I take no accountability for getting all of the Mid-Major conference tournaments wrong, if you followed my advice (with 11-17 Oakland) call 1-800-GAMBLER. That being said, we’re about to get hot with some conference tournament matchups (more on that tomorrow), but let’s take a look at the Monday-Wednesday action so far.
College Basketball
Congratulations to the Wyoming Cowgirls–2021 MWC tournament champions. I did not want to write a blog and jynx them yesterday, so you’re welcome Coach Mattinson. After beating Boise State in the Semis, I had a good feeling going into Wednesday, but bit my tongue until today, LET’S GOOOOO!!!!
The Cowboys basketball put up triple digits and Graham Ike is an absolute animal. I’m not saying they’ll pull off the upset over No. 19 SDSU tonight, but I like them to cover the 15. Just enjoy the ride.
Oral (lol) Roberts ruined our Jackrabbit’s season and ended up winning the Summit League and the Zags beat the piss out of everyone in the WCC…duh.
Xavier and Providence have both made me look stupid all season long and continued to do so while losing to underdogs yesterday. Providence lost to the worst team in the conference, DePaul, and Xavier lost to a scrappy Butler team. Xavier doesn’t deserve to make the tournament after their inconsistency toward the end of the season, but I was bummed to see my dark horse Big East team, Providence, lose in embarrassing fashion.
Duke is out thanks to the Co-co, but this definitely feels like a Coach K publicity stunt where he spins this into getting sympathy from the national media and making a case for making the tournament because “who knows what would’ve happened?”. In all seriousness, it sucks for the seniors on that team, but they were never going to win the ACC tournament let alone the NCAA.
Some games to watch today/tonight:
No. 12 OK State vs No. 10 WVU (-3.5)
This game is going to be electric. Look for lottery pick Cade Cunningham to make a name for himself the next few weeks. A Bob Huggins led team is built around offense?!? HUH?! They are a wagon and I love them heading into the tournament. I also like them (WVU) -3.5 today.
Syracuse vs No. 16 Virginia (-5.5)
Virginia has been exposed a bit the last few weeks of the regular season and I think Syracuse matches up pretty well with them. I’m going to avoid this game, but gun-to-head I’d take ‘Cuse +5.5.
Wyoming vs No. 19 SDSU (-15)
I already talked about it a bit earlier, but I truly like the Pokes to cover the 15 today. This young team is showing signs of progress offensively and might make this one interesting going into the under 4 timeout. Gambling wise, over 144.5 is in play here.
Seton Hall (-2.5) vs St. John’s
I love St. John’s today, but this is going to be a great basketball game. St. John’s has several Q1 wins and it feels like they are being written off because of one bad loss to DePaul (who just beat Providence). If they make it farther than CSU does in the MW, St. Johns should get the nod over the Rams.
No. 25 Oklahoma vs No. 11 Kansas (-2.5)
This total could be 150 and I’d still take the over and the fact you’re getting it at 135 is a steal. All signs point toward this game being a stalemate with two teams who like to dictate the pace of play, but I can see this turning into a track meet between two teams with a lot left to prove. Over 135.
UNC(-3.5) vs No. 22 Va. Tech
Since losing to Marquette, UNC has looked like a motivated club poised to make a deep run in the ACC tournament. They had one slip up against an undervalues Syracuse team on the road, but Georgia tech exposed some of Virginia Tech’s offensive deficiencies after a 3 week Covid pause. The Hoakies haven’t played since Feb. 27th and UNC has the lenth and strenth to give them fits. UNC -3.5
No. 20 Texas Tech (-1.5) vs No. 13 Texas
Texas Tech was one of my “hungry dogs run faster” teams that didn’t show up last weekend. For a team that wants to be built around their defense, they give up a lot of points and look more comfortable when the game speeds up. It’s tough to beat a team 3 times, let alone a good team like Texas, so I’ll go with the Longhorns +1.5. It’ll be interesting to see how these Big12 teams do when they’re not going through a gauntlet of a schedule.
Football
The NFL is cucking the NCAA tournament with the decrease in the salary cap and the subsequent cuts made by teams around the league. Malcolm Butler, Janoris Jenkins, Riley Reiff, Mitchell Schwartz, Eric Fisher and Kyle Van Noy were all cut. Broncos should seriously look into Van Noy, Mitchell Schwartz and any corner that goes into the market. I know we’re all fantasizing about Deshaun Watson, but Right Tackle, Linebacker, defensive interior and Corner are all serious needs.
The Bills release of Quinton Jefferson and John Brown shows the middle class of the NFL is most at risk this offseason. A lot of role players will be available and several teams have the cap to make moves.
Other notes
If you’re tired of college basketball content, you’re a stooge and why would you think such a thing, but the end is near. I will be paying attention to other sports, promise, but this is the greatest time of the year for the sport. More mock drafts will be coming as well as 1.0 will see some huge changes. Love you, bye.
The Morning Flush 