Most of you who have read my threads for the past year know that it has generally been my policy not to comment upon the conclusion of a game as I try to treat a win and a loss just the same and look to the next play. Tonight, I am going to make an exception as I would like to share my thoughts with you regarding a couple of subjects that arose regarding this game in hopes that my thoughts may be of some value to you.
First I would like to address the subject of "steam" as I believe the line on the total of this game was, in fact, "steamed". Shortly after I posted, the line on this game moved 2.5 points from 135 to 137.5. At 8:20 p.m. EST, Krackman commented in a thread in the Offshore Forum, that Billy Walters had played Oklahoma State and Over. For those of you who have not heard of Billy Walters, he is perhaps, if not the most respected handicapper in this industry, at worst near the top of the business. Movement of the side was later and followed Walters direction as well. The point I wish to make here is that even the very best don't win all the time and "steam" is not to be followed blindly nor deter you from staying the course if you have a strong feeling for how the game may be played out. Looking at the game in it's entirety, the first half clearly went according to form and even the entire first 35 minutes, but the last 5 minutes skewed the final as did the missed free throws by Syracuse. So perhaps, on another day, the "steam" would have hit but it is important to stick to your convictions regardless. Do not fear "steam" and quite frankly, don't chase it either, unless you know who caused the move.
Second, since the college hoops season is in the early stages, I would like to share a fundamental concept that you may wish to consider while handicapping games throughout the season. It has been said many times in major sports that defense wins championships. This is also the case in games. Particularly in games between top notch quality opponents. In college hoops, when the top tier teams play one another, they are very consistent in their level of play from their recent past history. It is important to review how each team is playing defensively and what type of game tempo they favor. Whichever team plays the better defense and controls the tempo has a huge advantage in dictating the way the game is played. As I saw it, tonight's game would be controlled by the defense and tempo of both teams and they would play to their recent defensive form. This is why I posted the points they were giving up per game rather then how many offensive points they were scoring. Top tier teams when playing against each other will play to their defensive level. In this case they did until the last 5 minutes. Try to keep this thought in mind when matching two teams during this season.
Tonight things worked out in our favor, but tomorrow is another day. Congratulations to all the winners, but never get too high nor too low as your work continues tomorrow.
