CNOTES COLLEGE HOOPS OPINIONS BEST BETS AND NEWS !

[Cnotes53]

TUESDAY, MARCH 21

UNT at OKST	07:00 PM	UNT +4.0 O 121.5	+500 +500
SUU at EKY	07:00 PM	SUU -4.0 U 152.0	+500 +500
CHAR at RAD	09:00 PM	CHAR -5.0 U 123.0	+500 +500
WIS at ORE	09:00 PM	WIS +3.0 O 131.5	+500 +500

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Highest paid college basketball coaches:
$8.1M— John Calipari, Kentucky
$6M— Bill Self, Kansas
$5.7M— Tom Izzo, Michigan State
$5.45M— Rick Barnes, Tennessee
$5.4M— Bruce Pearl, Auburn
$4.83M— Tony Bennett, Virgnia

Quote of the Day
“I’m so underpaid right now as far as my contract and what I contribute to the team, it’s like, I am relentlessly pursuing this. I want to get something long-term done. I want a team that wants me long term. I’m at the peak of my game, right? As long as I’m healthy, I’m gonna score you another 20 touchdowns. I’m gonna have, you know, another 1,600 all-purpose yards. I’m getting half my value of what I could be getting. I am relentlessly pursuing someone who wants me for the long term.”
Chargers’ RB Austin Ekeler

Wednesday’s quiz
What semi-famous actor played Richard Gere’s assistant in the movie, Pretty Woman?

Tuesday’s quiz
Andrew Luck in 2015-2016 was the last quarterback to start consecutive season openers for the Indianapolis Colts.

Monday’s quiz
When Santa Clara upset Arizona in the 1993 NCAA’s, Steve Nash was playing for the Broncos.

******************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings………

— Thanks to everyone who reached out last week during my absence; things are slowly getting back to normal. Appreciate your thoughts.

— Japan 3, USA 2— Ohtani got a save; Japan used seven pitchers and they win the WBC.

From looks of things, the WBC was really lucrative; games were packed, fans were enthused, am guessing they made a boatload of $$$ selling merchandise.

Now, can we get on with the baseball season? Regular season games start in eight days.

— So you own the LA Angels; you pay Mike Trout $37M a year, Sandoval pitched really well for Mexico in the semi-finals and Ohtani is all anyone ever talks about. Pretty good nucleus right there.

So how come they haven’t been in the playoffs since 2014, haven’t won a playoff game since 2009? Ohtani is a free agent after this season; he’s going to get the biggest contract ever— it seems doubtful it’ll be in Anaheim.

So……..do the Angels trade him during the season, and if they do, what do they get back? Do they keep him this season and try to make the playoffs? Thing is, if they let him walk, they get bupkis in return— that is stuff cheap teams like the A’s usually do.

Other than the pennant races, this is going to be the #1 story this baseball season.

— North Texas 65, Oklahoma State 59 OT— Cowboys went 15-25 on foul line at home, losing to a North Texas team that plays the slowest tempo games in America. Mean Green moves on to the NIT semi-finals in Las Vegas next week.

— Wisconsin 61, Oregon 58— Badgers ended game on a 15-6 run, also move on to Las Vegas; a Wisconsin-North Texas semi-final game? Tempo #341 vs tempo #363, the total is going to be very low.

— Eastern Kentucky 108, Southern Utah 106, 2OT— Quite a week for the Colonels, who’ve won three games in a row, all in overtime, and in this case, two overtimes. EKU was down 12 with 9:11 left in this game; they forced 22 turnovers (+13).

— Charlotte 63, Radford 56— Maybe Conference USA needs better TV exposure; Charlotte is still playing, so are UAB and North Texas. Good teams and that is without mentioning the best of the group, Florida Atlantic.

— Wichita State hired Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills, who went 67-28 the last three years, making the Sweet 16 two years ago.

— Arizona State gave Bobby Hurley a 2-year contract extension, bad news for Pac-12 referees. Hurley is the whiniest coach I’ve ever seen; his Sun Devils went 23-13 this year, losing 72-70 to TCU after winning a First Four game.

— FDU coach Tobin Anderson is the new coach at Iona, replacing Rick Pitino; tough act to follow. Iona has been in eight of last 11 NCAA Tournaments.

— Former Notre Dame coach Mike Brey interviewed for the South Florida job, but said he’s going to take a year off and try his hand at TV instead.

— A union representing 30,000 Los Angeles school custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and support staff started a 3-day strike with support from the district’s teachers, effectively stopping classes for more than 500,000 students in the nation’s 2nd-largest school system.

Long time ago, September 1975, when I was a junior in high school, three schools around here had their teachers go on strike at the same time, three of the biggest schools.

First week or two of school, we would pass the teachers picketing by the school, we would wave to them from our bus, then we would go into school, go into class, and have a different teacher in every class every day. Teachers from the other two schools were the subs in our classes, trying to earn back some of the $$$ they were losing by being on strike. It was organized chaos.

Some of the kids we knew organized a walk-out in support of the teachers; they would storm out of school, march to the district offices in protest. Those were the kids who lived near the district offices; they were just skipping school, then walking home. My neighborhood was in the other direction, and it was hot out. No thanks.

Hopefully the situation in LA will get fixed; kids are trying to get ready for college, they need to get smarter. That year our teachers were on strike was a Regents’ year, an important year for grades and all that— the delay put us behind all the other kids that year.

— RIP to former Knicks’ great Willis Reed, who passed away Tuesday at age 80; Reed was an under-sized center with a terrific mid-range lefty jumper. He was the heart of the Knicks’ team that won NBA titles in 1970, 1973.

I was a little kid back then; my dad loved those Knicks, it was fun watching him watch the games. Few years ago in Las Vegas I got to meet Walt Frazier at the NBA Summer League, nicest guy you could meet.

Look up Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals on YouTube; Willis Reed was hurt pretty bad, but he hobbled onto the court, hit two jumpers early in the game and the Knicks pounded the Lakers— they were gods in the Big Apple back then. Willis Reed was the heart of that team. RIP, sir.

 

[Udog]

VANDERBILT is 7-1 ATS (5.9 Units) after having won 4 of their last 5 games in the current season.

CINCINNATI is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in a home game where the total is 140 to 149.5 in the current season.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Wednesday, March 22

NCAAB
Long Sheet

Wednesday, March 22

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UAB (27 - 9) at VANDERBILT (22 - 14) - 3/22/2023, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
VANDERBILT is 57-37 ATS (+16.3 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
VANDERBILT is 57-37 ATS (+16.3 Units) in all lined games over the last 3 seasons.
VANDERBILT is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in all tournament games over the last 3 seasons.
VANDERBILT is 21-11 ATS (+8.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 2 seasons.
VANDERBILT is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in home games after a non-conference game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UTAH VALLEY ST (27 - 8) at CINCINNATI (23 - 12) - 3/22/2023, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CINCINNATI is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all games this season.
CINCINNATI is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all lined games this season.
CINCINNATI is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in all home games this season.
CINCINNATI is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in home lined games this season.
CINCINNATI is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
CINCINNATI is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) in non-conference games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 23-9 ATS (+13.1 Units) in all games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 23-9 ATS (+13.1 Units) in all lined games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in road games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in road lined games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) on Wednesday games this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) after scoring 80 points or more this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 16-4 ATS (+11.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
UTAH VALLEY ST is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games this season.
CINCINNATI is 143-196 ATS (-72.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, March 22

NIT
UAB @ Vanderbilt
— UAB (27-9) ranked #49 by KenPom
— Tempo: #31
— Experience: #5
— Continuity: #110
— UAB won 14 of its last 16 games.
— Blazers are 3-6 against top 100 teams.
— UAB is 11-2 outside Conference USA.
— Blazers have #58 eFG% defense in country.
— UAB is #8 team in country on offensive boards.
— UAB’s schedule, to this point: #134
— bench minutes: #165
— UAB’s best win: 86-77 over #22 Florida Atlantic

— Vanderbilt (22-14) ranked #80 by KenPom
— Tempo: #196
— Experience: #95
— Continuity: #113
— Vanderbilt won 12 of its last 14 games.
— Vanderbilt is 9-6 outside the SEC.
— Commodores are #308 team on defensive boards.
— Commodores are 6-7 against top 50 teams.
— Vanderbilt is 12-6 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Vanderbilt’s schedule, to this point: #33
— bench minutes: #56
— Vanderbilt’s best win: 66-65 over #6 Tennessee

Cincinnati @ Utah Valley
— Cincinnati (23-12) ranked #48 by KenPom
— Tempo: #114
— Experience: #31
— Continuity: #76
— Cincinnati won six of its last eight games
— Bearcats scored 79+ points in their last five wins.
— Cincinnati has #52 eFG% defense in country.
— Cincinnati split its last eight road games SU.
— Bearcats are 5-8 vs top 100 teams.
— Cincinnati’s schedule, to this point: #91
— bench minutes: #230
— Cincinnati’s best wins: 73-64/73-71 over #53 UCF

— Utah Valley (27-8) ranked #65 by KenPom
— Tempo: #43
— Experience: #142
— Continuity: #136
— Utah Valley won 11 of its last 13 games
— Wolverines get a home game; they won last two games on road.
— Utah Valley has #4 eFG% defense in country.
— Wolverines are 5-3 against top 100 teams.
— Rare national TV game for Utah Valley; big night for them.
— Utah Valley’s schedule, to this point: #108
— bench minutes: #270
— Utah Valley’s best win: 77-72 at #41 Oregon

CBI (@ Daytona Beach, FL)
Charlotte vs Eastern Kentucky
— Charlotte (21-14) ranked #111 by KenPom
— Tempo: #362
— Experience: #180
— Continuity: #275
— Charlotte won seven of its last ten games.
— Charlotte is 12-9 vs teams ranked in top 200.
— 49ers won three of last four days, giving up 56-65-56 points.
— 49ers are #21 team in country on defensive boards.
— Charlotte is shooting 37.5% on the arc (#23)
— Charlotte’s schedule, to this point: #159
— bench minutes: #268
— Charlotte’s best win: 54-42 over #36 Boise State

— Eastern Kentucky (23-13) ranked #148 by KenPom
— Tempo: #44
— Experience: #191
— Continuity: #179
— EKU won five of its last six games
— EKU won overtime games the last three days- double OT yesterday.
— Colonels played three starters 41:00+ yesterday,
— Colonels have #288 eFG% in country.
— EKU is 13-5 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— EKU’s schedule, to this point: #158
— bench minutes: #211
— EKU’s best win: 62-59 over #47 Liberty.




NCAAB

Wednesday, March 22

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UAB @ Vanderbilt
UAB
UAB is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 14 of UAB's last 18 games on the road
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Vanderbilt is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home

Cincinnati @ Utah Valley
Cincinnati
Cincinnati is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games on the road
Utah Valley
Utah Valley is 19-2 SU in its last 21 games at home
Utah Valley is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Udog]

THURSDAY

KANSAS ST is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) when playing only their 3rd game in a week over the last 2 seasons.

CONNECTICUT is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in road games after covering 4 of their last 5 against the spread in the current season.

FLA ATLANTIC is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) after 2 consecutive non-conference games in the current season.

GONZAGA is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) after 2 straight games forcing opponent to commit 11 or less turnovers in the last 3 seasons.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Thursday, March 23

NCAAB
Long Sheet

Thursday, March 23

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLA ATLANTIC (33 - 3) vs. TENNESSEE (25 - 10) - 3/23/2023, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TENNESSEE is 35-24 ATS (+8.6 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
FLA ATLANTIC is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in non-conference games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MICHIGAN ST (21 - 12) vs. KANSAS ST (25 - 9) - 3/23/2023, 6:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
KANSAS ST is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all games this season.
KANSAS ST is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in all lined games this season.
KANSAS ST is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) when the total is 130 to 139.5 this season.
KANSAS ST is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS ST is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS ST is 17-7 ATS (+9.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARKANSAS (22 - 13) vs. CONNECTICUT (27 - 8) - 3/23/2023, 7:15 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ARKANSAS is 128-176 ATS (-65.6 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1997.
ARKANSAS is 45-69 ATS (-30.9 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 12-5 ATS (+6.5 Units) when the total is 140 to 149.5 this season.
CONNECTICUT is 21-12 ATS (+7.8 Units) as a favorite this season.
CONNECTICUT is 12-1 ATS (+10.9 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
CONNECTICUT is 12-1 ATS (+10.9 Units) in non-conference games this season.
ARKANSAS is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) in road games in non-conference games this season.
ARKANSAS is 29-16 ATS (+11.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GONZAGA (30 - 5) vs. UCLA (31 - 5) - 3/23/2023, 9:45 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GONZAGA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in road games after a non-conference game this season.
GONZAGA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in road games in non-conference games this season.
GONZAGA is 8-16 ATS (-9.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
UCLA is 20-12 ATS (+6.8 Units) as a favorite this season.
GONZAGA is 40-22 ATS (+15.8 Units) in road games after allowing 80 points or more since 1997.
UCLA is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
UCLA is 1-1 against the spread versus GONZAGA over the last 3 seasons
GONZAGA is 2-0 straight up against UCLA over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Cnotes53]

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22

CIN at UVU	09:00 PM	CIN +2.0 O 148.5	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

Completed Picks

Past Completed Picks

03/22/2023	0-2-0	0.00%	-1100	Detail
03/21/2023	5-3-0	62.50%	+850	Detail
03/20/2023	1-1-0	50.00%	-50	Detail
03/19/2023	13-23-0	36.11%	-6150	Detail
03/18/2023	10-18-0	35.71%	-4900	Detail
03/17/2023	15-16-1	48.44%	-1300	Detail
03/16/2023	15-17-0	46.88%	-1850	Detail
03/15/2023	10-10-0	50.00%	-500	Detail
03/14/2023	11-8-1	57.50%	+1100	Detail
03/12/2023	3-7-0	30.00%	-2350	Detail
03/11/2023	25-21-0	54.35%	+950	Detail
03/10/2023	39-33-0	54.17%	+1350	Detail
03/09/2023	54-53-4	50.45%	-2150	Detail
03/08/2023	35-33-2	51.43%	-650	Detail
03/07/2023	21-31-0	40.38%	-6550	Detail
03/06/2023	9-17-2	35.71%	-4850	Detail
03/05/2023	30-30-0	50.00%	-1500	Detail
03/04/2023	84-102-0	45.16%	-14100	Detail
03/03/2023	36-24-2	59.68%	+4800	Detail
03/02/2023	63-44-1	58.80%	+7300	Detail
03/01/2023	31-43-2	42.11%	-8150	Detail

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack

Highest paid college basketball coaches:

$8.1M— John Calipari, Kentucky

$6M— Bill Self, Kansas

$5.7M— Tom Izzo, Michigan State

$5.45M— Rick Barnes, Tennessee

$5.4M— Bruce Pearl, Auburn

$4.83M— Tony Bennett, Virgnia




Quote of the Day

“I’m so underpaid right now as far as my contract and what I contribute to the team, it’s like, I am relentlessly pursuing this. I want to get something long-term done. I want a team that wants me long term. I’m at the peak of my game, right? As long as I’m healthy, I’m gonna score you another 20 touchdowns. I’m gonna have, you know, another 1,600 all-purpose yards. I’m getting half my value of what I could be getting. I am relentlessly pursuing someone who wants me for the long term.”

Chargers’ RB Austin Ekeler




Wednesday’s quiz

What semi-famous actor played Richard Gere’s assistant in the movie, Pretty Woman?




Tuesday’s quiz

Andrew Luck in 2015-2016 was the last quarterback to start consecutive season openers for the Indianapolis Colts.




Monday’s quiz

When Santa Clara upset Arizona in the 1993 NCAA’s, Steve Nash was playing for the Broncos.


************************************************** **

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings………

— Thanks to everyone who reached out last week during my absence; things are slowly getting back to normal. Appreciate your thoughts.

— Japan 3, USA 2— Ohtani got a save; Japan used seven pitchers and they win the WBC.

From looks of things, the WBC was really lucrative; games were packed, fans were enthused, am guessing they made a boatload of $$$ selling merchandise.

Now, can we get on with the baseball season? Regular season games start in eight days.

— So you own the LA Angels; you pay Mike Trout $37M a year, Sandoval pitched really well for Mexico in the semi-finals and Ohtani is all anyone ever talks about. Pretty good nucleus right there.

So how come they haven’t been in the playoffs since 2014, haven’t won a playoff game since 2009? Ohtani is a free agent after this season; he’s going to get the biggest contract ever— it seems doubtful it’ll be in Anaheim.

So……..do the Angels trade him during the season, and if they do, what do they get back? Do they keep him this season and try to make the playoffs? Thing is, if they let him walk, they get bupkis in return— that is stuff cheap teams like the A’s usually do.

Other than the pennant races, this is going to be the #1 story this baseball season.

— North Texas 65, Oklahoma State 59 OT— Cowboys went 15-25 on foul line at home, losing to a North Texas team that plays the slowest tempo games in America. Mean Green moves on to the NIT semi-finals in Las Vegas next week.

— Wisconsin 61, Oregon 58— Badgers ended game on a 15-6 run, also move on to Las Vegas; a Wisconsin-North Texas semi-final game? Tempo #341 vs tempo #363, the total is going to be very low.

— Eastern Kentucky 108, Southern Utah 106, 2OT— Quite a week for the Colonels, who’ve won three games in a row, all in overtime, and in this case, two overtimes. EKU was down 12 with 9:11 left in this game; they forced 22 turnovers (+13).

— Charlotte 63, Radford 56— Maybe Conference USA needs better TV exposure; Charlotte is still playing, so are UAB and North Texas. Good teams and that is without mentioning the best of the group, Florida Atlantic.

— Wichita State hired Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills, who went 67-28 the last three years, making the Sweet 16 two years ago.

— Arizona State gave Bobby Hurley a 2-year contract extension, bad news for Pac-12 referees. Hurley is the whiniest coach I’ve ever seen; his Sun Devils went 23-13 this year, losing 72-70 to TCU after winning a First Four game.

— FDU coach Tobin Anderson is the new coach at Iona, replacing Rick Pitino; tough act to follow. Iona has been in eight of last 11 NCAA Tournaments.

— Former Notre Dame coach Mike Brey interviewed for the South Florida job, but said he’s going to take a year off and try his hand at TV instead.

— A union representing 30,000 Los Angeles school custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and support staff started a 3-day strike with support from the district’s teachers, effectively stopping classes for more than 500,000 students in the nation’s 2nd-largest school system.

Long time ago, September 1975, when I was a junior in high school, three schools around here had their teachers go on strike at the same time, three of the biggest schools.

First week or two of school, we would pass the teachers picketing by the school, we would wave to them from our bus, then we would go into school, go into class, and have a different teacher in every class every day. Teachers from the other two schools were the subs in our classes, trying to earn back some of the $$$ they were losing by being on strike. It was organized chaos.

Some of the kids we knew organized a walk-out in support of the teachers; they would storm out of school, march to the district offices in protest. Those were the kids who lived near the district offices; they were just skipping school, then walking home. My neighborhood was in the other direction, and it was hot out. No thanks.

Hopefully the situation in LA will get fixed; kids are trying to get ready for college, they need to get smarter. That year our teachers were on strike was a Regents’ year, an important year for grades and all that— the delay put us behind all the other kids that year.

— RIP to former Knicks’ great Willis Reed, who passed away Tuesday at age 80; Reed was an under-sized center with a terrific mid-range lefty jumper. He was the heart of the Knicks’ team that won NBA titles in 1970, 1973.

I was a little kid back then; my dad loved those Knicks, it was fun watching him watch the games. Few years ago in Las Vegas I got to meet Walt Frazier at the NBA Summer League, nicest guy you could meet.

Look up Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals on YouTube; Willis Reed was hurt pretty bad, but he hobbled onto the court, hit two jumpers early in the game and the Knicks pounded the Lakers— they were gods in the Big Apple back then. Willis Reed was the heart of that team. RIP, sir.

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday’s 6-pack
Highest paid NFL coaches:
$20M— Bill Belichick
$18M— Sean Payton
$15M— Pete Carroll
$14M— Sean McVay
$12.5M— Mike Tomlin
$12M— Andy Reid/John Harbaugh

Quote of the Day
“You get to choose how you respond.”
Virginia coach Tony Bennett, after losing to Furman in the NCAA’s

Thursday’s quiz
The first time Rick Pitino coached in the NCAA Tournament, what team was he coaching?

Wednesday’s quiz
Jason Alexander (George Costanza on Seinfeld) played Richard Gere’s assistant in the movie, Pretty Woman.

Tuesday’s quiz
Andrew Luck in 2015-2016 was the last quarterback to start consecutive season openers for the Indianapolis Colts.



************************************************** **


Thursday’s Den: Nine memorable NCAA games, plus my four all-time favorite games

Here are nine of my most memorable NCAA Tournament games, in no particular order, followed by my four all-time favorite tournament games:

Memorable games:
2017 Final Four— I’m in Las Vegas, watching the Final Four with a friend of mine who has a boatload of money on Oregon (+4) vs North Carolina. I’m not going to tell you how much $$$ he had on Oregon, but it was more than $10,000 (I saw the ticket).

I’m a nickel/dime bettor, total small-timer; this was a different world. I remember sitting there munching on Doritos watching the game, I seemed more nervous than he was. Oregon loses but covers, losing 77-76. My friend was very casual about the whole thing.

He also bet the underdog in the other game, but a lot less $$, South Carolina vs Gonzaga and he won that bet too. If I won that much money I’d be strutting around like Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine but serious gamblers are smart and take things in stride.

Funny thing about that night: it was the only time in the last 35 years that both favorites won at the Final Four, but neither one covered the spread.

2016— Yale 79, Baylor 75— It is fun seeing people you know coaching on TV; Yale coach James Jones went to college at Albany, couple of years behind me. He was a good ballplayer, but he is a great coach. Other than Pete Carril, he is the best coach in Ivy League history, and it was a lot of fun to see his team pull a big upset against a basketball blue blood.

2023— Marquette 78, Vermont 61— Same deal here; friend of mine is an assistant coach with Marquette- they had a great season this year. I’m hoping that some D-I program comes to its senses in the next few weeks and gives him a head coaching job. He’s earned it.

1989— Georgetown 50, Princeton 49— This was back when ESPN had the tournament; Bob Ley was the studio host and Dick Vitale did the analysis. Georgetown was a power back then; they were a 22-point favorite in this game, but they were life-and-death against Princeton.

At halftime, Dickie V says that if Princeton wins, he’ll stand on his head on the ESPN set; it was classic TV, totally unscripted. It was hilarious, but Georgetown escaped by a point, and America took a great sign of relief that no one was standing on his head on live TV.

1998— Valparaiso 70, Ole Miss 69— Scott Drew is the Baylor coach; brother Bruce is the coach at Grand Canyon- their father Homer Drew coached Valparaiso for a long time.

His full-court out of bounds play (to Bryce Drew, I think) got Valpo a walk-off win in this game. To this day, that play is still used all over America. One of the best-ever endings to a tournament game.

2023— Furman 68, Virginia 67— Furman hadn’t made the NCAA’s since 1980, hadn’t won a tournament game since 1974; they made couple foul shots with 0:12 left to pull within 67-65, then the Virginia player tries a full-court pass to kill the clock, but it gets picked off, and Furman sticks a 3 from the right-wing with 0:02 left to pull a very unlikely upset.

The camera shot of CBS’ play-by-play guy Kevin Harlan calling all this, then holding his arms out after the game-winning shot, so neither of his analysts says anything to ruin the moment, was just great to see.

2019— Murray State 83, Marquette 64— Back when I was still picking games on this blog, I took the over in this game, Ja Morant against a Big East team. Game was 42-35 at halftime, a good pace, but then Marquette scored 9 freakin’ points in the first 10:00 of second half and when they fell behind, they refused to press Murray State, and lost meekly to a freakin’ OVC team and the game fell several points under. Had they pressed, Murray State would have hung 90-100 points on them.

I laugh about it now, but that night in my living room, I was NOT HAPPY; probably lucky I didn’t have a damn stroke. How could a Big East team quit against an OVC team? To this day, when I see that fraud Steve Wojciechowski in ESPN”s studio stealing money, it makes my blood boil. Anyway, that night is a big part of why I don’t pick games much anymore.

2016— National title game, Villanova-North Carolina, I’m sitting in the Westgate SuperBook having a Cherry Coke and some pizza. The guy next to me is a younger guy who says he has a lot of money on Villanova and the under. We strike up a conversation but he is very nervous as the game comes down the stretch. Things get quiet.

Kid of North Carolina makes a tough shot to put UNC ahead and puts the game over the total; the guy next to me ain’t happy, but then Villanova hits a shot at the buzzer to win the national title and get the guy a split on his bets.

Never seen someone so happy to break even.

2010— I’m at the MGM Grand sportsbook for the first Saturday of the tournament; me and apparently every Kansas fan west of the Rockies. Jayhawks were a #1-seed, a big favorite over Northern Iowa. Ton of people wearing blue/red in the MGM Grand.

Game is early on, some kid makes a shot— the three young guys next to me start hugging each other. I ask one of them “Is that your brother? Why are you so happy?”

I had no idea you could bet on which team got to 15 points first; that obscure basket won the guys their bet and they were celebrating.

Anyway the game goes on and go figure, Northern Iowa hits a shot from the corner at the end and upsets Kansas, big upset. Lot of sad people were walking around, wearing blue/red.

My four all-time favorite NCAA Tournament games:
2006— When the brackets came out, I went on a local radio show here in Albany and gave my quick thoughts on what would happen. I had decided that Northwestern State would upset Iowa in a #3-14 game and I said so on the radio. Fairly bold prediction.

As luck would have it, Northwestern State does pull the upset, winning 64-63. Now that was a fun day.

1990— Loyola Marymount 111, New Mexico State 90— During the WCC tournament, LMU’s star Hank Gathers collapsed and died on the court during a game. It was horrible; they called off the tournament, and LMU got the automatic bid because they finished first.

When the brackets came out 8-9 days later, LMU had the very last time slot in the first round, the midnight Friday game on CBS. Their opponent was New Mexico State, a team that would run with the hyper-fast breaking Lions, coached by Paul Westhead.

Back then, I picked games in the Albany newspaper and I had done very well that year; I really wanted to risk my entire (fictional) bankroll on LMU in his game— there was no way they were losing this game. I didn’t risk my bankroll, just made the normal pick, but I tried to impress that upon the readers. LMU was going to win.

LMU’s Bo Kimble shot his first free throw lefty, in honor of his fallen friend, but Kimble also had four fouls at halftime, and the game was tied. I was queasy about my pick, but LMU exploded in the second half, won by 21, then won two more games in one of the most famous runs in NCAA history. That team was so much fun to watch.

1990— Jerry Tarkanian’s Rebels dispatched LMU in the West Region final, then they played Duke in the national title game, and they crushed Duke, 103-73. Then the weasel from the NCAA had to hand Tarkanian the national championship trophy, after they had harassed the guy for years (NCAA later wrote Tarkanian a $2.5M check to settle a dispute).

Sweet 16 of the West Region is being played in Las Vegas tonight, 33 years after that great night. The NCAA embraces Las Vegas now because more than anything, they love making money.

1974—NC State 80, UCLA 77, 2OT— When Michael Jordan was growing up, his favorite player was David Thompson, a great player for NC State. I was a big Wolfpack fan; friend of my parents lived in Raleigh, and he told me all about Thompson. I used to listen to their games on the radio on WBT in Charlotte.

UCLA beat the Wolfpack in December; this was when Bill Walton was a senior- they had won seven national titles in a row. Every kid in my school who liked basketball was a UCLA fan, except for me; the rematch in the Final Four.

UCLA led by 7 in overtime, but State rallied and won, then beat Marquette in the national title game and I was hooked for life on college basketball.

Dunking was illegal back then in college ball, which is a tribute to how great a player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was. Had Thompson been able to dunk, we would have some amazing highlights to watch on YouTube these days.

 

[Udog]

NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, March 23

NCAA Tournament
Michigan State vs Kansas State (@ MSG)
— Michigan State (21-12) ranked #24 by KenPom
— Tempo: #303
— Experience: #140
— Continuity: #107
— Michigan State won seven of its last ten games.
— Last 20 years, Michigan State is 6-3 in Sweet 16 games.
— Spartans have #69 eFG% defense in country.
— Spartans are 9-5 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Michigan State is 5-8 vs teams ranked in top 40.
— Michigan State’s schedule, to this point: #5
— bench minutes: #248
— Michigan State’s best win: 69-60 over #11 Marquette

— Kansas State (25-9) ranked #21 by KenPom
— Tempo: #41
— Experience: #30
— Continuity: #316
— K-State won six of its last eight games.
— K-State allowed 76+ points in seven of its nine losses.
— Last 20 years, Wildcats are 2-0 in Sweet 16 (2010/2018)
— K-State is 8-6 vs teams ranked in top 40.
— Wildcats force turnovers 20.8% of time (#52)
— K-State’s schedule, to this point: #21
— bench minutes: #324
— K-State’s best win: 116-103 at #5 Texas.

— This is the first #3-7 matchup in this round in four years.
— Last 10 years, #7-seed is 3-2 vs #3-seed in this round.

Arkansas vs UConn (@ Las Vegas)
— Arkansas (22-13) ranked #18 by KenPom
— Tempo: #50
— Experience: #263
— Continuity: #333
— Arkansas won three of its last four games.
— Arkansas was in Elite 8 each of last two years.
— Hogs have #24 eFG% defense in country.
— Hogs are forcing turnovers 20.3% of time (#63)
— Arkansas is 5-6 ATS as an underdog this season.
— Arkansas’ schedule, to this point: #19
— bench minutes: #297
— Arkansas’ best win: 72-71 over #9 Kansas.

— UConn (21-14) ranked #4 by KenPom
— Tempo: #213
— Experience: #115
— Continuity: #248
— UConn won 11 of its last 13 games.
— Huskies beat two mid-majors (Iona/Saint Mary’s) to get here.
— UConn is 1-5 in games decided by 6 or less points.
— UConn is in Sweet 16 since 2014, when Kevin Ollie was coach.
— Hurley is 2-3 in NCAA games; this is his first Sweet 16.
— UConn’s schedule, to this point: #35
— bench minutes: #216
— UConn’s best win: 82-67 over #2 Alabama

— Last 15 years, #8-seeds are 3-3 SU in Sweet 16 games.
— Last five years, #4-seeds are 3-9 SU in Sweet 16, 1-2 if favored.

Florida Atlantic vs Tennessee (@ MSG)
— Florida Atlantic (33-3) ranked #22 by KenPom
— Tempo: #143
— Experience: #148
— Continuity: #24
— FAU won its last nine games.
— FAU gave up 80-86-74 points in its three losses.
— Owls split pair of games vs SEC TY (loss to Ole Miss/beat Florida)
— Owls have #15 eFG% defense in country, #25 eFG% offense
— FAU is 7-1 against top 100 teams.
— FAU’s schedule, to this point: #125
— bench minutes: #15
— FAU’s best win: 50-46/66-62 over #32 North Texas

— Tennessee (25-10) ranked #6 by KenPom
— Tempo: #278
— Experience: #131
— Continuity: #114
— Last 14 games: 0-7 if they allow 60+ points, 7-0 if they allow less than 60
— Tennessee won five of its last seven games.
— Last 20 years, Vols are 1-5 in Sweet 16 games.
— Since 1997, Barnes is 3-4 in Sweet 16 games (0-1 since ’08)
— Barnes is 3-17 ATS in his last 20 NCAA tourney games.
— Tennessee’s schedule, to this point: #38
— bench minutes: #29
— Tennessee’s best win: 68-59 over #2 Alabama

— Will refs let Tennessee play as aggressively as they did vs Duke?
— Last five years, #4-seeds are 3-9 SU in Sweet 16, 1-2 if favored.

Gonzaga vs UCLA (@ T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas)
— Gonzaga (30-5) ranked #7 by KenPom
— Tempo: #40
— Experience: #44
— Continuity: #18
— Gonzaga won its last eleven games.
— Last 7 tournaments, Gonzaga is 4-3 in Sweet 16 games.
— Zags are shooting 58.7% inside arc (#2), 38.4% on arc (#10)
— Zags have #245 eFG% defense.
— Gonzaga is 0-2 ATS as an underdog this year.
— Gonzaga’s schedule, to this point: #58
— bench minutes: #314
— Gonzaga’s best win: 100-90 over #2 Alabama

— UCLA (31-5) ranked #3 by KenPom
— Tempo: #245
— Experience: #107
— Continuity: #150
— UCLA won 11 of its last 12 games.
— Since 2009, Bruins are 1-4 in Sweet 16 games.
— In his career, Cronin is 1-2 in Sweet 16 games.
— UCLA forces turnovers 23.4% of time (#11)
— Bruins are 31-5 this year, but 2-3 in T-Mobile Arena
— UCLA’s schedule, to this point: #42
— bench minutes: #237
— UCLA’s best win: 82-73 over #10 Arizona.

— Gonzaga beat UCLA 93-90 in OT in national semi-finals two years ago.
— Last eight years, favorites are 4-4 ATS in #2-3 seed games in this round.
— Last 10 years, #2-seeds are 7-4 SU vs #3-seeds in this round
— Both teams played their conference tournament in Las Vegas two weeks ago.




NCAAB

Thursday, March 23

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gonzaga @ UCLA
Gonzaga
Gonzaga is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing UCLA
Gonzaga is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing UCLA
UCLA
UCLA is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Gonzaga
UCLA is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Gonzaga


All other matchups showing "No trends to report"


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Cnotes53]

THURSDAY, MARCH 23

MSU at KSU	06:30 PM	MSU -1.0 O 138.5	+500 +500
ARK at CONN	07:15 PM	ARK +3.5 U 140.0	+500 +500
FAU at TENN	09:00 PM	FAU +5.0 O 129.5	+500 +500
GONZ at UCLA	09:45 PM	GONZ +1.0 U 145.0	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

Completed Picks

Past Completed Picks

03/23/2023	3-5-0	37.50%	-1250	Detail
03/22/2023	0-2-0	0.00%	-1100	Detail
03/21/2023	5-3-0	62.50%	+850	Detail
03/20/2023	1-1-0	50.00%	-50	Detail
03/19/2023	13-23-0	36.11%	-6150	Detail
03/18/2023	10-18-0	35.71%	-4900	Detail
03/17/2023	15-16-1	48.44%	-1300	Detail
03/16/2023	15-17-0	46.88%	-1850	Detail
03/15/2023	10-10-0	50.00%	-500	Detail
03/14/2023	11-8-1	57.50%	+1100	Detail
03/12/2023	3-7-0	30.00%	-2350	Detail
03/11/2023	25-21-0	54.35%	+950	Detail
03/10/2023	39-33-0	54.17%	+1350	Detail
03/09/2023	54-53-4	50.45%	-2150	Detail
03/08/2023	35-33-2	51.43%	-650	Detail
03/07/2023	21-31-0	40.38%	-6550	Detail
03/06/2023	9-17-2	35.71%	-4850	Detail
03/05/2023	30-30-0	50.00%	-1500	Detail
03/04/2023	84-102-0	45.16%	-14100	Detail
03/03/2023	36-24-2	59.68%	+4800	Detail
03/02/2023	63-44-1	58.80%	+7300	Detail
03/01/2023	31-43-2	42.11%	-8150	Detail

 

[T]

Thanks for everything you post C!:0008

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack
Highest paid NBA coaches:
$11.5M— Gregg Popovich, San Antonio
$9.5M— Steve Kerr, Golden State
$8.5M— Doc Rivers, Philadelphia
$8.5M— Erik Spoelstra, Miami
$8M— Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee
$8M— Nick Nurse, Toronto

Quote of the Day
“Physically, as I watch him, I think his skill set is very similar to Joe Burrow. OK, I think that would be the guy in the NFL and you know fellow, one-time Buckeye that I would look at and go OK, he moves. He’s about the same size, same frame, same kind of arm talent, and moves the same way physically.”
Carolina Panthers’ assistant Josh McCown, talking about Ohio State QB CJ Stroud

Friday’s quiz
When was the last time a Pac-12 team won the national title in college basketball?

Thursday’s quiz
The first time Rick Pitino coached in the NCAA Tournament, he was coaching Boston University, in 1983.

Wednesday’s quiz
Jason Alexander (George Costanza on Seinfeld) played Richard Gere’s assistant in the movie, Pretty Woman.



*************************************


Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….

— Gonzaga 79, UCLA 76
UCLA led this game 46-33 at halftime.
Timme scored 36 points, had 13 rebounds for Gonzaga.
Zags blew a 72-62 lead with 2:40 left, hit game-winning shot with 0:07 left.

— Florida Atlantic 62, Tennessee 55
Tennessee’s last 15 games: 0-8 if they allowed 60+ points, 7-0 if they allowed 59 or less.
FAU scored 22 points in first half, outscored Tennessee 40-28 in second half.
Rick Barnes is now 3-18 ATS in his last 21 NCAA tourney games.

— Kansas State 98, Michigan State 93 OT
K-State is 26-9; when Jerome Tang took this job over last spring, he inherited two players from last year’s squad. Two. This is an amazingly great coaching job.

Michigan State made 13-25 on the arc, K-State 11-24. Spartans scored 1.27 points/possession and still lost, which doesn’t happen very much.

— UConn 88, Arkansas 65— Total ass-kicking; UConn scored 1.26 points/possession, led by 17 at the half, was never challenged.

— Michigan State’s loss means that the Big 14 still hasn’t won a national title in college hoop since the Spartans won way back in 2000.

— North Carolina F Armando Bacot is returning to play a fifth season for the Tar Heels next year, which is very good news for a Tar Heel squad that missed the NCAA’s, then declined to play in the NIT. Must be some seriously good NIL money floating around Chapel Hill.

— Providence hired George Mason coach Kim English to replace Ed Cooley as its new coach; English went 34-29 in two seasons coaching George Mason. He is a former Tennessee assistant; long time ago (1988), Tennessee coach Barnes went from coaching George Mason to coaching Providence.

— There have now been 43 coaching changes in college hoop this spring, with another 20 or so openings still pending.

— From 1986-2019, #15-seeds went 8-128 in first round games; the last three years, #15-seeds are 3-9. My thought is that as time goes on, teams at the top of the ratings are getting weaker.

— Longest playoff droughts in the NFL:
12 years- Jets
7 years- Denver
6 years- Detroit
5 years- Atlanta, Carolina

— Over the last five seasons, Christian McCaffrey and Austin Ekeler are the only two NFL players with both 3,000+ rushing yards and 3,000+ passing yards.

— XFL standings halfway thru the regular season:
North:
Defenders 5-0
Battlehawks 3-2
Sea Dragons 3-2
Vipers 1-4

South:
Roughnecks 4-1
Renegades 3-2
Brahmas 1-4
Guardians 0-5

— Phillies 1B Rhys Hoskins tore an ACL Thursday, is out for the year.

— Last two baseball seasons, Seattle Mariners are 67-41 in one-run games, by far the best record in MLB in one-run games. Is that sustainable? Scott Servais is an excellent manager, for sure.

— According to Forbes Magazine, baseball teams with the best 2022, $$$-wise:
Seattle $83.8M profit
SF Giants $74.9M
Red Sox $71.6M
Orioles $64.7M
Oakland A’s $62.2M— WTF????

— Imagine my blood pressure going up when I saw that the Oakland A’s turned a $62.2M profit last year. Would it kill them to try to put a decent team on the field? If not, they should sell the damn team to someone who will try to win. Seriously.

— Was watching a Dodgers spring training game the other night and Rick Monday was doing the analysis; he is 77 years old now, doesn’t look it or sound it. Terrific announcer; he played for the A’s when I first became a fan in the mid-60’s. He played 19 years in the majors, and has been a radio analyst for the Dodgers since then. Quite a career.

— If you live in the Albany area and still have DirecTV, you still can’t watch the FOX channel; it is off the grid. DirecTV has taken the people that own the channel to court now.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again; dump DirecTV and get YouTube TV. It is way cheaper, it has basically all the same stuff- they even show the FOX channel.

Did I mention that YouTube TV is way cheaper than DirecTV?

 

[Udog]

SAN DIEGO ST is 11-2 ATS (8.8 Units) after 4 straight games forcing opponent to commit 14 or less turnovers in the current season.

HOUSTON is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) in a neutral court game where the total is 130 to 139.5 over the last 2 seasons.

TEXAS are 6-0 ATS (6 Units) in March games in the current season.

CREIGHTON is 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) in road games in March games over the last 2 seasons.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Friday, March 24

NCAAB
Long Sheet

Friday, March 24

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MIAMI (27 - 7) vs. HOUSTON (33 - 3) - 3/24/2023, 7:15 PM
Top Trends for this game.
HOUSTON is 44-30 ATS (+11.0 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 44-30 ATS (+11.0 Units) in all lined games over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 42-30 ATS (+9.0 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
HOUSTON is 22-10 ATS (+11.0 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
MIAMI is 18-5 ATS (+12.5 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
MIAMI is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
MIAMI is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 2 seasons.
MIAMI is 18-5 ATS (+12.5 Units) versus good defensive teams - allowing <=64 points/game over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

XAVIER (27 - 9) vs. TEXAS (28 - 8) - 3/24/2023, 9:45 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TEXAS is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) in March games this season.
XAVIER is 19-7 ATS (+11.3 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
XAVIER is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
XAVIER is 26-13 ATS (+11.7 Units) in a NCAA tournament games since 1997.
XAVIER is 16-6 ATS (+9.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
XAVIER is 12-3 ATS (+8.7 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game this season.
TEXAS is 10-22 ATS (-14.2 Units) against Big East conference opponents since 1997.
TEXAS is 26-53 ATS (-32.3 Units) when playing with 5 or 6 days rest since 1997.
TEXAS is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) in road games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAN DIEGO ST (29 - 6) vs. ALABAMA (31 - 5) - 3/24/2023, 6:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN DIEGO ST is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRINCETON (23 - 8) vs. CREIGHTON (23 - 12) - 3/24/2023, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CREIGHTON is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) in all neutral court games over the last 2 seasons.
CREIGHTON is 11-2 ATS (+8.8 Units) in March games over the last 2 seasons.
CREIGHTON is 158-121 ATS (+24.9 Units) after a non-conference game since 1997.
CREIGHTON is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) when playing on a neutral court over the last 2 seasons.
CREIGHTON is 32-17 ATS (+13.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
PRINCETON is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) as an underdog this season.
PRINCETON is 92-64 ATS (+21.6 Units) when playing with 5 or 6 days rest since 1997.
PRINCETON is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, March 24

San Diego State vs Alabama (@ Louisville)
— San Diego State (29-6) ranked #14 by KenPom
— Tempo: #263
— Experience: #21
— Continuity: #39
— San Diego State won six in row, 12 of last 13 games.
— San Diego State is 0-2 in Sweet 16 games.
— Aztecs have #28 eFG% defense in country.
— Aztecs lost 78-74 in OT to Arkansas of SEC in November.
— San Diego State is 11-3 in games decoded by 7 or less points.
— San Diego State’s schedule, to this point: #47
— bench minutes: #31
— San Diego State’s best wins: three wins over #27 Utah State

— Alabama (31-5) ranked #2 by KenPom
— Tempo: #5
— Experience: #257
— Continuity: #280
— Alabama won five in row, nine of last ten games.
— Alabama’s five postseason wins are all by 11+ points.
— Last 25 years, Crimson Tide is 1-1 in Sweet 16 (win was in ’04)
— Alabama has #1 eFG% defense in country.
— 47.5% of Crimson Tide’s shots are 3’s (36.8% of points (#36))
— Alabama’s schedule, to this point: #10
— bench minutes: #52
— Alabama’s best win: 71-65 at #1 Houston

— Last four years, #1-seeds are 5-7 ATS in Sweet 16 games.
— Last 5+ years, favorites are 19-24 ATS in Sweet 16 games.

Miami vs Houston (@ Kansas City)
— Miami (27-7) ranked #33 by KenPom
— Tempo: #99
— Experience: #27
— Continuity: #138
— Miami won 11 of its last 13 games.
— Miami was in the Elite 8 last year.
— Canes have #23 eFG% in country.
— Canes are #60 team in country on offensive boards.
— Miami is 6-3 against top 50 teams.
— Miami’s schedule, to this point: #77
— bench minutes: #319
— Miami’s best win: 81-59 over #17 Duke

— Houston (33-3) ranked #1 by KenPom
— Tempo: #342
— Experience: #260
— Continuity: #203
— Houston won 15 of its last 16 games.
— Cougars were in Elite 8 LY, Final Four the year before.
— Sampson is 4-2 in Sweet 16 games.
— Houston has #2 eFG% defense in country.
— Cougars are #4 team in country on offensive boards.
— Houston’s schedule, to this point: #91
— bench minutes: #270
— Houston’s best win: 53-48 over #13 Saint Mary’s

— Last four years, #1-seeds are 5-7 ATS in Sweet 16 games.
— Last 5+ years, favorites are 19-24 ATS in Sweet 16 games.

Princeton vs Creighton (@ Louisville)
— Princeton (23-8) ranked #91 by KenPom
— Tempo: #193
— Experience: #313
— Continuity: #170
— #15-seeds are 3-0 ATS all-time in Sweet 16 games.
— Princeton won its last six games.
— Tigers are #7 team in country on defensive boards.
— Tigers have #58 eFG% defense in country, #86 eFG% offense
— Princeton is 9-7 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Princeton’s schedule, to this point: #172
— bench minutes: #326
— Princeton’s best win: 59-55 over #11 Arizona

— Creighton (23-12) ranked #12 by KenPom
— Tempo: #142
— Experience: #159
— Continuity: #82
— Creighton won five of its last six games.
— Last 25 years, Creighton is 0-1 in Sweet 16 games (lost in ’21).
— Bluejays have #27 eFG% in country, #39 eFG% defense.
— Bluejays are #13 team in country on defensive boards.
— Creighton is 4-7 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Creighton’s schedule, to this point: #12
— bench minutes: #351
— Creighton’s best win: 56-53 over #3 UConn

— #15-seeds are 3-0 ATS all-time in Sweet 16 games.
— Last 5+ years, favorites are 19-24 ATS in Sweet 16 games.

Xavier vs Texas (@ Kansas City)
— Xavier (27-9) ranked #15 by KenPom
— Tempo: #33
— Experience: #16
— Continuity: #55
— Xavier won seven of its last eight games.
— From 2004-17, Xavier went 3-4 in Sweet 16 games.
— Sean Miller is 4-3 in Sweet 16 games.
— Musketeers have #12 eFG% in country.
— Xavier is 9-6 against top 50 teams.
— Xavier’s schedule, to this point: #24
— bench minutes: #310
— Xavier’s best wins: 83-73/82-79 over #3 UConn

— Texas (28-8) ranked #5 by KenPom
— Tempo: #100
— Experience: #6
— Continuity: #151
— Texas wont its last six games, giving up 58.2 ppg.
— Texas is 3-2 in last five Sweet 16 games (last one in ’08)
— Longhorns force turnovers 22.4% of time (#19)
— Texas is shooting 54% inside arc (#38)
— Longhorns are 14-7 vs top 50 teams.
— Texas’ schedule, to this point: #7
— bench minutes: #122
— Texas’ best win: 93-74 over #6 Gonzaga

— Xavier star Boum played for Rodney Terry at UTEP
— Last 5+ years, favorites are 19-24 ATS in Sweet 16 games.
— Last 10+ years, #2-seeds are 7-5 SU vs #3-seeds in this round




NCAAB

Friday, March 24

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Trend Report
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All matchups showing "No trends to report"


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[Cnotes53]

FRIDAY, MARCH 24

SDSU at ALA	06:30 PM	SDSU +7.5 U 137.0	+500 +500
MIA at HOU	07:15 PM	HOU -7.5 U 138.5	+500 +500
PRIN at CREI	09:00 PM	PRIN +10.0 O 140.5	+500 +500
XAV at TEX	09:45 PM	TEX -4.5 U 149.0	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

Completed Picks

Past Completed Picks

03/24/2023	4-4-0	50.00%	-200	Detail
03/23/2023	3-5-0	37.50%	-1250	Detail
03/22/2023	0-2-0	0.00%	-1100	Detail
03/21/2023	5-3-0	62.50%	+850	Detail
03/20/2023	1-1-0	50.00%	-50	Detail
03/19/2023	13-23-0	36.11%	-6150	Detail
03/18/2023	10-18-0	35.71%	-4900	Detail
03/17/2023	15-16-1	48.44%	-1300	Detail
03/16/2023	15-17-0	46.88%	-1850	Detail
03/15/2023	10-10-0	50.00%	-500	Detail
03/14/2023	11-8-1	57.50%	+1100	Detail
03/12/2023	3-7-0	30.00%	-2350	Detail
03/11/2023	25-21-0	54.35%	+950	Detail
03/10/2023	39-33-0	54.17%	+1350	Detail
03/09/2023	54-53-4	50.45%	-2150	Detail
03/08/2023	35-33-2	51.43%	-650	Detail
03/07/2023	21-31-0	40.38%	-6550	Detail
03/06/2023	9-17-2	35.71%	-4850	Detail
03/05/2023	30-30-0	50.00%	-1500	Detail
03/04/2023	84-102-0	45.16%	-14100	Detail
03/03/2023	36-24-2	59.68%	+4800	Detail
03/02/2023	63-44-1	58.80%	+7300	Detail
03/01/2023	31-43-2	42.11%	-8150	Detail

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Saturday’s 6-pack
Leading scorers in the NBA:
33.2— Joel Embiid, Phil
32.9— Luka Doncic, Dal
32.2— Damian Lillard, Port
31.4— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC
31.2— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milw
30.1— Jayson Tatum, Box

Quote of the Day
“I’m using Muhammad Ali quotes because we’re in Louisville, and we talked about confidence and the key to confidence is being fearless. I thought we were fearless tonight.”
San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher

Saturday’s quiz
When was the last time a Big East team won a national title in college basketball?

Friday’s quiz
1997 was the last time a Pac-12 team won the national title in college basketball, when Arizona beat Kentucky in overtime to win the championship.

Thursday’s quiz
The first time Rick Pitino coached in the NCAA Tournament, he was coaching Boston University, in 1983.

************************************************** *********

Saturday’s Den: Talking about basketball and gameshows

Before we get into the basketball, I watching The Price is Right the other day— I love game shows, think daytime TV should be all game shows, the way it was when I was a kid. These contrived debate/argument shows on ESPN/FS1 are stupid. Our country needs to be less stupid.

Anyway, the final Showcase is on, and a guy missed the price of his Showcase by $73, just an amazing guess. Showcase was over $42,000 and he missed by only $73; tremendous.

One problem; his bid was $73 OVER the actual retail price; you can’t go over the price, or you lose— both contestants lost this one. Never saw that happen before.

Price Is Right, Hollywood Squares, Match Game, I grew up watching that stuff (Jeopardy a little bit, too). Stuff like that is a hell of a lot better than watching overpaid morons argue with each other.

On to the basketball………
— My records go back to 1985; this is the first Elite 8 since then with no #1-seeds still alive.

Fun to watch, very difficult to predict.

— San Diego State 71, Alabama 64
MVP was 5-10 PG Trammell, who played the last two years in the WAC at Seattle.
Alabama led 48-39 with 11:40 left in the game.
Alabama star Miller shot 3-19 from the floor.

— Miami 89, Houston 75
Miami made 11-25 on the arc, scored 1.27 points/possession.
Nijel Pack was 7-10 on the arc; Houston’s whole team was 9-31.
Miami tied for first in ACC; their uniforms don’t say Duke, so people overlook them.

— Creighton 86, Princeton 75
Creighton shot 74.2% inside the arc, scored 1.23 points/possession.
Bluejays lost six games in a row in early December; they’re 6-1 in last seven games.
Princeton was just 4th-ever #15-seed to get to this point.

— Texas 83, Xavier 71
Texas never trailed, led 42-25 at halftime; total butt-kicking.
Longhorns’ 6-9 big man Disu got hurt early on; check status for Sunday
Texas is 16-7 against top 50 teams this season.

— What is the Texas administration doing? How is Rodney Terry still an interim coach? Longhorns are 22-7 since Chris Beard got fired, and Terry replaced him; it is inconceivable they could hire another coach after this run, where they’ve won the Big X Tournament, and now are in the Elite 8.

— Over the last three years, Big 14 teams are:
17-7 in NCAA first round games
4-13 in NCAA second round games
1-3 in Sweet 16 games.

24 teams, four got to the Sweet 16, one got to the Elite 8. No bueno.

— Kansas State PG Markquis Nowell is in his 5th year of college basketball:
2019— Little Rock went 10-21
2020— Little Rock went 21-10, but there was no Sun Belt/NCAA tournament
2021— Little Rock went 11-15
2022— Kansas State went 14-17, lost their last six games, fired their coach.
2023— Kansas State is 26-9 and Nowell is a big star.

He had 20 points, 19 assists in an overtime win Thursday, the most assists ever in an NCAA Tournament game. People are comparing him to Kemba Walker.

Stories like this are why the tournament has been so unpredictable. K-State has two players who played on the team last year, but the new group has bonded and are having a great season.

— Conference USA needs better TV exposure; I watch some of their games on ESPN+, but they have several good teams, teams that play all different styles.

Last eight years, Conference USA teams are 6-2 SU in first round NCAA Tournament games, and they were an underdog in seven of those eight games.

— Which big $$$ school is going to go after Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May? In five years at FAU, with a pandemic in the middle of it, Owls are 100-59, 52-34 in conference games. This is a Florida Atlantic program that is only in its 30th year as a Division I program.

Teams with current coach openings:
California, Temple, South Florida, Penn State, Texas Tech and technically, Texas, but if I was a prospective coach, I wouldn’t go anywhere near Texas- that should be Rodney Terry’s job.

All the other current job openings are below FAU’s level. Valparaiso just fired their coach; May went to college at Indiana, which is close to Valpo, but he can do better than a low-level Missouri Valley job.

— When they started the Big East Conference in 1979, they invited Holy Cross to join; Crusaders had a pretty good team back then, but the Holy Cross administration turned them down, citing the college’s commitment to academic excellence.

Could you imagine that happening today? How much $$$ you think they squandered by joining the freakin’ Patriot League? Holy Cross won four Patriot League titles under Ralph Willard 15-20 years ago, but come on, these big-time hoop schools make some serious cash— rich alumni like it when the alma mater is in the top 25.

— Loved listening to Stan Van Gundy/Kevin Harlan on TV this week; Van Gundy is all ball— I learn a lot every time I hear him describe a game. Harlan is a great play/play guy who sets his analysts up the right way. Van Gundy offers opinions; you may not agree with him all the time, but he’s coached in college and the NBA— he knows his stuff.

— Micah Shrewsberry bolts Penn State to be the new coach at Notre Dame; Nittany Lions were 23-14 this year, but they started four seniors, were the most experienced team in the country. They’re going to regress next year, no matter who the new coach is- it was time for him to jump.

 

[Udog]

KANSAS ST is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) when playing only their 3rd game in a week over the last 2 seasons.

CONNECTICUT is 9-0 ATS (9 Units) after 3 consecutive non-conference games in the current season.




NCAAB
Dunkel

Saturday, March 25

NCAAB
Long Sheet

Saturday, March 25

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FLA ATLANTIC (34 - 3) vs. KANSAS ST (26 - 9) - 3/25/2023, 6:09 PM
Top Trends for this game.
KANSAS ST is 23-11 ATS (+10.9 Units) in all games this season.
KANSAS ST is 23-11 ATS (+10.9 Units) in all lined games this season.
KANSAS ST is 15-3 ATS (+11.7 Units) as a favorite this season.
KANSAS ST is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) in all neutral court games over the last 3 seasons.
KANSAS ST is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS ST is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) when playing on a neutral court over the last 3 seasons.
KANSAS ST is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) in non-conference games this season.
KANSAS ST is 18-7 ATS (+10.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
KANSAS ST is 12-5 ATS (+6.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) on Saturday games over the last 2 seasons.
FLA ATLANTIC is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
FLA ATLANTIC is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) in non-conference games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONNECTICUT (28 - 8) vs. GONZAGA (31 - 5) - 3/25/2023, 8:49 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GONZAGA is 16-4 ATS (+11.6 Units) against Big East conference opponents since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 24-12 ATS (+10.8 Units) in all games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 24-12 ATS (+10.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) as a favorite this season.
CONNECTICUT is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) in all neutral court games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 13-1 ATS (+11.9 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
CONNECTICUT is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) when playing on a neutral court this season.
CONNECTICUT is 13-1 ATS (+11.9 Units) in non-conference games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) after scoring 80 points or more this season.
CONNECTICUT is 17-9 ATS (+7.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
GONZAGA is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) in a neutral court game where the total is 150 to 154.5 over the last 2 seasons.
GONZAGA is 1-7 ATS (-6.7 Units) in road games when playing with one or less days rest this season.
GONZAGA is 5-12 ATS (-8.2 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, March 25

Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State (@ MSG)
— Florida Atlantic (34-3) ranked #17 by KenPom
— Tempo: #158
— Experience: #148
— Continuity: #24
— FAU won its last ten games.
— FAU gave up 80-86-74 points in its three losses.
— Owls have #13 eFG% defense, #26 eFG% offense
— Owls are 12-1 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— FAU is 8-1 against top 100 teams.
— FAU’s schedule, to this point: #118
— bench minutes: #14
— FAU’s best win: 62-55 over #7 Tennessee

— Kansas State (26-9) ranked #20 by KenPom
— Tempo: #43
— Experience: #30
— Continuity: #316
— K-State won seven of its last nine games.
— K-State allowed 76+ points in seven of its nine losses.
— PG Nowell had 20 points, 19 assists in Thursday’s win
— K-State played four starters 35:00+ in their OT win.
— Wildcats force turnovers 20.7% of time (#53)
— K-State’s schedule, to this point: #19
— bench minutes: #325
— K-State’s best win: 116-103 at #5 Texas.

— Last eight years, underdogs are 19-13 ATS in Elite 8 games.

Gonzaga vs UConn (@ T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas)
— Gonzaga (31-5) ranked #6 by KenPom
— Tempo: #39
— Experience: #43
— Continuity: #20
— Gonzaga won its last 12 games.
— Gonzaga played three starters 36:00+ in Thursday’s win.
— Since 2015, Zags are 2-2 in Elite 8 games.
— Zags are shooting 58.5% inside arc (#2), 38.3% on arc (#10)
— Gonzaga is 16-4 against top 100 teams.
— Gonzaga’s schedule, to this point: #48
— bench minutes: #313
— Gonzaga’s best win: 79-76 over #3 UCLA

— UConn (28-8) ranked #1 by KenPom
— Tempo: #211
— Experience: #115
— Continuity: #248
— UConn won 12 of its last 14 games.
— Huskies won its three NCAA games by 24-15-23 points.
— UConn is 1-5 in games decided by 6 or less points.
— UConn is in Elite 8 for first time since 2014; Kevin Ollie was coach.
— Huskies are 10-6 vs top 50 teams.
— UConn’s schedule, to this point: #29
— bench minutes: #221
— UConn’s best win: 82-67 over #2 Alabama

— Last eight years, underdogs are 19-13 ATS in Elite 8 games.



NCAAB

Saturday, March 25

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Florida Atlantic @ Kansas State
No trends to report

Connecticut @ Gonzaga
Connecticut
Connecticut is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Gonzaga
Gonzaga
No trends to report


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Cnotes53]

SATURDAY, MARCH 25

FAU at KSU	06:09 PM	FAU +2.0 O 144.5	+500 +500
CONN at GONZ	08:49 PM	GONZ +2.0 O 153.5	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

Completed Picks

Past Completed Picks

03/25/2023	2-2-0	50.00%	-100	Detail
03/24/2023	4-4-0	50.00%	-200	Detail
03/23/2023	3-5-0	37.50%	-1250	Detail
03/22/2023	0-2-0	0.00%	-1100	Detail
03/21/2023	5-3-0	62.50%	+850	Detail
03/20/2023	1-1-0	50.00%	-50	Detail
03/19/2023	13-23-0	36.11%	-6150	Detail
03/18/2023	10-18-0	35.71%	-4900	Detail
03/17/2023	15-16-1	48.44%	-1300	Detail
03/16/2023	15-17-0	46.88%	-1850	Detail
03/15/2023	10-10-0	50.00%	-500	Detail
03/14/2023	11-8-1	57.50%	+1100	Detail
03/12/2023	3-7-0	30.00%	-2350	Detail
03/11/2023	25-21-0	54.35%	+950	Detail
03/10/2023	39-33-0	54.17%	+1350	Detail
03/09/2023	54-53-4	50.45%	-2150	Detail
03/08/2023	35-33-2	51.43%	-650	Detail
03/07/2023	21-31-0	40.38%	-6550	Detail
03/06/2023	9-17-2	35.71%	-4850	Detail
03/05/2023	30-30-0	50.00%	-1500	Detail
03/04/2023	84-102-0	45.16%	-14100	Detail
03/03/2023	36-24-2	59.68%	+4800	Detail
03/02/2023	63-44-1	58.80%	+7300	Detail
03/01/2023	31-43-2	42.11%	-8150	Detail