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Session IV, Thursday
March 18, 2010
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com

Editor's note: Brian Edwards, Kevin Rogers, Judd Hall, Chris David and James Manos previewed the 2010 NCAA Tournament in this Power Hours Special recorded on Tuesday. Listen Now | Download MP3
B ettors have a quartet of late-night games to wager on Thursday. Let’s take a look at all four of those matchups and more…
**Lehigh vs. Kansas**
--Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Kansas (32-2 straight up, 14-16-1 against the spread) as a 27-point favorite with a total of 150. As of Wednesday afternoon, most books had the Jayhawks as 26-point ‘chalk’ with a total of 146.
--Lehigh (22-10 SU, 3-0 ATS) won the Patriot League’s automatic bid by capturing a 74-59 win over Lafayette in the finals of the conference tournament. The Mountain Hawks took the cash as 6 ½-point favorites. C.J. McCollum had a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds, while Zahir Carrington finished with 18 points, 10 boards and four blocked shots.
--Lehigh has only faced one team in the NCAA Tournament field. The Mountain Hawks lost a 65-53 decision at Richmond in the season opener of a game that was off the board.
--Since losing at Oklahoma St. on Feb. 27, Kansas has won five in a row while going 4-1 versus the number. The Jayhawks won the Big 12 Tournament by beating Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Kansas St. They beat the Wildcats for the third time this year in the finals, winning a 72-64 decision as six-point favorites. Marcus Morris had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead KU past K-St.
--Bill Self’s team has failed to cover the number in six straight double-digit ‘chalk’ spots. For the season, KU is 8-12-1 ATS as a double-digit favorite.
--KU advanced to the Sweet 16 last season before losing to Michigan St. If the Jayhawks and Spartans get that far this year, they’ll square off again. This time around, they would meet in the Midwest Region semifinals in St. Louis.
--Senior guard Sherron Collins is the catalyst for the nation’s top-ranked team. He averages 15.6 points and 4.4 assists per game, but those numbers don’t tell the real story. Collins is the backbone of this squad with no fear whatsoever. He can take and make big shots and perhaps most importantly, he’s “been there, done that” in terms of playing a crucial role in KU’s run to the national title two seasons ago.
--A No. 1 seed has never lost to a No. 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history. Assuming this game is no exception, Kansas will take on the No. Iowa-UNLV winner on Saturday night in Oklahoma City.
--Sportsbook.com has KU listed as the plus-200 ‘chalk’ to cut the nets down in Indianapolis (risk $100 to win $200).
--The ‘under’ is 18-12 overall for KU, 4-1 in its last five games. Meanwhile, the ‘under’ went 2-1 in Lehigh’s only three games with a total.
**Wake Forest vs. Texas**
--This ACC/Big 12 battle will be waged in New Orleans and tip off approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Kentucky-East Tennessee St. game. The winner gets the UK-ETSU winner.
--LVSC opened Texas (24-9 SU, 10-19 ATS) as a two-point favorite with a total of 148. As of Wednesday afternoon, most spots were listing the Longhorns as five-point favorites with the total reduced to 146. Gamblers can take the Demon Deacons on the money line for a plus-180 return (risk $100 to win $180).
--Wake Forest (19-10 SU, 15-11 ATS) limps into the NCAA Tournament with five losses in its last six games, including an embarrassing 83-62 loss to Miami in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The Hurricanes, who led 41-27 at intermission, never let the Deacs cut the deficit to single digits in the second half and won going away as 3 ½-point underdogs. Ish Smith had 14 points and five assists for Wake in defeat.
--Dino Gaudio’s team has been an underdog nine times this year, compiling a 6-3 spread record.
--Texas is in the midst of an atrocious 3-17 ATS slide and has dropped five in a row versus the number. As single-digit favorites this year, the Longhorns are 5-6 ATS.
--Rick Barnes’ club has played 12 games against teams in the field, winning five of those contests. Keep in mind that the ‘Horns lost three times to Baylor. As for Wake, it won (outright, that is) six of its 10 games against NCAA Tourney teams.
--The ‘over’ has cashed in four consecutive games for Texas and is 17-11 overall for the ‘Horns.
--The ‘under’ is on a lucrative 10-2 run in Wake Forest games. For the season, the ‘under’ is 15-10 overall for the Deacs.
**Montana vs. New Mexico**
--LVSC opened New Mexico (29-4 SU, 18-12-2 ATS) as a 10-point favorite with a total of 135. As of Wednesday afternoon, most betting shops had the Lobos as nine-point ‘chalk’ with zero movement in the total. The Grizzlies are plus-350 to win outright (risk $100 to win $350).
--Montana (22-9 SU, 17-11 ATS) won the Big Sky’s automatic bid thanks to a spectacular performance by Anthony Johnson in the finals of the league tournament. The Grizzlies rallied from a 20-point deficit at halftime to beat Weber St. 66-65 thanks to Johnson’s game-winning jumper with 10 ticks remaining. Johnson finished with 42 points, outscoring the Big Sky’s regular-season champs 34-25 in the second half. He scored the Grizzlies’ last 21 points to propel them to a No. 14 seed in the Big Dance.
--Steve Alford’s squad garnered the No. 3 seed in the East Region by winning the Mountain West’s regular-season title. However, the Lobos had their 15-game winning streak snapped by San Diego St. in the MWC Tourney semifinals. The Aztecs captured a 72-69 victory as 2 ½-point underdogs.
--New Mexico has been a solid money-making team to support this year, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t note its recent 1-5 ATS slump.
--Montana has thrived in the underdog role, cashing tickets at a 5-2 ATS clip. The Grizzlies faced just one school in the NCAA field, losing by a 63-59 count at Washington. With that said, they easily took the money as 19-point road underdogs. We should also note a 68-55 win at Oregon as 13 ½-point ‘dogs.
--Johnson is the only Montana player who scores in double figures, averaging 19.3 points per game.
--Juco transfer Darington Hobson has been the spark throughout UNM’s breakout campaign. Hobson leads the Lobos in scoring (16.2 PPG), rebounding (9.2 RPG) and assists (4.6 APG).
--The ‘over’ has cashed in five straight games for the Lobos, but they have seen the ‘under’ go 14-12-1 overall this year. The ‘over’ is 6-4-1 when their totals are in the 130s.
--The ‘over’ was on a 7-0 run for Montana before the ‘under’ hit in each of its last two outings. For the season, totals have been a wash (11-11) for the Grizzlies. The ‘under’ is 6-4 when their totals are in the 130s.
--The winner will face the Marquette-Washington survivor in a second-round matchup Saturday in San Jose.
**Tennessee vs. San Diego State**
--LVSC opened Tennessee (25-8 SU, 13-16-1 ATS) as a 4 ½-point favorite with a total of 133. As of Wednesday afternoon, most books had the Vols listed as three-point ‘chalk’ with the total reduced to 126. Bettors can take the Aztecs to win outright for a plus-140 return (risk $100 to win $140).
--San Diego State (25-8 SU, 17-13 ATS) has been a bubble team the last couple of years, but it removed all doubt of making the NCAAs last weekend by beating UNLV 55-45 in the finals of the MWC Tourney at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Steve Fisher’s team won outright against the Runnin’ Rebels as a four-point underdog. Kawhi Leonard was the catalyst with 16 points and 21 rebounds for the winners.
--Tennessee saw its five-game winning streak snapped Saturday in Nashville, where Kentucky crushed the Volunteers 74-45 in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Wildcats took the cash as 4 ½-point favorites.
--Bruce Pearl’s squad is the only one in the field that can claim a win over a pair of No. 1 seeds in Kansas and Kentucky. (Louisville has a pair of wins against a top seed but both came over the ‘Cuse.) With that in mind, UT’s players were baffled by a No. 6 seed. “A six seed? A six seed? That’s definitely motivation, knowing we deserved more,” Scotty Hopson told The Tennesseean.
--The Vols have a veteran team and a balanced offensive attack. Senior center Wayne Chism averages a team-high 12.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
--San Diego St. owns a 6-4 spread record in 10 underdog situations this season. Meanwhile, UT has posted a 4-5 ATS mark in nine games as a single-digit favorite.
--The ‘under’ has cashed at an incredible 18-7-1 overall clip for the Vols.
--The ‘over’ is 15-12-1 overall for the Aztecs.
--The winner will face the winner of Georgetown-Ohio on Saturday in Providence, RI.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
--I’m not into women’s hoops at all, but I have fielded a number of e-mails inquiring about future odds for the gals’ NCAA Tourney. Sportsbook.com has UConn as the overwhelming minus-800 favorite (risk $800 to win $100), while the field (EVERY other team) is a plus-500 wager (risk $100 to win $500).
--Check out ESPN’s Bobby Knight lobbying for a head-coaching job for the second straight year. At this time last year, the NCAA’s all-time leader in wins was expressing interest in a pair of SEC jobs at Georgia and Alabama.
--Siena’s Clarence Jackson (14.0 PPG) was upgraded from “questionable” to “probable” on Wednesday afternoon. Jackson rolled his ankle at practice this past Saturday. The Saints have won first-round games over Ohio St. and Vandy the last two years. They are a No. 13 seed that’ll face fourth-seeded Purdue in the first round.
--According to BoDog Sportsbook Manager Richard Gardner, Notre Dame (-2.5) and Louisville (-1) have been the most popular first-round plays among the players for the offshore website. The most action on futures has come in for Georgetown and Kansas St.
Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.
Follow Brian Edwards on twitter at Vegasbedwards.
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