#7 Memphis look to celebrate their first NCAA tournament in seven years with a win tonight against #10 Arizona St.
The Tigers boast impressive records of 23-6 SU and 17-9 ATS. Key to their great run has been their defensive intensity as in their last five games they have limited opponents to just 63 ppg on 38% FG shooting. Expect another big performance from likely first-round NBA pick Chris Massie as the 6-foot-10 Forward / Center averaged a double-double this season. Coach Calipari took his previous tourney team to the Final Four when UMass lost to eventual champion Kentucky. Memphis are not at all happy with their #7 seed as they had won 12 straight games and were ranked 16th prior to their close loss to Louisville in the Conference USA tournament semi-finals.
The Sun Devils are 19-11 SU and a mediocre 12-14 ATS. This is their first NCAA tournament since 1995 but Arizona St have lost four of their last six SU including a first-round loss in the Pac-10 tournament. They have covered just one of their last seven overall. Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Ike Diogu shot an amazing 61% from the field this season and finished third in the league in scoring at nearly 19 points per game. Don't expect him to be fazed by the big occasion tonight...."It doesn't make me nervous at all," Diogu said. "When it comes down to it, all you're doing is playing basketball. If you can play, then you can just play. It doesn't matter who you're going up against."
Memphis have a good road record and more depth than Arizona St.....we'll back them to get the win and cover here and earn the right to advance in the loaded West.
Recommended Play: Memphis -3.5
The Tigers boast impressive records of 23-6 SU and 17-9 ATS. Key to their great run has been their defensive intensity as in their last five games they have limited opponents to just 63 ppg on 38% FG shooting. Expect another big performance from likely first-round NBA pick Chris Massie as the 6-foot-10 Forward / Center averaged a double-double this season. Coach Calipari took his previous tourney team to the Final Four when UMass lost to eventual champion Kentucky. Memphis are not at all happy with their #7 seed as they had won 12 straight games and were ranked 16th prior to their close loss to Louisville in the Conference USA tournament semi-finals.
The Sun Devils are 19-11 SU and a mediocre 12-14 ATS. This is their first NCAA tournament since 1995 but Arizona St have lost four of their last six SU including a first-round loss in the Pac-10 tournament. They have covered just one of their last seven overall. Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Ike Diogu shot an amazing 61% from the field this season and finished third in the league in scoring at nearly 19 points per game. Don't expect him to be fazed by the big occasion tonight...."It doesn't make me nervous at all," Diogu said. "When it comes down to it, all you're doing is playing basketball. If you can play, then you can just play. It doesn't matter who you're going up against."
Memphis have a good road record and more depth than Arizona St.....we'll back them to get the win and cover here and earn the right to advance in the loaded West.
Recommended Play: Memphis -3.5