Kojak's Elite 8 Killers

[Kojak]

Coming off of a great night with 2 huge winners with Michigan St. at a 25 unit winner and the play of the year of Villanova as a 100 unit winner. I see some great value on the Elite 8 as well.

Albequerque Regional Final: Louisville -8.5 vs West Virginia....This Cardinal team is on a mission and it will come on Saturday. West Virginia lives and dies by the 3 but they have yet to face a team that plays defense in this tournament (Creighton, Wake Forest, Texas Tech). Well one thing is for sure is that the Cardinals play Top 10 defense have size and depth at every position and have a coach that knows how to win in these situations. Mountaineers have had a nice 3 week run but it will come to a screeching halt on Saturday.
Louisville -8.5 (15 units) Louisville/West Virginia under 142 (7 units)

Chicago Regional Final: Arizona +5 vs Illinois....Illini have yet to face a top team from a power conference in this tournament. In fact they have not faced a team as good as Arizona all year. Arizona present too many matchup problems for Illini. They have a proven coach in Lute, a deeper more athletic bench, too much frontline size, and guards that are equal in talent to Illini. Home Court advantage will keep this one close for Illini but problem in the end is that their offense is not good enough to keep up with Wildcats. I expect the su upset in this one in a fairly high scoring affair.
Arizona +5 (25 units), Arizona/Illini over 146 (10 units)

Syracuse Regional Final: North Carolina -11 vs Wisconsin....Talk about a mismatch. Wisconsin's only chance is to get Tarheels to play their boring ugly style of play and even then, the deep talented team of UNC will wear them out in the end. Wisky may be able to keep it close for a half but no chance after that. Respect run Badgers and Coach Ryan have had but simply put they have no chance in this one. I will be shocked if they cover this one as well.
North Carolina -11 (25 units) , UNC/Wisky over 139 (5 units)

Austin Regional Final: Michigan St. +1 vs Kentucky....This may be the best game of this round. Spartans and Wildcats are close in a lot of areas from coaching to depth to defense, etc but two differences in the end. Kentucky's inconsistent offense coupled with outstanding Spartan free throw shooting will get Spartans by in a close one.
Michigan St. +1 (10 units), Michigan St./Kentucky under 134 (15 units)

Best of luck to everyone and enjoy the rest of the tournament.

 

[Kojak]

Adding 5 units to Illini/Arizona over so now a total of 15 units

 

[da_bean]

Every year they tell us the big ten is down.. and yet again we represent with three teams in the elite eight.. hmmm we must really suck

""" Chicago Regional Final: Arizona +5 vs Illinois....Illini have yet to face a top team from a power conference in this tournament. In fact they have not faced a team as good as Arizona all year. Arizona """

 

[thekid]

Just a thought. Ill is virtually playing a HOME game. Tough to play against them in this spot.

 

[freaknasty+]

Kojak- I completely agree with you on Louisville and Arizona. These two teams are playing the best ball in the tournament. Remember Arizona beat a great Ok St. team that would have pushed Illinois to the edge. W.Virginia will run out of gas in this one, they have played valiantly but their run is over. Lets make some cash. :drink:

 

[Coast2Coast]

Great stuff, Kojak. Big Ten may not get much respect nationally due to the eastern media bias, but Zona and the Pac Ten get even less. Have we ever seen a guy who shot 51% from trey (as Salim Stoudemire has this season) get so little national love? Zona guards match up pretty well with the Illini...and the Frye-Augustine matchup could likely determine the winner of this game. And the coaching matchup is interesting. Lute has been trashed by some on this board as a "bad" coach, yet all the guy does is get his team in the big games like this one every few years. He brings a lot more big game experience to this one than Weber does. I'm not saying Weber is a bad coach -- far from it. He has brought this team together and has them playing above their talent. It's just that this is his FIRST game of this magnitude. And in the only game this year that went down to the final possession, the Illini lost. Illini have been a great team, but winning and coaching at crunch time is the one unproven part of their game. They likely could show they know how to coach and win at crunch time and win this game as they are supposed to do....but I'll be with ya with the 5 points and also will have a piece on the ML. Arizona Good luck.

 

[Kojak]

For those that are on Illinois, keep this is mind. I live 2 hours from Champaign and are a big 10 fan. I have seen this team play something like its last 13 games. I am not disrespecting Illinois and in fact for the people around here would not mind seeing them win but realistically they simply have not been the same team for a month now and have gotten by. They can't just get by today. If do not have their A game on offense in this one, they could get beat by a lot. Imo they have to score high 70 to low 80's to win this one. If Dee Brown, Luther Head, and Deron Williams don't all 3 come to play they will be in trouble. If Illinois wins today, it will be less than spread, you can count on it but simply put, I think their season ends today. Best of luck.I will make a prediction that Illini will face their first double digit deficit of the year today. Call it a hunch!

 

[ProphetablePicks]

Kojak, I am on Az with you! good luck.

 

[Kojak]

prophetable,

Arizona is too talented for Illini and much more consistent offensively. If Illini can get Zona to play ugly may have better chance but even Zona can play ugly and win as see Wash St. and Marquette. Should be a great game. Best of luck.!

 

[mrpotter1]

Arizona could not even win the very overrated Pac-10. Illinois swept Mich st. and Wisc. this year(both elite 8 teams). I agree that Ariz. win over Ok st was a good one, but those games are not the norm for this team. Illinois is better top to bottom and in my oppinion is better coached. gl to everyone. Somebody has to win!!!!!

 

[Kojak]

Mr. Potter,

I agree that Illini has proven to play well as a team but have to disagree on some of your points. First, they are not better coached. Until Weber wins National Title, makes final four, or wins 700 games, he will not be better than Weber. For one season, maybe but coaching is over the course of time which Olson has proven. Second, Illini is not better from top to bottom. Illini probably does not have any first round draft picks or lottery picks while Arizona has at least 3 with Stoudamire, Frey, and Adams. Their bench is deeper, more athletic, and more offensive than Illini's. Brown who is Illini's best player is not consistent offensively, nor is Williams though consistent dishing, and Head. Brown even did not score two games ago and even scored less than 5 in 2 straight Big 10 tournament games. Simply put, Arizona is more talented, has the more seasoned coach who has been in these situations, and the by far the deeper more talented team. I love Weber being a Purdue alum but he still has to prove it on national stage and for more than 1 season. Illini might win as they play as a team better than anyone and the sum of the parts may be more than the talent in this one, but Illini will have to have A game with everyone clicking to win here. What they have proven is they have not had everyone clicking at same time for over a month with last game as the closest. Let's see what happens today but I think Illini's bubble will burst today! Good luck.

 

[mrpotter1]

Kojac, you make some good points but let's not forget about Weber putting SIU on the map. I believe it was in this same tourney that his SIU squad defeated a Texas Tech team coached by non other than Bobby Knight. I think we both would agree that he is a better coach than Lute Olson. The thing i like about ILL. is that when Dee Brown didn't score two games ago the rest of the team picked him up. I don't think that Arizona could win a game that either Stoudemire or Frey did not score in. That was my reasoning behind saying they were deeper. GL to you. I have always respected your oppinions. Go Cards!!!!

 

[Illini]

Sorry, but guards are not even close in talent. Don't know how you came up with that. Home court will be unbelieveable in this, as the Illini fans bought up all of the other tickets from Ok St and UW-Mil fans. You are too high on AZ, they just don't measure up to what you make them to be. Great teams don't lose to Wash St at home. Illinois wins the game and covers. And I will drink one beer for every point they win by. I'll be trashed by the end of the night.

 

[winbet]

I havent a clue on the Teams, but I know when I see Sheep starting to line up.:drink: Long live the exchanges.

 

[Kojak]

mr. potter and Illini,

At least we all agree on the Cardinals! Anyway Illini, in 2 years we will see who is still playing basketball and who is not as Stoudamire,Adams, and Shakur will still be playing in NBA with other 3 Illini likely out of NBA or overseas. In regards to homecourt, they have had it the entire tournament and still looked so so vs F.Dickinson, Nevada, and Wisc Milwaukee. This debate will only be settled on the court as I hope you don't have too much money with your heart with this one. If Illini win, they won't cover. Best of luck to both of you and lets hope our Cardinals dominate and finish the job in October!

 

[Kojak]

mr. Potter and Illini,

Don't forget where those SIU games were played here in Chicago with a home court advantage vs Georgia and Texas Tech. Too many people playing up home court in this one. Not being played at United Center where Illini have dominated but at Allstate Arena. In fact, big difference as Allstate has much better background for shooters which favors Arizona. Should be a classic upset!

 

[viking611]

Agree...Go CARDS!! and Shakur announced he will enter draft but not sign an agent...Can't imagine how scary this AZ team would be if Igoudala hadn't left early. They would be unbelievable! That kid is a stud. Proving it in his rook year in the NBA.

 

[Kojak]

Viking,

I has posted earlier this month that not only do Cards repeat, they will have an even bigger margin of victory this year. Cards are on a mission and with injuries to Cubs pitchers and Bonds out for half season, we look even stronger. Only fear Braves and Marlins pitching but big weakenesses on Braves hitting and Marlins bullpen. Like our chances again!

 

[FairWarning]

Kojak - don't forget the Padres.

 

[Kojak]

Fair Warning,

I agree Padres can no longer be considered a sleeper with Bonds out, though they still have offensive issues with new ballpark that must be overcome. They should be solid and in contention.