaineer team that is presently at the top of their game. Play: West Virginia +9½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o
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></o>Oklahoma –4½ over Utah (12:40 PM)<o
></o>We said it before the dance began and will repeat it again. We believe the Utes to be a very average team that will be on a plane home sooner rather than later and will be booking their flight about 3:00 PM. Utah is a one-dimensional team with one standout player and that can be easily exploited by good teams like the Sooners. Forget all the stats when looking at this match-up. Utah’s stats may be slightly better as far as FG percentage, points allowed per game, rebounds per game, etc, but what those stats don’t tell you is that Utah played in a conference that had zero good teams. Of course their stats are going to be flattering, they played a bunch of cupcakes all year and while they were beating up on Wyoming, Colorado St., San Diego St., BYU and Air Force, the Sooners were compiling a 25-7 record against the likes of Oklahoma St, Texas Tech, Kansas, Texas, Iowa St, not to mention non-conference games against Duke, UConn, Washington and Minnesota. The Utes went 28-5 during the season and not surprisingly, four of the five losses occurred against, yes, you guessed it, tournament teams, Washington, New Mexico (twice), and Arizona. The other loss came against Utah St, the only other team in the conference that was even considered remotely talented. Utah did not beat a single tournament team all year and the Sooners are certainly not going to be its first. Sooners are peaking at the right time and the Utes will get exposed here for what they are. Play Oklahoma –4½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).
Cincinnati +1.30 over Kentucky (8:10 PM)
The first red flag here is that the line came out a little too small and it’s not because the oddsmakers came out with a “soft” number. They knew that the books would get pounded with Wildcat money and that’s precisely what they wanted to happen. Amazingly enough, these two teams, separated by just 85 miles haven’t faced one another in 14 years. Even more interesting is that CBS decided to make this game its prime time affair and what that means is that’s it’s going to attract even more action than the others. The point being, is that the linesmakers had to be especially sharp with this line because of all the attention it will get, and already has. Kentucky opened as a 1½-point favorite, has been bet up to 3 in some places and will likely get to 3½ by game time. Bog Huggins Bearcats is as tough as nails and defensively, they just might be the best the NCAA’s has to offer. The problem is the offense, which disappears at times and the Bearcats fall behind. However, Cinci looked real sharp in its win in round one and when you have a defense as good as this one it can take you a long way. This is actually a very good match-up for Cinci because the Wildcats aren’t even close to being one of the more talented teams left in the tourney. The real key to the 'Cats is the backcourt. When freshman Rajon Rondo is confidently penetrating on offense and disrupting on defense and junior Patrick Sparks is making shots, Kentucky is tough to beat. When those two can be contained, Kentucky is vulnerable. The Bearcats defense can contain anyone and we just believe this is not the best match-up for Kentucky and if any team has a chance of opening up a nice lead, it’s not the Wildcats. Play Cincinnati +1.30 (Risking 0.8 units) Play Cincinnati +3 (Risking 0.88 units to win 0.8).
