sunday thread

carolina 2h 3-2 today

thanks bean for the pucks

C.J. McCollum.  He had 30 points against Duke and was simply sensational.  He will get quite a challenge from another sensation guard who put his team on his back in Round One, Xavier’s A10 Player of the Year, point guard Tu Holloway.  If you need a reason to tune into this game aside from the fact the winner goes the Sweet 16 to meet Baylor, tune in for the best individual point guard matchup so far this NCAA Tournament.  It should be fantastic.

The difference in this one, like in most eventual ends to Cinderella runs, isn’t the star players running out of gas, it is the better-seeded team’s depth and offensive diversity catching up with them.  Xavier’s overall athleticism with Dezmine Wells and Robinson crashing the boards is something Lehigh can’t answer.  Expect Xavier to create second shot opportunities and to be more effective rebounding and defending the rim.  This line seems awfully tight at just three and a half points.  I’d still like Xavier if this line was the 6.5 or 7 point line it probably ought to be.

I like Xavier

And as for Cinci

Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates made an accurate an astute observation in regards to tonight’s matchup with Florida State when he said they “are like a Big East team.”  It was in no means a knock, in fact, he meant it as a statement of respect.  Florida State is one of the more rugged and physical teams in the country and is in the Top 5 in opponent field goal percentage allowed.  Tonight is going to be a Big East-style defensive battle – just the way both teams like it.

Both teams come into the NCAA Tourney with great momentum and are intriguing dark horse Final Four candidates.  Even if Cincinnati were to win (technically an “upset”), the East will clearly be the region most intact heading into a great weekend of Sweet Sixteen games.  Cincinnati’s late-season surge from Bubble Team to dark horse Final Four contender is well chronicled.  Likewise, Florida State’s epic run through the ACC tournament, beating Duke and North Carolina in the span of 24 hours was incredibly impressive as well.  It is hard ot give either team an advantage in terms of momentum over the past four weeks.  Both are playing great and are full of confidence.

It is also hard to say one team is definitively more talented than the other.  Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates might be a tad better offensively and have a little more variety in his post game than Florida State’s Bernard James, but James is a superior defensive player and shot blocker and has a little more bounce off the floor than Gates.  It is a pretty even, and incredibly watchable matchup tonight.  Whether you wager this game or not, I wouldn’t recommend missing it!

On the perimeter, Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick has emerged as a legitimate scorer and excellent defender, but I’d give the slight edge to FSU’s Michael Snaer.  Snaer is best known for his array of buzzer-beating winning shots this season (including at Cameron Indoor to beat Duke), but his game is more than a few last-second heroics.   He is the Seminoles leading scorer and will put a lot of pressure on Cincinnati’s defenders to keep him funneled away from the lane.

The key to this game is shooting.  Florida State has better perimeter shooters, but those shooters are also more limited overall than the Cincinnati guards like Cashmere Wright and Kilpatrick.  I think Cincinnati is quick enough on the perimeter to contest shots and force FSU into a low-shooting percentage.  From there, I like their interior toughness and ability to “win ugly” to prevail in an fantastic wrap-up to the first weekend of action.  This game doesn’t tip until around 10pm eastern, but it is going to be worth the wait.  I like Cinci in a low scoring game..

You can read all my write ups as I posted them earlier just look for my thread

50.00500.003/18/2012 2:55:00 PM4 Team Parlay risking 50.00 to win 500.00

...0723 SAINT LOUIS +7 (-110) on COLLEGE BK [61,65]

...0725 CINCINNATI +2 (-110) on COLLEGE BK

...Total Ovr 132½ (-110) 0735 BUCKNELL/0736 NEVADA on COLLEGE BK [67,75]

...Total Ovr 159 (-110) 0717 CREIGHTON/0718 NORTH CAROLINA on COLLEGE BK [73,87]

C.J. McCollum.  He had 30 points against Duke and was simply sensational.  He will get quite a challenge from another sensation guard who put his team on his back in Round One, Xavier’s A10 Player of the Year, point guard Tu Holloway.  If you need a reason to tune into this game aside from the fact the winner goes the Sweet 16 to meet Baylor, tune in for the best individual point guard matchup so far this NCAA Tournament.  It should be fantastic.

The difference in this one, like in most eventual ends to Cinderella runs, isn’t the star players running out of gas, it is the better-seeded team’s depth and offensive diversity catching up with them.  Xavier’s overall athleticism with Dezmine Wells and Robinson crashing the boards is something Lehigh can’t answer.  Expect Xavier to create second shot opportunities and to be more effective rebounding and defending the rim.  This line seems awfully tight at just three and a half points.  I’d still like Xavier if this line was the 6.5 or 7 point line it probably ought to be.

I like Xavier

And as for Cinci

Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates made an accurate an astute observation in regards to tonight’s matchup with Florida State when he said they “are like a Big East team.”  It was in no means a knock, in fact, he meant it as a statement of respect.  Florida State is one of the more rugged and physical teams in the country and is in the Top 5 in opponent field goal percentage allowed.  Tonight is going to be a Big East-style defensive battle – just the way both teams like it.

Both teams come into the NCAA Tourney with great momentum and are intriguing dark horse Final Four candidates.  Even if Cincinnati were to win (technically an “upset”), the East will clearly be the region most intact heading into a great weekend of Sweet Sixteen games.  Cincinnati’s late-season surge from Bubble Team to dark horse Final Four contender is well chronicled.  Likewise, Florida State’s epic run through the ACC tournament, beating Duke and North Carolina in the span of 24 hours was incredibly impressive as well.  It is hard ot give either team an advantage in terms of momentum over the past four weeks.  Both are playing great and are full of confidence.

It is also hard to say one team is definitively more talented than the other.  Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates might be a tad better offensively and have a little more variety in his post game than Florida State’s Bernard James, but James is a superior defensive player and shot blocker and has a little more bounce off the floor than Gates.  It is a pretty even, and incredibly watchable matchup tonight.  Whether you wager this game or not, I wouldn’t recommend missing it!

On the perimeter, Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick has emerged as a legitimate scorer and excellent defender, but I’d give the slight edge to FSU’s Michael Snaer.  Snaer is best known for his array of buzzer-beating winning shots this season (including at Cameron Indoor to beat Duke), but his game is more than a few last-second heroics.   He is the Seminoles leading scorer and will put a lot of pressure on Cincinnati’s defenders to keep him funneled away from the lane.

The key to this game is shooting.  Florida State has better perimeter shooters, but those shooters are also more limited overall than the Cincinnati guards like Cashmere Wright and Kilpatrick.  I think Cincinnati is quick enough on the perimeter to contest shots and force FSU into a low-shooting percentage.  From there, I like their interior toughness and ability to “win ugly” to prevail in an fantastic wrap-up to the first weekend of action.  This game doesn’t tip until around 10pm eastern, but it is going to be worth the wait.  I like Cinci in a low scoring game..

You can read all my write ups as I posted them earlier just look for my thread