Thursday was an exciting day of college
hoops and it we can expect more of the same
with the
2006
Friday first round and 16 more action
packed betting opportunities. Yesterday, the favorites
went a solid 10-6 versus the spread. The
three biggest upsets were Syracuse (5 seed),
Nevada (5 seed) and Oklahoma (6 seed).
Bet Now: #9 Bucknell (+5) vs. # 8 Arkansas
Arkansas is 22-9 on the year and 10-6 in the
SEC regular season. The Razorbacks have one
of the best players in the country in 6’7”
Ronnie Brewer, but he also gets a lot of
help from guard, Jonathan Modica. However,
they need to get more inside scoring in this
game to balance out the offense.
Bucknell has a 26-4 record and they
completely dominated the Patriot League this
year. They have a big center in Chris
McNaughton who has drawn some NBA interest.
Guard, Charles Lee is another interesting
player as he has scored in double digits in
12 straight games. Remember, this is a team
with non-conference road wins over Syracuse
and DePaul.
This is the largest spread of all the eight
versus nine games (2.5 points higher). This
is going to be a game of tempo, with
Arkansas trying to push it and Bucknell
slowing it down. Bucknell must control the
pace to keep it close.
Bet Now: #9 UAB (+3) vs. # 8 Kentucky
Kentucky (21-12) has been a streaky team all
year with most of their wins coming in
bunches. Certainly, getting center Randolph
Morris back from suspension has helped, but
this is still a team built around its
perimeter players. The Wildcats also have a
lot of depth, as they go 10 deep in players
even in close games.
UAB (24-6) is one of the lesser known teams
in this tournament, surprising considering
they’re a nine seed. Part of the reason is
that they are in Conference USA, a
conference with little national attention
outside of Memphis. UAB actually handed
Memphis their only loss in conference, and
they are looking to knock out Kentucky in
the NCAA tournament for the second time in
three years.
Bet Now: #10 NC State (-2) vs. # 7
California
This is an interesting match-up on paper as
the 10 seed in NC State is the slight
favorite.
NC State is 21-9 and 10-6 in the ACC regular
season. This is a very well balanced team
with seven players who average between eight
and 14 points per game. Unfortunately, the
Wolfpack are not playing their best
basketball heading into this game. They have
lost four straight including two to lowly
Wake Forest.
California is 20-10 on the year and finished
in 3rd place in the PAC-10. That finish gave
them a seven seed, but the weakness of the
conference compared to the ACC is why they
are an underdog in this game. The whole
country is waiting to see how California
power forward Leon Powe performs on the big
stage. Powe needs to have a monster game for
the Golden Bears to come away victorious.
Check out the latest
2006 March Madness Odds at VIP
sportsbook
