3* 0-0
2* 4-2
1* 3-0
+6.86
Had a great Friday last week, then a subpar Sunday. Love one play in particular, will update the card when totals and line movement starts happening. Wanted to get this one out immediately, because I think that it will go up as it gets closer to gametime.
3* Washington -6.5
As much as I hate UW, I love this play for a number of reasons. For the first time since the Brandon Roy days, coach Romar has his team playing some fantastic ball. The offense has always been dangerous for opposing teams because of the up and down pace they play, but the defense has surprisingly been solid this season. They beat my Cougs at our own game last week, and that was hard to watch as a WSU student.
When looking at the Dawgs tilt with the Cardinal tomorrow, I look at two overwhelming factors:
1) Rebounding
2) Home court advantage
I'm sure you're thinking 'well duh, of course they have home court advantage', but those that know UW also know that they play at an extreme different level when playing in Bank of America Arena. Outside of the Portland State game when they blew a 15 point lead with 5 to go (ended up winning by 1), this team hasn't been touched at home. While they haven't played legitimate talent at home, a good example of this is the Oklahoma State game where they made a decent OSU team look like a high school JV squad. Completely dominated in all phases of the game. Taking a look at Stanfords schedule thus far, they've played 3 road games at Yale, Santa Clara, and Colorado State. Sorry, but those 3 'true' road games aren't going to get you prepared for Pac-10 basketball, and especially in a building like Hec Ed where the arena will be sold out and the students are right on top of the court. You have to remember, UW basketball is all Seattle has now that the Sonics were taken off to Oklahoma City, so this city is yearning for a winner. BOA will be rocking tomorrow night, and the players will no doubt be feeding off of this.
Now onto the rebounding advantage that the Dawgs will have tomorrow night. We all know how much Stanford lost off of last years team, including the Lopez twins and big men Fred Washington/Taj Finger. Without a true starting center, 'Furd is relying on swingman Lawrence Hill to really help on the boards, and he's only averaging over 6 boards a game. Looking at UW's big men, we all know about Brockman and the double double machine he is. But others are stepping up, including Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Quincy Pondexter, both collecting nearly 6 boards a game. I look for UW to dominate both the offensive and defensive glass which will eliminate and create opportunties for the Huskies.
The only way I see the Cardinal keeping this within double digits is if the 3's are falling for Landy Fields, Anthony Goods, Mitch Johnson, etc. But I don't see that happening in this one. Justin Dentmon, Isiah Thomas, and Venoy Overton are all playing well on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Johnny Dawkins has done a great job thus far in Palo Alto, but I'd be somewhat surprised if the young Cardinal went into BOA and kept it close, so I'm going to lay the points with the hot team that is trying to make a statement that they are a top Pac-10 team and will be making a push for the NCAA tournament.
Like I said, I'll be updating the card once totals come out. Will most likely be taking the OSU/ASU under no matter what it is, and possibly something in the Cal/WSU tilt. Good luck tomorrow fellas.
2* 4-2
1* 3-0
+6.86
Had a great Friday last week, then a subpar Sunday. Love one play in particular, will update the card when totals and line movement starts happening. Wanted to get this one out immediately, because I think that it will go up as it gets closer to gametime.
3* Washington -6.5
As much as I hate UW, I love this play for a number of reasons. For the first time since the Brandon Roy days, coach Romar has his team playing some fantastic ball. The offense has always been dangerous for opposing teams because of the up and down pace they play, but the defense has surprisingly been solid this season. They beat my Cougs at our own game last week, and that was hard to watch as a WSU student.
When looking at the Dawgs tilt with the Cardinal tomorrow, I look at two overwhelming factors:
1) Rebounding
2) Home court advantage
I'm sure you're thinking 'well duh, of course they have home court advantage', but those that know UW also know that they play at an extreme different level when playing in Bank of America Arena. Outside of the Portland State game when they blew a 15 point lead with 5 to go (ended up winning by 1), this team hasn't been touched at home. While they haven't played legitimate talent at home, a good example of this is the Oklahoma State game where they made a decent OSU team look like a high school JV squad. Completely dominated in all phases of the game. Taking a look at Stanfords schedule thus far, they've played 3 road games at Yale, Santa Clara, and Colorado State. Sorry, but those 3 'true' road games aren't going to get you prepared for Pac-10 basketball, and especially in a building like Hec Ed where the arena will be sold out and the students are right on top of the court. You have to remember, UW basketball is all Seattle has now that the Sonics were taken off to Oklahoma City, so this city is yearning for a winner. BOA will be rocking tomorrow night, and the players will no doubt be feeding off of this.
Now onto the rebounding advantage that the Dawgs will have tomorrow night. We all know how much Stanford lost off of last years team, including the Lopez twins and big men Fred Washington/Taj Finger. Without a true starting center, 'Furd is relying on swingman Lawrence Hill to really help on the boards, and he's only averaging over 6 boards a game. Looking at UW's big men, we all know about Brockman and the double double machine he is. But others are stepping up, including Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Quincy Pondexter, both collecting nearly 6 boards a game. I look for UW to dominate both the offensive and defensive glass which will eliminate and create opportunties for the Huskies.
The only way I see the Cardinal keeping this within double digits is if the 3's are falling for Landy Fields, Anthony Goods, Mitch Johnson, etc. But I don't see that happening in this one. Justin Dentmon, Isiah Thomas, and Venoy Overton are all playing well on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Johnny Dawkins has done a great job thus far in Palo Alto, but I'd be somewhat surprised if the young Cardinal went into BOA and kept it close, so I'm going to lay the points with the hot team that is trying to make a statement that they are a top Pac-10 team and will be making a push for the NCAA tournament.
Like I said, I'll be updating the card once totals come out. Will most likely be taking the OSU/ASU under no matter what it is, and possibly something in the Cal/WSU tilt. Good luck tomorrow fellas.
