Is it possible that Kansas State, with supposedly awful coach Bruce Weber, is really a top 10 team? Based on their body of work so far it is tough to argue with as they look to close out the season on a tremendous run – they have won 10 of their last 11 heading into Saturday.
The Explorers are tied for second in the Atlantic 10 conference. Sitting a game ahead of them is St. Louis so this game has even more implications than could have been imagined when the schedule came out.
The Gators have already clinched the SEC but they haven’t been as sharp down the stretch as expected. They are not quite the same team on the road as they are at home which may be part of the reason they are not being talked about as a title contender the way they were a month ago.
The Badgers have to be the team that nobody wants to play. You look at them on tape and say to yourselves we should beat this team no problem and then before you have broken a sweat you are in a barroom brawl and they have got you totally off your game.
#19 Oregon Ducks (23-6) vs Colorado Buffaloes (19-9)
Thursday March 7
Coors Events Center
9:00PM
Moneyline: No ML currently listed at Betonline
Spread: Colorado -3.5
O/U: 129
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They never could have imagined to be in this position given the talent at UCLA and Arizona.
The Ducks do have talent they just don’t have much in the way of star power.
Their leading scorer – E.J. Singler – is more known as the little brother of a former champion and quite frankly nobody stands out statistically save their transfer 6th man, Arsalan Kazemi, who is half a point and .1 rebound away from averaging a double-double. This team is unselfish and has depth and it is paying off even if they don’t have a true lead dog.
Oregon may lead the conference but they are far from a dominant team, which is why it is no surprise they are an underdog Thursday.
Normally a conference leader on the road in this situation, with revenge, would scream to punch it but I am not a big fan of the Ducks and think that joint will be rocking enough to push the team to a pretty easy victory. [ad-6571516]
The Buffs have come along of late. They are over .500 in the conference and their next win will be their 20th. They definitely need this game more than Oregon does and if that doesn’t motivate them than I don’t know what will. Colorado beat Oregon on the road earlier this season and a sweep for the year would speak volumes for this team that has been close so many times.
The real question is how deep into the conference will the selection committee go.
The NBA talent may not be there but I like the lineup the Buffaloes put out there. Andre Roberson is a rebounding savant and Spencer Dinwiddie is a scoring point with some size that can cause matchup problems. They aren’t blessed with a ton of size inside or outside shooting but they make it work.
Tad Boyle might be one of the more underrated coaches in America as this team competes really hard most nights.
I am probably too high on Colorado now, and for the whole season really. I watched that spirit crusher at Arizona and it inflated the Buffs in my mind even though Zona did not turn out be a juggernaut. If they can’t get up for this one then they don’t deserve to be a part of March Madness.
They will keep their name in the hunt for another week with this one.
Spread Pick: Colorado -3.5
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Colorado 74 – Oregon 67
Does anybody have to be told exactly what it would mean to the Knicks’ chances of a deep playoff run if Carmelo Anthony isn’t at 100 percent about five weeks from now?
Props to Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro, who knew what he would be facing tonight when LA took the court against the Bucks last night.
Headline: The Battle of Pennsylvania III – Flyers Host Penguins Thursday Night
One of the better rivalries in the NHL continues Thursday night on a busy evening on the NHL schedule when the Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Philadelphia to take on the inconsistent Flyers. Each team has already defeated the other once this season but only one is living up to expectation at the half-way point of the season.
The 2013 MLB season is only a few weeks away. Spring Training action is going on right now, which means Opening Day is right around the corner. We’re taking a division-by-division look at betting odds and team by team season win totals.
The Blue Monster at Doral hosts the seventh edition of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. Hitting and holding the fairways has proven tough on this track and Greens in Regulation is also a challenge.
Headline: Rivalry Night – Blackhawks Try to Extend History – Host Avs Wednesday Night
The Chicago Blackhawks continue their assault on the record books Wednesday when they hope to extend their streak to 24 games to start the season without a regulation time loss. They are now just six contests away from matching the longest point streak in league history set by the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers, who went unbeaten in 35 straight games (25-0-10).
This week the Sprint Cup series heads to Sin City for the running of the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sunday’s race is slated to get underway at 3 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
Here’s what we know about the Eastern Conference playoffs, which don’t get under way until the middle of April:
1. The Heat will be the top seed.
Chicago Bulls (34-26) at San Antonio Spurs (47-14)
Wednesday, March 6
AT&T Center, San Antonio
9 p.m. EST
Spread – Spurs -7.5 at BOVADA
O/U – 191.5
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2. The Pacers and Knicks will be 2-3, or 3-2.
3. The other five teams in the mix will be Brooklyn, Atlanta, Boston, Milwaukee and Chicago, in some order that probably won’t be determined until the last musket is fired.
Everyone wants to avoid the 8th seed and a first-round elimination date with the Heat, a thought which until recently never crossed the minds of fans in Chicago.
But the way the Bulls have been playing recently, a free fall to the bottom of the playoff heap looks entirely possible.
Chicago’s started innocently enough with a head-scratching loss to the Wizards in late January, a defeat which kicked off an 8-10 stretch which has removed the Bulls from the conference elite and raised two key questions: When is Derrick Rose coming back, and is Tom Thibodeau wearing out his starters?
Rose has finally been sighted on the Bulls’ bench, albeit in street clothes. “It’s just the next step,” said Thibodeau of Rose’s presence during games. “He may not even be out there all the time.
If he wants to come out, great. If he doesn’t, that’s fine, too. Again, his focus has to be on the rehab.
The team has to focus on our improvement and our next game. So at some point he’ll be ready to go.” [ad-6571516]
Rose has made it clear that he’s not coming back until he feels he’s 100 percent good to go, and since the league’s best offensive PG isn’t talking much, no one knows when that will be.
Until that question is answered, focus in Chicago is on the team’s recent struggles.
The bump in the road has included a 71-69 loss in Boston which may have been one of the worst games in the history of the NBA and a defeat at home to the Cavaliers.
Thibodeau, considered on the league’s top coaches, is starting to take a little heat for keeping his bigs on the floor for huge minutes. Luol Deng played 44 minutes in a recent game against Brooklyn, and Joakim Noah played more than 40 four times in the last 10 games, including 45 against the 76ers.
Would have been an interesting late-season PG battle between Rose and Tony Parker. Parker’s absence was hardly noticed in SA’s 114-75 victory over the Pistons, who appear to have officially started playing out the string.
Tonight will be a bigger test as Chicago’s pressure defense and tightened rotation is tested by the Spurs’ deep bench.
Expecting same-old, same-old here with the Spurs getting it done sans Parker.
Totals players should be aware that the Bulls have scored in triple digits only once in the last month, and the Spurs might take a few quarters to figure things out in their first decent test without Parker.
Iowa State is at 19-19 and 9-7 in Big 12 play and they have failed to get to the 20-win plateau, as they have lost their last 2 games. They may seal their Big Dance bid if they can beat a ranked Oklahoma State team tonight.
This isn’t a vintage North Carolina team but they have probably done enough to be considered one of the top 68 teams in the country.
Georgetown just won’t stop losing. They caught some attention when they challenged Indiana in non-conference and since Big East play started they have been on a major role.
