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Akron Zips vs. Ohio Bobcats (Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship Game)
- Akron is 2-0 vs. Ohio this season, winning 67-62 at Ohio on Jan. 13 and scoring a 91-88 overtime win at home on Feb. 14.
- None of Akron’s conference losses this season came to teams who finished below .500 in conference play – two to Kent State (13-3), at Buffalo (9-7), vs. Eastern Michigan (8-8). Ohio finished 7-9.
- Akron has had quite the penchant for being in close games this season, and the MAC tourney has been no different, as they needed overtime to beat Eastern Michigan in the quarters and slipped by Western Michigan by two in the semis.
So, there’s a good chance that tonight’s game will be tight, but the Zips, as they’ve shown in the tournament to this point, have excelled in tight affairs. Akron is 3-0 in overtime games this season, and they’re 8-3 in games decided by five or fewer points. In fact, since their 62-59 home loss to Eastern Michigan on Feb. 1, the Zips are 5-0 in games decided by five points or less.
- On the flip side, Ohio is only 3-8 this season in games decided by five points or less, so you definitely have to give the edge to the Zips if this one is a barnburner.
MAR. 13 COLL. BB. FREE PICK #1: AKRON -1 vs. Ohio
March 13th, 2010 12:26:50 PM GMT+5 | Posted in College Basketball, Free Picks by Griffdog | No Comments
Pacific vs. Long Beach State (Big West Tournament Semifinals)
- Pacific is 2-0 vs. Long Beach State this season, and both wins came by double digits. The Tigers won 74-52 at Long Beach State on Feb. 17, and they ended their home slate with a 61-51 win over the 49ers on Feb. 27.
- Long Beach State has not been able to win three games in a row at any point this season. Each of the other six times the 49ers have won two in a row, they’ve failed to win a third in a row. LBSU comes into tonight with back-to-back wins (vs. UC Riverside to end the regular season and vs. Cal Poly in last night’s quarterfinals).
- Unlike in the power conferences, where some higher seeds might not have the same motivation that lower seeds have, motivation won’t be an issue for Pacific, because their NCAA Tournament hopes are just as dependent on winning the automatic bid as the other three teams left in the Big West tournament.
- Pacific is just the better team, plain and simple. They’re the tournament’s top seed and a 20-win team for a good reason. And playing on a neutral court won’t faze them – they went 6-2 on the road against conference opponents in the regular season, and they’re 9-6 on the road overall.
MAR. 12 COLL. BB FREE PICK #2: PACIFIC -3 ½ vs. Long Beach State
March 12th, 2010 8:22:38 PM GMT+5 | Posted in College Basketball, Free Picks by Griffdog | No Comments
UNLV vs. Brigham Young (Mountain West Conference Tournament Semifinals)
- For starters, the tournament’s being held in Las Vegas, in UNLV’s home arena, which is an advantage that can‘t be overlooked. UNLV is 14-3 at home this season, with two of those losses coming to Kansas State and New Mexico, who are ranked ninth and eighth respectively in this week’s polls.
Also, BYU hasn’t beaten UNLV in Vegas since an 82-72 victory on Feb. 5, 2005. Since that loss, UNLV has won five straight regular season home meetings, and they also beat the Cougars in the MWC tourney title game in Vegas in 2007 and 2008.
- Expounding on the above info, UNLV beat BYU 88-74 at the Thomas & Mack Center a little over a month ago. The game wasn’t nearly as close as the final score – UNLV led by double digits four and a half minutes in, by 20 almost 11 minutes in, by 29 in the first half, and by 22 at halftime. The Runnin’ Rebels basically cruised in the second half, never letting the Cougars get closer than 13.
- UNLV comes into tonight with five wins in a row, and the average margin of victory in those wins is 21.4 points.
- BYU has been playing well in their own right since their loss at UNLV, going 7-1 (with the only loss being an 83-81 home loss to New Mexico, their only home loss of the season). The Cougars’ average margin of victory in their seven wins is 23 points.
BYU has the ranking, the better record, the higher seed. They also have the revenge factor on their side, after what happened in Vegas on Feb. 6. There’s also a prolific scorer on their side in Jimmer Fredette, who netted 45 points in last night’s 95-85 win over TCU and has six games of 30+ points this season.
However, UNLV is a darn good team, and they have the home court advantage and the great head-to-head numbers. When it comes down to it, I’m liking the ‘home’ team to take this one and move on to tomorrow’s championship game to face off against either New Mexico or San Diego State.
MAR. 12 COLL. BB FREE PICK #1: UNLV -1 (-105) vs. Brigham Young
March 12th, 2010 7:52:48 PM GMT+5 | Posted in College Basketball, Free Picks by Griffdog | No Comments
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (23-10 10-8 Big East) vs. No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers (25-6 13-5 Big East)
West Virginia is the last of the top 4 seeds in the Big East tourney and there is a legit shot that if they can win the conference tournament that they may snag a coveted #1 seed in the Big Dance.
This season Notre Dame is 16-10-1 ATS and WVU is 13-17 ATS.
In the only meeting between these 2 teams this season Notre Dame beat WVU at home 70-68.
The Fighting Irish are on a roll, as they have not only won the first 2 games in the Big East tournament, but they also won their last 4 regular season games.
West Virginia has a great frontcourt with 3 forwards that are averaging in double figures led Da’Sean Butler (17.2 ppg).
For the Irish to have any shot at winning this game they will have to play defense like they did when they beat Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals where they held the Panthers to only 38.6% shooting. Notre Dame cannot allow WVU to dominate the boards, as if they do they will lose this game.
Notre Dame F Luke Harangody has really killed WVU averaging 26.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg in his last 5 games versus the Mountaineers. He has been coming off the pine getting over a knee injury and however much he plays tonight he will have to be solid on the glass.
WVU only shot 35% from the field last night in the win over Cincinnati and they have to shoot better tonight to advance to the finals.
No. 22 Georgetown Hoyas (22-9 10-8 Big East) vs. Marquette Golden Eagles (22-10 11-7 Big East)
Both of these teams will make it into the Big Dance, but each can really improve their seed in the NCAA tournament if they can win this game and especially if they can win the conference tournament.
Georgetown looks to advance to the Big East conference tournament for the 3rd time in the last 4 years.
The Hoyas shot 57.9% for the floor in the upset win over Syracuse in the quarterfinals and if they are on fire again tonight they will be in good shape.
Marquette has won 3 straight games against Georgetown including beating them at home this season 62-59.
Hoyas 6’11” C Greg Monroe (16 ppg 9.5 rpg) has had a great season, but even though Marquette does not have a lot of size Monroe has struggled against them only averaging 11.7 ppg in the 3 losses to the Golden Eagles.
F Lazar Hayward (18.2 ppg 7.8 rpg) leads Marquette and he has scored over 20 points in the first 2 games in the conference tournament. The Hoyas will have to play solid D on him and not allow him to have a huge scoring game.
Both teams have solid guards and the team that can drain the 3 has a great chance to win.
March 12th, 2010 10:32:07 AM GMT+5 | Posted in Basketball, College Basketball, Sports by Jason Green | No Comments
Washington Huskies vs. Oregon State Beavers (Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinals)
- Washington comes into the Pac-10 tourney averaging 80.5 points per game this season.
- Washington scored 70 or more points in 13 of their 18 conference games and in 23 of their 30 regular season games.
- Washington scored 80 points or more in eight conference games and in 16 total regular season games.
- Washington finished the regular season with four wins in a row, and in those four wins, the Huskies averaged 81 points per game.
- There was no shortage of scoring in the two conference meetings between Washington and Oregon State, with the Huskies winning 76-70 at home on Dec. 31 and 82-70 in Corvallis just last Saturday.
MAR. 11 COLL. BB FREE PICK #1: Washington/Oregon St. OVER 133 -115
March 11th, 2010 4:12:42 PM GMT+5 | Posted in College Basketball, Free Picks by Griffdog | No Comments
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