NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES, NEWS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS THRU MARCH MADNESS !

Udog

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Cnotes53

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SATURDAY, MARCH 2

GameTime(ET)PickUnits
TULN at FAU12:00 PMFAU -14.5
O 163.0
+500 +500
COLG at LEH12:00 PMCOLG -3.5
U 142.0
+500 +500
VILL at PROV12:00 PMPROV -2.5
U 136.0
+500 +500
FSU at GT12:00 PMGT +3.5
O 149.0
+500 +500
BUT at DEP12:00 PMBUT -11.5
O 147.5
+500 +500
FLA at SCAR12:00 PMFLA +2.0
O 143.0
+500 +500
HC at BU12:00 PMBU -9.0
U 135.5
+500 +500
FOR at STJOE12:30 PMSTJOE -8.0
U 145.0
+500 +500
M-OH at EMU01:00 PMEMU +5.0
O 135.0
+500 +500
MONM at ELON01:00 PMELON +2.0
U 149.5
+500 +500
TLSA at TEM01:00 PMTEM -5.5
U 143.5
+500 +500
ILL at WIS01:00 PMILL +3.0
O 150.5
+500 +500
KU at BAY01:00 PMBAY -5.5
O 145.0
+500 +500
WOF at VMI01:00 PMVMI +14.5
O 154.0
+500 +500
STONE at CCSU01:00 PMCCSU -13.5
O 136.5
+500 +500
ARK at UK01:30 PMUK -13.0
U 166.0
+500 +500
OKST at TEX02:00 PMTEX -10.0
U 144.5
+500 +500
WMU at BALL02:00 PMBALL -6.5
O 145.5
+500 +500
UNCA at RAD02:00 PMRAD -1.5
U 147.5
+500 +500
CHSO at PRE02:00 PMCHSO +7.0
O 141.5
+500 +500
MER at FUR02:00 PMFUR -10.0
O 150.0
+500 +500
TOWS at UNCW02:00 PMUNCW -3.5
U 132.0
+500 +500
HOF at COFC02:00 PMHOF +6.0
O 152.5
+500 +500
HAMP at CWM02:00 PMHAMP +4.5
U 142.0
+500 +500
DUQ at GMU02:00 PMDUQ +3.5
O 134.0
+500 +500
GW at LAS02:00 PMLAS -5.0
O 153.0
+500 +500
TOL at BUFF02:00 PMTOL -10.5
O 158.0
+500 +500
ORE at ARIZ02:00 PMARIZ -13.5
U 158.5
+500 +500
WCU at CHAT02:00 PMWCU +4.0
O 147.0
+500 +500
SDAK at UND02:00 PMUND -8.5
O 150.0
+500 +500
WEBB at WIN02:00 PMWIN -5.0
U 150.0
+500 +500
NAVY at AMER02:00 PMAMER -7.0
O 130.5
+500 +500
UNH at BING02:00 PMBING -4.0
U 146.0
+500 +500
SDST at NDSU02:00 PMSDST -3.0
O 145.5
+500 +500
MW at SH02:00 PMMW -3.0
U 139.5
+500 +500
MASS at DAV02:30 PMMASS +1.0
U 140.5
+500 +500
MARQ at CREI02:30 PMCREI -6.5
U 153.0
+500 +500
UMASS at UVM03:00 PMUVM -7.5
O 141.5
+500 +500
CIT at SAM03:00 PMSAM -14.0
O 151.5
+500 +500
UTSA at SMU03:00 PMUTSA +17.0
O 159.0
+500 +500
PSU at MINN03:15 PMMINN -6.5
O 151.0
+500 +500
COOK at SOU03:30 PMSOU -6.5
U 140.0
+500 +500
LSU at VAN03:30 PMVAN +3.5
U 144.0
+500 +500
CMU at KENT03:30 PMKENT -10.0
O 135.5
+500 +500
LNDNWD at MORE03:30 PMLNDNWD +21.0
O 134.0
+500 +500
ISU at UCF04:00 PMISU -3.5
O 134.5
+500 +500
ME at ALBY04:00 PMALBY +1.0
U 150.5
+500 +500
WYO at CSU04:00 PMWYO +15.5
O 146.0
+500 +500
NE at DREX04:00 PMNE +9.0
U 137.5
+500 +500
NCAT at CAMP04:00 PMCAMP -10.5
U 145.5
+500 +500
HOW at UMES04:00 PMHOW -5.0
U 140.0
+500 +500
NORF at DSU04:00 PMNORF -2.5
U 137.0
+500 +500
DEL at STON04:00 PMSTON -1.0
U 149.0
+500 +500
USF at CHAR04:00 PMCHAR -4.0
O 133.5
+500 +500
USC at WASH04:00 PMWASH -4.5
U 155.5
+500 +500
NAU at WEB04:00 PMNAU +12.5
U 146.5
+500 +500
UNCG at ETSU04:00 PMUNCG -2.0
O 135.5
+500 +500
TNTC at UALR04:00 PMTNTC +14.0
O 141.5
+500 +500
NCCU at COPP04:00 PMCOPP +8.0
O 138.0
+500 +500
SLU at URI04:00 PMSLU +2.0
O 160.0
+500 +500
LAM at NWST04:00 PMLAM -3.5
U 146.0
+500 +500
NJIT at BRY04:00 PMNJIT +13.0
O 148.5
+500 +500
NCST at UNC04:00 PMNCST +11.0
O 153.5
+500 +500
MSST at AUB04:00 PMAUB -9.5
U 145.5
+500 +500
UTA at UVU04:00 PMUTA +2.0
O 146.0
+500 +500
FDU at WAG04:30 PMWAG -3.5
O 140.0
+500 +500
HP at LONG04:30 PMHP -3.5
U 154.0
+500 +500
SIUE at WIU04:30 PMWIU -4.0
U 138.5
+500 +500
SELA at AMCC04:30 PMSELA +7.0
O 137.0
+500 +500
SCST at MORG04:30 PMSCST -1.5
O 147.0
+500 +500
TAMCOM at HCU04:30 PMTAMCOM -2.0
O 149.5
+500 +500
TNST at UTM04:30 PMUTM -6.5
U 157.0
+500 +500
FAMU at GRAM05:00 PMGRAM -10.0
O 134.0
+500 +500
NMSU at JVST05:00 PMJVST -9.0
U 131.0
+500 +500
ALST at AAMU05:00 PMAAMU +2.0
U 138.0
+500 +500
PRST at CSUS05:00 PMCSUS +1.0
U 132.5
+500 +500
MTST at EWU05:00 PMEWU -10.0
U 152.5
+500 +500
ARMY at L-MD05:00 PML-MD +1.0
U 123.5
+500 +500
NICH at MCNS05:00 PMMCNS -19.0
O 143.5
+500 +500
MONT at IDHO05:00 PMMONT -5.5
U 141.5
+500 +500
IOWA at NW05:30 PMNW -2.5
U 152.0
+500 +500
WAKE at VT05:30 PMWAKE +1.5
U 150.0
+500 +500
WKU at FIU06:00 PMWKU -3.5
O 161.5
+500 +500
WIGB at MILW06:00 PMMILW -5.5
O 143.5
+500 +500
INDPU at CLEVST06:00 PMCLEVST -17.0
O 148.5
+500 +500
DETU at OAK06:00 PMDETU +17.0
O 145.5
+500 +500
TAM at UGA06:00 PMUGA +1.5
U 145.5
+500 +500
NIU at AKR06:00 PMNIU +15.5
O 139.0
+500 +500
PITT at BC06:00 PMPITT -1.0
U 146.5
+500 +500
UVA at DUKE06:00 PMDUKE -9.0
U 124.5
+500 +500
VCU at RICH06:00 PMRICH -3.5
U 135.0
+500 +500
TTU at WVU06:00 PMWVU +2.0
U 153.0
+500 +500
DART at BRWN06:00 PMBRWN -11.0
O 131.5
+500 +500
JKST at TXSO06:00 PMTXSO -5.5
U 137.5
+500 +500
UNO at IW06:00 PMIW -3.5
U 160.0
+500 +500
ALCN at PV06:30 PMALCN -3.5
U 143.5
+500 +500
MVSU at ARPB06:30 PMARPB -12.5
U 143.0
+500 +500
NKU at WRST07:00 PMWRST -6.5
U 159.0
+500 +500
LAF at BUCK07:00 PMBUCK -4.5
U 127.5
+500 +500
UCLA at WSU07:00 PMWSU -6.5
U 126.5
+500 +500
SF at SCU07:00 PMSF -2.5
U 146.5
+500 +500
CLMB at PENN07:00 PMCLMB +3.0
U 148.5
+500 +500
HARV at YALE07:00 PMYALE -11.0
O 138.0
+500 +500
COR at PRIN07:00 PMPRIN -4.5
O 155.5
+500 +500
KSU at CIN07:00 PMKSU +6.5
O 139.5
+500 +500
RICE at WICH07:00 PMRICE +5.5
O 142.5
+500 +500
RMU at PFW07:00 PMRMU +11.5
O 149.5
+500 +500
UTEP at LIB07:00 PMLIB -9.5
U 137.0
+500 +500
XAV at GTWN07:30 PMXAV -7.5
O 155.5
+500 +500
CLEM at ND07:45 PMND +6.0
O 131.5
+500 +500
LMU at PORT08:00 PMLMU -3.5
U 146.0
+500 +500
HOU at OKLA08:00 PMHOU -6.0
U 130.0
+500 +500
UNCO at IDST08:00 PMIDST -1.0
U 145.0
+500 +500
UCSD at CSN08:00 PMUCSD -4.5
U 149.0
+500 +500
SYR at LOU08:00 PMLOU +5.5
O 157.0
+500 +500
HAW at UCRV08:00 PMHAW +1.5
U 139.5
+500 +500
MTU at SHSU08:00 PMSHSU -8.5
O 136.0
+500 +500
UNM at BSU08:00 PMBSU -3.5
O 154.0
+500 +500
MSU at PUR08:00 PMMSU +10.5
U 145.0
+500 +500
TENN at ALA08:00 PMTENN +4.0
O 170.5
+500 +500
UTRGV at CALBA08:00 PMCALBA -12.5
O 136.0
+500 +500
DEN at STT08:00 PMSTT -8.5
O 154.5
+500 +500
SEMO at USI08:30 PMUSI -7.0
U 146.0
+500 +500
MISS at MIZZ08:30 PMMISS +1.0
O 145.0
+500 +500
TST at SUU08:30 PMTST -3.5
U 151.5
+500 +500
UCSB at CSF09:00 PMUCSB -2.0
U 139.5
+500 +500
CAL at UTAH09:00 PMCAL +8.5
O 154.5
+500 +500
TCU at BYU09:00 PMBYU -7.0
U 158.0
+500 +500
ACU at UTECH09:00 PMUTECH +1.5
U 148.0
+500 +500
GONZ at SMC10:00 PMSMC -2.5
U 141.0
+500 +500
CSB at CP10:00 PMCSB -6.0
U 128.5
+500 +500
PAC at USD10:00 PMUSD -10.0
O 151.0
+500 +500
LBSU at UCI10:00 PMUCI -9.0
O 155.0
+500 +500
SJSU at UNLV10:00 PMSJSU +14.0
U 141.0
+500 +500
SFA at GRC10:00 PMGRC -11.5
U 141.0
+500 +500
 

Cnotes53

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Forum Member
Nov 5, 2017
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Sunday’s 6-pack: Major league leaders in RBI last year:
139— Matt Olson, Atl
118— Pete Alonso, NYM
112— Kyle Tucker, Hst
109— Ozzie Albies Atl/Juan Soto SD
107— Mookie Betts LAD/Adolis Garcia Tex
106— Nick Castellanos Cin/Ronald Acuna Atl

Quote of the Day
“Thankfully, perseverance is a great substitute for talent.”
Steve Martin

Sunday’s quiz
Which Division I college basketball coach was Lebron James’ high school coach?

Saturday’s quiz
Atlanta Braves have won the NL East six years in a row; Washington Nationals in 2017 were the last team other than the Braves to win the NL East.

Friday’s quiz
Butler Bulldogs lost the national title game two years in a row, when Brad Stevens was their coach. Butler was in the Horizon League back then (2010/2011).

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a Saturday full of basketball…….

WCC
Gonzaga 70, Saint Mary’s 57

Zags sweep the USF/Saint Mary’s road trip; they’re off the bubble.
Gonzaga has won eight games in a row, seven of them by 13+ points.
Saint Mary’s loses for first time since December 23, when they were 8-6.

Santa Clara 69, San Francisco 62
Teams combined to shoot 9-40 on the arc.
USF lost three of its last four games; they’re #3 seed in WCC, Santa Clara is #4.

Big X
Baylor 82, Kansas 74

Both teams shot 62% inside the arc.
Kansas is 2-6 SU in Big X road games.
Baylor passes the Jayhawks, is now in 3rd place in Big X.

Iowa State 60, Central Florida 52
UCF led 50-49 with 3:31 left in the game.
Knights were 1-19 on the arc.
Iowa State won seven of last eight games, is in 2nd place in Big X.

Houston 87, Oklahoma 85
Houston hit an off-balance jumper at the buzzer for the win.
Cougars shot 10-19 on the arc, Oklahoma 12-25.
Houston led by 15 with 12:04 left in the game.
Bracketology has nine of 14 Big X teams getting in the NCAA’s.

Big 14
Minnesota 75, Penn State 70

Penn State led 41-18 late in first half.
Gophers were 24-27 on foul line, Penn State 9-11

Illinois 91, Wisconsin 83
Illini was 9-16 on arc, scored 1.30 points/possession.
Illinois starts four seniors; they’re #10 experience team.
Wisconsin is 2-7 in last nine games, after a 16-4 start.
Bracketology has six Big 14 teams in the tournament.

American
South Florida 76, Charlotte 61

Bulls have won 14 in a row; their last loss was January 7th.
USF has #35 eFG% defense in the country.
USF is #54 in experience, #281 in continuity; they used the portal very well.

Tex-San Antonio 77, SMU 73
Third straight loss for the Mustangs, who were favored by 17.5 points.
SMU led 21-8 early on.
11-19 Roadrunners have won 3 in a row; they were 12-28 on arc.
Bracketology has South Florida/FAU in the Field of 68, but barely.

SEC
Tennessee 81, Alabama 74

Vols were 12-40 on the arc, 12-26 inside the arc.
Alabama led by 6 with 9:15 left in the game.
Crimson Tide was 9-37 on the arc.

Kentucky 111, Arkansas 102

Kentucky won its last three games, scoring 106.3 ppg.
Seven Wildcats (seven!!!) scored in double figures.
Bracketology has seven SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Pac-12
Forgot to mention this Friday, but UCLA coach Mick Cronin got a technical foul 20 seconds into the Bruins loss at Washington Thursday. Never heard of that before.

Washington State 77, UCLA 65
Coogs are going to the NCAA’s for the first time since 2008.
Wazzu was 24-33 on the foul line, UCLA was 9-11.
Bruins lost their last four games, are 9-9 in Pac-12.
Bracketology has Arizona/Washington State as the only Pac-12 teams in the NCAA’s.

Upsets of the Day:
Tex-San Antonio (+17.5) 77, SMU 73
Mercer (+9.5) 82, Furman 75
SE Missouri State (+7) 70, Southern Indiana 66
Western Michigan (+6.5) 78, Ball State 76
Minnesota (+6.5) 75, Penn State 70
Tulsa (+6.5) 72, Temple 67
Notre Dame (+6.5) 69, Clemson 62


Famous birthdays on March 3rd:
Eric Torkelson, 72
Herschel Walker, 62
Jessica Biel, 42
Jayson Tatum, 26
Wee Willie Keller was born on March 3, 1872.
Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1922

MAC
Western Michigan 78, Ball State 76
- Ball State tied game on a foul shot with 0:01.6 left; kid on WMU overthrows a teammate on a full-court pass, the ball bounces untouched to another teammate who lays the ball in at the buzzer for an unlikely win. Big kid on Ball State let the ball bounce right past him; no idea what he was thinking.
MAC is a one-bid league; neither one of these teams figures to win the MAC Tournament, but this was a hell of a way to win/lose a game.

Mountain West
Boise State 89, New Mexico 79

Broncos won their last five games, scoring 86.4 ppg.
New Mexico is 3-5 in last eight games, is probably beneath the bubble.

WAC
Grand Canyon 80, Stephen F Austin 58

Antelopes are tied for first with Tarleton State, with one game left.
Grand Canyon was 22-22 on the foul line.
Antelopes get 24.3% of their points on foul line (#9)

Tarleton State 88, Southern Utah 83
Texans are coached by Billy Gillispie, the old Kentucky coach.
Tarleton State has won 10 games in a row.

Atlantic 15
Richmond 79, VCU 76

VCU led by 7 with 13:32 left in this inner-city rivalry.
Spiders win their first-ever regular season title in the A-15.
Richmond won 17 of its last 19 games, after a 5-5 start.

Ivy
Princeton 79, Cornell 77

Cornell shot 69% inside arc, 9-32 on the arc.
Princeton is tied atop Ivy League with Yale, with one game to go.

Brown 89, Dartmouth 67
Bears clinched the 4th and final slot in the Ivy League tournament.

Southern
Samford 92, Citadel 80

Bulldogs win the SoCon by 3 games; they haven’t been in NCAA’s since 2000, when they won the TAAC (Trans-American Conference).
 

Udog

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NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, March 3

Sunday’s 5 interesting games
Seton Hall
@ UConn (-14.5)
Seton Hall (18-10, 11-6)
KenPom rating: 57
Tempo: 263
Experience: 12
Continuity: 195
Seton Hall won five of its last seven games.
Pirates are 5-4 SU/3-4 ATS as Big East road dogs.
Seton Hall is turning ball over 18.9% of time (#294)
Pirates are 4-7 vs teams in the top 50.


UConn (25-3, 15-2)
KenPom rating: 3
Tempo: 332
Experience: 72
Continuity: 149
UConn is 15-1 since the loss at Seton Hall.
Huskies are 9-0 SU/5-4 ATS as Big East home favorites.
UConn has #9 eFG%, #5 eFG% defense.
Huskies are 15-3 vs teams in the top 100.


UConn (-8.5) lost 75-60 at Seton Hall December 20.
Teams are 4-4 vs each other since UConn re-joined the Big East
Pirates lost last two visits to the Nutmeg State, by 5-9 points.
Big East double digit favorites are 13-19 ATS.


Northern Iowa @ Southern Illinois (-3.5)
Northern Iowa (17-13, 11-8)
KenPom rating: 120
Tempo: 238
Experience: 115
Continuity: 37
Northern Iowa won four of its last five games.
Panthers are 4-5 SU/2-2 ATS as MVC road underdogs.
Northern Iowa has #269 eFG% defense.
Panthers are 6-8 vs teams ranked in the top 125.


Southern Illinois (19-11, 11-8)
KenPom rating: 111
Tempo: 328
Experience: 81
Continuity: 175
SIU won three of its last four games.
Salukis are 6-3 SU/2-4 ATS as MVC home favorites.
SIU is shooting 54.3% inside arc (#42)
Salukis are 3-7 vs teams ranked in the top 125.


Salukis (+5.5) lost 61-57 at Northern Iowa January 20.
Northern Iowa won six of last eight series games.
Panthers split their last four visits to Carbondale.
MVC home favorites of 5 or less points are 13-13 ATS


Bradley @ Drake (-4.5)
Bradley (21-9, 13-6)
KenPom rating: 68
Tempo: 261
Experience: 199
Continuity: 71
Bradley won four of its last five games.
Braves are 5-4 SU/0-1 ATS as MVC road underdogs.
Bradley is 2-2 ATS as an underdog this season.
Bradley has the #21 eFG% in country.
Braves are 2-3 against teams ranked in top 100.


Drake (24-6, 15-4)
KenPom rating: 55
Tempo: 157
Experience: 139
Continuity: 146
Drake won six of its last seven games.
Bulldogs are 9-0 SU/7-2 ATS as MVC home favorites.
Drake won its last game in triple OT Wednesday.
Drake has #22 eFG% in the country.
Bulldogs are 3-1 vs teams ranked in top 100.


Drake (+3) won 74-67 at Bradley February 10.
Bulldogs won three of last four series games.
Bradley lost three of last four visits to Des Moines.
MVC home favorites of 5 or less points are 13-13 ATS


UAB @ Memphis (-7.5)
UAB (18-10, 10-5)
KenPom rating: 133
Tempo: 171
Experience: 217
Continuity: 241
UAB won four of its last six games.
Blazers are 4-3 SU/4-1 ATS as an AAC road underdog.
UAB is #23 team in country on offensive boards.
Blazers are 7-5 vs teams in the top 100.


Memphis (21-8, 10-6)
KenPom rating: 73
Tempo: 18
Experience: 60
Continuity: 342
Memphis won six of its last eight games.
Tigers are 6-2 SU/2-5 ATS as AAC home favorites.
Memphis is #337 team on defensive boards.
Tigers are 10-7 vs teams in the top 150.


UAB (+4) upset Memphis 97-88 at home January 28.
Blazers had 16 offensive rebounds in that game.
That was teams’ first meeting since 2020.
AAC home favorites of 8 or less points are 29-19 ATS


Stanford @ Colorado (-12.5)
Stanford (12-16, 7-11)
KenPom rating: 113
Tempo: 66
Experience: 50
Continuity: 56
Stanford lost last five games, giving up 82 ppg.
Cardinals is 3-6 SU/3-3 ATS as Pac-12 road underdogs.
Stanford has #30 eFG% in the country.
Stanford is 5-9 vs teams ranked in top 100.


Colorado (19-9, 10-7)
KenPom rating: 28
Tempo: 122
Experience: 187
Continuity: 61
Colorado won its last three games.
Buffs are 8-1 SU/3-5-1 ATS as Pac-12 home favorites.
Colorado has #19 eFG% in the country.
Buffs are 11-9 vs teams ranked in top 125.


Colorado won last six series games.
Stanford lost its last nine visits to Boulder.
Pac-12 double digit home favorites are 7-14 ATS.
 

Udog

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NCAAB

Sunday, March 3


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Cnotes53

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Nov 5, 2017
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SUNDAY, MARCH 3

GameTime(ET)PickUnits
HALL at CONN12:00 PMHALL +15.0
U 138.5
+500 +500
RID at CAN01:00 PMCAN +2.0
O 143.0
+500 +500
IONA at MRST02:00 PMMRST -3.5
U 132.0
+500 +500
SIE at QUIN02:00 PMSIE +17.0
O 147.0
+500 +500
MSM at NIAG02:00 PMMSM +3.0
O 140.0
+500 +500
MAN at SPU02:00 PMMAN +11.0
O 131.0
+500 +500
IND at MD02:00 PMMD -9.0
U 135.5
+500 +500
UNI at SIU02:00 PMUNI +3.0
U 138.0
+500 +500
UIC at MOSU02:00 PMUIC +4.5
O 145.0
+500 +500
ILST at VALP02:00 PMVALP +5.0
O 138.0
+500 +500
ECU at UNT03:00 PMECU +9.0
O 122.5
+500 +500
KC at ORU03:00 PMKC +2.5
O 143.5
+500 +500
BRAD at DRKE03:30 PMBRAD +4.0
O 147.5
+500 +500
MURR at INST04:00 PMINST -14.5
U 151.0
+500 +500
MICH at OSU04:00 PMOSU -11.0
U 143.0
+500 +500
EVAN at BEL05:00 PMBEL -11.0
U 155.0
+500 +500
UAB at MEM05:30 PMUAB +7.5
O 159.0
+500 +500
RUTG at NEB06:30 PMNEB -8.5
U 140.0
+500 +500
STAN at COLO09:00 PMCOLO -12.5
U 156.0
+500 +500
 

Cnotes53

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Nov 5, 2017
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Monday’s 6-pack:
Some teams who get the highest %age of their points on 3’s:
41.1%— BYU (21-8)
41.1%— Chattanooga (20-11)
40.9%— NC-Greensboro (21-10)
40.2%— Hofstra (19-12)
40.2%— St Joe’s (18-11)
39.9%— Princeton (23-3)

Quote of the Day
“If they don’t take Caleb (Williams), they don’t want to keep their jobs.”
An AFC executive, talking about the Chicago Bears’ front office

Monday’s quiz
Chicago Bears split the two Super Bowls they played in; Jim McMahon played QB in the game they won. Who played QB in the Super Bowl they lost?

Sunday’s quiz
Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot was Lebron James’ high school coach.

Saturday’s quiz
Atlanta Braves have won the NL East six years in a row; Washington Nationals in 2017 were the last team other than the Braves to win the NL East.

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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy weekend…….

— March Madness starts tonight, when the Atlantic Sun tournament tips off with a couple of games. Three other conferences start their tournaments Tuesday. One of the best times of the year; the next two weeks will be full of conference tournament games, with the Field of 68 announced March 17.

— March 2010, I’m at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the NCAA Tournament; excellent sportsbook there. I’m watching a second round game with Northern Iowa-Kansas; there were lot of Jayhawk fans around- they were a #1-seed, with high expectations.
Early in the game, before the second TV timeout, kid on Northern Iowa makes a basket, and three young guy sitting next to me start hugging each other. I ask one of them if the kid who scored the basket was their brother or something…….
“No, they got to 15 first!!! We had Northern Iowa to be the first team to 15!!!”
This was the first NCAA Tournament I had seen in Las Vegas, I had no idea you could bet on which team got to 15 points first. You learn something new every day.

— Memphis 106, UAB 87
UAB led this game 61-46…….at halftime.
Memphis was +9 in turnovers; they scored 1.39 points/possession.
Tigers have won seven of their last nine games.

— Indiana State 89, Murray State 77
Sycamores win MVC regular season title for first time since 2000.
Indiana State is shooting 62.1% inside arc, #2 in country.
Indiana State is #359 in bench minutes; could be tough for them in MVC tournament when they have to win three games in three days to win the title.

— Drake 74, Bradley 66
Darian DeVries has been Drake’s coach for six years; Bulldogs are 147-54 under DeVries, 79-33 in MVC games, with two NCAA appearances.
Drake’s best player is Tucker DeVries, the coach’s son, who is a junior; will he come back for his senior season, and if not, will his dad bolt for a job in a bigger conference?

— Indiana 83, Maryland 78
Hoosiers trailed 51-35 early in the second half.
Indiana shot 61.9% inside the arc.
Maryland lost seven of its last nine games.

Movie of the Day: The Client (1994)- A young boy who witnessed the suicide of a mafia lawyer hires an attorney to protect him when the District Attorney tries to use him to take down a mob family.
Great cast; Susan Sarandon becomes the boy’s lawyer, Tommy Lee Jones is the District Attorney, Anthony LaPaglia is a mobster.
William H Macy, Mary Louise Parker, JT Walsh Anthony Edwards and Bradley Whitford are all in this movie, adapted from one of John Grisham’s books.

— San Francisco Giants signed 3B Matt Chapman, for three years, $54M.

— Arizona Diamondbacks signed SS Elvis Andrus to a minor league deal; he hit .251 with six HRs, 44 RBIs for the White Sox last year. 35-year old Andrus has 2,091 career hits; Arizona will be his fourth MLB team.

— Saturday night, Lebron James became the first NBA player to score 40,000 career points; he scored 26 points in the Lakers’ 124-114 loss to Denver.

— Luka Doncic has 14 technical fouls this season, most in the NBA.

Famous birthdays on March 4th:
Patricia Heaton, 66
Steven Weber, 63
Draymond Green, 34
Nick Castellanos, 32

— There are murmurs that the NFL is going to go to an 18-game schedule when the next TV contract comes up, which would put the Super Bowl on Presidents’ Day weekend.

— San Francisco 49ers hired former Chargers’ coach coach Brandon Staley as assistant head coach; they also named Nick Sorensen their new defensive coordinator.

— Bill Vinovich was the referee at the Super Bowl February 11th in Las Vegas; two nights later, he worked a Colorado State-San Diego State basketball game. He’s worked six other basketball games since then, including another visit to Las Vegas Saturday, when the Rebels beat San Jose State.
Vinovich has worked 26 basketball games this season, in addition to his NFL games. Busy guy.

— RIP to ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen,, who passed away this week at age 72; the tributes he’s gotten tonight from friends/co-workers at ESPN tell you what a good guy he was.
Mortensen joined ESPN in 1991 and was a regular contributor to the network’s NFL shows for 30 years; in 2016, he received the Pro Football Writers of America’s Dick McCann Award and was honored during the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s enshrinement ceremony.

RIP, sir.
 
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