Kojak's Thursday College Hoops including Game of the Month Play (14-5-1 with 2 pending for Wed)

[Kojak]

With 2 plays pending, 14-5-1 on Wednesday bringing wtd to 24-10-2 for a nice recovery from a terrible weekend. Will be playing fewer games than the 22 on Wednesday as not much value on today's card.

Cleveland St. +9 - Two of the worst in the Horizon hook up in this one. This game reminds me of the Baylor/Texas A & M game last night. I look for a tight game where Cleveland St. should have chance to pull out in the end.(loss)

Arizona St. -5.5 - Arizona St. snapped out of a season long funk by winning at Oregon. I look for more of the same in this one as Ike overpowers Cougars to get the win.(loss)

San Francisco -2.5- I see the Dons playing an inspired game in this one and should win comfortably.

Utah State -14- This one has blow out written all over it.

Oregon +4- Ducks and Bears have disappointed down the stretch. I think Oregon will be the one that bounces back in this one and wins as Luke Jackson has big game.

Utep/La Tech over 141- This will be an up and down game with little to no defense. Should cover by 15 + Pts.(push)


Game of the Month:

Washington +15 and Moneyline- Arizona has not been great of late while Washington still trying to solidify bid to dance. They have played better than all the contenders for the bid and if they can sweep the next 2 weekends vs Arizona, Arizona St., Stanford, and Cal which is a tall task, they may go dancing. We will just start with upset in Tuscon.(win)(win)

Best of luck.

[This message was edited by Kojak on February 26, 2004 at 11:32 PM.]

 

[Kojak]

A couple of leans I may add tomorrow include:

Tenn Martin -4(push)

Arkansas Little Rock +3(win)

SMU -1(loss)

[This message was edited by Kojak on February 26, 2004 at 11:32 PM.]

 

[STALLIONSPORTS]

gl my friend, i like that arizona state game

 

[Kojak]

stallion sports,

Best of luck on your Wright St. play as I was looking at that game but UIC is playing well right now and unwilling to lay that many either so for me it is a no play but lean to UIC. Best of luck as I hope you win!

 

[Kojak]

Just calculated ytd at 325-285-13 with wtd 25-11-2 and Wed at 15-6-1.

 

[Kojak]

I have not seen a 1st half line on the game yet but will add....

Gonzaga 1st half

 

[fastfreddy]

Reference your game of the month, you might want to hedge with over as AZ may get 90 plus against the Husky defense. I don't know what the total is but can see this one hitting 175-180. GL

 

[jaypaw]

holy crap thats a lot of plays on the year...


GL today.

 

[jaypaw]

I am starting to come around on that Washington play.

How many games of the month do you have generally? Just one a month?

 

[Kojak]

fastfreddy,

I saw the over on Arizona/Washington at 178 which to me is way too high to roll the dice on as too many things have to happen just right to hit that total. Best of luck.

 

[Kojak]

jaypaw,

I rarely maybe 4 or 5 times stand a game out this year. Year to date I have had 3 of the games going 2-1. Glad to see you are warming up to the idea of Washington. Best of luck.

 

[jaypaw]

I just wanna know about the rumor...

Then I'll pound washington


possibly even if its not true

 

[Kojak]

I am basing my post on that it is not true. If it is it will be a bonus as game opened at 13.5 and had jumped to 15. Now is the time to buy as if rumor is true, game will drop below opening line.

 

[jaypaw]

cool - I'll possibly get in a buy points - either way I cant see zona killing them but I guess its happened before...

 

[Kojak]

I don't know if I convinced you to bet Kentucky yesterday but it was real easy winning by 32 pts. As I said, Tennessee is a dog with fleas on the road.

 

[Kojak]

jaypaw,

Washington beat Arizona by 13 points earlier this year. I just can't see a 28 pt + turnaround in this one. Washington's guards are too good to get blown out. After performance against NC State who is a better team than Arizona imo, Washington covers this handily.

 

[jaypaw]

You actually had me convinced on Kentucky yesterday but you know me by now probably - I hate betting favorites when the number gets over 10 in almost all cases. Yesterday was a case where I was totally convinced KY would cover but I still couldn't bring myself to do it.

I did use kentucky in a 4 team 10 pt tease that won...

Regarding the margin of victory swing - i totally agree with you. However it is at Zona, and theres always that chance that the team could buckle down here and start kicking some ass. I believe they have the talent - but they cant seem to get their crap together. A bunch of knuckle heads really.

However - I recall the last few years this team down the stretch always loses motivation - Lute doesnt care about the conference tourney, all he cares about it the big dance.

 

[Kojak]

jaypaw,

I will say that Arizona has won like the last 6 games at home by over 20 + points each so they have been playing well at home as last poor performance at home was a loss to Stanford. All of those wins were against inferior opponents though. Washington needs the game more than Zona.

 

[jaypaw]

Men's Hoops: Revenge On Cats' Minds Tonight


By Brett Fera
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Print this

Stoudamire's status against UW questioned

As the UA men's basketball team prepared for tonight's home matchup with Washington, rumors arose on Internet message boards regarding Salim Stoudamire's status with the team.

Stoudamire denied rumors late last night that he would not be playing for at least part of the tilt with the same Husky team that upset the Wildcats, 96-83, in Seattle last month.

"No, I haven't heard any rumors," the junior shooting guard said as he left McKale Center.

Stoudamire is Arizona's (17-7, 9-6 Pacific 10 Conference) leading scorer this season, averaging 16.8 points per game.

Assistant coach Josh Pastner deferred all questions to associate head coach Jim Rosborough, who said the team would have no comment on Stoudamire's status until today.

The rumors were reported just after 2 p.m. yesterday on goazcats.com, a self-described "totally unofficial UofA fan site."

The possible suspension could force Arizona to play at least part of the game with just a six-man rotation. Utility guard Chris Rodgers would most likely be inserted into the starting lineup in place of Stoudamire.

Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar said earlier this week he expected the Wildcats to have a different look, but for an entirely different reason: the Wildcats' return to McKale Center, where they have lost just once all season.

"At McKale, (Arizona) is an entirely different team," Romar said of the No. 17 Wildcats, back home for their final three regular-season games, beginning tonight. "They're going to be much tougher."

The Wildcats have won five of six home games this season, opposed to their 4-4 record on the road.

With second place in the Pac-10 potentially at stake and the Wildcats once again reeling after an unsightly road loss, Arizona will have to play like a different team from the one that lost to Oregon State last weekend, 90-84. For that matter, the Wildcats will need to play like a different team from the one that lost at Washington (13-10, 8-6), last month.

Stanford clinched the Pac-10 regular-season title with a pair of wins over Southern California and UCLA in Los Angeles last weekend, but the race to fill the other seven spots in next month's Pac-10 Tournament is still wide open.

The UA currently sits in second by half a game over the Huskies, with Oregon (12-9, 7-7) and California (11-12, 7-7) trailing UW.

Arizona head coach Lute Olson said that while Washington's up-tempo, high-scoring style of play matches up with Arizona's athleticism better than any other Pac-10 team, it's the Wildcats' lack of focus that concerns him most.

"It has to be physical and mental intensity, and I think we're lacking in the latter," Olson said.

Sophomore Hassan Adams echoed Olson's sentiment.

"We just need that intensity from the jump," Adams said. "They're a team that's going to get down, play dirty, play hard. We need to match that."

One of the keys for shutting down a Husky squad that has turned the season around in a hurry: matching up with UW sparkplug Nate Robinson.

The 5-foot-9 sophomore guard torched the Wildcats for a career-high 31 points during Washington's upset of then-No. 9 Arizona earlier this season. Robinson sparked a 27-12 UW run over the game's final five minutes, shocking the crowd with a highlight-reel dunk off of an alley-oop.

"He plays hard. Either you're going to match his intensity or you're going to fall down and let him roll over you," said Adams, who sits second on the UA team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds. "The second time around, we're going to change what we need to do on him, most definitely."

Junior center Channing Frye tagged inconsistency on defense as his biggest concern heading into the Wildcats' final three regular-season games.

"I think sometimes we play defense when it's convenient, instead of playing every play like it's our last," Frye said. "We need to go out there and be determined to stop our man or to help somebody else out."

Romar said his team will have to play better than it did during its win over the Wildcats last month if it wants to duplicate the feat in McKale Center.

"I don't think confidence will be an issue for us, but it's a tall order to go into McKale and beat Arizona," he said. "We'll be confident that we can go in and compete, but you don't just go in and walk away with a victory. You have to go in and take it."


http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/97/105/02_1.html

 

[Kojak]

jaypaw,

It sounds to me that he will not start and miss the first half. If that is the case, I am adding...

Washington for 1st half