Hoops report 3/13

Hot Teams
-- Bucks won six of their last eight games (5-1 last six AU).
-- Miami won its last 19 games (7-0 last seven AF).
-- Pacers won seven of last ten games (7-5 last 12 HF).
-- Lakers won five of last six games (1-4 last five AU).
-- Celtics lost last two games, but won last nine at home (6-1 last seven HF).
-- Thunder won five of their last six games (12-1 last 13 HF).
-- Rockets won six of last seven home games (11-2 last 13 HF).
-- Warriors won five of last seven home games (4-7 last 11 HF).
-- Denver won its last nine games (8-1 last nine HF). Knicks won six of last nine games (4-5 AU)- this is Anthony's return to Denver.
-- Grizzlies won their last five games (5-5 HF). Clippers won six of last eight games (4-1 last five HF).

Cold Teams
-- Wizards lost five of their last seven games (4-6 HF).
-- 76ers lost five of their last six games (2-4 last six HU).
-- Minnesota lost eight of last ten games (3-10-1 last 14 AU).
-- Hawks lost six of their last seven games (2-5 last seven HF).
-- Toronto lost six of its last eight games (8-3-1 last 12 AU).
-- Jazz lost seven of their last nine games (4-8 last 12 AU).
-- Suns lost three of their last four games (4-6-1 last 11 AU).
-- Bulls lost their last four road games (6-4 last ten AF). Kings lost seven of their last ten games (7-9 HU).
-- Pistons lost their last six games (1-5 last six AU).

Totals
-- Five of last six Milwaukee games went over the total; five of last six Washington games stayed under.
-- Under is 4-1-1 in last six Miami games.
-- Last five Minnesota games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last seven Atlanta games stayed under the total.
-- Three of Toronto's last four road games went over total.
-- Four of last five Utah road games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Houston home games went over total.
-- Seven of last ten Chicago games stayed under the total; eight of last ten Sacramento games went over.
-- Last four Golden State games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last seven New York games stayed under the total.
-- Last four Memphis road games went over the total.

Back-to-backs
-- Bucks are 5-10 vs spread if they played night before, 4-4 on the road. Washington is 11-3 vs spread if it played night before.
-- Miami is 5-2 vs spread on road if it played night before.
-- Minnesota is 5-6 vs spread on road if it played night before.
-- Lakers are 5-3-1 vs spread when playing second consecutive night on road. Atlanta is 9-7 vs spread if it played night before.
-- Memphis is 9-4 vs spread if it played night before.

Big East tournament (NYC)
-- Cincinnati was 18-4 when it lost 54-50 (-4.5) at Providence Feb 6, as Friars shot 59% inside arc in game that started Bearcats on current 3-6 skid. Teams combined to go 5-30 from arc that day. UC lost in finals here LY; they're 5-3 in this tournament over last three years. Providence won seven of last nine games, losing at UConn in OT last game; since '03, they're 2-9 in this tournament, losing first game last three years.
-- Seton Hall survived awful OT game with USF last night; three of their starters played 40+ minutes- Pirates' bench played 34 minutes, took one shot. Hall lost 15 of last 18 games, including 76-65 (+9) home loss Feb 16 to Syracuse, when Pirates were 10-26 from arc, 9-18 inside it, only 17-29 from foul line. Orange are struggling, losing four of last five games and 7 of last 12- they're 6-6 in this tourney since winning it in '06.
-- St John's lost last four games by 16-3-26-2 points; throwing Harrison off team hasn't helped. Villanova (-7.5) beat St John's 98-86 in OT at home Jan 2; they were 34-42 from foul line, Red Storm 12-20 (10-20 from arc). Johnnies led by 3 with 1:58 left, couldn't hold on. Wildcats get 28.3% of their points on foul line (#1 in US); this is road game for them- they lost three of last four on road, winning at UConn. St John's is 3-4 in this tournament last seven years, despite being the home team.
-- Rutgers was 12-4 when it lost 69-66 (+12) at Notre Dame Jan 19, loss that started Scarlet Knights on current 3-11 skid; they beat DePaul by 19 last nite, playing only two guys more than 28 minutes. Notre Dame split its last six games since winning consecutive OT games last month; they lost four of last five on road, but won first game in this event last three years, by 12-38-4 points. Rutgers is 1-4 in this event since 2007.

Pac-12 tourney (MGM Garden Arena, Las Vegas)
-- Arizona State lost last four games, scoring 61.8 ppg; they won twice in '09 Pac-12 tourney when they had Harden, are 0-7 otherwise in this event over last decade, losing first game last three years by 9-7-20. ASU lost 62-59 (-1) to Stanford Feb 9 at home; other than Carson, they shot 31% from floor, while Cardinal was 10 for 18 from arc. Stanford is 4-5 in last nine games; they won first tourney game four of last five years.
-- LY, Colorado won four games in four days to win Pac-12 tourney in its first year in league; road team won both Colorado-Oregon St. games, as Beavers (+10) won 64-58 at Colorado Saturday, holding Buffs to 35% from floor with Roberson out (mono). OSU lost five of last six and 14 of last 18 games; they won first tourney game last two years. Only once in last ten games has Colorado allowed more than 64 points- they split last six games, after winning six of previous seven.
-- USC has two of three 7-footers suspended here after off-court issues in Pullman last week; Trojans (+3.5) won 76-59 at Utah Jan 12, was last game for O'Neill before SC fired him. Trojans are 7-7 under Cantu, losing last three road games. Utes swept Oregon schools last week after dismal 3-13 run; they lost first conference tourney game by 12-14-12 points in last three years. Trojans have 10 transfers, interim coach, played hard (#7) schedule, have two guys suspended; too much drama?
-- Washington slipped to 9-9 in Pac-12 this year, after going 57-24 last four years, winning tourney twice; Huskies beat Washington State twice this year, by 5-4 points, making 58/60% inside arc vs Coogs, who lost first game in last three tourneys, by 2-2-5 points. State had lost nine in a row before sweeping LA schools last week, by 12-24 points. Huskies lost five of last six road games (won @ ASU) but won four of their last six games overall.

MWC tourney (@ UNLV)
-- UNLV struggled with Air Force this year, beating Falcons 76-71 Jan 12 in OT at home (-13), then losing 71-56 (-3.5) on road Feb 13. Rebels' lack of true PG has hurt them badly- they're just 4-4 in this event in last four years, but won first tourney game nine of last 10 years. From 2005-2008, AF went 39-23 in MWC but never won tourney game; this is best team they've had since then. Falcons lost last five road games, with three losses by 12+ points. Early start, smaller crowd should help Falcons.
-- Colorado State is senior-dominated team; Green got hurt in last game, unsure of status here- Rams are not deep team- they beat Fresno twice this year, by 7-11 points, are 1-4 in this event last four years. Bulldogs had lost 15 of 19 games before beating Air Force/UNLV last week; win on this court Saturday has to help their confidence. Fresno played #6 schedule in country, use lot of guys, but have only one win in last six conference tourneys.
-- San Diego State is 10-2 in MWC tourney last four years, winning its first game last five years, by 4-14-1-14-3 points. Boise State (-2) beat Aztecs by 4 Saturday, after losing by 1 in San Diego Feb 6; home teams got off to big leads in both games, barely hung on late. Boise is 1-4 last four years in this event, losing first round games by 10-24-3- they're 5-1 in last six games overall, winning more as they got healthy. Aztecs lost their last five games away from Viejas Arena.

Big X tournament (Kansas City)
-- Hard to lay any points with West Virginia squad that is only 6-12 in its first year in Big X; they swept Texas Tech, winning by 16-2 points. Mountaineers lost in first game of Big East tourney last two years, after winning it in '10- they've lost last six games since nipping Tech by hoop Feb 16. Tech is 9-45 in Big 12 play last three years, losing first tourney game last two years, by 4-16 points; they haven't won road game since Jan 5 at TCU.
-- Texas is 5-3 since Kabongo got eligible Feb 13, with three of five wins in OT; Longhorns need to win tourney to get to NCAAs- they've never won this tournament, despite strong teams they've had. Texas beat TCU by 17-9 points this year, once with Kabongo, once without; Longhorns are 8-1 in first tourney game last eight years, but six of eight wins were by 7 or less points. TCU upset Oklahoma in last game, after being up 22 at half, just its second Big X win in 18 tries.

tinfoils