Thurs Preview

[BUNK MORELAND]

any thoughts on ducks vs UCLA in a big PAC 10 matchup... Lean towards Oregon for me .. +3 ....

also any dayton / xavier thoughts
wash st / az ?

kinda leanin xavier minus a big number (11)
dayton hasnt been that impressive since the blow out win over P I DOUBLE
X i got a feelin is gonna blow up and score trip digits like they did in back to back non conf wins over Virg and K St

[Daws1089]

anything can happen in that rivalry dayton and xavier have. i think i would like to have the points in that one. I think arizona could be a play for me tomorrow.

[Lucky Strikes]

Butler way overdue, now at home and must impress and stay in top 20.
Loyola-Chicago is the pits, Butler should IMO win by 40.

Butler -19.5



GL.

[BUNK MORELAND]

Originally Posted by Daws1089

anything can happen in that rivalry dayton and xavier have. i think i would like to have the points in that one. I think arizona could be a play for me tomorrow.

probably a good no play ... arizona was good to me and bad to me this year , they are talented though , i like Nic Wise, and Bayless ...


Oregon i think is gonna be my play

[joepa66]

Nice to see ya Wonk! I happen to like the Flyers in that big southern oHIo matchup....lot's of points in a big rivalry game.....

GL on yer plays!

[tampayay]

Xavier will get it done no doubt. I like Wash over Arizona, Vtech and JAmes Madison.

Good Luck

[Nigel Tufnel]

Well, I'm taking a break from wagering at this point...as I'm something like 0 for my last 10 picks and am probably down over 20 units on the year. Just don't have the time with a 70 hour job and 3 kids at home to research and cap the way I have in the past. So here is some info on the game for anyone who plans on pcking the X/UD game.

UD has not won against XU in Cincinnati since the Carter Administration. That is pretty amazing seeing as they have played there almost every year for the past 20 years. This has nothing to do with the spread...I just like mentioning it...lol.

UD will be playing without Charles Little and Chris Wright...that's about 20 points and 12 rebounds a game UD will be without. Little got hurt against UMASS last week when the Flyers lost at home. When looking at the big picture, UD will be without probably their 2nd and 3rd best players on the roster tonight.

There have been rumblings in Dayton that Brian Roberts is sick...don't know how true it is...but what is true is that Roberts has been suffering from flu-like symptoms for the last few weeks and hasn't been able to get over it. Roberts had mono his freshman year...not sure if he is suffering from it again or not.

Xavier has played 4 crappy games in a row. They won in very lackluster peformances against St. Bonaventure and Fordham at home, went to Temple and got drilled by 19, and then went to George Washington and pulled away late to win by 8. It can be noted that Xavier broke GW's home winning streak of something like 20 games...last time GW had lost at home was to Xavier last year in February.

Currently, according to sportsinsights, the public is hitting Dayton at a clip of about 72%. The line opened at -11.5 and has dropped to -11.

While I would lean to a Xavier cover with UD's injuries, I'm just not sure. This year's UD team has been an inspired bunch...they have played with tenacity and confidence on the road. However, this will be their first game without both Wright and Little playing. Little had some very nice games against XU last year.

Might be a good idea to take at look at the 2nd half line in this one. I wouldn't be surprised to see a very close first half....but XU pulling away in the 2nd half by pushing the tempo and wearing UD's depleted squad down. If free throws become an issue, XU shoots lights out at home from the charity stripe and UD will foul even if down 9 with 20 seconds left in the game. There have been quite a few UD/XU games where X had a 3-4 point lead with 2 minutes left, only to have X win by 10-12 with free throws and the final 2 minutes taking 30 minutes to play.

At first blush, 11 seems high...but perhaps its high for a reason. With UD playing their first game without both Wright and Little, I would be hard pressed to take the Flyers in the Cintas Center tonight.

I would probably recommend a "no play" or taking at look at the 2nd half line and possibly getting in on X at halftime.

GL!!

[Money]

Both UCLA and Oregon are coming off losses so they both should be fired up. The big story in Oregon will be Kevin Love. He grew up 110 miles from Eugene and while the fans wanted him to come to OU, he went on to UCLA. It will be a tough environment for him to play well and the Bruins will need him.

Both Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Lorenzo Mata-Real did not practice this week due to concussions. They are uncertain for the game. Oregon on the other hand gets a body back, Joevan Carter, who can bang with Kevin Love.

I like Oregon.

Also note that James Harden of ASU has a bad groin and is a game time decision. ASU hosts Washington, who is playing better recently. I would be surprised to see Harden play and perform well. They would be lost without him. I would also expect them to look past UW and think they could get by in this game and focus on WSU on Saturday. Take uw +5

[Franchise]

Being a big UD fan I would have to agree with Nigel on the UD/X game. There have been situations where Dayton would have been a great fade in recent seasons where the impact of Oliver Purnell was obvious on them not showing up (and this shows through even more clearly with the same thing happening to him at Clemson). But this year Dayton has played well in some spots where they typically would not. This would seem like a spot where they will get dusted by 20.


The injury to Wright is an issue but they played good ball against URI and Pitt where he played 22 combined hobbled minutes. Little could be a bigger issue as I have no idea how they will possibly matchup with the athletes of Duncan and Brown inside. Brian Gregory is a good coach and the week off will provide him with time to figure out a game plan. If Dayton goes big and slows it down how does X stop Cordiero and Huelsman inside? Huelsman has been very adept at drawing fouls if they run out of size it could be interesting as both teams can get after it on the defensive end. Or does Dayton go small and try to outrun them with a small lineup as has been suggested? They do have some shooters in Roberts, Perry and Binnie.

Personally it is a no play for me but I would lean to the under with a 55-65 score range for each team. That is more typical of their recent history.