Doc's 2006 March Madness Preview: Oakland Region
There's certainly not going to be much defense going on in the Oakland Region. That seems fitting for the laid-back Left Coast, and Memphis, UCLA and Gonzaga are all capable of scintillating offensive play. I'm not going so as far as to call these teams "soft," but let's just say that with so many defensively-challenged clubs in one bracket, that could open it up for a hard-nosed team like Pittsburgh or Arkansas to do some damage. Here's my humble view of the Oakland Region for Doc's 2006 March Madness Preview: No. 1 Seed: Memphis (30-3 overall, 15-15 against the spread) I am amazed at how quickly people are dismissing Memphis in this bracket. They have the most athletic team in the field, and a pair of stallions in Rodney Carney and Darius Washington. They are overlooked because they didn't play in a big-time conference, but they dominated inferior competition because of the zeal with which they defend and rebound. Also, they started the year by beating UW-M, Alabama and UCLA - all tournament teams. They lost by three to Duke and by 11 to Texas, but they've beaten Gonzaga and are 8-3 against other schools in the field. No. 2 Seed: UCLA (27-6 overall, 19-10 ATS) The Bruins will be a very sheik Final Four pick. And with good reason. They have fabulous guard play, a load of athleticism and youth, and have proven themselves as the Best of the Left (Coast, that is). They are 9-3 outside of Pauley Pavilion, and enter the tourney on a seven-game winning streak. They've won those seven by an average of 17 points, including a 19-point maiming of Cal in the Pac-10 championship, and are on a 9-1 ATS surge. However, since 1999 only one Pac-10 team (Arizona, 2001) has made the Final Four. No. 3 Seed: Gonzaga (27-3 overall, 12-18 ATS) This bracket is tailor-made for the Zags. Xavier is a pushover. Indiana and SDSU can't hang. If they advance that far, Gonzaga would meet either UCLA or Marquette and we would see about 400 points in either game. I know that they have been a perennial tournament disappointment since bursting onto the scene in the late 1990s as a bracket buster. But if they're ever going to make a serious move and take their program to the Next Level this might be their best opportunity. No. 4 Seed: Kansas (27-6 overall, 18-11 ATS) The Jayhawks are the hottest team entering the NCAA Tournament, winning 15 of their previous 16 games. They have 10 freshman or sophomores on their roster, which makes me extremely nervous. But what they lack in experience they make up for with the hustle, determination and grit that you'd expect from a veteran club. They are the best team in the country in field goal defense, holding opponents to a miserable 36.8 percent shooting. They are also the one of the ten best rebounding teams in the nation. No. 5 Seed: Pittsburgh (24-7 overall, 15-10-1 ATS) In a two-on-two game, I may take center Aaron Gray and point guard Carl Krauser over just about anyone in the nation. In fact, the Panthers may be too reliant on their senior engine. They are 0-6 in games that Krauser hasn't led the team in scoring, and if Kent State can find a way to neutralize him, Pitt could face their second consecutive one-and-done. Pitt is 28th in the nation in field goal defense and 11th in defensive rebounding. Best first-round match up: No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 Alabama I like the Golden Eagles here, but there's one thing holding me back: Marquette has been weak on the road this season. Alabama has been gutsy all year, and was moderately surprised by how their seed slipped. The Crimson Tide have been pretty hot-or-cold in past tournaments, but they never lack for effort. The match-up to watch here is outstanding freshman point guard Dominic James from Marquette against sensational sophomore point guard Ronald Steele from Alabama. Best potential second-round match up: No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 5 Pittsburgh From what I've heard, a lot of the bobbleheads have the winner of this game coming out of the region. They've both been outstanding over the last month, and are both big names from Power Conferences. Expect a low-scoring grinder - which is exactly the type of game where a senior stud like Krauser can make a difference. Upset Alert (first round): No. 12 Kent State vs. No. 5 Pittsburgh The dreaded 5-12 meeting. Pittsburgh just has not been a very good NCAA Tournament team over the past few seasons. I think that Krauser can will this team into the Sweet 16, but I also expect them to be a bit worn down after playing four games in four nights in NYC. The Golden Flashes are tournament staples, and have knocked off one of the big boys before. This is more of a "Why Not" pick. Upset Alert (second round): No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 2 UCLA. Last year it was West Virginia knocking off Wake Forest in the second round. I think another Big East school will play the spoiler role this year. Remember, the Golden Eagles are one of just three teams that beat UConn this season and they are the ninth-best three-point shooting team in the country. UCLA has a tremendous advantage playing in their back yard, but West Virginia managed to head out to Cali and top the Bruins earlier this season, so they are not impervious to defeat. Dark Horse team: No. 9 Bucknell I know that this is a huge reach here, but the Bison are not afraid of anyone. Period. In the last year they have handled Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Kansas. They brought back 12 of their top 13 scorers from last season's tournament team, and are in the top 40 in the nation in field goal percentage and three-point shooting. But what I really like about them is that they are second in the country in points allowed (55.3) and fifth in field goal defense (38.1 percent). They just flat-out get after you defensively. Their first-round game against Arkansas is one of the best match ups we'll see on Thursday or Friday. If they can hold off the Razorbacks, that will be an excellent primer for a meeting with Memphis. Team That Makes Me Nervous: No. 3 Gonzaga I noticed something about the Zags while watching them play in the WCC Tournament: Adam Morrison's teammates don't look like they enjoy playing with him. I'm dead serious. I'm a big Morrison Fan, but he's like a prima donna wide receiver that is always open and always wants the ball. I think it wears on his teammates. Did you see them when their seed was announced on Selection Sunday? No emotion. They still don't defend very well, and they think they can outscore opponents. That doesn't win titles.
Other Basketball Betting Articles
Advice For New Poker Players There is no greater game than poker. It’s fun, exciting and only the best survive.While Texas Hold’em is relatively easy to understand, it is hard to become a successful player. The competition is tough, the players are ruthless and at some point you will want to throw in the towel. But hang in there. You can learn this game and beat your ...The Dish: Nothing Korny When ESPN announced Tony Kornheiser would man the Monday Night Football booth, I smiled.I used to watch Pardon The Interruption all the time, and while its formula has gotten old and tired (perhaps primarily because the wizards at ESPN Original Entertainment have sucked the life out of it by trying to apply it to just about every other sh ...Online Cardroom If you enjoy poker, but are bored of playing the regular Monday night poker with your buddies, there is another option you should know about. This new option is an online cardroom. These are rooms where you can go and play a variety of different games of poker. There are rooms that offer Holdem poker, Stud poker, Omaha poker, and a variety of ot ...Poker Legend, Jack "Treetop" Straus If any guy fit the tag, “He lived life large,” it was Jack “Treetop” Straus. Big wins, big losses, big game hunter.He adopted Hemingway’s motto: “Better one day as a lion than one hundred years as a lamb.”Jack was a Texas-teller of tall tales. He reveled his friends, opponents, journalists, and anyone else who would listen with his ...Understanding the MLB Betting Line Baseball betting is a little different than betting on basketball or football. Instead of a spread, it uses a money line mainly. This makes for an interesting adventure. Baseball bettors don't need to figure out how much better one team will be over another. They simply have to pick the outright winner and decide if the money is worth it. ...Reasons To Play Blackjack Blackjack is by far the most popular table game at online casinos. The reason for this is that if blackjack is played to a correct strategy, the house edge is less than one percent. This is the lowest house edge of any table game. However, most casinos plan based on a house edge of around two per cent. This is simply because they know that most ...Online Poker - Everything You Need To Know To Get Started Poker includes various card games that are played by at least two people who take turns betting on the value of their hands. Online poker consists of the same games, played against other players over an internet connection. There are numerous web sites set up in which the players can create accounts and play poker with other players, these sites ...Best Sportsbooks Betting on sports can be fun and exciting, but you also want it to be lucrative. Placing the rights bets based on the right information can mean all the difference between winning and losing and the best sportsbooks can help with that. The best sportsbooks don’t just take your bets; they provide you with current information on how the betting od ...Three Qualities To Look For In A Sports Betting Site Online Some sports fans know so much about their favorite sport that they become curious about whether or not they can turn their knowledge to their advantage and make a little money betting on the games. Since in the US betting is not illegal, but being a bookie is, many bettors turn to online bookies (also called “books” or “outs”). There are hundred ...Poker A Novice's Guide - 5 Card Draw The Basis Of Poker Games You wont find 5 card draw poker in the casino or online much as newer hybrid varieties are more popular.However 5 card draw is the basis of all the new games (including the poker found on video slots) So lets learn it here and you the basics covered, before you look at all the variations.Poker is actually a very simple game to pl ...Texas Hold’em Poker for Newbies If you are new to poker totally, then you will want to try your hand at Texas Hold’em Poker first. It is one of the easiest poker games to learn for beginning players, unlike seven card stud or Omaha poker. In fact, Texas Hold’em can be learned in just a few minutes. Within a few hours, you could almost be playing like a professional!Wi ...Jacks Or Better Video Poker – How To Win Big Payouts Jacks-or-Better is the world’s most popular video poker slot machine and with good reason – Its fun easy to play and with the correct strategy you can beat it and win a lot of money.Jacks or better video poker is suitable for novice players as well and the rules and tips to win are quickly absorbed, so lets take a look at why its such a g ...NFL Sports Betting and Running Backs In NFL Sports Betting, the running back is one of the most important players to think about. As we see it, here are the top five running backs, in rank order, heading into the 2006 fantasy football season.1. Shaun Alexander (Seattle) – Sure, you may hear some folks make a strong argument for Larry John ...Seahawks/Bears Sunday Night NFL The Seahawks fly into the Windy City for a Sunday Night NFL matchup without the reigning league MVP Shaun Alexander. Now the Bears will have to contend with a barrage of four-receiver sets as the Seahawks turn their dependency to Matt Hasselbeck and his right arm. Hasselbeck threw for five touchdowns to tie a franchise record last week against t ...Customer Service and a Good Gambling Site One way to tell if you are dealing with a good gambling site is to find out what kind of customer service department they have. You do not want to ever do business with a site that does not offer a high level of customer support and service. If you should ever have a problem or a question you will be glad that you chose to do business with a sit ...American Roulette – Don't Play It, Play European Roulette To Win Big European roulette wheels only as your chances of winning are greater. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to play American roulette, unless you want worse odds and less chance of winning!European Roulette is as much fun as American roulette and the only difference is the double zero that makes the odds worse on the American wheel. ...Blackjack Card Counting – The Odds Are You Won't Make Much! There is a huge myth around card counting that has built up that it is a road to riches.The reality however is different. The odds of making a lot of money are poor regardless of how good a card counter you are.Let’s find out why.Card Counting OddsThe best odds you can are about 1.5% in your favour.This is over ...Monte Carlo Gambling The foundation stone for the first casino of Monaco was laid down when Prince Charles III allowed a joint stock Company to build a casino in his empire, in 1856. Now, one of the most elegant casinos of Monte Carlo is Casino de Monte-Carlo. This magnificent structure was added to Monte Carlo in 1878. It was designed by Charles Garnier who is also ...Poker Psychology - The Secret Of Winning Big Poker psychology is important because it separates average players from truly the great ones.The person, who wins big simpy has a better psychology than his or her opponents and getting it right can make you huge money.In poker (unlike other casino games) you don’t have to have the best hand to win, all you need to do is make peopl ...Number 67 Stanford Cardinal Preview Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Prev ...Poker Card Games Poker is the most popular of a class of card games called vying games, where players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a common pool, which is awarded to the player(s) with the best combination of cards.There is no one version of poker; there exist many variations. All the poker versions are generally played with a ...Slot Tournaments The slot machines are a huge part of gambling. Even novices who have no experience with higher stakes games have often had some experience with the slots. However, those who know how to play the slot machines and know how to do it well often participate in slot tournaments.Held by either actual or virtual casinos, slot tournaments are fun ...The Truth about Blackjack – Avoid These Common Myths and Win If you are a blackjack player, you need to know the truth about the game. The pros certainly do, and so will you by reading below.Don’t believe the eight blackjack myths below…and you can start winning money, like the pro's doHere are the common eight blackjack mythsMyth #1: The Object of Playing Blackjack in getting as clos ...Why Casinos Give Out Poker Bonuses With poker being such a popular sport, it can be a little confusing as to how and why casinos would offer poker bonuses. There is a wide variety of people that enjoy the game, both from home, playing poker on the internet, and at casinos in luxurious cities such as Atlantic City and Las Vegas. But there are actually a number of reasons as to w ...Internet Sportsbooks Betting on sports has certainly come a long way since the days of placing bets with back alley bookies. Now you can place bets from the safety and comfort of your own home by betting with internet sportsbooks. These websites provide you with the opportunity to bet on many different sporting events from football to horse racing. Of course not all ...Free Online Poker Games These are the most popular and highest-rated websites that offer free poker games online.Holdempoker.com enables players to choose and learn to play Texas Holdem Poker, Omaha, and other poker games for free. You can play Limit, Pot Limit or No Limit and Ring Games and Freerolls, as well as sharpen your skills and strategies on the variou ...
|
