Thursday Nights Bubble News And Pick$!
A quick look at two important bubble games tonight and my picks for tonight:
North Carolina vs Georgia Tech
Last Call for the defending champs. Perhaps as surprisingly, it might also be last call for one of the more talented group of players in the nation in the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. Nobody has expected the Heels to be in the tournament for the last month or so. But, the Tech situation is a new development. They have slowly, but surely been playing themselves out of the fied.. They have fallen all the way down to an 11-seed and for the first time arent a unanimous selection with nine mocks excluding them from the field. They’ve lost six of nine and are 7-9 in the ACC. Bloggers have put the coach On Notice. I tend to think they will not get a bid if they get eliminated in this 7/10 game in the ACC Sectional on Thursday night. I dont think they need more than a win to re-establish their firm footing. But, Tech may have already won before even playing. Most everybody on either side of the bubble got a major result today with Memphis losing in the CUSA quarterfinals to Houston. The Jackets were ahead of the Tigers anyway, so that’s one less intruder who could steal their bid in case they do lose tonight. Tech might be in almost everybodys field, so its not a play in game. Consider it a hanging-on-by-a-thread-dont-fall-out-of-the-bracket game. Bubble teams everywhere are cheering for Carolina Blue to finally get it together and make one last stand tonight before giving up its title.
Florida vs Auburn
Is Florida’s magic number for a bid 1?Are they jsut a single win against anybody away from beaking their two-year hiatus from the NCAA Bracket? If so, they’ve been stuck on that number for awhile. This SEC First Round Game against Auburn is their last chance to get that one. When you’re an 11-seed in the Matrix, you never want to go one-and-done in your league sectional, especially if your opponenet is an SEC West team with a 6-10 record. No Sugarcoat. This is a play-out game. The Gators are gone if they lose. Probably safe if they take care of business. Regardless people are asking what is Florida’s problem? Auburn, meanwhile, wasnt able to follow thier road map to the NIT and are left to play major spoiler and keep the Gators out of the tournament for a third straight year.
In the Big East Quarterfinals tonight, I dont consider the Pitt/ND game a bubble contest. The Irish are in. The bubble is not strong enough this year, or perhaps any year given the league’s construction, to keep out a 22-win Big East team with 11 total conference wins. In the nightcap, we have a classic Cincinnati-West Viriginia matchup. Huggy Bears plays the school who fired him on national TV in MSG in the Big East Tournament. How do not want to watch that? And, I suppose it too is a bit of a bubble game as I dont think the Bearcats only road map to the Field of 65 is through winning this sectional and grabbing the auto bid. They have a decent chance, especially if more bubble teams sag tomorrow like they did in the Conference USA today, if they make it to the finals. They would be a 20-win team with wins over Louisville, West Virginia and Notre Dame/Pitt winners in the immediate days before the selections. They have other impressive wins, so their argument would be stronger than you otherwise might think. Anyway onto my picks for tonight.
Pitt -2 (-120) over Notre Dame, 7:00, 1 Unit…..I am taking Pitt every time in a coin flip game in the Big East Tournament.
CIncy +9 over WVA, 9:00, 1 Unit…..The Bearcats will be hard to put away tonight, despite playing their third game in as many nights. Cincy impresses me as a scrappy team that save for a few moments can play close enough to the league big boys. I like them catching points in this spot. They are the more desperate team facing elimination. Those teams have been faring well the last couple of days.
UGA +2 over Arkansas, 9:00, 1 Unit….ok, UGA dont let me down. We had such a great winter together. Keeping games closer than the expert thought. Sprinkling in upsets of Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. It was all so good for both you and me. You had gone 15-4 ATS since mid-December. But we were particularily hot together with covers in five of six posted games here at the JCB. But the whole thing has gone sour the last week. The spark isnt there. We went 0-2, including losing to the worst team in the league last time out. As quickly as our relationship got steamy, it turned ugly. I had a relationship once with a redhead that rose and fell just like this. Here’s hoping we end up on better terms, UGA!
Baylor pick ‘em over Texas, 2 Units……Didnt we just see this game? Didnt we just see Baylor flatted the Horns? Yes, we did. And, the nuetral court alone doesnt make up for the double digit spread we saw then. Baylor has proven to be the much better team. I will take them every time out against Texas right now unless you force me to lay a couple possessions woth of baskets. I really hope I am not muttering to myself later tonight about the old rule of if it looks to good to true. I really dont think I will be. Baylor made a run to the finals of this field last year. I think they’re primes to get right back to the championship. This is step one.
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