THIS JUST IN:
MINI-TOURNEY WEEK IS A BLAST!
HERE’S THE EIGHT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
THAT TIP OFF WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON / EVENING
Let’s keep the ole basketball bouncing – there’s conference tournaments all ‘round the land this week and here’s quick-hitter looks / previews of the Eight (8) so-called mini-tournies that will be tipping off Wednesday, March 11th:
And a reminder:
Jim Hurley’s Network of Handicappers and Bloggers keep beating the books with College Basketball and NBA winners all week long, so let’s cash in big here at www.jimhurley.com or via our toll-free telephone # of 1-800-323-4453. Keep in mind when there’s day-time hoops, we’ll have our selections up for you bright and early! Jim’s been banging out lots of winners lately and he promises this will be one of the great month-of-March runs he’s ever had!
Now, here’s more of this week’s College Basketball mini-tournies beginning with Wednesday afternoon /night action …
BIG SKY TOURNAMENT – Wed-thru-Sat
At Boise, ID
There’s some hoop know-it-alls that believe top seed Eastern Washington – riding a seven-game SU (straight-up) winning streak right now – could be as high as an #11 seed in next week’s NCAA Tourney. One-two punch of G Jacob Davison (18.4 points per game) and F Mason Peatling (17.2 ppg) both can get heated up in a hurry.
The Favorite: Eastern Washington
The Dark Horse: Portland State
Pointspread Note: Biggest money-maker in the Big Sky? It’s Northern Colorado (19-9 ATS) while fav Eastern Washington’s covered four of its last five games
ATLANTIC-10 TOURNAMENT – Wed-thru-Sun
At Brooklyn, NY
There’s only one real story here – the Dayton Flyers (29-2, 18-0 Atlantic-10 play) enter mini-tourney week ranked #3 in the land and very much capable of securing one of the NCAA Tournament numero uno seeds and plenty of eyeballs will be watching Player of the Year candidate F Obi Toppin (20 ppg / 7.5 rpg). Okay, so the prices will be hefty but our knee-jerk reaction is don’t make any anti-Dayton plays. Plus, Richmond and Rhode Island could be “overpriced” as so-called bubble teams.
The Favorite: Dayton
The Dark Horse: VCU
Pointspread Note: Dayton’s 19-12 against the odds but take note the Flyers are just 5-6 spreadwise since late January
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT – Wed-thru-Sat
at Las Vegas, NV
Hey, depending on who you talk to the Pac-12 could have anywhere between five-to-seven teams in the NCAA Tourney … UCLA (NET 76) and Arizona State (NET 52) would be in if we were selecting a 68-team field but Thursday night losses could kayo ‘em both. Oregon’s the top choice to snag the mini-tourney crown but G Payton Pritchard (20.5 ppg / 5.5 apg) must get some help and Colorado (four losses in a row SU) and Stanford really need to hit the reset button.
The Favorite: Oregon
The Dark Horse: Arizona State
Pointspread Note: There’s three Pac-12 teams sharing the top spot among “best bets”: Oregon, USC and Stanford each is 19-12 against the Las Vegas price tags
BIG 10 TOURNAMENT – Wed-thru-Sun
At Indianapolis, IN
There’s a feeling that Michigan State is just rounding into form these days as Sparty has won its last five games in a row but sometimes it feels like too much is placed on the shoulders of PG Cassius Winston (18.6 ppg and 5.9 assists per outing) and so we won’t be shocked if Tom Izzo’s squad falls short of the championship game: Red-hot Wisconsin (eight wins in a row SU) and Maryland (somewhere inside the AP top 10 just about all year long) both have the right puzzle pieces to make a run at the Big 10 crown.
The Favorite: Michigan State
The Dark Horse: Michigan
Pointspread Note: Maryland’s just 2-5-1 spreadwise in its last eight games; Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s 7-2-2 ATS since late January
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT – Wed-thru-Sat
At New York City, NY
Folks may disagree but we believe this Big East is the best conference in the country with #1 seed Creighton, #2 Villanova and #3 Seton Hall all quite capable of cutting down the nets at this year’s Final Four … really. The ‘Nova Wildcats probably are the best of this trio in crunch-time situations but we could see one of those vintage scoring sprees by Hall G Myles Powell who has already been crowned Big East Player of the Year. P.S., we won’t be shocked if red-hot Providence (won six in a row SU) is a solid investment in this mini-tourney.
The Favorite: Villanova
The Dark Horse: Butler
Pointspread Note: Creighton’s 19-and-10 spread mark is the best among Big East teams but did you know that Seton Hall’s 4-8-1 ATS in its last baker’s dozen games?
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT – Wed-thru-Sat
At Kansas City, Mo
Here’s how we see the conference that’s pretty much held onto the top spot in the land the past two months (with either Kansas or Baylor): The Jayhawks could afford a semifinal or final round loss and still get a #1 seed in the NCAA’s but Baylor can only get back onto the #1 seed line with a mini-tourney win and some outside help. The proverbial bottom line is we expect a slew of white knucklers here and so – we’re warning you now – we’ll likely be interested when West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech are grabbing points this week.
The Favorite: Kansas
The Dark Horse: Texas Tech
Pointspread Note: Top seeds Kansas (19-12 ATS) and Baylor (18-12 ATS) have been the biggest buck-makers in this league while West Virginia’s 3-8-1 vig-wise in its last dozen tilts
SEC TOURNAMENT – Wed-thru-Sun
At Nashville, TN
Here’s an interesting nugget: The Kentucky Wildcats have copped 31 SEC Tournaments (the last occurred in 2018 / note Auburn won last year) and all the other SEC teams have combined for 28 mini-tourney titles. Yowie! Now, John Calipari’s crew rambles into Music City red-hot versus the vig (see our Jim Sez Pointspread Note below) and G Immanuel Quickley (a 43 pct three-point shooter) could be guns-blazin’ though he will face some hearty defensive units.
The Favorite: Kentucky
The Dark Horse: Florida
Pointspread Note: Since Feb. 4th, Kentucky’s covered eight of its last 10 games including recent outright upset wins at Florida, at Texas A&M and at LSU
CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT – Wed-thru-Sat
At Frisco, TX
Good chance that the winner here gets no better than a #15 seed in next week’s NCAA Tourney – but any shot to gobble up points with Marshall, UAB and/or UTEP will be recommended. Top seed North Texas allows just 63.3 ppg and could put the late-game squeeze on any /all opposing 3-point shooters.
The Favorite: North Texas
The Dark Horse: UAB
Pointspread Note: Top seed North Texas is a “mean” 19-9 versus the vig but that includes three-of-four spread setbacks since mid-February
NOTE: We’ve got NBA and NCAA Basketball coverage all this week right here at Jim Sez and make sure you’re rollin’ up all the hoop winners at 1-800-323-4453 or right here online at www.jimhurley.com