GREAT DAY FOR HOOP DREAMS

B. Anthony thinks this is one of of the best basketball days of
the  year. It will be difficult to pick all of these games, and the
temptation is to just keep playing games as they come up. I will
pick  several below, but I have tried to be selective as there are
many games out there.

Let's get to Saturday's winners.

Vanderbilt +6.5 vs. Florida- Vanderbilt is a great home team
and will not be intimidated by Florida. Florida is very good but
they are probably too cocky to make the effort to win by 8 or more.
Take the points.

Memphis -3.5 vs Gonzaga- Just too many athletes for Memphis
and too many problems for Gonzaga. This game does make me
nervous because of Gonzaga's history as a dog, but this is
a mismatch.

Pitt -12 vs Washington- They will embarrass the Huskies and
Spencer Hawes will have a long day and foul trouble trying
to handle Aaron Gray.

Wright St -7 vs CS Fullerton- Simply a better team winning
big at home with people watching to see if they are
deserving of a 2nd bid in the Horizon. This is a long trip
for Fullerton, and they don't have much to gain.

Butler -3 vs Southern Illinois. Great game showcasing two good
teams.Home court is worth a little more than 3 points. Take Butler
to hit their free-throws and win by 6. If you can find this
game at 2.5, I would feel better.

VCU-5.5 vs Bradley- Just another one of my favorite teams
stepping up in a bracket-buster game. Bradley was great last
year, not quite that good this year.

Oregon +3.5 vs Stanford- Oregon needs this game, and they
are shooting the ball well enough to beat a slowing Stanford
team.


I tried to be selective, but there are many others I like.
If you are looking for other ideas or leans see below:

UCLA +1
Northern Arizona -6
Utah +1.5
Northern Iowa +9.
Santa Clara -10

Good Gaming,

B. Anthony
(50-33-1 to date)

_______________________

PAC 10 is overrated

There I said it. I have been coming to terms with this for some time now. My preseason pick to win it all was Arizona. I am huge sucker for this team. They always have a great point guard, a prolithic shooter, and an NBA-ready forward. They might even have that now on their current team. But they don’t play defense. I am officially off the Arizona band wagon. To take it a step further, I am off the PAC 10 podium as well.

There have been a number of experts saying how good this conference is. I tended to agree with them, but have since changed my mind. The RPI standing for conferences are as follows:

SEC
ACC
PAC 10
Big Ten
Big East

I guess the key here is understanding the expectations. The RPI ratings are measuring wins, strength of schedule, and opponent’s strength of schedule, so in other words, how good are you now. What most fans want to know is who will make the final four, and ultimately cut down the nets. If this is the standard, then I will say the PAC 10 is in trouble. Are they going to have a team in the final four? I doubt it. Some will say UCLA has the best chance, but I don’t buy it. They made it to the finals last year, so they will have a big target on their back. Their defense will carry them a long way, but their frontcourt and poor free throw shooting will be their downfall. I say they have a cakewalk path to the sweet 16 but their journey ends there.

The next rung of teams, Washington State and USC, are very similar to UCLA, great defensive, good offense, not real big, but they have less pressure on them. Nobody is expecting them to make it to the sweet 16, much less the Final Four. For this reason, I like them, but getting to the sweet 16 would be a major accomplishment for both programs, and is likely the farthest either would go.

Then there is Stanford. I went to the game last night against Oregon State. The game was horrific. Nick Johnson, who is now a coach at Stanford, would have easily been the best player on the court if he simply took off his suit and put on a uniform. If OSU could shoot the ball, they would have won, easily. The Lopez twins are such dirty players. They are constantly scowling and throwing elbows in the air. Brook is very good. Robin did not score. Both are punks. Without Goods, they are left with one shooter and zero ball handlers. I will reserve judgment on them until Goods gets back, but wining one game in the tournament will be considered a very good year.

Oregon is fading fast. They have great guard play and may cause problems for some teams in the tournament, but a first round exit would not surprise me. In fact, I expect it. The same could be said for Arizona too, although I give them a slightly better chance to get out of the first round because their offense is so potent.

Washington is NIT bound, where they will host a first round game and lose badly.

Does this sound like a good conference? I don’t think so. A good conference will have two teams in the final four. The PAC 10 may not get two teams to the sweet 16.

Saturday games

MEMPHIS -4 @ Gonzaga
What a week for the Zags. Their leading scorer has been kicked off the team for shrooming and their home court winning streak was snapped by Santa Clara at 50. Local sources have confirmed that the entire team had to go through a drug test. This cute little program is now under a huge microscope. They now have to prove to the NCAA committee they can win without Heytvelt, which makes then desperate and dangerous. But, I still like the much bigger, athletic and more talented Memphis team to roll over the Zags.

UCLA +1.5 @ Arizona
Now that I turn on Arizona, they will prove me wrong? It is possible, but I doubt it.

OREGON +3 @ Stanford
Oregon will beat Stanford. As I stated above, Stanford is a horrible team without Goods at point. Mitch Johnson can not dribble the ball past the half court line without turning it over. Oregon has the guards to pressure Stanford and force a number of turnovers, as well as the people to hit the open outside shots. Lopez will score 20, Hill 25, Washington 5. That’s 50. Who else? Let’s give Taj Finger a point for his goofy effort.

MARQUETTE -3 vs. Louisville
This is the last time I take these guys, unless they cruise!

Ivy Night Lights

B. Anthony is back with several picks, because we just have to break the rule of no Ivy League games.

I have recruited some good knowledge and their ideas are included below:

Cornell +2 @ Princeton. Ivy, I like Cornell to win at Princeton...all Princeton can do right now is keep a game low scoring by shooting at 34 seconds each possession, but they can't play D and they can't score. Princeton 1-6 in Ivy, only averages 47 ppg...they lost by 20 at Cornell and they won’t compete with them at home tonight.

Harvard +6 @ Brown. Both teams are very mediocre and will be trying their best not to win, so it should be close.

Columbia +13 @ Penn. Just too many points -- Penn has been beating the second division Ivy teams by 15-20. Columbia is probably one of the top 3-4 teams in the league so I expect Penn to win by 8-10. Plus Columbia will have revenge on their mind and Penn might be looking ahead to next weekend's game at Harvard (not!).

Winthop +6 vs Missouri State: MVC home court has been huge this year, and I have no idea how the Winthrop Eagles are getting from Rock Hill, SC to Springfield, MO...I do know it is at least 2 bus rides and 2 flights, and God knows how long the trip will take in middle of winter. However, Winthrop is big, experienced, and has played some solid competition out of league. This is one of the best bracket buster games out there. Take the points.

Boise State -9 vs. Albany: Another travel game where it will just tire out the boys from NYC. George Karl’s son Cobe has been lighting it up for Boise, and this will continue tonight.

Out,

B. Anthony

(Cornell and Winthrop are the top 2 picks tonight! To date, 47-31-1)

Run (away) TMC

Most of us saw the news last week that John Amaechi announced that he is gay. Amaechi played his college ball at Penn State, and played in the NBA for Cleveland, Orlando and Utah.

B. Anthony and I spoke about this and he asked for my reaction. I said “Big deal”. I was wrong and hearing the comments from Tim Hardaway made me understand just how wrong I was. We all would like to think that racism and bigotry is on the decline, or does not exist, but upon hearing comments like this from Hardaway, it is apparent that it is not. The radio talk shows were all discussing what Hardaway said and there were quite a number of people (unfortunately) siding with our little loser Timmy. What an ignorant jerk.

He did later apologize, but he basically said, he should have kept his mouth shut. Meaning, “I still hate gay people”. Why is he being interviewed anyway? We all just need to remember that at the end of the day, these are coddled athletes, who are most likely uneducated. Don’t blame them for being stupid. They don’t any better. Unless it is Charles Barkley, I am not listening anyway.

I still don’t think this is a big deal. However, I am going to take down my Run TMC poster.

On to the picks;

B. Anthony was mentioning “opposite” betting in his post today, perhaps taking a shot at my poor performance last night. This is the nature of gambling, and the key is staying in control.

OREGON STATE +13.5 @ Stanford
I like the Beavers tonite. Yes, this is a very important game for Stanford, but don't lose sight of Anthony Goods not playing tonite. It was the movement of Goods from shooting guard to point guard, and the addition of both Lopez twins, coupled with the benching of Johnson, that propelled Stanford on their winning ways. Guess who is running point guard now? You guessed it; Johnson. Also, points will be hard to come by as well. With Goods out, Stanford is left with one guy, Lawrence Hill, who can hit an open shot.

Preparing for NIT and NCAA- "Dog Thursday"

As B. Anthony scanned the computer for scores last night, he found himself focusing on the Colonial League and Horizon League. For most, this would be uncommon, for B. it is just preparation and research.

There are 4 solid teams in the Colonial, but they won't all be Dancing in March. However, on the Wednesday before the Dance begins, they will be playing an underachieving team from the Big Ten or Pac-10 in the NIT, and will be getting 8 points. B. Anthony will then strike, and when everyone in the casino thinks they have a lock, we will be on the other side. There is a method behind the madness.

Speaking of methods, some of my loyal readers have been wondering when is it time to "go opposite"? B. Anthony has been hot, and eventually he may cool down, but not yet. The "Opposite" method refers to the utter desperation and the demise of a gambler. When every pick you make is wrong you then start trying to find the game you like most, and go against it. If you are this type of player, my thought is, "look at my plays, and if you think they are no good, or you know nothing about them, that is your pick!" I do periodically go opposite on myself, but this has not been successful lately. My last pick was UCLA over USC when I had been dead set on USC for 2 days. Just one mistake.

Back to the idea of watching a computer. How many times can someone refresh the screen in 30 seconds, and what does your wife or girlfriend think about it? B. Anthony was without cable for a couple days, and his Internet connection was smoking from the many refreshes. Please feel free to comment if you know of the website with the most frequent updates. CBSsportsline has been lacking, yahoo sports is okay. B. Anthony found that aolsports was pretty good with its frequency of updates and the number of games that actually provided a game-log! These are very important factors, because we all know that the real fun comes in suffering through every possession of every game! One click at a time!

On to Thursday's Board: As you see in the title, today will be a dog day, as will also be the case on March 15th, the greatest day of the year.

I got a Feeling Games:

Manhattan +10 vs Marist: Marist is a good team, consistently a winner with a senior laden team and four players averaging double digits. However, only twice in their last 10 games have they won by double digits. Both games against Iona (1-26). Manhattan is traditionally strong and beat Marist at home. I like the points.

Providence+8 vs Notre Dame: Notre Dame is a good home team, but Providence travels well. They have not lost bad double digits in quite a while, and they will battle Notre Dame to the bitter end. Again cheer for the Dog.

Pac 10 Picks: I will play all four, because, well, because I am a junkie!

USC +7 vs Arizona: Arizona is threatening to play better, but B. Anthony has sources close to this team. Marcus Williams is still a me first player and causing problems in the locker room, (see earlier suspension) and Mustafa Shakur has never lived up to his hype and is not the point guard leader that is needed here. USC is hungry and a good team. You can thank Tim Floyd for this. He has brought tough defense and more dirty recruiting to SC. Take the points, they may even win outright!

So much for dogs:

UCLA - 11.5 vs ASU. The plucky Devils have been competing well at home, and 11.5 points is a lot, but UCLA is mad, they have their point guard back, and according to all the numbers I can see and crunch, they are 19 points better than ASU. This line is low because UCLA had a close game with ASU before, and this may be a look ahead game to Arizona, but I don't buy it. Arizona is not good enough that UCLA has to look ahead. They need to win every game, and win some of them big if they want to earn the #1 seed in the West. Don't think Ben Howland doesn't know this.

Oregon -3 vs Cal. The Ducks have been struggling as B. Anthony predicted. They are still rated too highly, but they are a dancing team, and they know they have to get at least 1 win on this road trip. The will put everything they have into the first game, and although the Bears will battle for a while. They will succumb to pressure, make turnovers down the stretch and lose by 6-9 points. Ducks will quack their way to an ugly win

Stanford -13.5 vs Oregon State. B. Anthony is "going opposite" on this one. Money and B. discussed this game, as Money will be in attendance. Here is the deal. Goods, the only shooter for Stanford, is out. Oregon State will likely pack it in a zone and dare the Cardinal to beat them. We saw this against Gonzaga, and it was effective because Fred Washington is useless vs a zone and Mitch Johnson shoots like a 3rd grader from the hip and full body lean!

So the thought should be, take the points. However, the big Twinkies will just get the boards and lay them back in. Stanford's defense will be suffocating, and they need this game. Like Oregon, they need to get at least 1 win this weekend, and they fear the speed of the Ducks. Stanford will come out strong, and finish strong. This line should be 16, and even though I hate Stanford and expect the zone to slow them down, I am going Opposite and taking the Tree!


Out,

B. Anthony (P.S. If the lines move during the day, I will update them.)

( Also, if you are watching, 44-28-1 since Jan 17th B. Anthony will keep a running total for you. 18% ROA)

A little ESPN bashing

I watch a lot of sports, and when I don’t see the games, I watch the highlights on ESPN. I am not a hugely critical person, but there are some things going on at ESPN that are starting to unnerve me.

My first gripe is non hoops related. Nascar. Yuck. What the hell is Nascar doing on ESPN? I keep hearing about it and to me, it sounds just like hockey, but without the corny Canadian accents.

Dear Nascar,
Please go away, and take Hockey with you.

From Money

I was watching the Michigan/Michigan state game last night and Steve Lavin was calling the game. He and the other announcer started talking about the best “plodders” or centers in the game this year. The first guy on his list was Aaron Gray of Pitt. So I guess, by plodder he means big dopey white guy, but he also included Roy Hibbert of Georgetown who is one of my favorite players this year. Clearly missing from this list was J Noah, G Oden, Big Baby, T Hanborough. I guess they are too good to be mentioned. You could have included McRoberts of Duke, but I guess he is not dopey enough. What bothered me was that he mentioned two guys from Santa Clara, John Bryant, and Sean Dennison. Now, I am not ripping the Broncos, but there is no way these two guys should have been listed among the top (or biggest) centers in the game. Shameless plug for a guy trying to get a job at Santa Clara. The Broncos will be doomed if he goes there. Two good seasons and he is off to the next gig.

Did any of you see Andy Katz going around the Florida player’s dorm rooms? It was kind of creepy. I am not talking about the player’s rooms, or Taureen Green playing video games all day/night long. I was most bothered by Andy Katz and his massive “man-boobs”. Prior to this segment, I really enjoyed listening to his insight, but now, I am not so sure. How can we take this guys’ basketball knowledge so seriously if he can't run a few liners? I am willing to give him another chance, but he is right up there with Phil Mickelson.

One last rant. Digger Phelps and that stupid “Bob Dole” highlighter that he waves around is the most annoying thing in the world. To make it worse, he coordinates his ties with the pen that he carries that day. What a loser.

I feel better now. Here are my picks.

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH -7.5 @ NC Wilmington
VCU, coming off a loss, is still a bubble team, even at 21-5. They need/will get back on track tonite vs. this lowly team.

MISSISSIPPI -3 vs. Lsu
I am a big fan of Big Baby, and for that matter, this LSU team. But, they really suck now. They have no point guard and Glen Davis seems ready to stop playing college basketball and enjoy the wealthy boring life that the NBA will provide him.

BOSTON COLLEGE -2 vs. Duke
I love watching all of these ACC teams that continually were dominated both home and on the road by Duke, whip up on a very mediocre Duke team.

WASHINGTON -3 vs. Washington state
I have to go against the B on this one. I like Washington’s passion now. They still have a chance to make the tournament and they realize this game will go a long way towards achieving that goal.

MARQUETTE +2.5 @ Depaul
I am still a big believer in Marquette. They hung around the Hoyas for most of the game on the road but ultimately ran out of gas. McNeal had a poor shooting night, which won’t happen again.

IF YOU CAN'T COVER, LOSE!

We all know that this is our motto, and UNC lived up to it last night. I know we were all cheering for a double OT blowout, but if that wasn't going to happen, then let the Pseudo-All American miss a free-throw with 15 seconds to go!

If someone has invited you to view this site, and you are not making money, shame on you. College hoops is in full swing right now, but most people won't jump on board until March. Guess what? It gets harder to pick winners in March. That is why we build our Kitty up during February and pick our spots in March. Tonight B. Anthony has identified 7 games that look like possible Vegas mistakes, but on closer inspection only 3 of them qualify. Let's post them all.

The 3 "Vegas mistakes" (picks in bold)

Washington State +3 vs Washington: Washington is at home, has revenge on their mind from an early season blow out, but WSU is simply better. They should be favored, even if you factor in 4 or 5 points for the home court. Take the Cougars!

Virginia Commonwealth-7.5 vs NC Wilmington: VCU is coming off a loss to Old Dominion, and playing a far inferior team. It is a little known fact that their name refers to making money betting money on them. This should be a 13-15 point spread. It is common to get some wealth from VCU! (See my previous plays on them)

Central Florida +2.5 vs Tulane: Central Florida is on the road, but they are still fighting for the 2nd bid from Conference USA. They are winning on a regular basis except against Memphis. They also should be favored in this game.

Blowout Specials:

Memphis -10.5 vs Tulsa: Memphis is starting to get noticed, but they have blown out several teams in a row. The line is accurate, maybe even a half point in favor of Tulsa, but B. Anthony is riding this horse, so should you!

Wright State -13vs Cleveland State: Rollie Massimino has not been at Cleveland St. for a while, and they are bad. This line is inflated due to the 42 point shellacking that Butler put on Cleveland State, but Gary Wright St. will do the same thing. Dream Weaver!

Traveling Nightmare:

Utah State -4.5 vs Hawaii: Hawaii has a hard time leaving the Islands. They played on Monday, and had to head over to Utah State. The weather is only different by 60 degrees!

Drexel -6 vs William and Mary: Just another good team going to keep winning. William & Mary had a good start to the year, but these kids are studying now, and so far under .500 that they will be happy to get rolled and onto the end of the season.

Good Gaming, B. Anthony

(all lines updated 10:42am PST)

Is it time to panic?

As B. Anthony stated, things are certainly heating up. Teams on the bubble are stepping up with signature wins, like West Virginia and Louisville. They will still need to more as these big wins are not going to carry them to the Dance. They will help, but there is still some more meat on those bones. Alternatively, these losses won’t hurt Pitt or UCLA much at all. UCLA was without Collison, which is the bigger concern, as he is the grease that makes this wheel spin.

I do have a difference of opinion from B, when it comes to the top teams as well as the group that is not included. I agree with B’s 4 teams, but I think this total is closer to 7, maybe even 8. And I believe the fringe teams (capable of making a good run) are closer to 40, than 20. The sweet 16 will be peppered with all kinds of upsets.

Money’s Great 8 (in no particular order)

Florida – Great team. They play defense, can run and shoot. Their only flaw is their depth.

Wisconsin – Solid team with a great “go-to” guy in Tucker. Tough to get to the final four without a guy like Tucker. My biggest concern is their home court advantage and how well they will do outside of Madison. They are 6-1 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites, so this is not a huge concern at this point.

Ohio State – They have won 9 in a row and playing great now. I do worry about this team being young and how they will handle the pressure in a close game.

North Carolina – Great talent, playing extremely well now. Their youth and their expansive rotation are the things concerning me at this point.

Kansas- This is my current flavor of the month. I like this team a lot, although they burn us every year, usually in the first round. Not this year.

Texas A&M – We all know how great they are defensively, but now they putting up some gaudy (at least for them) numbers offensively with a more balanced attack.

UCLA – When you are speaking about the top teams in the country you have to include the Bruins. I discount the loss to West Virginia, but I am worried about their frontcourt. Their success will be dictated by their match-ups and an early exit would not surprise me.

Memphis – This is team that B. Anthony has been pimping and I am getting on board. Big, fast and athletic. Yes, they have not played anyone, but the same could be said last year too and they made it to the Great 8. They lost some talented guards, but have replaced them with young bucks and seem to be playing better as a team. They route Gonzaga on Saturday.

Just missed: Georgetown and Washington state. Oh, here come the Wildcats (Arizona) too. Don’t discount them either.

We do have a couple of “Panic button” games tonite and I believe there are some good betting opportunities.

GEORGIA TECH +3.5 @ Florida State.
The loser of this game will likely be out of the tournament. The Yellow Jackets are such a good sleeper team; it would be a shame for them to not make the tournament. They win and keep their tournament hopes rolling.

MICHIGAN +8 @ Michigan state.
While I don’t predict a Michigan win, I do think this game will be close. Tom Izzo has to win this game as they have lost 4 in a row. They do win, but just barely.

TENNESSEE -3 vs. Kentucky
The Volunteers are really playing well of late. Chris Lofton is healthy again. Coincidence? I think not. They hand the Wildcats another tough loss.

Did Somebody Say Salsa?

Things are starting to get Spicy with hoops. We all know that only 4 teams are really complete at this time, then after that any one of 20 teams can make a run.

In case you haven't been following, these are the four teams:

Florida- They are the hands down favorite.
Wisconsin-Just solid all the way around: must be that Mid-west work ethic.
Ohio State-They may be peaking at the right time, very talented and cohesive.
UNC-May be too young, but they can play. They are very good when ahead, and will cover the first round 36pt spread!

Kansas and Texas A&M are the only two teams that can possibly join these teams. Memphis will continue to roll, score a lot of points, move up the rankings, but they will never be a complete team. Pitt has fallen out of my graces for obvious reasons.

Today's Picks:

Tennessee -3 vs Kentucky- This team is getting better and will defend their home court against Kentucky.

Texas Tech +13 vs Texas A&M. I really like this Aggie team, but Bobby Knight will show why he is the all-time leader in wins. This team has lost 5 in a row, and will respond with some character and make this a close game.

Old Dominion -7.5 vs Hofstra. This game will look close for a while, but ODU will pull away at the end to win by double digits.

UNC -14 vs Virginia Tech. We have said this several times, but when North Carolina gets an early lead, they will roll. Let's hope the first 3 shots go in, and this game could be over early.

San Diego State -2.5 vs UNLV. This game better be on TV, because there will be some athletes on the court and a highlight for the late SportsCenter is guaranteed. Take the home team in a good battle.

Out- B. Anthony

Countdown to Madness!

Selection Sunday:
27days
05hrs
13min
38sec

We saw the true heart of many of these teams this week, and the Pac-10 didn't look so good. There will be a few changes from now until Selection Sunday, but I am sticking with my first impression of the top seeds from my previous post.

Oregon and Duke are on their way out of the top twenty, and I am hoping it happens today when the AP poll comes out. Enough tooting of my own horn, let's make today simple and get some winners on the board.

Pitt-9.5 vs Louisville. Take the home team to pound it in the paint and cover early and often!

Under 150.5, Texas vs OSU. This game will never live up to game one hype. Barnes will put in a zone to slow down Bogans in the paint, and OSU will throw everyone at Durant.

Santa Clara +8.5 vs Gonzaga. SCU Broncos will make a valiant effort to lay claim to #1 see in WCC tourney with a road win. Gonzaga is going to be better in the long run without Heyvelt, but this may be one game where they could have used his athleticism. This will be close. 75-72, not sure winner, but I will take the points.

Good Luck

B. Anthony