West Virginia and Kentucky Favored In East Regional on Thursday
Thursday, March 17, 2011
by BetUS.com
March Madness customers certainly can't wait for March Madness to get underway, and things start on Thursday, with two games in the East Regional; one of them involves a team that got to last year's Final Four (West Virginia) while another involves the team it beat to get there (Kentucky). West Virginia is a 1.5-point favorite over Clemson, which had to beat UAB in the play-in game, while Kentucky is favored by 13 points in the BetUS Sportsbook over Princeton, which won the Ivy League title. Both of these games will be televised on CBS.
EAST REGIONAL
- West Virginia Mountaineers (20-11 SU, 11-16 ATS) vs. Clemson Tigers (22-11 SU, 14-13-2 ATS)
Live at St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa, FL
Thursday, March 17 -- 12:15 PM ET
TV: CBS
March Madness Odds:
West Virginia -1.5
Clemson +1.5
Total 123.5
That was a mighty impressive display on the part of Clemson, nailing 52% from the field and dispatching UAB with relative ease in the play-in game on Tuesday night. But part of the problem with the Tigers has been stringing together big efforts in a consistent pattern. They had to scratch and claw in the ACC, which had another down year, and they did not accomplish much away from home, where they were 4-8 SU (although 6-4-2 ATS in BetUS Sportsbook odds).
Certainly you can't say this team is without merit; there were wins over troublesome Wofford, as well as Long Beach State and the College of Charleston in the non-conference slate, as well as FSU and Virginia Tech in ACC play. Still, this has been a transitional season for Clemson, which has adopted a more deliberate approach under Brad Brownell. BetUS Sportsbook bettors know that such a style may play into the hands of Bob Huggins, West Virginia's coach, who likes to focus on shutting down the other team's top scorer in the half-court setting, and whose Mountaineers have held teams to just 29% shooting from three-point range.
Clemson has failed to close the deal in a lot of games, though, dropping eight games by six points or less, and in this tournament, that's critical. You also don't want to underestimate the effect of West Virginia climbing to a national ranking operating in the Big East, which BetUS Sportsbook followers know is by far the toughest conference in the country. Huggins thinks he has found a positive combination with two point guards - Joe Mazzulla and Darryl Bryant - in the starting lineup together, as this helps ball movement. No, they aren't the most consistent shooting bunch in the land, but they have found a way to get it done. Last season they made it to the Final Four, and Huggins has a lot of tournament experience, while Brownell has yet to win a game in the Big Dance. We're comfortable laying a small number in the BetUS Sportsbook odds.
BetUS Sportsbook JAY'S PLAY: WEST VIRGINIA -1.5 ****
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
EAST REGIONAL
- Princeton Tigers (25-6 SU, 14-9 ATS) at Kentucky Wildcats (25-8 SU, 14-13-1 ATS)
Live at St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa, FL
Thursday, March 17 -- 2:45 PM ET
TV: CBS
March Madness Odds:
Kentucky -13
Princeton +13
Total 130.5
Princeton just came off something very unusual, which was an Ivy League winner-take-all playoff, where it beat Harvard at the buzzer. That's enough excitement for one week, but now this is a rough task. Kentucky, led by point guard Brandon Knight, who had high school grades good enough to get into any Ivy League school (4.28), and some other freshmen who may not be academically eligible under anyone but John Calipari (wink, wink) is laying double digits in the BetUS Sportsbook off their SEC title.
There is little doubt that Kentucky has superior talent. And we are almost tired of talking about the lack of depth, because they seemed to have done better with each passing day of the conference tourney. Will those starters be extended the limit?
We don't need to remind most BetUS Sportsbook followers that Cornell, behind an avalanche of three-pointers, got to the Sweet 16 last year after winning the Ivy League title. Of course, Kentucky finally beat them by 17. Young teams sometimes get thrown off-balance by very disciplined opponents. But this Princeton squad failed miserably when tested against better athletes, losing to Duke by 37 points, and we venture to say that the rookie-veteran mix on Calipari's team may be better than it was last year. These guys may have had some difficulty on the SEC road, but they continue to pass tests, and we'll look for them to do the same here in the online sportsbook odds, whether they have the depth or not.
BetUS Sportsbook JAY'S PLAY: KENTUCKY -13 **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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Tags
bob huggins - brandon knight - clemson tigers - darryl bryant - final four - joe mazzulla - john calipari - kentucky wildcats - princeton tigers - sweet 16
