Ehh...not as entranced by this slate as yesterday, but no way I'm sitting this out! Yesterday was a doggie day...today, me thinks the opposite...
Purdue -12.5 220/200
I'm 0-2 fading St. Peter's so why not go for the hat trick. This SHOULD BE a blow out. Peter's has been a great recipient of Cinderella's slipper this year, but the shoe gotta get kicked off and thrown unda da sea tonight, right? I think so! A little hesitant as I actually think Holloway is a better coach than Painter or at the least...a better motivator (cue the critics) and he will be the coach of Seton Hall about 10 min after Peter's bows out of the tournament. But the Boilers have it all. Behind Duke, probably the 2nd most talented team left. Ivey is legit. They have 2 legit bigs. They have sharpshooters, and a trio of decent, mature (upperclassmen) guards to lean on. I'm rolling with the obvious in what has been an exact opposite of such tournament to date. The cream tends to rise to the top as we get later into the tourney (not always, but most of the time) and it's just time.
Providence +7.5 440/400
Providence ML 100/250
Providence 1st half +4 330/300
Providence 1st half ML 100/170
OK, this is more like it! I'm not a fan of the Jayhawks and there's no sense trying to hide it. Bill Self is no Jay Wright. His 1 title was more luck (remember that 3 Chalmers hit?) than it was his coaching prowess. I think Whoopi Goldberg could do just as good of a job coaching Kansas as Self has (what was that movie she played the Knicks coach?). But everyone thinks Self's s$$t don't stink and Kansas is the bluest of blue-bloods so they should roll, here (I've mentioned before that they easily got the easiest path to the final4 even before all the upsets), but not me. Ed Cooley is a fantastic coach. And Providence has a fantastic team this year. I'd argue that their starting 5 has the upper hand in this one (Agbaji is best player, but after that...something to be desired for me). Kansas has been lucky, a lot, this year, and that luck tends to run out in the tournament eventually. Friars haven't been good in a long time...so if anything they are due (BIG TIME). Bye, bye, #1 seeds!
UCLA ML 675/500
Try to keep this short, but sweet in this one. I like the Bruins to win, but the spread is just too close/nominal for me to bite on it(UNC does kinda scare me). I'm more comfortable paying the extra juice to get the outright W, than sweating a 5 pt game with 10 sec left and UNC with a shot to cover...That said, the Bruins are the play for multiple reasons: 1. better team(important) 2. better coach(more important). Bacot and/or Caleb Love may be the best "prospects" in this game, but top to bottom the Bruins are the team/roster I want. UNC has NO DEPTH (I know Hubert had to push some reserves in against Baylor, but that was a one-off because Manek became a maniac). Hubert is a nice guy, but he is not a good coach, yet (not sure if he will be). Cronin, on the other hand, I think is a great coach. He was probably not who the Bruin faithful wanted when he was hired, but I don't think you're gonna hear anyone argue now (or ever?)---also another difference between Zona and UCLA this year (coach). Feel Bruins are desperate to get back to the final4 (why else did everyone come back) and they will get 1 game closer after tonight. Side note: I could see this game being like UCLA/Zaga last year final4; up and down the court---ton of pts (probably make an over play...whoops, just did).
UCLA/UNC over 141.5 330/300
Miami -2.5 220/200
The latest game on the slate is also the ugliest. The Cyclones will do what they have been doing (which is just enough on offense and EVERYTHING on defense), but my love for the U this year runs knows no bounds to turn on them at this pt. The 3 guards for the U (Moore, Wong, McGusty) should be able to do more in 1 half than either Wisconsin or LSU's guards did in entire games. I'll give credit to TJ Otzelberger for an UNREAL coaching job at ISU to take a program that won 2 (yes, like the number 2...) games last year and now is on the precipice of an elite8, but this is not Jimmy Larranaga's first rodeo (remember when he took George Mason to the final4?) and that experience will pay dividends for the Canes.
*******ONE BIG CAVEAT*******
I will be looking at an in-game ML bet or 2 on the Cyclones just because I have that future bet on the U. I know, I know...stupid....but money is money, if I can earn 1 more dollar than I lose, why the hell not! Hopefully the U gets up 5-7 and the ML balloons to +1000 or something to give me some nice cushion.
Let's keep this train rolling. 2nd half lines a 'coming.
GL All!
