Really like Marquette over St Louis tonite. Line opened at Marquette ?4 and Billiken bettors have moved it down to 1?. Pardon the clich? but this St. Louis team is really up and down so far:
Jan 4 beat West VA 75-45
Jan 2 lost at Kansas St. 48-65
Dec. 28 beat S. IL 71-60
Dec. 21 lost at Butler 46-68
Home court advantage seems to work but remember that Billikens don?t have a true on- campus facility. They play at the Savvis Center along with the Blues, Britney Spears and Manheim Steamroller. Last year Marquette spanked the Billikens 55-38 at Savvis. After a win and 2-days rest St. Louis is 0-2 ATS this year. Win, relax, oops, win, relax, oops.
RPI rankings through games of Jan. 5, Saint Louis is 76th; Marquette 49th
Jeff Sagarin's ratings through games of Jan. 5, Saint Louis is 108th; Marquette 36th
Last Saturday StL crushed W. Virginia. Interesting note about that game was an Israeli born player named Izik Ohanon. He shot 8-9 FG, 1-1 3P. This kid Ohanon has been with the team for only three games after serving an eight-game suspension at the start of the season for playing on a professional team while in the Army.
FROM STLTODAY.COM (St. Louis-Post Dispatch)
``One factor we didn't count on was Ohanon,'' West Virginia coach John Beilein said. ``He threw a monkey wrench into what we wanted to do. He just killed our zone.''
He also surprised his coach. Brad Soderberg didn't know quite what to expect from Ohanon, who arrived on campus as something of an unknown quantity.
Before inviting Ohanon to visit the school, Soderberg had only seen him play on videotape.
``I saw glimpses, and yet he wasn't one of the main players on the professional team he played for in Jerusalem,'' Soderberg said. ``He wasn't logging a lot of minutes and you didn't have a lot to go on.''
Ohanon was allowed to play in Saint Louis' two exhibitions, and still Soderberg didn't know what to think.
He convinced his coach during the game at Kansas State, where Soderberg called him the ``one bright spot,'' and he was just getting warmed up. He excelled in all areas against West Virginia.
``He's got the ability to make shots, he can do stuff off the dribble, he can pass it and he can rebound,'' Soderberg said. ``What more can you ask for? And on top of it he's 6-9.''
I am looking for a sophomore jinx of sorts. Sophomore does mean ?wise fool?. Kind of like your first two golf outings of the spring. The first time out, you hit the ball effortlessly ? not worrying about all the factors as you do later in the season. Grip, alignment, stance, screw it! You just hit the ball and it clicks. You have a few 3-putts and turn in an 83. Not bad. Next time out you are slicing and chunking the earth and go to triple digits. But I digress, I will be down there cheering for Ohanon to revert back to human stature.
I know the Billikens have much less individual talent than Marquette. First year coach Soderberg gets his first conference loss tonite. Marquette slipping in the rankings due to back-to-back losses has to stop the bleeding with a W.
Jan 4 beat West VA 75-45
Jan 2 lost at Kansas St. 48-65
Dec. 28 beat S. IL 71-60
Dec. 21 lost at Butler 46-68
Home court advantage seems to work but remember that Billikens don?t have a true on- campus facility. They play at the Savvis Center along with the Blues, Britney Spears and Manheim Steamroller. Last year Marquette spanked the Billikens 55-38 at Savvis. After a win and 2-days rest St. Louis is 0-2 ATS this year. Win, relax, oops, win, relax, oops.
RPI rankings through games of Jan. 5, Saint Louis is 76th; Marquette 49th
Jeff Sagarin's ratings through games of Jan. 5, Saint Louis is 108th; Marquette 36th
Last Saturday StL crushed W. Virginia. Interesting note about that game was an Israeli born player named Izik Ohanon. He shot 8-9 FG, 1-1 3P. This kid Ohanon has been with the team for only three games after serving an eight-game suspension at the start of the season for playing on a professional team while in the Army.
FROM STLTODAY.COM (St. Louis-Post Dispatch)
``One factor we didn't count on was Ohanon,'' West Virginia coach John Beilein said. ``He threw a monkey wrench into what we wanted to do. He just killed our zone.''
He also surprised his coach. Brad Soderberg didn't know quite what to expect from Ohanon, who arrived on campus as something of an unknown quantity.
Before inviting Ohanon to visit the school, Soderberg had only seen him play on videotape.
``I saw glimpses, and yet he wasn't one of the main players on the professional team he played for in Jerusalem,'' Soderberg said. ``He wasn't logging a lot of minutes and you didn't have a lot to go on.''
Ohanon was allowed to play in Saint Louis' two exhibitions, and still Soderberg didn't know what to think.
He convinced his coach during the game at Kansas State, where Soderberg called him the ``one bright spot,'' and he was just getting warmed up. He excelled in all areas against West Virginia.
``He's got the ability to make shots, he can do stuff off the dribble, he can pass it and he can rebound,'' Soderberg said. ``What more can you ask for? And on top of it he's 6-9.''
I am looking for a sophomore jinx of sorts. Sophomore does mean ?wise fool?. Kind of like your first two golf outings of the spring. The first time out, you hit the ball effortlessly ? not worrying about all the factors as you do later in the season. Grip, alignment, stance, screw it! You just hit the ball and it clicks. You have a few 3-putts and turn in an 83. Not bad. Next time out you are slicing and chunking the earth and go to triple digits. But I digress, I will be down there cheering for Ohanon to revert back to human stature.
I know the Billikens have much less individual talent than Marquette. First year coach Soderberg gets his first conference loss tonite. Marquette slipping in the rankings due to back-to-back losses has to stop the bleeding with a W.
