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Posts Tagged ‘Quinnipiac Bobcats’

March 17th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

Perennial powers in the college basketball betting world will collide in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night when the #9 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (19-10, 15-11 ATS) do battle with the #8 Texas Longhorns (24-9, 10-19 ATS).

What's At Stake: The winner of this game will most likely get a chance to take on the #1 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday for the right to go to the Sweet 16 in March Madness. The loser's season comes to a bitter and premature ending by their standards.

College Basketball Odds: Texas -5 at JustBet Sportsbook

Wake Forest Notes: The Demon Deacons put themselves in a lot of hot water for this tournament by losing four straight games right at the end of the regular season. As a result of that and a first round elimination in the ACC Tournament, they still haven't even reached 20 wins, making them one of the few teams amongst these 64 left standing that can say that. Thanks to a high-motor offense that takes a lot of shots and a defense which forces a ton of bad shots, the Deacs are a tremendous rebounding team, averaging a whopping 39.4 per game against 34.7 for the opposition. Wake's offense is stellar at 73.0 points per game, but its defense makes it go, allowing teams to shoot just 38.3% from the floor on the year.

Texas Notes: Speaking of teams that fell a long way in a hurry… Remember when Texas was ranked #1 in the country and considered a shoe-in for a #1 seed in the dance? What happened? The Horns stumbled in Big XII play and are now subjected to a very, very difficult road to the Sweet 16. Much like Wake Forest, Texas is a tremendous rebounding team thanks to its size and length. It is averaging almost an identical number of rebounds per game as the Demon Deacons (39.5 per game), but it is +9.1 rebounds per game as compared to the +4.6 for its foes. The Longhorns have the seventh ranked offense in the nation at 81.2 points per game.

Players to Watch

Aminu Al-Farouq, Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Averaging 15.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game isn't easy over the course of a season, particularly in the ACC. But Al-Farouq not only pulled it off this year, but he expected significantly better. The big man has had four straight very poor games, averaging just 9.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, numbers that must improve if the Demon Deacons are getting through Round 1 of the tournament.

Damion James, Texas Longhorns: James' descent this year was also a big part of the reason for the Longhorns' decline. He never completely fell off the face of the earth like the team did though, as he has scored in double digits in all but three games this year and had 17 double-doubles. Much like Al-Farouq, James is averaging a double-double per game at 18.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Trends of Note

-Wake Forest is 6-0 ATS in its L/6 games against teams with a winning percentage of at least .600
-Wake Forest is 10-1 ATS in its L/11 games as a underdog of less than seven points
-Wake Forest is just 6-24 ATS in its L/30 neutral site games
-Texas is 6-2 ATS in its L/8 games against ACC opponents
-Texas is 3-11 ATS in its L/14 games as a favorite
-Texas is 3-14 ATS in its L/17 games against teams with a winning record
-Texas is 2-0 ATS in the L/2 meetings with Wake Forest (both in 2004)

Final Analysis: This is a hefty pointspread for a game that looks like it is largely a tossup. The Longhorns get a bid of a nod for their rebounding advantage and the fact that they played so well outside of the Big XII this year, but Wake Forest has enough weapons both on the inside and the outside to keep up with Texas if the boys in burnt orange try to make this a track meet. Even if the Horns advance, Wake should stay in front of this number.

Selection: Wake Forest +5

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March 17th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

It's easy as pie to just come out and say that John Wall, Evan Turner, Sherron Collins, or Greg Monroe is going to be the difference maker in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The truth of the matter is that one of those guys is probably going to be in the discussion for the MVP of the dance if their team reaches the Final Four. But here at Cappers Info, we're going to take a look at some of the players that you might not have heard of before that can botch up your brackets if you're not careful!

Omar Samhan, St. Mary's Gaels: If you're an avid hoops watcher on the West Coast, you know that Paddy Mills may not have been the heart and soul of that St. Mary's team of a year ago. Now Samhan, who averaged team highs in both scoring (20.9 points per game) and rebounding (10.9 boards per game), is the undisputed leader of this squad. He's a force in the middle and won't have an equal, let alone a superior to match up with him in the South Bracket, save perhaps Notre Dame's F Luke Harangody. Villanova had better watch out. A potential second round date with St. Mary's could be lethal.

Keith Benson, Oakland Golden Grizzlies: Here's another double-double per night guy that can do some real damage to your brackets right away if you've got the Pitt Panthers going far in the West. Benson was Oakland's leader in several categories, including points (17.0 per game), rebounds (10.5 per game), field goal percentage (53.6%), and blocks (3.4 per game). At 6'11", Benson is a legitimate center. Pitt has the bodies inside to throw at him, but Benson may ultimately be too strong for any of them to contain. The Golden Grizzlies are a potentially very dangerous #14 seed.

Jahmar Young, New Mexico State Aggies: HC Tom Izzo has to know that this guy is going to be a real offensive force in the Spartans' 5/12 game this week. Young is scoring 20.5 points per game this year, and he's coming off of a 19-point WAC Championship Game against Utah State. He's not afraid to stroke the three ball, as he's a 37.6% shooter from beyond the arc, and he's also prolific from the field (46.1%) and the free throw line (83.8%). New Mexico State already played the role of spoiler once when it took down the WAC title. With Young's help, it can do it again to one of last year's NCAA Championship Game squads.

Ryan Wittman, Cornell Big Red: Perhaps if you watched the Cornell/Kansas game earlier this year, you've heard of Wittman. The guy can shoot the rock from anywhere on the court, and he can take the ball in the post if needed as well. Wittman led the Ivy League champs in scoring at 17.5 points per game, and his 42.4% shooting from beyond the arc is a big reason why Cornell led the nation in three point shooting percentage this year. Now, the Big Red will have their toughest task at hand since that trip to Allen Fieldhouse when they have to tackle a Temple team that is #3 in the country in total defense. If Wittman can get going though, Cornell can catch some fire and blow several teams out of the East Bracket.

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March 10th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

Teams that are already in the NCAA Tournament…

Cornell Big Red (27-4, Ivy League), Winthrop Eagles (19-13, Big South), Murray State Racers (30-4, Ohio Valley), East Tennessee State Buccaneers (20-14, Atlantic Sun), Northern Iowa Panthers (28-4, Missouri Valley), St. Mary's Gaels (26-5, West Coast), Siena Saints (27-6, Metro Atlantic), Old Dominion Monarchs (26-8, Colonial), Wofford Terriers (26-8, Southern)

 Teams that clinched automatic bids on Tuesday…

Oakland Golden Grizzlies (26-8, Summit): Oakland is going back to the NCAA Tournament, and it enters March Madness as one of the hottest teams in college basketball, losing just one game since the end of December. Still, the Golden Grizzlies took their shots at some of the big boys in college basketball this season and ultimately was trounced by Syracuse, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Memphis. That's going to make it hard for this team to advance out of a #14 seed or so.

Butler Bulldogs (28-4, Horizon): Bubble teams can breathe a bit easier. The Bulldogs came through in a big way in the Horizon League final, hammering Wright State to finish up at 20-0 in conference play. Depending on how the Selection Committee views mid-majors this year, Butler could reasonably finish anywhere from a #3 to a #8 in the brackets. Either way, there are going to be some unhappy teams that have to face this very lethal bunch of Bulldogs.

North Texas Mean Green (24-8, Sun Belt): It took a big second half effort, but the Mean Green prevailed over the Trojans to win the Sun Belt and take a spot in the NCAA Tournament. This wasn't a conference that was particularly strong for the majority of the season, and North Texas will probably be punished for it. Consider this team good enough for a #15 seed, but not much more than that.

Teams vying for automatic bids on Wednesday…

Robert Morris Colonials (22-11, Northeast): This is old hat to a Robert Morris team which has played in the NEC Championship seven times in school history. The Colonials were awfully inconsistent down the stretch of the regular season, losing two of its L/3 before dominating two conference tournament foes. Free throw shooting is a major issue for this team. Only converting on 66.7% of its charity shots would be a recipe for disaster with a berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Quinnipiac Bobcats (23-8, Northeast): It's the exact opposite situation for the Bobcats, who are only playing in their second NEC finale and have never even played in a postseason tournament of any kind, let alone an NCAA Tournament. That will change this year, as the NIT will be calling Quinnipiac's name if it doesn't win this game. F Justin Rutty has logged seven straight double-doubles, and he'll be expected to come up big yet again for the Bobcats to go dancing.

Montana Grizzlies (21-9, Big Sky): G Anthony Johnson scored 19 points to lead the Grizzlies to the Big Sky final last night, and he'll be the cog in the lineup if Montana is to win this game against the conference powerhouses. Look out for a barrage of three-pointers from the Grizz, as they are shooting a stellar 40.2% from downtown this year, good enough for sixth in the country.

Weber State Wildcats (20-9, Big Sky): The regular season Big Sky champs have their sights set on yet another NCAA Tournament appearance. A high-flying offense which scored 77.0 points per game this year is going to be on display.  Weber State hasn't been to the dance since 2007, but this marks the team's fourth regular season championship since 2002-03.

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