40 DIMER - VILLANOVA WILDCATS
I believe the wrong team is favored in this game, plain-and-simple! Villanova is totally hitting their stride, and that crush-job over UCLA this past weekend was all I needed to see to make me a believer in Jay Wright's team advancing past the Blue Devils.Duke has not fared well when taking on schools from the Big East, going 2-8-1 against the spread their last 11.The Blue Devils had some issues taking care of a Texas team that I didn't think very highly of in the last round, and taking on the Wildcats is a whole different animal, as Villanova is more than capable of rattling off 12-points in 40 seconds.G-Man fully expects the Wildcats to get the straight up win, but getting a little more than a basket makes the play that much stronger.
Take 'Nova plus the 2 points.
20 DIMER - MEMPHIS TIGERS - 4.5
No doubt Mike Anderson has the Mizzou program back full force, but the way they ended their game against Marquette is a red-flag as far as I am concerned. Missouri looked shaky as all get out at the end of that game, and tonight they are coming in against a Memphis team that I believe has found their tourney legs.After a shaky first round game against Cal State Northridge, Coach Cal's team shredded Maryland 89-70 in the second round, and I think they are only to get stronger in this game.Memphis is not usually a single-digit favorite, but they have covered their last pair in that role, and they will cover here.Nice run by the Tigers of Columbia, but the Tigers of Memphis went all the way to the final last year, and will not blink in this round.
Take Memphis - 4.5 Points
Today's Complimentary Selection
G-Man gave you a NBA winner on the Timberwolves last night to make it 2 in a row for free.Let's go to the Big Dance tonight, and play the Xavier Musketeers plus the points as they take on Pittsburgh in Boston.The "X"-Men are quite familiar playing at this stage, as 2 of their last 3 Big Dance trips have been to the Sweet 16 or deeper, and I don't think they are going to be outclassed by a Pitt team that did a tightrope dance in each of their first 2 tourney games, surviving against East Tennessee State, and Oklahoma State to get to this matchup.Pittsburgh has looked the shakiest of the number one seeds, and perhaps it is because they have not been past the Sweet 16 in years. The collar on their jerseys seems very tight to the G-Man, and this impost looks particularly tall to clear.Xavier is a deep, and experienced team, and if they are able to limit their turnovers, I see them giving the Panthers a major scare this Thursday night.
G-Man playing the underdog Musketeers in this one!
Karl Garrett (always professional with write-up) 3-26-09
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