LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!
by Bob Acton of
Sportingbet USA - now SuperBook.com -
It’s that time a year again folks where company head’s dread, as they realize several hours will be lost in productively as their employees are glued to their bracket sheet holding the names of 64 schools.
Tomorrow in Dayton, Ohio Monmouth and Hampton will square off in what is called a Play-in-game to see who gets the right to board a plane to Philadelphia and a date with the Villanova Wildcats on Thursday.
DIDYOU KNOW??? THAT YOU CAN USE YOUR CREDIT CARD TO BET ON MARCHMADNESS GAMES?
The four top seeds are Duke in Greensboro, North Carolina, Memphis in Dallas, Connecticut in Philadelphia and Villanova in the “City of Brotherly Love” this weekend.
Syracuse did the unthinkable and beat Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown and Pittsburgh in succession in New York at the Big East Championship this past weekend and now heads to the tournament in the role of hunted not hunter. They could run into a buzz saw on Thursday in Jacksonville, Florida when Billy Gillespie and his Aggies of Texas A&M come calling. The Aggies put the clamps on Texas recently and the Longhorns had far better talent then the Orangemen. Incidentally the line has opened at Syracuse –1.5 and they are begging the public to hammer SYRACUSE, but A&M is the play.
My upset special on Friday will be in Dallas where the struggling Wolfpack of North Carolina State get a new lease on life when they face the Golden Bears of California. NC State gave teams fits early in the year with their 4-guard set and awesome three point shooting. They were stone cold down the stretch but a lot of this had to do with their rival ACC teams so familiar with their system. California must travel through time zones to play a game that will tip off in the morning on their clocks. Cal has rugged Leon Powe who is a handful, but NC State can neutralize him with Cedric Simmons. Look for State to send Cal packing!
It will be 40 minutes of hell in Philadelphia on Friday as UAB tackles former tournament giant Kentucky. UAB is a relentless defender and the Wildcats have underachieved this year. If Kentucky can beat the trap they have better talent, but I’m not sure they are in good enough physical shape to handle Mike Anderson’s Blazers. The line sits at Kentucky –2.5 today, but if you are patient the public will drive that line to 3- 3 ˝. Take the dog here!
| 
