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Selection Sunday is just a week away, and the our college basketball picks at Bankroll Sports continue to be as hot as ever!
Our bloggers kicked off the week by analyzing some teams that could be in bubble trouble this week, and some came through, while others fell short. Check out the complete list of all the 2010 free March Madness bracket contests that are on the web. All of them could all agree on a few things, though. It was great to see Gonzaga advance to the West Coast Conference Final after knocking off Loyola-Marymount on Sunday. Murray State winning the Ohio Valley was nice, as was Old Dominion taking more steps towards the Colonial Athletic Association's automatic bid. Northern Iowa gave bubble dwellers a bit of a scare, but the Panthers clinched the Missouri Valley Conference's ticket to the dance by beating Wichita State in Sunday's finale. The Shockers are probably NIT bound, but will certainly get some recognition on Selection Sunday.
Joining Murray State and Northern Iowa as automatic bid earners to the NCAA Tournament this week included Cornell (Ivy League), Winthrop (Big South), and East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun). Four more bids will be handed out on Monday night, including the CAA's, the Metro Atlantic's, the Southern Conference's, and the WCC's. Bubble teams will be on pins and needles watching and rooting for Siena, Old Dominion, and Gonzaga to capture their respective crowns to keep as many bubble slots open as possible for Sunday's bracket.
In a sport that often yields unpredictable results, one thing is absolutely for certain. The Kentucky Wildcats, Syracuse Orange, and Kansas Jayhawks are the top three teams in our NCAA basketball power rankings , and they're all going to be #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The fourth slot on the top line has taken a bunch of twists and turns of late. The Kansas State Wildcats might've been the projected #1 in the West Region for a bit, but their loss to the Jayhawks took them off that top line, even if merely for hours. The Duke Blue Devils were the next heir-apparent as a top seed, but they, too fell to the Maryland Terrapins. Once K-State got the top slot back, it dropped once again at home to Iowa State in a defeat that surely dropped it off the #1 line for the time being.
At least a half dozen teams feel as though they could earn that last top ranking in the NCAA Tournament by performing well in their conference tournaments this week.
Considering the fact that the Charlotte 49ers and Dayton Fliers both played their way out of the dance this week, the Atlantic 10 is starting to look more and more like either a four or a five bid league depending on how far the Rhode Island Rams and St. Louis Billikens can go in this week's conference tournament.
The tournament with the most intrigue though, will be that of the Big East. The teams at the top of this conference just aren't playing well at this point. Syracuse was beaten for the second time this year by the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday. That probably made the Big East at bare minimum an eight-team league, as the Villanova Wildcats, Pittsburgh Panthers, West Virginia Mountaineers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Georgetown Hoyas, and Marquette Golden Eagles are all almost certainly getting on their dancing shoes. The keys are going to be the South Florida Bulls, Seton Hall Pirates, and Connecticut Huskies, each of which probably need two to three wins in the Big East Tournament to be considered as at-large teams. What's frightening is that it is reasonable for each to pull off the feat, as all three should coast to at least one win in this tournament before facing legitimate competition in do-or-die games against the likes of Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Georgetown in Round 2.
Other bubble teams to watch this week in major conference tournaments... The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets probably need at least two wins in the ACC Tournament to feel safe. The Illinois Fighting Illini, Northwestern Wildcats, and Minnesota Golden Gophers all need multiple wins to have a chance. The Florida Gators, Mississippi Rebels, and Mississippi State Bulldogs are all 20+ win teams with 9-7 records in the SEC, but right now, all three of them would probably be left home. Each probably needs to reach at least 22 wins to be in consideration, and it might take 23 to be locked in.
As always, you can check out our most recent odds to win the NCAA Tournament and our free picks for the dance.
The NBA moved a week closer to its postseason, and injuries were the theme to the week.
We'll start with the Boston Celtics, who ended last week on our Weekly Wrap Sheet after losing to the lowly New Jersey Nets at home. In a nice change of pace, this is a team that is getting healthy and taking players off of the injured list. Just two nights later, F Paul Pierce, the last of the injured Celtics, came back to the lineup and helped lead Boston to a come-from-behind victory in Detroit. It was the type of win that could've helped change the season for a team that is used to picking up 'W's on a regular basis. Our bloggers suggested that the Celtics were set to turn the corner following that win, and they've rolled off four straight victories since.
Whereas Boston is just trying to get back up to par, its rivals, the Cleveland Cavaliers, are enjoying some time to rest and rejuvenate some players. C Shaquille O'Neal probably won't suit again until right around the playoffs with his banged up thumb, while F LeBron James took a night off in Milwaukee resting a slightly tweaked ankle. Even though Cleveland's six-game winning streak came to an end that night against the Bucks, HC Mike Brown had to be happy with the way that F Antawn Jamison came to play. He logged 30 points and 11 boards in his best game as a Cavalier. Cleveland easily stayed atop our NBA power rankings in spite of the loss.
Cleveland and Boston will meet on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena in one of the more highly anticipated NBA betting showdowns of the week.
The Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets, Detroit Pistons, and San Antonio Spurs all lost key cogs in their lineups as well this week.
Thanks to some facial surgery, G Jason Terry is going to be out of the lineup for the next couple of weeks for the Mavs. It doesn't look like they've lost a step though, as they've caught Denver for the #2 seed in the Western Conference and are moving to within striking distance of the Lakers, just three games behind coming into the week.
New Jersey's F Yi Jianlian sprained his left ankle against the Knicks on Saturday night, and even though x-rays were negative, he is still likely to miss some time for the 7-55 Nets.
As predicted with our premium NBA picks, Los Angeles lost an NBA Finals rematch on Sunday at Amway Arena against the Magic 96-94. Even though F Pau Gasol put up a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, HC Phil Jackson still called him out, stating that he had been playing sluggishly because he was under the weather. The purple and gold are going to need Gasol at full strength if they have any hopes of repeating as NBA champs.
The scariest moment of the week came when G Rodney Stuckey passed out during a timeout of the Pistons' loss against Cleveland on Friday. Neither Stuckey nor C Ben Wallace played at home against Houston on Sunday, a game that Detroit won in overtime to stop a six-game skid.
The most meaningful injury came on Sunday, as San Antonio lost G Tony Parker for possibly the remainder of the season with a broken bone in his hand. HC Gregg Popovich has plenty of decisions to make regarding his starting lineup and whether he'll elect to use his best offensive sparkplug, G Manu Ginobili in the starting five or not during Parker's absence.
In the week ahead, keep an eye on the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Milwaukee, Toronto, Miami, Chicago, and Charlotte are all separated by three games for positions #5 through #9. Expect to see the Bobcats try to make a move this week, as they host Miami and have two other very winnable games (@ Philadelphia, vs. Los Angeles Clippers).
The NFL has recently hired a million dollar legal team in order to fight against Delaware sports betting laws which allows legal betting on NFL football and other college/pro sports games.
Read our reporters' article on Money Management in NFL Betting and how to wisely manage your bankroll when betting your NFL Picks! Money management is vital and just as important as having the correct pick when betting. You always want to make sure you discover the best line before putting your hard earned money on a game by shopping for lines at different sportsbooks. This is also part of managing your money. Finally, here are some standard and simple football handicapping tips that you should follow before making your football selections this season. Be sure to check our free picks page for complimentary nfl and college football predictions all season long.
If you don't know how to place football wagers online, the Bankroll writers have written the column for you. If you are not sure what a parlay, prop bet, reverse, or a teaser is, then make sure to read the Football Edition of Sports Betting 101. if you are confused about any of the different types of sports betting options then this article will help you with your NFL predictions. You should also know which plays are intelligent bets and which are bad selections to stay away from when betting on sports. Therefore, you also take a gander at this column titled 'Sucker Bets in Sports Betting'.
Learn more about the sports betting systems from John Morrison who is reporting record breaking percentages and outstanding testimonials when you use his predictions strategies..
You can check out the NCAA Football Picks from Brandon Lang of the movie 'Two For The Money' who offers his sports consulting service along with other cappers.
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