More Upsets and a new Top 25

Quick takes from the world of NCAA hoops & a new Top 25:

ESPN: Crazy week brings change to Top 25

Notes: 

• The ACC is weak.  But keep your eye on UNC who everyone had written off - they are quietly starting to play better.
• Michigan State is officially at a Kansas State level of trouble on the 2010-11 season.  Both appear to be against teams.
• Penn State has been a cover machine.  Outright win against WIS may skew the Tuesday spread against #24 Illinois.

Superbowl = Prop Bets

The line for this game has the Packers anywhere from 2.5 to 3 point favourites with the total of 45.

The most bet on game of the year has a ton of extra prop bets to keep this interesting no matter the score.  We'll take a look and see which ones are actually worth your time and money.   For now... D$ out!

WHAT A GAME!

Wow!

Thursday was crazy day and we were treated to a gem of a game as Indiana knocks of #24 ranked Illinois.

We were lucky to have Gus Johnson calling this matchup on the Big Ten Network, reaching a Deff Con 5 level of excitement.  'What a game!' The crowd was in a frenzy with an amazing atmosphere that really felt like March Madness!  Congrats to Indiana coach Tom Crean who got his first win at Indiana in 19 games against a top 25 ranked team.

In other action, our hunch of SMU over Gonzaga game true and as the Zags lost a close one at home.

And in another shocker, Michigan State officially is in a free fall as they lost to Michigan at home.

We get to catch our breath and bring it on Saturday.
D$ is Peace Out!

Getting Jimmer with It!

Wednesday Recap:

Jimmer Fredette goes off and drops 43 as #9 BYU drops #4 San Diego St. 71-58.  BYU is tough at home and a team to watch (and bet on) heading towards March.

A quick look at Thursday games has us looking towards #24 Saint Mary's  @ Gonzaga.   (11:00pm EST tip)  The Zags have not been playing well and living off a their reputation from past seasons.  The Zags are early 4 point favourites and gonna be very tempting to take Saints Mary's on the road here.  SMU should bounce back after losing their last game and not worried about them being on the road here.

D$ Out

Tuesday Night Recap

A quick recap on the night's events in the NCAA:

• Korie Lucious dismissed from Mich St.  Michigan State announced Tuesday night that it has dismissed junior guard Korie Lucious for the rest of the season.  "Unfortunately, Korie Lucious displayed conduct detrimental to the program," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said in a statement. "My focus is on this team for the remainder of the season."
• Syracuse gets beaten down by 20 at home to Seton Hall!  This may be a bet against team for another game or two until they figure out what is wrong with the Orange.
• Purdue did not show well against OSU on the road.  They are good squad, but clearly a class below the upper echelone teams and OSU is on the way to winning the Big 10 regular season title now.

******************
Games to watch on Wednesday include : 

#4 San Diego State @ #9 BYU (-4.0) 10:00pm EST tip. 
Could we be left with only one undefeated team at the end of the night?  D$ tends to think so and may be grabbing this one on Wednesday.

West Virginia @ #19 Louisville (-8.0).  7:00pm EST tip.
Huggins suspended leading scorer Casey Mitchell indefinitely for a violation of team rules.  This leaves WVU with only 8 scholarship players on the roster and is the reason for the inflated line as these two teams are pretty even otherwise.  Leaning towards a stay away until we see how the Mountaineers handle this loss.

Iowa @ Penn State (-6.5).  6:30pm EST tip.
Penn State has played all the best teams in the Big Ten close all month.  Not a deep squad, but they should be able to outclass Iowa at home.  Another game D$ is leaning towards.

D$ Out!

Super Tuesday Prep

Let's take a quick look at the Super Tuesday match ups this week:

Match up #1 : Seton Hall @ #10 Syracuse (-13.0).  7:00pm EST tip.
Was expecting the spread to be a little smaller after two straight up losses by the Orange coupled with a 6 point margin of victory when these two teams played on Jan 8th. (Seton Hall was a 7.5pt home dog in that one.)  Syracuse should be motivated, but this spread may be a little too large.

Match up #2 : #5 Kansas @ Colorado (+7.5).  8:00pm EST tip.

Kansas will be motivated after losing their first game in KU in 70 games.  But this team seems a little overrated to D$ and wouldn't be too quick to jump on them as favourites vs Colorado.  This team is 1-4 ATS in last five and not blowing teams away in Big 12 action with the exception of Baylor.  Just saying this one not automatic, so do your homework first before putting down the cheese here.

Match up #3: #5 Connecticut @ Marquette (-4.0).  9:00pm EST tip.
We were excited to perhaps see Marquette be a slight home dog here, but to our surprise the spread has opened Marquette being a four point fav.  The lines makers disrespecting the #5 ranks Uconn Hukies who have showed poorly on the road the past two seasons until recently.  Oddsmakers see the Golden Eagles as zig-zag team of the Big East.  Might be another stay away game as not much value.

Match up #4: #12 Purdue @ #1 Ohio State (-7.5).  9:00pm EST tip.

The feature match up of the day. The spread has opened at 7.5 and temping us to grab Purdue here. OSU hasn't beaten anyone higher than 18 in the RPI yet this season and most of their wins against the better teams this month were close (PSU, Illinois, and Minnesota in January Big 10 play). Purdue is riding some momentum after beating down Mich. St on Saturday night and will be a motivated dog trying to take down #1 in the nation.

(Incidentally, OSU players Jon Diebler, Aaron Craft, and POY candidate Jared Sullinger should stick to ballin' and not singing any more Miley Cyrus songs. Check out this YouTube video if you haven't heard about what we're talking about.)

Good Luck on Tuesday.  D$ Out

Duke Blue Devils....ALL Nolan Smith!

Just crushed through 3 Duke games on the ol' PVR last night. Watched their games v. UAB, @ FSU and @ NC State. This'll be a quick take, but Duke has it all in a wide open year where any team in the nation can win come Madness time. They have the All-Adolph Player of the Year leading candidate in SR. PG Nolan Smith, a certifiable wingman in SR. F. Kyle "Goose" Singler and a versatile combo of big men in the Brothers Plumlee and surprisingly SO. F Ryan Kelly. They have consistent timely contributions from shooting guards, SO. Seth Curry and SO. Andre Dawkins.

Duke starts and ends off of Nolan Smith at the point. They start three-quarters of their possessions with a simple on-ball screen for Smith and on 80% of those screens, Smith just drives it to the hole and scores. Their second option is Goose coming off of a pick-n-roll for a 3 pointer or easy 15 footer from anywhere on the court. Both players have averaged over 20 ppg since the injury of All-World freshie PG, Kyrie Irving, who's probably gone for the rest of the year with a torn tendon in his Big Toe.

Their bigs will be a presence in the blocks with the Brother Plumlee (SOPH. Mason and JR. Miles). If the opposition has a presence in the blocks like FSU did in Duke's loss, then it'll be up to Nolan and Kyle to take over as the bigs will be neutralized. All Duke big men are foul prone to any drives/shots in the paint. If this is the case, then they should make those penetraters pay with no easy layups ala the 90's Knicks/Pacers serie's. Although, they have the most complete team in the nation, leave it to Coach Krasinski-errrr-Sha-chevrolet-ski to not add any personality to the post fouls. That's so Duke of you Coach AMEX!!

It's pretty simple on how to beat Duke. Other than the aforementioned post match-up neutrality and foul prone-ness, the Duke high-pressure man-to-man defense can be used aginst itself, as many teams have had great success penetrating the ball to the paint. Once a Duke post steps up on the drive, then the easy dish is open for an opposing player under the bucket. Maryland, Virginia had success in close games v Duke, and that's how FSU disected Duke in a lucky win in Tallahassee. NC State ran this dribble penetration 4 times in their game on Wednesday, and it worked everytime. Hey Head Coach, Sidney Lowe, once your players develop any toughness stronger then the consistency of jell-o, then maybe you can call a play that even your soft and athletic NC State Wolf Pack players can be successful on. Poor play calling Lowe, poor!

That's one thing with a wide open Madness this year, not only does Duke have one of, if not the most complete teams in the nation, but they also have great timing in playing in the softest ACC since Oliver Miller's belly!

If an opposing team takes advantage of the dribble penetration-n-dish plays that have had been successful v Duke, they'll have to find a way to weather the daily Nolan Smith storm. At this point, I haven't seen anyone able to contain his drives, let alone stop them. Nolan Smith doesn't get many garbage time hoops either, as most are very timely in being a great ATS spread cooler hoop or in keeping Duke in the game with those stone 3's late in the FSU game.

Duke does add the odd Syracuse style 2-3 zone and can cut the shot clock off with an OK 3/4 full court press. When they have the lead, Coach K will use clock and shorten the game down. With this Coach K management and Nolan Smith's cooler abilities, for the time being vs. any ACC team, the Dukie's look like a team that will usually cover regardless of the spread. (Although, these games will have a high sweat factor, just like last nights beat down of Wake Forest)
Duke has it all, as painful as it is to say, as opposed to the inconsistencies of the youth of Ohio State's Jared Sullinger or KU's Morris Twins. Right now, we're looking at a Pitt/Duke strong hold on the All-Adolph Top 10 rankings which is coming soon.

Stay mad!!!

Insanity Report out!

Underdog Saturday

Theme of the day was underdog winners.  Straight up wins by:

• #11 Texas (+7) at #2 Kansas.   First lost at home by Kansas in 70 games.  Texas is a talented team, well coached, and will be a force in March.
• #7 Villanova (+7) at #3 Syracuse.  Tough week for the Cuse with losses to Pitt and Nova will have them dropping a few spots in the AP Top 25.
• Providence (+5) got it's first Big East win of the season at home (now 1-6) against #15 Louisville.  Louisville is a soft team and don't trust their point guards.
• Texas Tech (+4) got it's first win at home in Big 12 action against Nebraska. 
• San Francisco (+9) won against Gonzaga and has zags fans now wondering is this a tourney team? 

Some favourites did manage to cover today as #1 Ohio State, #4 Pitt, #5 Duke, #8 Connecticut, and  #9 BYU all won and covered.  Most of those games had a high sweat factor though.  Until tomorrow.... D$ Out