Yesterday we mentioned a couple of 5-18 teams as potential plays and explained that playing “bad” teams wasn’t the best idea. Those teams were NC Greensboro and Towson. Well, both of those teams had decent leads last night. NC Greensboro couldn’t hold on, and Towson came close to blowing it but managed a 3 point win. Just another example of why it simply doesn’t pay to back bad teams. It’s tempting, when the numbers suggest a play, teams like that are 5-18 for a reason.

We’ll take a look at one of the marquee Games on the card tonight, Illinois at Wisconsin. The Big 10 race is still wide open with any one of 5 teams still in position to take the crown, including these two teams that will hook up tonight in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is ranked 11th in the Nation at 18-5 overall and 8-3 in the Big 10 while Illinois is 8-3 in Conference and 16-8 overall. Interestingly enough, these two teams are responsible for Conference leader Michigan States two Conference losses this season.

The straight up winner in this Game tonight hardly seems to be in doubt. Illinois did manage to beat Wisky at home in 2005 and 2006 with the 2005 win snapping a 35 Game home win streak for the Badgers. Illinois also got a win in 1998. Other than those Games though, it’s been all Badgers at home. No surprise, the Badgers are 13-0 at home this year and are once again riding a home winning streak of 18 Games dating back to last season.

It’s scary to think how good this Wisconsin team could be if they hadn’t lost their 6’10” high scoring forward, Jon Leuer. As it is, they are 6-2 without him. So once again, the question here is whether or not Wisconsin can extend the margin here tonight and cover this number of -9. The fact that they have been able to extend the margin at home against much better teams than Illinois, tells us they can. Most recently, an 18 point win over Michigan State and earlier, a 22 point win over Ohio State confirms that.

Wisconsin has simply performed better against good teams than Illinois has this year. Illinois is a very poor 4-7 on the road this year and now must go up against one of the toughest home cOurts in college hoops.

We can fill space in an article with stats and records, but at the end of the day it comes down to having confidence in your numbers. That’s how we play hoops, by the numbers.  We have Wisconsin winning this Game 71-55 which gives us a 7 point cushion over the current betting line. Sometimes you have to pay a premium to back good teams. We think Wisconsin extends this margin late as they prove to be the class of the Big 10. Wisconsin -9

Washington vs. West Virginia

Sweet 16

3/25/10

The West Virginia Mountaineers (29-6) are experiencing great success under head coach Bob Huggins. They won the Big East Tournament narrowly by a combined total of just 7 points. The Mountaineers now find themselves in the Sweet Sixteen after winning their first two Games of the Big Dance. They will face a tough squad in the Washington Huskies who made the Tournament on virtue of taking the Pacific 10 Tournament. Washington has looked great in the latter half of the year. They are a completely different team than the one that lost 5 Games in January.

The Washington Huskies had to battle from the start to stay alive in this Tournament as the 11 seed in their region. Their first round Game came against a tough Big East team in the Marquette Golden Eagles. Quincy Pondexter was a bit off scoring 17 points on 7-17, but made up for it by hitting a leaner with 1.7 seconds left to give the Huskies the win 80-78. He also had 11 rebounds and 2 assists. Isaiah Thomas was stellar with 19 points and 8 assists. The sophomore guard sank 3 of 5 three point attempts. The Huskies were down by as much as 15 in the second half. They can’t afford to get behind against a team like West Virginia. The Mountaineers won’t let them back in the Game if they do.

Despite the seeding Washington was a narrow favorite in the second round against New Mexico. They crushed the Lobos 82-64. SCoring was much more balanced for the Huskies in this Game, but Pondexter led the charge with 18 points on 7-12 shooting. Matthew Bryan-Amaning had the best Game with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. The junior will be a big factor in this Sweet Sixteen Game. The Huskies made just 10 of 20 free throws. This Game with West Virginia will be a dog fight and they need every point they can get. That means they MUST make their free throws.

Bob Huggin’s team finds themselves in a good spot after tip toeing through the Big East Tournament. After a sluggish start in the first round against Morgan State where they trailed 10-0, the Mountaineers rebounded for an easy 77-50 win. Sophomore Kevin Jones had 17 points on 8-10 shooting. He also had 8 rebounds even though he played just 24 minutes. Devin Ebanks contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds. He was 8-8 from the FT line and had 2 blocks. It was nice to see them pull away. We all know that a win is never guaranteed in the first round no matter how high your seed is. Georgetown was bounced in the first round this year and Robert Morris nearly knocked off Villanova.

The second round provided a better challenge for the Mountaineers in the form of the Missouri Tigers, but they easily passed the test. The Tigers are a tough Big 12 team and they knocked off heavyweight Memphis last year. Da’Sean Butler showed why he is the star of the team by putting up 28 points on 6-14 shooting. He sank 4 of 9 three pointers and 12 of 13 free throws. He also had 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Devin Ebanks also played well with 14 points.

This Game pits one of the best teams in the country against one of the hottest teams in the country. Anything can happen. We like West Virginia though. They have proved countless times they can win big Games. Coach Bob Huggins will have them breathing fire early in the Game. Don’t expect an upset here. The Mountaineers are headed to the Elite Eight.

Predicted Score- West Virginia 75 Washington 68
 

College Hoops Handicapping SCratch Sheet

2/24/10

Often times, with these big cards, there just isn’t enough time to pump out a write up on one of the Games. Such is the case today with a good sized Wednesday card. So, we thought some of you might find it interesting if we posted Our scratch sheet.

What is a scratch sheet? A scratch sheet, in this case, is a listing of all the potential plays on the board, based on Our initial work up of the card. For every handicapper, this process is different. Many will use power ratings to come up with a list of potential plays. In Our case, we use a method to calculate a final Scoreon every Game on the board. We then ferret out the Games where there is a large gap between Our predicted Scoreand the actual line.

From that point, we dig into that list of Games and start the process of elimination based on other handicapping factors until we arrive at Our official plays for the day. For today, 6 of these Games made the final cut. Here is the scratch sheet. To get the official plays, just sign up with us for the rest of the way. You’ll get Our plays, plus the consensus club plays (61% on the year) as well as Our full consensus reports for just $269 right thru the NBA Finals. Click Here for Details

SCratch Sheet for 2/24/10

Drexel 68-64
Pitt 73-67
Boston College 66-62
Ball St 60-54
William Mary 80-55
Kent St 60-56
St Johns 65-64
Iowa St 69-60
Xavier 71-57
Houston 75-71
Marshall 76-61
Bradley 64-60
Baylor 70-67

There’s the sheet. A large card dwindled down to 13 Games. From that point we dig in further and in this case, ended up with 6 plays for tonight. Those process will be repeated every day thru the Final Four in April. Hop on board!

Good LUck!

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College Football Score Predictions

Those of you who followed Our basketball Score Predictions last season know what a powerful tool they are. Deadly accurate and the heart and soul of Our college hoops handicapping.

The good news is, we also have a formula we run for college football which is just as accurate and just as strong of a tool in the battle against the books when it comes to college football. The bad news is that the formula we use requires season to date stats. Not a problem with hoops, with so many Games, we can make accurate Score Predictions after just a few weeks. With college football, we need at least 4 weeks of data to begin.

So, bookmark this page. Sometime in the beginning of October we’ll start to pump out Score Predictions and we’ll try publish scores for every Game on the board, time permitting.

See you then!

VIRGINIA AT MIAMI

HANDICAPPING WITH Schedule STRENGTH

2/23/10

One of the things we like to do with these articles is give you a little insight into the way we approach basketball handicapping. One of the things you see us refer to in these articles is Schedule strength. While this Game we are going to look at today is not an official play (we’ll explain why) it is a great example of the role of Schedule strength in college hoops handicapping.

After 16 Games of the season had been played, Miami looked like world beaters. On paper at least. They were 15-1. They were shooting 55% in some Games while holding opponents to 33%. To the casual observer, you had a pretty damn good basketball team in the Hurricanes.

Truth is, they weren’t very good. Sharp bettors picked up on this right away. We cashed several winning tickets by going against Miami once Conference play started. The Hurricanes lost their first 5 Games in Conference play against the spread. The oddsmakers may have caught up however, as they are 4-1-1 against the spread their last 6 Games.

Miami built their early season record and stats against a weak non Conference Schedule. It’s very similar to the way a top boxing prospect is handled with kid gloves early in his career in order to pad hs record while in search of a big pay day and a title shot.

After their 15-1 start, Miami has gone 2-8. They are 3-8 in Conference play and 17-9 on the year and can forget about making the big dance. We won’t be playing against them in this spot however.
When we work this Game up to come up with a predicted final we get a score of 63-62 Miami. With +6 available at most sportsbooks, that gives us a 5 point gap between Our number and the line. Enough for us to make a play. However, we look for additional factors before making the plunge.

One of the most important handicapping factors this time of year is current momentum. Is a team playing even, above or below their season rating? Teams that are playing above their season ratiing come Tourney time are great teams to zero in on. Likewise, it’s a good idea to stay away from teams playing below their season rating.

Virginia would be a team playing below their season rating. They have lost their last 5 Games while shooting just 35% on average. Miami shot over 50% their last two times out. We also like to look at how teams played against common opponents. In this case, Miami actually performed better against common opponents than Virginia did.

To summarize, Our initial work up on this Game has Miami winning by just 1 point. An edge for Virginia. However, when digging further into the matchup, we see that Virginia is probably not the best team to invest in right now due to their current form. So, we pass.

But now you have a nice piece to the handicapping puzzle that you can tuck away and use in the future. Things aren’t always the way they seem on paper. You can cash plenty of tickets by finding “Paper Tigers” and betting against them when the time is right.

Kansas at Oklahoma State

Big 12 Hoops Picks and Analysis

2/27/10

The Kansas Jayhawks are the #1 team in the country. Being the best has its perks, but it also has its downfalls. They are going to get every team’s best Game as they will find out Saturday at 4 PM EST when they will take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys on CBS. The last tough Game that Kansas played was against Texas A&M, but they could find themselves in a tussle with a tough Cowboys squad. Oklahoma State owns wins over Baylor and Texas A&M. Beating Kansas would virtually guarantee them a spot in the NCAA Tournament. It will take a monumental effort, but they are a dangerous team capable of pulling it off when playing their best basketball.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys will go as far as junior G James Anderson takes them. He is putting up 22.5 PPG while dishing out 2.4 APG, and grabbing 6.1 RPG. He also gets 1.3 SPG. He had 31 points and 12 rebounds in a big win over Baylor one week ago. He dropped 30 points in a win on the road against Kansas State. He is very effective from the free throw line. He has to have a huge Game if the Cowboys are going to have a shot at winning. He fouled out in losses to Rhode Island and Texas Tech. If he gets in foul trouble early in the second half then the Cowboys chances of winning could be shot.

Obi Muonelo plays G and I bet you can’t say his name five times fast. Name aside, he scores 13.3 PPG and gets 5.3 RPG. The senior gets 2 APG as well. He is very strong from three point range at 44.5%. He had 31 points in a narrow road victory over Iowa State. Matt Pilgrim is a force at F for the Cowboys. He averages 7.7 PPG and 6.8 RPG. The Cincinnati native will return to the starting lineup after serving a one Game suspension against Texas for violation team rules.

The Kansas Jayhawks have a plethora of strong players, but freshman Xavier Henry gets the most attention. The freshman G scores 13.9 PPG and gets 4.2 RPG. He is strong from three point range at 40.3%. He enters this Game off one of his best performances of the year when he had 23 points against Oklahoma. He is nearly a sure thing from the charity stripe. He will be a very hot commodity when the NBA draft arrives.

Sherron Collins is a bit undersized at 5’ 11” but the G is the leading scorer for the Jayhawks at 15.1 PPG. He also averages 4.4 APG. The senior had 33 points against Cornell. He made 13 of 14 FTs in that Game. Cole Aldrich is also an integral part to the Jayhawks team. He averages a double-double with 11.5 PPG and 10.2 RPG. The junior stands taller than most of his opposition at 6’ 11”. He played a great Game against Missouri when he had 12 points and 16 rebounds. Marcus Morris is a young gun like Xavier Henry. The sophomore gets 12.7 PPG and 6.3 RPG. He had 23 points and 10 rebounds against Michigan.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys enter this Game with their backs against the wall. Their resume for the Tournament is so-so, but a win a here would put their minds at ease. They must take advantage of being at home and stay with Kansas the whole Game. The Jayhawks have only lost one time this year for a reason; they are REALLY good. They aren’t going to lie down, but they should certainly expect a fight.

Predicted Final Score- Kansas 77 Oklahoma State 68

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Xavier vs Kansas St

3/25/10

The Xavier Musketeers (26-8) have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the Fourth consecutive year behind the guidance of first year coach Chris MACk. The Muskies made it to the Elite Eight in 2004 and 2008. They will have to do something in their next Game that they couldn’t do in the regular season if they wish to stay alive; defeat the Kansas State Wildcats (28-7). Coach Frank Martin has the Wildcats roaring and poised for their first Elite Eight appearance since 1988. Both teams have improved since they met on 12/8 when Kansas State won 71-56. Expect a much closer Game this time around. Both teams will have blood in their eyes.

Kansas State has looked like a team possessed in the first two Games of the Big Dance. They smashed North Texas by a score of 82-62. Denis Clemente had 17 points on 6-12 shooting in that Game. He also had 6 assists. Jacob Pullen added 15 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Curtis Kelly was also hot with 15 points and 4 blocks despite playing just 17 minutes. They looked poor at the free throw line sinking 13 of 20 shots (65%). If Xavier is able to keep the Game close then KSU will need to sink those shots.

The Wildcats got off to a fast start in their second round Game against BYU. They led 41-31 at halftime and ended up taking the Game 84-72. This is impressive because BYU finished the year with a very solid record of 30-6. KSU made amends for their poor free throw shooting in the first Game draining 27 of 30 free throws. Jacob Pullen played his best Game of the year. He had 34 points while sinking 7 three pointers and going 11-11 from the charity stripe. Denis Clemente was also solid with 19 points. Clemente and Pullen are clearly one of the best guard tandems in the entire nation. They will give Xavier problems if they are able to Scorelike they did against BYU.

The Xavier Musketeers were supposed to have a ball Game on their hands in the first round against the Minnesota Gophers. That wasn’t the cause as the X-Men dominated to register a 65-54 win. G Jordan Crawford went nuts and put up 26 points and grabbed 6 rebounds while dishing out 5 assists. He sank 5 of 11 three pointers. We are always critical of teams that don’t do well from the charity stripe; Xavier was 12 of 19 in this Game. They won the battle of the boards and played well enough to dispatch a team that delivered a blow out to Purdue just days ago.

The second round of the NCAA Tournament pitted Xavier against Pittsburgh. The Panthers sent the Musketeers packing last year. That wasn’t going to happen again. G Jordan Crawford came up huge again. The sophomore had 27 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Senior Jason Love looked strong with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Dante Jackson missed two critical free throws at the end of the Game that could’ve cost Xavier had Pittsburgh been able to tie the Game up with a there pointer as time expired. They ended the Game 15-23 from the line. They can’t afford to shoot like that against Kansas State.

We expect this Game to be much closer than the regular season Game. Xavier was playing poorly at the time, and their star player Jordan Crawford has gained more confidence and skill. This is evident by the fact that he had 26 and 27 points in the first two rounds. Kansas State has a great guard duo with Pullen and Clemente. They will need great play from both. In Our eyes this Game comes down to free throw shooting. The team that hits their free throws will win. We think that team will be the Kansas State Wildcats.

Once again we’d recommend taking a close look at the 1st half line. At this level, any of the remaining teams can play with any of the others, for at least 20 minutes. The difference at this level is usually the bench, which comes into play down the stretch.

Our number on this Game is Kansas St by 5. So, right around the posted line. That being the case, we’ll take Our chances with the underdog Xavier here and look for this Game to be of the buzzer beater variety. We’ll also take a close look at Xavier in the first half.
 

SEC Conference Tournament

3/10/10

The Southeastern Conference isn’t just for football schools. The SEC is very strong in basketball this year and several teams have a shot at getting a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky and Tennessee are highly thought of and will be rewarded with a high seed. Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Florida are all strong teams. The Kentucky Wildcats will be a big favorite and they will guarantee themselves a #1 seed in the Big Dance with a solid showing in the SEC Tournament. Tennessee and Vanderbilt can strengthen their profiles if they are able to take the top honors.

Bet the SEC Tournament at the Worlds LArgest Sportsbook – 5dimes.com!

Kentucky Wildcats – It’s amazing the difference a new coach and a team full of top recruits can make. Just one year ago Kentucky missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years. They now found themselves in the top 5 of the rankings. Freshman G John Wall is a large part of the reason. He averages 17.0 PPG and 6.2 APG. Although this is his first year in the NCAA, he plays like a senior. Fellow freshman Demarcus Cousins is also pivotal for the Wildcats. He puts up 15.9 PPG while grabbing 10.1 RPG. Senior Patrick Patterson is also instrumental with 15.0 PPG. The Wildcats have lost just twice this year and they own victories over Connecticut, Florida, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee. They aren’t going to cruise through this SEC Tournament, but they are certainly the team to beat.

Vanderbilt Commodores – This is a very balanced team with Four players getting over 10 PPG and three of them getting just under 14 PPG. They own wins over Missouri, Florida (twice), and Tennessee. Junior C A.J. Ogilvy will be called upon to steady the Commodores. He put up 25 on Missouri and he is an imposing force in the paint at 6’ 11”. Vandy has come on strong in the second half of the year, but they will probably have to get through UK to win this Tournament. That is something failed to do twice in the regular season.

Tennessee Volunteers – This is the “now” team in the SEC. They are hot off a victory over Kentucky and could parlay that momentum into a win in this SEC Championship. Senior Wayne Chism has come on strong for the Vols. He dropped a 30 point bomb in a 79-53 win over South Carolina. SCotty Hopson, Tyler Smith, Bobby Maze, and J.P. Prince are also key parts of this team. The Volunteers are really coming together and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Florida Gators – Winners of the 2006 & 2007 NCAA Tournaments, the Gators may be in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. The Gators started the year 8-0, but weren’t able to keep winning consistently. They have wins over Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Tennessee. When Billy Donavan’s squad is playing their best ball they can keep up with anyone. They have 5 players getting 10+ PPG. Anything is possible for this Gators team, but one thing is for sure. They NEED to have a strong showing in this SEC Tournament to have a chance to make the Big Dance.

Ole Miss and Mississippi are both fringe contenders in this Tournament. They have stumbled in the second half of the year. Taking the top honors would be a lot to ask of either team. South Carolina is a nice long shot candidate. They are powered by G Devan Downey who guaranteed a win over UK and came through on that promise. If he gets hot and the team gets a little luck who knows how far they can go. Our pick will be the Tennessee Volunteers. They are playing well right now and have something to prove after playing second fiddle to UK all year.

Current Odds to Win SEC Tournament

Kentucky -250
Tennessee 3/1
Vandy 3/1
Miss St 7/1
Florida 10/1
Ole Miss 12/1
South Carolina 15/1
Arkansas 30/1
Alabama 30/1
Field 20/1

 

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It seems like an eternity has passed since the Kentucky Wildcats have been to the Sweet Sixteen. It’s probably fair to say that the 5 years that have passed since it last happened has been an eternity to the rabid Kentucky fan base. New Coach John Calipari is the one fans can thank for their return. His excellent class of freshman combined with the leadership of junior Patrick Patterson have made them nearly unstoppable. If they wish to advance to the Elite Eight they will have to get through the Cornell Big Red of the Ivy League. They have delivered two stunningly easy wins to advance this far in the Big Dance. Northern Iowa showed us that anything can happen when they dispatched Kansas in the second round, so don’t count Cornell out.

Kentucky is a 9 point favorite at the largest sportsbook in the world 5dimes.com

As the 12 seed in their region Cornell had no free ride in the first round. They had to play a very tough team in the Temple Owls who were the Atlantic 10 Champions. G Louis Dale had 21 points and 7 assists for the Big Red who shot 56.3% as a team. F Ryan Wittman added 20 points while going 4-6 from three point range. They were able to contain LAvoy Allen. He had just 5 rebounds which is less than half of what he averaged in the regular season.

Most pundits expected Cornell to be met with a much tougher challenge against the tough Big 10 defense of the Wisconsin Badgers. They were wrong again. Cornell shot in excess of 60% and out rebounded the Badgers en route to a 87-69 victory. G Louis Dale came up huge again with 26 points. F Ryan Wittman contributed 24 points. They were stellar from the free throw line sinking 13 of 16 attempts. Downing the Kentucky Wildcats will be a much larger task than defeating Temple or Wisconsin, but Cornell has certainly done nothing wrong thus far.

The Kentucky Wildcats assume the role of Big Bad Wolf after Kansas made an early exit in the second round. Their starting lineup includes three freshmen, two of which will be go in the top 5 of the NBA Draft and another that won’t be far behind. Junior Patrick Patterson is also highly regarded. The Wildcats were quick to step on the throat of East Tennessee State in their 100-71 win. Freshman Eric Bledsoe hit a Kentucky record 8 three pointers. Demarcus Cousins was relative silent, but the extra firepower he could’ve added wasn’t needed.

The second round pitted the Wildcats against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The result was similar to their first round bout. Kentucky won easily 90-60. Relatively unknown G Darius Miller had a career night with 20 points. Demarcus Cousins was nearly flawless in this Game draining 9-10 FGs for 19 points. He also had 8 rebounds. G John Wall had 14 points and 7 assists. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him put up big numbers in this round of the Tournament. Patrick Patterson was slow with just 4 points on 2-6 shooting. He only played 19 minutes. The Wildcats need more help from him in the future.

The Cornell Big Red dominated the Ivy League and have looked strong in their first two Games. Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman have played lights out. They will have to do even better this time around to down the giant that is Kentucky. They had the lead late in the Game at Kansas during the regular season so it certainly isn’t impossible to win here. We have seen very good Princeton teams from the past, hang with the big boys for half a Game before the bench got them in trouble and suspect we may see something similar here.

Cornell can play with any team in the country for a half, which may be the better wager here. So we’ll take Cornell +5 in the 1st half here, and then we’ll take Kentucky -9 for the Game as we think they will be too much for Cornell as the 2nd half progresses. We’ll be rooting for Cornell though. They truly are this years “Cinderella”.

Predicted Score- Kentucky 75 Cornell 60

WAC Conference Tournament Preview

3/9/10

The Western Athletic Conference Tournament will allow one of nine teams to gain automatic entry to the NCAA Tournament. Hawaii has the most championships among active WAC members at 3. Last year’s Tournament was won by Utah State for the first time. The Aggies look poised for another victory this year as the top seed. Nevada, and New Mexico State look like the most likely upset candidates. The WAC Tournament should give us an idea of how the winner will fare in the Big Dance. Let’s take a look at several of the top teams along with the current odds to win the Tourney as listed at offshore sportsbooks.

Utah State Aggies – This team is on an incredible roll after having a rocky start to their season. They finished the year with a record of 25-6 overall and 14-2 in Conference play. They ended the season on a massive 15 Game winning streak. The Aggies were given some competition by Nevada who they beat in OT. However, they crushed New Mexico State and most everyone else in the conference. They proved they can play with some of the best teams in the NCAA when they downed BYU 71-61 early in the season. The scoring for this team is very balanced. Junior F Tai Wesley leads the team at 13.7 PPG. He also gets 6.4 RPG. He had 24 points in the Aggies regular season finale win over New Mexico State. Senior G Jared Quayle is a sharp shooter that strikes from 43.5% from three point range. He made at least 4 three pointers on 5 separate occasions. Nate Bendal, Pooh Williams, and Tyler Newbold are all important players for the Aggies. This team should run through the WAC Tournament, but anything can happen in March.

Nevada Wolf Pack -The only strong non Conference win for this team came against the Portland Pilots. They played BYU close, but couldn’t get a win. With an overall record of 19-11, they will have to win this Tournament in order to gain entrance to the Big Dance. They played Utah State close both times, and beat New Mexico State twice. Anything is possible for the Wolf Pack. Sophomore F LUke Babbitt leads the charge with 21.7 PPG and 9.3 RPG. He strikes at 43% from three point range. He had 29 points in a narrow 73-70 victory over East Washington. Junior G Armon Johnson puts up 16 PPG and dishes out 5.6 APG. He had 30 points against BYU. Senior G Brandon Fields adds 14.6 PPG. He has come on strong towards the end of the year. He had 32 points in a win over New Mexico State. The sky is the limit for this team, but they will have to get past Utah State to win the WAC Tournament.

New Mexico State Aggies – This team finished the year 19-11 overall and 11-5 in Conference play. They ended the season on a two Game losing streak. They should win their opening Game against San Jose State, but after that nothing is guaranteed. The Aggies have played well at times as they showed when they beat UTEP, but have looked equally as bad at times. This is clear when they got crushed by a UCLA team that is awful this year. Junior G Jamar Young will have to step his Game up. He averages 20.9 PPG. Jonathan Gibson adds 17.8 PPG. It would take a monumental effort this squad to take the WAC Tournament, but anything is possible in March.

March Madness will happen all over this country during the week. Teams that are supposed to win and seemingly can’t lose will do exactly that. Desperate underdogs can’t be underestimated. That is why we will go with the Nevada Wolf Pack. Although they finished second in league play, they will be a big dog to beat Utah State. The value will be strong and this team can get the job done. Check back to Bettorsworld.com for the latest NCAA basketball information and betting tips!

Current Odds to win the WAC Tournament

Utah St 1/1
Nevada  1/1.2
New Mexico St 5/1
LA Tech 8/1
Fresno St 12/1
Field 15/1