Bleacher Report - Articles by Ryan Brennan

Bleacher Report College Hoops Weekly Pick 'Em: Final Standings

Ryan Brennan — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:34:18 -0400

This is it. The moment you've all been waiting for. The results of the last week of college hoops pick 'em.

Thank you to everyone who participated this season. It's been a lot of fun and it wouldn't have been successful without you!

Overall Standings

Andrew Kahn—148
Ryan Brennan—141
Shaun Hart—128
Tyler Brennan—109
Samuel Silverman—107
Travis Miller—101
Mosang Miles—90
Nathan B—82
Ari Kramer—73
Alexander Jesswein—59
Jameson Fleming—55
Travis Hitson—51
Chris Robles—49
Richard DeLancey—44
Kristofer Green—40
Ryan Callahan—35
Jonathan Braus—21
Jonny Solovy—12
Nate M—9

Results of Week 20

Andrew Kahn—9
Ryan Brennan—7
Shaun Hart—7
Travis Miller—6
Tyler Brennan—2

Winning Weeks

In case you're wondering, here are the number of weeks that everyone was in the top spot:

Andrew Kahn—6
Ryan Brennan—5
Travis Miller—4
Shaun Hart—3
Ari Kramer—3
Alexander Jesswein—2
Samuel Silverman—2
Mosang Miles—2
Nathan B—2
Tyler Brennan—2
Jameson Fleming—1
Kristofer Green—1
Ryan Callahan—1
Travis Hitson—1

Thanks again everyone for such a great season! See you next year!

UNC-Michigan State: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Championship Picks

Ryan Brennan — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:18:31 -0400

Hopefully you've had a chance to check out our site—The Sports Chat Place—where we've been doing College Hoops Picks Against the Spread all season. There are five of us from The Sports Chat Place who also write on B/R: Ryan, Mitch, Dave, Shaun, and Steve.

For the NCAA Tournament, we decided to put together a few articles with all of our picks for the various rounds. We've received a lot of positive feedback from these, so we're going to continue the whole way through!

In case you haven't seen the other articles, the idea is that everyone picks the game against the spread and is allowed to write one or two sentences explaining why.

The Sports Chat Place has only been up and running since the end of January (at the time it was called The College Basketball Place). We have been very happy with how many hits we've been getting this season, especially during the tournament. At the start of the NCAA Tournament we had just over 500,000 hits—we now have 725,000.

If you enjoy what you read here, I encourage you to go check out the site! College hoops may be coming to a close for the season, but that doesn't mean that we're shutting our doors! We have just launched the NASCAR portion of The Sports Chat Place, and we will soon have MLB, NFL, and Fantasy Football up and running (as well as having The College Football Place fully integrated).

NCAA Tournament Championship

Monday, April 6, 2009

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Michigan State
9:21 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 2 Michigan State	31-6	15-3	20-12-1	6	6	72.0	63.0
No. 1 North Carolina	33-4	13-3	14-17-2	3	22	89.8	72.0

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 2 Michigan State	45.2	41.4	35.7	31.6	69.7	42.2	6.7	16.2	13.8	2.8
No. 1 North Carolina	48.1	41.1	38.7	33.8	75.4	45.3	8.5	18.2	12.6	5.3

Line: UNC -7.0

Mitch: UNC -7.0—Thanks Spartans for the run, I'll be rooting for you but have to bet with my head.
Ryan: UNC -7.0—With five players averaging double-digit points, MSU can focus on slowing one or two of them down, but the Spartans won't be able to stop them all.
Shaun: UNC -7.0—The Tar Heels will be cutting down the nets in Motown after a decisive win over the Spartans.
Steve: MSU +7.0—The Spartans have shown the ability to slow down a high scoring team in Louisville and outscore another offensive team in UConn. Their defense will be the difference against UNC.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place!

UNC-Villanova: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Final Four Picks

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:35:24 -0400

In case you haven't seen the other articles, the idea is that everyone picks the game against the spread and is allowed to write one or two sentences explaining why.

If you enjoy what you read here, I encourage you to go check out the site! College hoops may be coming to a close for the season, but that doesn't mean that we're shutting our doors! We have just launched the NASCAR portion of The Sports Chat Place, and we will soon have the MLB, NFL, and Fantasy Football up and running (as well as having The College Football Place fully integrated).

NCAA Tournament Final Four

Saturday, April 4, 2009

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Villanova
8:47 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Villanova	30-7	13-5	18-14	13	31	77.0	66.9
No. 1 North Carolina	32-4	13-3	13-17-2	3	22	90.0	72.1

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Villanova	45.6	40.3	35.9	33.3	75.3	41.4	7.9	14.7	13.3	3.4
No. 1 North Carolina	48.3	41.3	38.3	34.3	76.0	45.2	8.6	18.2	12.6	5.3

Line: UNC -7.5

Mitch: UNC -7.5—No Big East teams make the finals after all that we had to listen to for the past month.
Dave: Villanova +7.5—Overmatched on paper, but the type of team that succeeds in the Final Four.
Ryan: UNC -7.5—UNC just became the first team to 100 NCAA Tournament wins (since Kentucky had two taken away...). They got there by dominating Blake Griffin and the rest of the Sooners. Make no mistake about it, Ty Lawson is healthy. He's going to prove to be too much for the Wildcats to handle.
Shaun: UNC -7.5—The Tar Heels are the better, deeper team inside and out.
Steve: UNC -7.5—This should be an exciting game between two offenses that think walking the ball up the court is done at a full sprint. No team in the tournament has the collection of guards and ball handlers that Villanova does. But Villanova doesn't have Ty Lawson. On the inside, Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson, and Ed Davis will be too much of a force for the Wildcats to overcome.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place!

UConn-Michigan State: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Final Four Picks

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:05:52 -0400

In case you haven't seen the other articles, the idea is that everyone picks the game against the spread and is allowed to write one or two sentences explaining why.

If you enjoy what you read here, I encourage you to go check out the site! College hoops may be coming to a close for the season, but that doesn't mean that we're shutting our doors! We have just launched the NASCAR portion of The Sports Chat Place, and we will soon have the MLB, NFL, and Fantasy Football up and running (as well as having The College Football Place fully integrated).

NCAA Tournament Final Four

Saturday, April 4, 2009

No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 2 Michigan State
6:07 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 2 Michigan State	30-6	15-3	19-12-1	6	6	71.8	62.7
No. 1 Connecticut	31-4	15-3	16-14	8	29	78.5	63.7

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 2 Michigan State	45.3	41.4	35.8	31.6	69.7	42.1	6.6	16.1	13.9	2.8
No. 1 Connecticut	47.5	37.6	34.1	30.4	68.0	46.0	5.8	16.0	12.6	7.8

Line: UConn -4.0

Mitch: MSU +4.0—The Spartans are simply the tougher team and have more heart.
Dave: MSU +4.0—Suton is playing well inside and out. Spartans have home-state mojo.
Ryan: UConn -4.0—Spartans get the in-state, D-Town edge, but Calhoun keeps the Huskies focused for the 5-8 point win.
Shaun: UConn -4.0—The Huskies are on a mission and not even playing "on the road" will stop them.
Steve: UConn -4.0—In a game that will be a defensive slugfest from the opening tip, the Huskies are a little bit better along the front line because of Hasheem Thabeet, and a little bit better in the back court because of A.J. Price. UConn will cover...but just by a little.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place!

Bleacher Report College Hoops Weekly Pick 'Em: Week 20—The Final Four!

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:46:14 -0400

Well, this is it for college hoops pick 'em for this season—there will be one more article after this one that summarizes how everyone did, but this is your last chance to submit picks!

This has been a lot of fun, so I would like to thank everyone who has participated! Hopefully you all have had a great time this season as well!

Results of Week 19

Ryan Brennan - 9
Ari Kramer - 9
Travis Miller - 9
Shaun Hart - 7
Travis Hitson - 6
Andrew Kahn - 5

Overall Standings

Andrew Kahn - 139
Ryan Brennan - 134
Shaun Hart - 121
Samuel Silverman - 107
Tyler Brennan - 107
Travis Miller - 95
Mosang Miles - 90
Nathan B - 82
Ari Kramer - 73
Alexander Jesswein - 59
Jameson Fleming - 55
Travis Hitson - 51
Chris Robles - 49
Richard DeLancey - 44
Kristofer Green - 40
Ryan Callahan - 35
Jonathan Braus - 21
Jonny Solovy - 12
Nate M - 9

Week 20 Picks

As always, upsets are worth two points. This week, rankings will be determined by the team's seed in their respective tournaments.

No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 1 Maryland
Monday, March 30, 7:00 PM—Women's NCAA Elite 8

No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 1 San Diego State
Tuesday, March 31, 7:00 PM—NIT Semifinals

No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Penn State
Tuesday, March 31, 9:00 PM—NIT Semifinals

NIT Champion
Which team wins the NIT on Thursday? Baylor, San Diego State, Notre Dame, Penn State

No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Connecticut
Saturday, April 4, 6:07 PM—NCAA Final Four

Player Points
Which player will score more points in the MSU/UConn game?
Kalin Lucas (MSU)—14.8 PPG
A.J. Price (UConn)—14.0 PPG

Higher Total
Which player will have the higher total in the MSU/UConn game?
Goran Suton (MSU)—Rebounds (8.1 RPG)
Hasheem Thabeet (UConn) Rebounds MINUS Blocks (10.9 RPG, 4.3 BPG)

No. 3 Villanova vs. No. 1 North Carolina
Saturday, April 4, 8:47 PM—NCAA Final Four

Higher Total
Which player will have the higher total in the Villanova/UNC game?
Dante Cunningham (Villanova)—Points and Rebounds (16.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG)
Tyler Hansbrough (UNC)—Points (21.4 PPG)

NCAA Champion
Which team will win the NCAA Tournament? Michigan State, Connecticut, Villanova, North Carolina

Thanks again for a great pick 'em season!

Email your picks to Ryan.Paul.Brennan@gmail.com, and please include a link to your B/R Profile.

Good luck!

UNC-Oklahoma: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament South Region Elite Eight Picks

Ryan Brennan — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:39:45 -0400

Hopefully, you've had a chance to check out our site by now—The Sports Chat Place—where we've been doing college hoops picks against the spread all season.

There are five of us from The Sports Chat Place who also write on B/R: Ryan, Mitch, Dave, Shaun, and Steve. There is a very good chance that, if you have been following college basketball this season (even casually), you have read something by one of us.

During the NCAA Tournament, we have put together a few articles with all of our quick picks against the spread. The idea is that everyone uses the same line and are allowed to put their picks and one to two sentences.

In the Sweet 16 write-ups, I mentioned that the site had more than 650,000 hits (after having just over 500,000 at the start of the tournament). We now have over 700,000 hits since the site went up at the beginning of January!

Thank you to everyone who has checked out our site!

NCAA Tournament Elite Eight—South Region

Sunday, March 29, 2009

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Oklahoma
5:05 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 2 Oklahoma	30-5	28-5	16-12-2	5	26	79.2	67.4
No. 1 North Carolina	31-4	29-4	12-17-2	3	22	90.5	72.4

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 2 Oklahoma	49.3	39.5	35.8	33.8	67.6	41.9	6.9	14.6	13.8
No. 1 North Carolina	48.2	41.3	38.3	34.9	75.7	45.7	8.6	18.4	12.6

Line: UNC -6.0

Mitch: Oklahoma +6.0—Inside game, outside game, enough to keep it close if not go all the way.
Dave: Oklahoma +6.0—Battle of the Bigs goes to the Sooners.
Ryan: Oklahoma +6.0—The 2008 POY takes on the most likely candidate for the 2009 POY. The Sooners would be a one-seed had they not dropped those two games without Blake Griffin—they prove that to everyone with a double-digit win over the Tar Heels.
Shaun: Oklahoma +6.0—Blake Griffin outplays Tyler Hansbrough but the Heels win a close one.
Steve: UNC -6.0—If Oklahoma is to have a chance of slowing down the Heels, they'll need Blake Griffin to be Blake Griffin, and they'll need a barrage of threes from their wing players. Most importantly, the Sooners can't turn the ball over like they did against Syracuse or Carolina will run them out of the FedEx Forum.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place, where we will be previewing and picking every game that March Madness has to offer!

Louisville-MSU: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Midwest Region Elite Eight Picks

Ryan Brennan — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:34:09 -0400

Hopefully, you've had a chance to check out our site by now—The Sports Chat Place—where we've been doing college hoops picks against the spread all season.

Thank you to everyone who has checked out our site!

NCAA Tournament Elite Eight—Midwest Region

Sunday, March 29, 2009

No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 2 Michigan State
2:20 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 2 Michigan State	29-6	15-3	18-12-1	6	6	72.0	63.0
No. 1 Louisville	31-5	16-2	22-13	4	11	74.9	61.8

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 2 Michigan State	45.2	41.5	35.4	31.5	69.6	42.2	6.5	16.0	13.9
No. 1 Louisville	45.9	39.4	36.9	30.4	64.4	40.6	9.1	17.0	13.8

Line: Louisville -6.0

Mitch: Michigan State +6.0—Not so sure they get to play in Detroit but 6 points is more than enough.
Dave: Louisville -6.0—Ville plays Big Ten style ball, only better than the actual Big Ten teams.
Ryan: Louisville -6.0—The non-stop full court pressure will force the Spartans into unforced errors.
Shaun: Michigan State +6.0—The Spartans have their eyes set on Detroit and could run over the Cardinals in the process.
Steve: Louisville -6.0—Even though the Spartans play rugged, tough defense, the Cardinals have a plethora of scorers and are relentless on offense. The difference will be Louisville's pressure. Michigan State will feel like the Cardinals have six players on the court.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place, where we will be previewing and picking every game that March Madness has to offer!

UConn-Missouri: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament West Region Elite Eight Picks

Ryan Brennan — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:09:26 -0400

Hopefully, you've had a chance to check out our site by now—The Sports Chat Place—where we've been doing college hoops picks against the spread all season.

Thank you to everyone who has checked out our site!

NCAA Tournament Elite Eight—West Region

Saturday, March 28, 2009

No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 3 Missouri
4:40 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Missouri	31-6	12-4	17-9-1	10	38	81.1	66.6
No. 1 Connecticut	30-4	15-3	15-14	8	29	78.5	63.5

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Missouri	47.2	41.3	35.3	30.8	67.4	39.3	10.3	18.4	12.0	3.8
No. 1 Connecticut	47.5	37.4	34.5	30.6	67.7	45.7	5.9	15.9	12.5	7.8

Line: UConn -5.5

Mitch: UConn -5.5—Mizzou looked vulnerable inside against Memphis. UConn's inside is 7'3".
Dave: Mizzou +5.5—They showed they can shread a good defense.
Ryan: UConn -5.5—The Huskies have outscored their opponents by 90+ points in the tournament. Not even a recruiting allegation can slow them down.
Shaun: Mizzou +5.5—The Tigers will keep this close against the dominant Huskies.
Steve: Mizzou +5.5—After dismantling a team as fundamentally sound as Memphis, Missouri is rolling. Without Jerome Dyson, UConn will be hard pressed to control the pace and contain the Tigers' guards. No reason to think this won't be close.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place, where we will be previewing and picking every game that March Madness has to offer!

Pittsburgh-Villanova: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament East Region Elite Eight Picks

Ryan Brennan — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:25:47 -0400

Hopefully you've had a chance to check out our site by now—The Sports Chat Place—where we've been doing college hoops picks against the spread all season.

During the NCAA Tournament, we have put together a few articles with all of our quick picks against the spread. The idea is that everyone uses the same line, and is allowed to put their pick and one to two sentences.

Thank you to everyone who has checked out our site!

NCAA Tournament Elite Eight—East Region

Saturday, March 28, 2009

No. 1 Pittsburgh vs. No. 3 Villanova
7:05 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Villanova	29-7	13-5	17-14	13	31	77.0	67.1
No. 1 Pittsburgh	31-4	15-3	16-12-1	2	8	78.0	64.3

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Villanova	45.7	40.6	36.5	33.9	74.6	41.2	8.1	15.0	13.4	3.3
No. 1 Pittsburgh	48.3	40.9	35.6	33.4	67.5	42.8	6.9	17.9	12.2	3.9

Line: Pitt -2.0

Mitch: Pitt -2.0—Maybe 'Nova left it all on the court against the Dukies?
Dave: 'Nova +2.0—Freight train heading into Indy.
Ryan: Pitt -2.0—Blair stays out of foul trouble and dominates the frontcourt as the Panthers finally get rolling.
Shaun: Pitt -2.0—Levance Fields and the Panthers are on a mission and will win the rematch against 'Nova.
Steve: 'Nova +2.0—Villanova is red hot while Pitt is lucky to be alive. 'Nova's guard play will dictate the outcome of this one.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place, where we will be previewing and picking every game that March Madness has to offer!

Pitt-Villanova: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Picks ATS, March 28

Ryan Brennan — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:50:01 -0400

No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers (31-4, 15-3 Big East) vs. No. 3 Villanova Wildcats (29-7, 13-5 Big East)

NCAA Tournament Elite Eight—East Region
Saturday, March 28—7:05 PM ET on CBS

Preview

Big East in-state rivals Pittsburgh and Villanova face off in the Elite Eight on Saturday. This will be a rematch of their late January game, where the Wildcats claimed their first victory over a ranked opponent, and the Panthers fell for just the second time.

The key to the Wildcat's victory was getting DeJuan Blair in foul trouble—without the co-Big East Player of the Year in the frontcourt, Pittsburgh is a different team. Blair only played 20 minutes in the first meeting, and when he picked up his fourth foul with eight minutes left to play, the score was tied at 48.

But the Panthers are far from a one-trick pony—Sam Young leads the team in points and was named to the All-Big East First Team for the second year in a row, and senior point guard Levance Fields (All-Big East Third Team) has the ability to rally his team late in a game (see: Feb. 16 vs. UConn, Sweet 16 vs. Xavier, et al.).

Villanova's squad also features players who received individual awards this season—senior Dante Cunningham received the Big East Most Improved Player award and was named to the All-Big East Second Team, junior guard Scottie Reynolds was given honorable mention, and sophomore guard Corey Fisher received the Big East Sixth Man award. Away from the players, coach Jay Wright received the Big East Coach of the Year Award.

These two teams are no strangers to each other—they have faced off seven times in the past five seasons, with Villanova holding the edge with four wins. Last season the teams split their two meetings—will 'Nova be able to hold off the Panthers, or will Pittsburgh move on to the Final Four for the first time since 1941?

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Villanova	29-7	13-5	17-14	13	31	77.0	67.1
No. 1 Pittsburgh	31-4	15-3	16-12-1	2	8	78.0	64.3

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Villanova	45.7	40.6	36.5	33.9	74.6	41.2	8.1	15.0	13.4	3.3
No. 1 Pittsburgh	48.3	40.9	35.6	33.4	67.5	42.8	6.9	17.9	12.2	3.9

Stats Leaders

	No. 3 Villanova	No. 1 Pittsburgh
PPG	D. Cunningham - 16.3	S. Young - 18.9
	S. Reynolds - 15.1	D. Blair - 15.8
	C. Fisher - 10.9	L. Fields - 10.6
RPG	D. Cunningham - 7.3	D. Blair - 12.3
APG	S. Reynolds - 3.5	L. Fields - 7.6
SPG	S. Reynolds - 1.6	D. Blair - 1.5
BPG	D. Cunningham - 1.3	D. Blair - 1.0

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

Michigan State-Kansas: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 27

Ryan Brennan — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:17:24 -0400

No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (28-6, 15-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (27-7, 14-2 Big 12)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—Midwest Region
Friday, March 27—9:37 PM ET on CBS

Preview

The Big Ten regular season champs take on the Big 12 regular season champs on Friday in a game of recent NCAA Tournament winners. These two programs have both won the tournament in the past 10 years (the Jayhawks are the defending champs while the Spartans won in 2000), and both have been very impressive this season.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Jayhawks, but they have been anything but mediocre this season. They won the Big 12 regular season title by going 14-2 in conference play, impressive considering they took out a few dancing teams along the way—Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State, and Texas.

They have found their success by riding on the shoulders of their two natural leaders—junior Sherron Collins in the backcourt and sophomore Cole Aldrich in the frontcourt. Both Collins and Aldrich were named to the All-Big 12 First Team this season, and Aldrich also picked up the co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award.

But a team consists of more than two players, and the newcomers have also received their own recognition. Marcus Morris in the frontcourt and Tyshawn Taylor in the backcourt were named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team, and Kansas coach Bill Self was honored as the Big 12 Coach of the Year.

The Spartans have been in the top ten for most of the season, and won the Big Ten regular season title by a comfortable four game margin. They have gone 5-2 against the Top 25, and an impressive 13-3 against the RPI Top 50.

This success has allowed their individual players to receive the recognition they deserve as well. Kalin Lucas received the Big Ten Player of the Year award, Travis Walton was named as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and Tom Izzo was named by the coaches as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

But other players were also named to the All-Big Ten teams. Lucas was named to the First Team, Goran Suton to the Second, and Raymar Morgan and Travis Walton received honorable mention. Delvon Roe was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

With five players receiving awards of some sort in addition to Izzo receiving Coach of the Year, it's no wonder the Spartans have looked unstoppable for much of the season.

Despite the talent on the Jayhawks squad, when these two teams faced off in January (this is the only rematch within the Sweet 16) Michigan State easily won 75-62. The Spartans lead for most of the game and had a 19-point lead at the break. Kansas made a late-game surge, but it proved to not be enough as MSU went 9-for-10 from the line in the final two minutes.

Michigan State is looking to move to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005, while the Jayhawks are trying to repeat their success from last season. Will the youth of the Jayhawks finally catch up with them, or will they be able to avenge their January loss?

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Kansas	27-7	14-2	19-10	11	20	77.3	66.1
No. 2 Michigan State	28-6	15-3	17-12-1	6	6	72.1	62.9

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Kansas	47.9	38.9	37.9	33.8	73.0	41.8	6.9	16.2	14.3	4.2
No. 2 Michigan State	45.5	41.4	35.1	31.9	68.8	42.5	6.4	15.9	13.9	2.9

Stats Leaders

	No. 3 Kansas	No. 2 Michigan State
PPG	S. Collins - 18.7	K. Lucas - 14.7
	C. Aldrich - 14.8	R. Morgan - 11.0
	T. Taylor - 10.0	G. Suton - 9.9
RPG	C. Aldrich - 10.7	G. Suton - 8.2
APG	S. Collins - 5.1	K. Lucas - 4.4
SPG	S. Collins - 1.2	T. Walkton - 1.5
BPG	C. Aldrich - 2.4	D. Roe - 0.8

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

Oklahoma-Syracuse: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 27

Ryan Brennan — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:00:59 -0400

No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners (29-5, 13-3 Big 12) vs. No. 3 Syracuse Orange (28-9, 11-7 Big East)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—South Region
Friday, March 27—7:27 PM ET on CBS

Preview

This game is, quite possibly, the most anticipated one of the Sweet 16.

How will National Player of the Year contender Blake Griffin do against a tough Syracuse 2-3 zone? Will Syracuse's backcourt continue to drain treys exactly on cue? How will the Sooner guards handle the high energy and intensity of Syracuse? Will Coach Boeheim get his 800th win in the Sweet 16 or will he have to wait until next season?

With all of these questions and more out there, it's no wonder CBS will be the most popular hangout spot Friday night.

The Sooners have had a fantastic season no matter how you look at it. They were undefeated in conference play until they lost Blake Griffin for two games with a concussion (and those losses came against Texas and Kansas).

They also slipped down the stretch and gave one game to Missouri, but as a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament you can hardly fault them for that. Their biggest loss came in the Big 12 Tournament when Oklahoma State beat them by one on a last second basket (and a missed three-point attempt by the Sooners).

Syracuse started and finished the season very strong—a mediocre January and February held them back from a higher tournament seed. Their squad features five players who average double-figures (although not all of them are starters) and they are lead by sophomore sensation Jonny Flynn—surprisingly the only Syracuse player named to an All-Big East Team (Second Team).

Blake Griffin was named as the Big 12 Player of the Year and Willie Warren was named as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Warren was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team, and Austin Johnson was given All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.

Don't let the lack of individual Orange awards fool you—they are a force to be reckoned with. The Sooners will undoubtedly learn that, and the only question is whether Oklahoma's backcourt will be able to get it done from the perimeter. Griffin is going to have his work cut out for him at the heart of the 2-3 zone, and considering Syracuse has stacked up against the likes of Hasheem Thabeet and DeJuan Blair this season, they will be ready for a dominant big man.

These two teams stack up very well against each other, so get ready for what is shaping up to be the best Sweet 16 game of 2009.

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Syracuse	28-9	11-7	18-15	12	7	80.5	71.5
No. 2 Oklahoma	29-5	13-3	15-12-2	5	26	79.1	67.3

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Syracuse	48.7	40.7	34.3	28.9	64.0	44.0	7.8	18.2	15.4	5.3
No. 2 Oklahoma	49.2	39.4	35.6	34.0	67.7	42.0	6.8	14.5	13.7	4.5

Stats Leaders

	No. 3 Syracuse	No. 2 Oklahoma
PPG	J. Flynn - 17.5	B. Griffin - 22.5
	E. Devendorf - 15.8	W. Warren - 14.7
	P. Harris - 12.4	T. Griffin - 9.8
RPG	P. Harris - 8.1	B. Griffin - 14.4
APG	J. Flynn - 6.7	A. Johnson - 3.9
SPG	J. Flynn - 1.5	A. Johnson - 1.3
BPG	R. Jackson - 1.6	B. Griffin - 1.2

Prediction

To see the line, the final analysis, and Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread, please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

Pitt-Xavier: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 26

Ryan Brennan — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:58:25 -0400

No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers (30-4, 15-3 Big East) vs. No. 4 Xavier Musketeers (27-7, 12-4 A-10)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—East Region
Thursday, March 26—7:27 PM ET on CBS

Preview

Xavier's mid-major ticket to the Big Dance has come to be expected at this point—they've been to the NCAA Tournament four consecutive times, and have made it in eight of the last nine seasons.

This has been a season of firsts for Pitt—they were the top-ranked team for the first time in the school's history, and they received a one-seed for the first time. After a year off, the Panthers are back in the Sweet 16 and looking to make it to the Elite Eight for the first time since the tournament expanded.

Both squads feature a ton of quality players. Pitt's DeJuan Blair was named as the co-Big East Player of the Year, and he and Sam Young were named to the All-Big East First Team. Senior point guard Levance Fields was named on the All-Big East Third Team.

Senior guard-forward B.J. Raymond was named to the Atlantic 10's All-Conference First Team, junior forward Derrick Brown was named to the All-A10 Second Team, and C.J. Anderson received Honorable Mention for the Musketeers.

This is clearly a game featuring two elite teams—one from the best conference in college hoops and the other a mid-major, who hasn't had the press they deserve this season. Will Xavier be able to pull the upset and move into the Elite Eight for the second straight year, or will Pitt be able to make it past the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1974?

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 4 Xavier	27-7	12-4	17-10-1	17	47	72.5	62.6
No. 1 Pittsburgh	30-4	15-3	16-11-1	2	8	77.8	64.0

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 4 Xavier	46.5	39.1	40.0	33.4	67.4	42.5	5.4	13.4	14.8	5.0
No. 1 Pittsburgh	48.3	40.7	35.5	33.0	67.6	42.8	7.0	17.9	12.2	3.9

Stats Leaders

	No. 4 Xavier	No. 1 Pittsburgh
PPG	B. Raymond - 14.1	S. Young - 18.5
	D. Brown - 13.8	D. Blair - 15.9
	C. Anderson - 10.2	L. Fields - 10.6
RPG	D. Brown - 6.0	D. Blair - 12.3
APG	D. Jackson - 2.8	L. Fields - 7.5
SPG	D. Jackson - 1.3	J. Dixon - 1.5
BPG	J. Love - 1.2	D. Blair - 1.0

Prediction

Please head over to The Sports Chat Place to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread final analysis!

UConn-Purdue: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 26

Ryan Brennan — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:11:25 -0400

No. 1 Connecticut Huskies (29-4, 15-3 Big East) vs. No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers (27-9, 11-7 Big Ten)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—West Region
Thursday, March 26—7:07 PM ET on CBS

Preview

The Huskies are looking to secure their first 30-win season since 2005-06, while Purdue is trying to prove that you don't have to be chalk to be successful in the NCAA Tournament.

The top-seeded Huskies have four losses on the season—all to ranked Big East opponents. In fact, their only loss to a non-top 10 team was the 6 OT ordeal against Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.

The Boilermakers haven't been as successful this season, although they have still had a good season by all means. They finished tied for second in the Big Ten, a conference many consider to be the third-best this season and won the Big Ten Tournament.

Purdue picked up two early-season losses, when they played Oklahoma and Duke back-to-back—two quality losses considering both those teams are two-seeds in the tournament. They also picked up five conference losses to unranked teams.

Riding their momentum from the conference tournament, Purdue has moved onto the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000. The team has found success by revolving their game-plan around their three stellar sophomores—E'Twaun Moore, JuJuan Johnson, and Robbie Hummel.

Johnson and Hummel play in the frontcourt and account for 25 points and 12 rebounds on any given night. Moore plays in the backcourt as a shooting guard and accounts for a team-high 14.0 PPG.

The sophomore standouts were each named to an All-Big Ten Team this year (Johnson to the First, Moore to the Second, and Hummel to the Third), while point guard Lewis Jackson was named to the All-Freshman Team. Johnson and senior guard Chris Kramer were both named to the All-Defensive Team.

Hummel and Johnson are going to have their work cut out for them in the frontcourt, as they stack up against Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien, who are both averaging double-doubles in points and rebounds.

Thabeet was named as the co-Big East Player of the Year and as the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to being named on the All-Big East First Team, while Jeff Adrien was named on the All-Big East Third Team.

UConn's backcourt is nothing to scoff at either—after losing junior guard Jerome Dyson to a season-ending foot injury at the beginning of February, freshman Kemba Walker has stepped up nicely.

Senior point guard A.J. Price has had an outstanding season, as he lead the Huskies in points. He was named as a finalist for the Cousy Award (the annual award for the best point guard) and made it to the All-Big East Second Team. Walker was named on the Big East All-Freshman Team.

This looks to be a fantastic game, as two of the best programs from the top college hoops conferences face off. There should be some great individual matchups to follow in both the backcourt and frontcourt as the Boilermakers look to stop a repeat of last season's chalk Final Four.

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 5 Purdue	27-9	11-7	17-16	20	28	69.3	59.4
No. 1 Connecticut	29-4	15-3	14-14	8	29	78.5	63.5

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 5 Purdue	44.4	38.9	34.9	32.8	70.6	37.0	7.2	15.0	11.6	4.8
No. 1 Connecticut	47.5	37.4	34.5	30.6	67.7	45.7	5.9	15.9	12.5	7.8

Stats Leaders

	No. 5 Purdue	No. 1 Connecticut
PPG	E. Moore - 14.0	A. Price - 14.6
	J. Johnson - 13.4	J. Adrien - 13.9
	R. Hummel - 12.4	H. Thabeet - 13.7
RPG	R. Hummel - 7.0	H. Thabeet - 10.7
APG	L. Jackson - 3.3	A. Price - 4.8
SPG	C. Kramer - 2.1	K. Walker - 1.1
BPG	J. Johnson - 2.1	H. Thabeet - 4.4

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

Memphis-Missouri: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 26

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:52:37 -0400

No. 2 Memphis Tigers vs. No. 3 Missouri Tigers

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—West Region
Thursday, March 26—9:37 PM ET on CBS

Preview

Cat Fight! OK that's out of my system now, let's get onto the Sweet 16.

Memphis is on a roll—they are on a 27-game win streak and just quieted anyone who doubted their ability with an 89-70 victory over Maryland. They have reached the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season, and in the previous three seasons they have moved on to the Elite Eight. They are also a 30-win team for the fourth time in four seasons.

Missouri finished the regular season in third in the Big 12, and they landed an automatic bid to the Big Dance after winning the conference tournament. This is the first time the Tigers have been in the Sweet 16 since the 2002 tournament.

Mizzou is coming off of a tough game against Marquette, where free throws at the end of the game wound up being the difference (that and a toe over the inbounds line). The Tigers have had a number of other nail-biters this season (62-60 W Kansas, 69-65 W Texas, 97-95 W Oklahoma State, 56-51 L Nebraska, 75-71 L Xavier), though they have been on the right side most of the time.

Despite the outcome of any of their nail-biters, Mizzou has followed it up with a double-digit win over their next opponent. With the way Memphis is playing, will they be able to continue the trend, or will this one come down to the wire as well?

Memphis is focused on one thing and one this only right now—proving that they deserved to be a one-seed with big wins. After struggling in their opening game, the Tigers pounced on Maryland. Perhaps it was Vasquez's comments that if Memphis played in the ACC they would have a losing record that fueled them, but they showed no sign of slowing down during the game.

This should be a great game between two very good teams. Only one question remains—if Memphis were in the Big 12, would they have a losing record?

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Missouri	30-6	12-4	16-9-1	10	38	81.0	66.3
No. 2 Memphis	33-3	16-0	21-10-1	7	49	74.7	57.6

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Missouri	47.2	41.4	35.5	30.7	67.4	39.5	10.4	18.5	12.1	3.8
No. 2 Memphis	44.8	36.7	32.9	29.7	69.5	42.4	8.9	14.2	12.5	6.0

Stats Leaders

	No. 3 Missouri	No. 2 Memphis
PPG	D. Carroll - 16.7	T. Evans - 16.6
	L. Lyons - 14.5	R. Dozier - 12.7
	M. Lawrence - 8.8	S. Taggart - 10.5
RPG	D. Carroll - 7.3	S. Taggart - 7.6
APG	J. Tiller - 3.6	A. Anderson - 4.5
SPG	J. Tiller - 1.7	T. Evans - 2.1
BPG	K. Ramsey - 0.8	R. Dozier - 1.7

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks: South Region, March 27

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:41:13 -0400

Hopefully you've had a chance to check out our site by now—The Sports Chat Place—where we've been doing College Hoops Picks Against the Spread all season. There are five of us from The Sports Chat Place who also write on B/R: Ryan, Mitch, Dave, Shaun, and Steve. There is a very good chance that if you have been following college basketball this season (even casually), you have read something by one of us.

For the first round of the NCAA Tournament, we decided to put together a few articles with all of our quick picks against the spread. The idea is that everyone uses the same line, and is allowed to put their pick and 1-2 sentences. Because of all the feedback we received from the first round articles, we've decided to do it again for the Sweet 16!

In the first round articles, I mentioned that we had more than 500,000 hits since the site went up at the end of January. We now have amassed more than 650,000 hits—what a week!

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—South Region

Friday, March 27, 2009

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Gonzaga
9:57 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 4 Gonzaga	28-5	14-0	15-14-1	26	92	79.0	61.9
No. 1 North Carolina	30-4	13-3	11-17-2	3	22	90.3	72.3

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 4 Gonzaga	48.9	37.2	39.4	34.4	72.8	40.9	7.3	15.2	11.3	5.1
No. 1 North Carolina	48.1	41.1	37.7	35.0	76.4	45.8	8.6	18.2	12.7	5.4

Line: UNC -8.5

Mitch: Gonzaga +8.5—Outright!
Dave: Gonzaga +8.5—4 is the over/under on how many times Roy replaces starters en mass when mad.
Ryan: UNC -8.5—The ACC Player of the Year came back in a big way against LSU. Look for him to quiet any additional talk about his toe with another big game against the Zags.
Shaun: Gonzaga +8.5—The Bulldogs will keep this game close, but the Tar Heels still win.
Steve: UNC -8.5—Heels outgun the Zags in a battle of two teams that think "D" is just the fourth letter in the alphabet.

No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Syracuse
7:27 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Syracuse	28-9	11-7	18-15	12	7	80.5	71.5
No. 2 Oklahoma	29-5	13-3	15-12-2	5	26	79.1	67.3

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Syracuse	48.7	40.7	34.3	28.9	64.0	44.0	7.8	18.2	15.4	5.3
No. 2 Oklahoma	49.2	39.4	35.6	34.0	67.7	42.0	6.8	14.5	13.7	4.5

Line: Oklahoma -1.0

Mitch: Oklahoma -1.0—I underestimated this team.
Dave: Syracuse +1.0—This year's National Champs.
Ryan: Oklahoma -1.0—Griffin continues make his bid for National Player of the Year, and has a big game against the zone-D.
Shaun: Syracuse +1.0—Boeheim out-coaches Capel down the stretch.
Steve: Syracuse +1.0—Griffin will get his, along with fouling out one or two SU forwards. But OU won't solve the 2-3 and Jonny Flynn is a difference maker.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place, where we will be previewing and picking every game that March Madness has to offer!

Please take a look at our other Sweet 16 Picks!

Midwest Region (Mar. 27)
East Region (Mar. 26)
West Region (Mar. 26)

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks: Midwest Region, March 27

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:24:23 -0400

In the first round articles, I mentioned that we had more than 500,000 hits since the site went up at the end of January. We now have amassed more than 650,000 hits—what a week!

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—Midwest Region

Friday, March 27, 2009

No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 12 Arizona
7:07 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 12 Arizona	19-13	9-9	19-15	62	34	72.5	68.5
No. 1 Louisville	28-5	16-2	21-13	4	11	73.9	61.4

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 12 Arizona	47.7	43.5	39.4	35.1	73.4	36.7	6.2	14.3	12.6	3.0
No. 1 Louisville	45.4	39.3	36.2	30.6	64.2	40.3	9.3	16.6	13.8	6.1

Line: Louisville -8.5

Mitch: Arizona +8.5—Ville to win, Zona to cover.
Dave: Louisville -8.5—Got the Scare out of the way.
Ryan: Louisville -8.5—Louisville's fast-paced offense and full-court defense will be in full swing after four days of rest and the Wildcats will regress to their end-of-season run form (where they closed out 1-4).
Shaun: Louisville -8.5—The Cardinals should roll through the inconsistent Wildcats.
Steve: Louisville -8.5—Arizona's lack of depth after Budinger, Hill, & Wise along with Cardinal's relentless pressure will take its toll.

No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Kansas
9:37 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Kansas	25-7	14-2	19-10	11	20	77.3	66.1
No. 2 Michigan State	26-6	15-3	17-12-1	6	6	72.1	62.9

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Kansas	47.9	38.9	37.9	33.8	73.0	41.8	6.9	16.2	14.3	4.2
No. 2 Michigan State	45.5	41.4	35.1	31.9	68.8	42.5	6.4	15.9	13.9	2.9

Line: Michigan St. -1.5

Mitch: MSU -1.5—Might be the easiest pick of the round.
Dave: MSU -1.5—Rematch ends same as the first.
Ryan: MSU -1.5—The Spartans win the second round as well.
Shaun: MSU -1.5—The Jayhawks are much-improved since their regular season loss to MSU, but the Spartans still win.
Steve: Kansas +1.5—KU has Collins and Aldrich. MSU doesn't.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place, where we will be previewing and picking every game that March Madness has to offer!

Please take a look at our other Sweet 16 Picks!

East Region (Mar. 26)
South Region (Mar. 27)
West Region (Mar. 26)

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks: West Region, March 26

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:08:01 -0400

There is a very good chance that if you have been following college basketball this season (even casually), you have read something by one of us.

Because of all the feedback we received from the first round articles, we've decided to do it again for the Sweet 16!

In the first round articles, I mentioned that we had more than 500,000 hits since the site went up at the end of January. We now have amassed more than 650,000 hits—what a week!

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—West Region

Thursday, Mar. 26, 2009

No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 5 Purdue
7:07 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 5 Purdue	26-9	11-7	17-16	20	28	69.3	59.4
No. 1 Connecticut	28-4	15-3	14-14	8	29	78.5	63.5

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 5 Purdue	44.4	38.9	34.9	32.8	70.6	37.0	7.2	15.0	11.6	4.8
No. 1 Connecticut	47.5	37.4	34.5	30.6	67.7	45.7	5.9	15.9	12.5	7.8

Line: UConn -6.5

Mitch: Purdue +6.5—Like the points at the very least.
Dave: Purdue +6.5—Big Ten makes a statement.
Ryan: UConn -6.5—UConn dominates the frontcourt behind Thabeet and Adrien (Johnson and Hummel don't stand a chance) as the Huskies get it done by double-digits.
Shaun: Purdue +6.5—The Boilermakers will keep it close and might even take down the top-seeded Huskies.
Steve: UConn -6.5—Purdue had a nice win over Washington, but they're still a soft team. Too much UConn.

No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 3 Missouri
9:37 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Missouri	28-6	12-4	16-9-1	10	38	81.0	66.3
No. 2 Memphis	32-3	16-0	21-10-1	7	49	74.7	57.6

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Missouri	47.2	41.4	35.5	30.7	67.4	39.5	10.4	18.5	12.1	3.8
No. 2 Memphis	44.8	36.7	32.9	29.7	69.5	42.4	8.9	14.2	12.5	6.0

Line: Memphis -4.5

Mitch: Memphis -4.5—Mizzou is just looking for a place to lay down.
Dave: Memphis -4.5—The North Ridge scare has them refocused.
Ryan: Memphis -4.5—Memphis is focused and out for blood. Anyone on Mizzou willing to speak out and say that Memphis would have a losing record if they played in the Big 12?
Shaun: Memphis -4.5—Memphis will slow things down to make Mizzou play in the half court.
Steve: Mizzou +4.5—Memphis will get the win because of their D, but the Tigers beat a Marquette team with a better back court than Memphis.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place, where we will be previewing and picking every game that March Madness has to offer!

Please take a look at our other Sweet 16 Picks!

Midwest Region (Mar. 27)
East Region (Mar. 26)
South Region (Mar. 27)

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks: East Region, March 26

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:48:01 -0400

In the first round articles, I mentioned that we had more than 500,000 hits since the site went up at the end of January. We now have amassed more than 650,000 hits—what a week!

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—East Region

Thursday, March 26, 2009

No. 1 Pittsburgh vs. No. 4 Xavier
7:27 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 4 Xavier	27-7	12-4	17-10-1	17	47	72.5	62.6
No. 1 Pittsburgh	30-4	15-3	16-11-1	2	8	77.8	64.0

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 4 Xavier	46.5	39.1	40.0	33.4	67.4	42.5	5.4	13.4	14.8	5.0
No. 1 Pittsburgh	48.3	40.7	35.5	33.0	67.6	42.8	7.0	17.9	12.2	3.9

Line: Pittsburgh -7.0

Mitch: Xavier +7.0—Too many points against a team with too much history of tourney success.
Dave: Xavier +7.0—Pitt has been exposed.
Ryan: Pitt -7.0—Pitt is 0-2 ATS in the tourney, while Xavier is 2-0. Pitt gets their first win ATS with a great game from Blair and Young, and advance to the Elite 8 for the first time since the Tournament expanded.
Shaun: Pitt -7.0—Pitt finally gets the Sweet 16 monkey off its back.
Steve: Xavier +7.0—Pitt will get the win….barely….but Xavier is relentless. Quit is not in their vocabulary.

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 Villanova
9:57 PM ET

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Villanova	28-7	13-5	16-14	13	31	77.0	67.1
No. 2 Duke	30-6	11-5	15-15-1	1	1	78.1	65.6

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Villanova	45.7	40.6	36.5	33.9	74.6	41.2	8.1	15.0	13.4	3.3
No. 2 Duke	44.9	43.4	35.5	34.2	72.8	39.2	8.4	13.5	12.3	4.0

Line: Duke -2.0

Mitch: Duke -2.0—I have trouble going against coach K with nearly a week to prepare.
Dave: Villanova +2.0—Like the mid 80's Nova team on the court, hopefully not the same off.
Ryan: Villanova +2.0—It'll be a dogfight to the wire, but the threes won't be falling the same way against Nova that they were against the Longhorns.
Shaun: Duke -2.0—'Nova gives Duke its best shot, but Coach K leads his team into the Elite 8.
Steve: Villanova +2.0—In a game with great guard play all over the court, 'Nova's guards are just a bit better.

If you enjoyed these picks, please check out The Sports Chat Place, where we will be previewing and picking every game that March Madness has to offer!

Please take a look at our other Sweet 16 Picks!

Midwest Region (Mar. 27)
South Region (Mar. 27)
West Region (Mar. 26)

Duke-Villanova: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, Mar. 26

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:56:27 -0400

No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (30-6, 11-5 ACC) vs. No. 3 Villanova Wildcats (28-7, 13-5 Big East)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Region
Thursday, Mar. 26—9:57 PM ET on CBS

Preview

With the talent in the ACC and Big East year-in, year-out, many have called for the reemergence of the ACC-Big East Challenge—here's round one.

The Blue Devils finished the regular season tied for second in the ACC and won the ACC Tournament to secure their place on the dance floor as a two-seed.

They have been as high as the top-ranked team and as low as 10th this season, and they currently sit in the middle at sixth in the AP and fifth in the Coaches.

Villanova finished the season in fourth in the Big East and were knocked out in the semifinals of the conference tournament by the Big East regular season (and eventual tournament) champion Louisville.

The Wildcats have also bounced around the polls this season, hit the 10-spot on a few occasions while also being ranked as low as 25th. They are currently ranked 11th in the AP Poll and 12th in the Coaches.

After struggling against American in the first round, Villanova came out swinging against sixth-seeded UCLA and were up by 17 after 10 minutes. They were up by as many as 25 before winning by 20.

The Wildcats found their early success through tough defense and a strong presence under the basket—UCLA had 20 turnovers in the game, and the Wildcats out-rebounded the Bruins 39-26.

Duke walked a much tougher road to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2006. In the second round they faced a tough Texas team out to salvage their season. It showed as the Longhorns and Blue Devils were neck-and-neck for the whole game, with Duke eventually getting the five-point victory.

The Blue Devils certainly left the door open for Texas, though, as they only connected on three of their final six free throw attempts. Unfortunately for all of the Texas Exes and other Longhorn faithful, they failed to score in the final minute of play as they missed four shots and let the Blue Devils pick up a steal in the process.

But Duke wasn't only successful because of Texas' shortfalls—they connected on half of their attempts beyond the arc (7-for-14) and shot .857 (18-for-21) from the foul line before their final three attempts. They had four players in double-figure points, including Gerald Henderson's game-high 24.

Thursday's Sweet 16 matchup will be the first time that Villanova and Duke have played each other this season, although they have both seen their fair share of tough opponents within Big East and ACC conference play. Villanova went 7-6 against the RPI Top 50, while Duke was 7-5.

This game should be a great example of how good the reemergence of the Big East/ACC Challenge would be. Hopefully they don't disappoint on one of college basketball's biggest stages.

By the Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Villanova	28-7	13-5	16-14	13	31	77.0	67.1
No. 2 Duke	30-6	11-5	15-15-1	1	1	78.1	65.6

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Villanova	45.7	40.6	36.5	33.9	74.6	41.2	8.1	15.0	13.4	3.3
No. 2 Duke	44.9	43.4	35.5	34.2	72.8	39.2	8.4	13.5	12.3	4.0

Stats Leaders

	No. 3 Villanova	No. 2 Duke
PPG	D. Cunningham - 16.3	G. Henderson - 16.8
	S. Reynolds - 15.1	K. Singler - 16.5
	C. Fisher - 10.9	J. Scheyer - 14.9
RPG	D. Cunningham - 7.3	K. Singler - 7.7
APG	S. Reynolds - 3.5	J. Scheyer - 2.8
SPG	S. Reynolds - 1.6	J. Singler - 1.5
BPG	D. Cunningham - 1.3	K. Singler - 1.1

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread and final analysis? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place and take a look!

Bleacher Report College Hoops Weekly Pick 'Em: Week 19—March Madness!

Ryan Brennan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:10:53 -0400

March Madness is upon us and in full swing! The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament have occurred and brackets have been made/destroyed in a matter of days!

The NIT Tournament has some teams getting ready for their quarterfinals in hopes of getting to Madison Square Garden!

And while all of this is going on, all you can think of is your weekly college hoops pick 'em, right??

Results of Week 18

Ari Kramer - 10
Ryan Brennan - 8
Travis Miller - 8
Travis Hitson - 8
Andrew Kahn - 6
Shaun Hart - 6
Tyler Brennan - 4

Overall Standings

Andrew Kahn - 133
Ryan Brennan - 124
Shaun Hart - 113
Samuel Silverman - 107
Tyler Brennan - 107
Mosang Miles - 90
Travis Miller - 86
Nathan B - 82
Ari Kramer - 64
Alexander Jesswein - 59
Jameson Fleming - 55
Chris Robles - 49
Travis Hitson - 45
Richard DeLancey - 44
Kristofer Green - 40
Ryan Callahan - 35
Jonathan Braus - 21
Jonny Solovy - 12
Nate M - 9

Week 19 Picks

As always, upsets are worth two points. This week, rankings will be determined by the team's seed in their respective tournaments.

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Penn State
Tuesday, March 24—NIT Quarterfinals

No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 3 Baylor
Tuesday, March 24—NIT Quarterfinals

No. 3 Missouri vs. No. 2 Memphis
Thursday, March 26—NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

No. 3 Villanova vs. No. 2 Duke
Thursday, March 26—NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 5 Purdue
Thursday, March 26—NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 4 Xavier
Thursday, March 26—NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 2 Oklahoma
Friday, March 27—NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

No. 3 Kansas vs. No. 2 Michigan State
Friday, March 27—NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

NCAA Tournament Final Four
Which team from the East Region will head to the Final Four?
No. 1 Pittsburgh, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Villanova, No. 4 Xavier

NCAA Tournament Final Four
Which team from the West Region will head to the Final Four?
No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 Memphis, No. 3 Missouri, No. 5 Purdue

Email your picks to Ryan.Paul.Brennan@gmail.com, and please include a link to your B/R Profile.

Good luck!

Memphis-Maryland: NCAA Tournament Second Round Picks ATS, March 21

Ryan Brennan — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:19:17 -0400

No. 2 Memphis Tigers vs. No. 10 Maryland Terrapins

NCAA Tournament Second Round—West Region
Saturday, Mar. 21—3:20 PM ET on CBS

Preview

In their first round game, the Memphis Tigers looked like they were about to become only the fifth team in NCAA Tournament history to be knocked out in the first round by a 15-seed. They were up by only three at the half, and with nine minutes left they were down by three.

A CS Northridge scoring drought that lasted five minutes gave Memphis the opportunity they were looking for, though, and they wound up finishing the game on a 20-6 run.

The Terps pulled off the 7/10 upset over California in their first round game behind Greivis Vasquez's 27 point performance. Maryland held Cal (the nation's leading three-point shooting team) to only 7-for-24 from beyond the arc.

The game was tied with just under 12 minutes left, and that's when the Terps really turned it on and outscored their PAC-10 opponents by 13.

The Tigers currently hold the nation's longest win-streak at 26 games, but many feel that despite this, they still have a lot to prove. They have only faced three ranked opponents this season, and they are only 1-2 against them.

Their other loss this season came against Xavier (who was unranked at the time).

Being in the ACC, Maryland has faced more than their fair share of ranked opponents this season, although they haven't been overly successful against them (they are 3-8).

Five of those losses have come against teams that were in the top-spot of the polls this season (Duke, North Carolina, and Wake Forest), and they have managed to upset both Wake Forest and UNC since the calendar turned.

Maryland's experience against strong ACC opponents this season made them a great sleeper team pick. Will Memphis's lack of experience against quality opponents this season allow the Terps to move into the Sweet Sixteen, or will Maryland's Cinderella story disappear before it even begins?

By the Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 10 Maryland	21-13	7-9	17-10	55	18	71.5	68.5
No. 2 Memphis	32-3	16-0	20-10-1	7	49	74.1	56.9

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 10 Maryland	42.2	41.7	33.1	34.4	76.8	40.9	7.7	14.7	12.5	4.3
No. 2 Memphis	44.3	36.2	32.0	29.3	69.6	42.7	8.8	13.8	12.4	6.2

Stats Leaders

	No. 10 Maryland	No. 2 Memphis
PPG	G. Vasquez - 17.2	T. Evans - 16.6
	L. Milbourne - 11.6	R. Dozier - 12.8
	E. Hayes - 10.2	S. Taggart - 10.4
RPG	G. Vasquez - 5.5	R. Dozier - 7.2
APG	G. Vasquez - 5.1	A. Anderson - 4.1
SPG	G. Vasquez - 1.4	T. Evans - 2.1
BPG	L. Milbourne - 1.1	R. Dozier - 1.7

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's final prediction and FREE Pick Against the Spread? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

Villanova-UCLA: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Second Round Picks ATS, March 21

Ryan Brennan — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:55:43 -0400

Villanova gave everyone a scare yesterday when they were down by 10 at the half to American University.

With 9.5 minutes left in the first half, the squads were tied at 24. Nova finished out the half by scoring seven to the Eagles' 17—very impressive for the winners of the Patriot League.

But Big East Coach of the Year Jay Wright got his players fired up, especially seniors Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham. They each scored 25 and grabbed eight and seven rebounds respectively as the Wildcats rolled, outscoring the Eagles 49-26 in the second half.

UCLA defeated VCU in the closest possible manner—by one point. VCU had a chance for the game winner—Eric Maynor took a shot that had a perfect line, but went off the front of the rim as time expired. The Bruins were up by 10 at the half, but a series of missed shots (including layups) allowed the Rams to get back into the game.

This will be the first time this season that these two teams play each other, although the Bruins had a chance to play two other Big East teams earlier this season—they defeated DePaul 72-54 in December and added to Notre Dame's miseries in February with a 26-point victory.

The Wildcats are currently ranked 11th in the AP Poll and 12th in the Coaches. They have been ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP this season. The Bruins are currently No. 18 in the AP and No. 17 in the Coaches. They were ranked fourth in both polls early this season, and were in the top 10 in the Feb. 9 Coaches Poll.

This will be a great NCAA Tournament game; two top 20 teams face off in the second round. Will home court advantage actually help the Wildcats this time around, or will the Bruins be able to continue their quest to make the Final Four for the fourth season in a row?

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 6 UCLA	26-8	13-5	17-14	33	61	76.0	63.3
No. 3 Villanova	27-7	13-5	15-14	13	31	76.5	67.0

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 6 UCLA	49.4	44.5	39.8	36.2	72.1	36.0	8.4	15.7	12.4	3.2
No. 3 Villanova	45.7	40.4	36.8	33.9	74.2	41.1	8.0	14.8	13.4	3.2

Stats Leaders

	No. 6 UCLA	No. 3 Villanova
PPG	D. Collison - 14.5	D. Cunningham - 16.0
	J. Shipp - 14.4	S. Reynolds - 15.5
	A. Aboya - 9.8	C. Fisher - 10.8
RPG	A. Aboya - 6.2	D. Cunningham - 7.2
APG	D. Collison - 4.9	S. Reynolds - 3.6
SPG	J. Holiday - 1.6	S. Reynolds - 1.6
BPG	J. Holiday - 0.5	D. Cunningham - 1.2

UConn-Texas A&M: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Second Round Picks ATS, March 21

Ryan Brennan — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:30:25 -0400

No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies (24-9, 9-7 Big 12) vs. No. 1 Connecticut Huskies (28-4, 15-3 Big East)

NCAA Tournament Second Round—West Region

Saturday, March 21—3:35 PM ET on CBS

Preview

There were plenty of questions surrounding the Huskies at the start of their first round game—coach Jim Calhoun was nowhere to be seen due to an illness, and UConn was down 6-4 after four minutes. But associate head coach George Blaney was able to spark something within the Huskies, as they finished the first half on a 46-14 run en route to a 103-47 win over the Chattanooga Mocs.

The Aggies had a different sort of game, although they wound up winning by a comfortable margin in the end too. As a nine-seed, Texas A&M was the underdog against No. 8 BYU (BYU was also favored by two), although the only time they trailed was when BYU made the opening bucket. The Aggies were up by 12 at the half and won the game by 13.

This is going to be a very different game for A&M, though, as their opponent is no longer a good mid-major but instead a great big six team. The Aggies have taken on their share of great big six teams this season, though, as they faced Big 12 conference rivals Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri on more than one occasion this season.

The Huskies may be a different sort of beast than the Big 12 powerhouses, though. Prior to the Big East Tournament they suffered just three losses—two of which were to fellow one-seed Pitt. In the Big East Tournament, they lost in an epic six-OT battle to Syracuse.

UConn has now put up over 100 points in their past two games—will their explosive offense continue, or will A&M be able to throw them off their game enough to pull off the 1/9 upset?

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 9 Texas A&M	24-9	9-7	16-10	36	51	71.7	66.3
No. 1 Connecticut	28-4	15-3	13-14	8	29	77.3	64.0

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 9 Texas A&M	44.6	43.1	36.6	36.2	69.5	40.0	5.0	12.2	12.8	3.9
No. 1 Connecticut	47.0	37.7	34.7	31.3	67.7	45.4	5.8	15.4	12.7	8.0

Stats Leaders

	No. 9 Texas A&M	No. 1 Connecticut
PPG	J. Carter - 14.1	A. Price - 14.0
	D. Sloan - 11.7	H. Thabeet - 13.7
	B. Davis - 10.4	J. Adrien - 13.6
RPG	C. Elonu - 7.4	H. Thabeet - 10.9
APG	D. Sloan - 3.0	A. Price - 4.7
SPG	B. Holmes - 0.9	K. Walker - 1.1
BPG	C. Elonu - 1.6	H. Thabeet - 4.6

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread and final prediction? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

USC-BC: 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks ATS, March 20

Ryan Brennan — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:04:54 -0400

No. 10 USC Trojans (21-12, 9-9 PAC-10) vs. No. 7 Boston College Eagles (22-11, 9-7 ACC)

NCAA Tournament First Round—Midwest Region
Friday, March 20—7:20 PM EST on CBS

Preview

The Trojans secured their trip to the Big Dance by winning the PAC-10 Tournament after defeating California, UCLA, and Arizona State—all three of which are dancing with higher seeds. Before the tournament, USC was the ultimate bubble team—they were only 1-5 against Top 25 teams. It seemed like all was lost in February when they went 1-6. In upsetting two ranked teams en route to their title, though, they have shifted momentum in their favor at the perfect time.

BC is also 3-5 this season against the Top 25, although prior to the ACC Tournament they were 3-4. Being in the ACC, they have been fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to face multiple teams that have been the top-ranked team this season—winning one game against both Duke and UNC. They have also lost three times to former top-ranked teams—twice to Wake Forest, and to Duke by one in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.

Despite the Eagles' tough conference schedule, their relatively light OOC schedule hurt their SOS, which is only at 59. They only faced one ranked team in non-conference play—Purdue in the NIT Season Tip-Off. They have also seen their share of ups and downs this season, including a loss to Harvard (for the Crimson's first-even victory over a ranked opponent) three days after upsetting top-ranked UNC on the road.

The Trojans OOC schedule included games against Missouri and Oklahoma, although they were constantly trying to dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in when they lost to Seton Hall and subsequently were knocked out of the Top 25. They had a very tough schedule overall, though, with a SOS of 21.

Regardless of the outcome, this should be a great March Madness game to watch. 7/10 games are generally pretty close and have a lot of potential for upsets, so if you're looking for some good first round action (and not 1/16 blowouts), make sure to check out the Trojans/Eagles at 7:20 on Friday.

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
USC	21-12	9-9	15-13	38	21	68.4	63.5
BC	22-11	9-7	13-14-1	60	59	74.9	70.5

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
USC	47.4	40.6	32.9	33.7	66.6	39.1	6.3	12.4	14.0	4.7
BC	44.6	42.3	33.7	32.7	73.4	40.5	6.2	14.8	13.4	4.4

Stats Leaders

	USC	BC
PPG	T. Gibson - 14.3	T. Rice - 17.1
	D. Lewis - 14.1	J. Trapani - 13.5
	D. DeRozan - 13.6	R. Sanders - 13.0
RPG	T. Gibson - 9.4	J. Trapani - 6.6
APG	D. Hackett - 4.7	T. Rice - 5.4
SPG	D. Hackett - 1.3	R. Sanders - 1.6
BPG	T. Gibson - 2.8	J. Trapani - 1.0

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament: Sleeper Teams for Your Bracket

Ryan Brennan — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:34:54 -0400

March Madness is upon us in full swing. The NITs are underway, the NCAA Tournament Play-In Game has already occurred, and the first games tipoff in a little under 12 hours.

But this also means that you have 12 hours to finalize your brackets and figure out how to stun your coworkers with amazing March Madness picks. With that in mind, let's move on and take a look at three sleeper teams that can make a run during the Big Dance.

No. 7 East—Texas Longhorns

22-11, 9-7 Big 12, RPI: 41, SOS: 36

The Longhorns were ranked as high as fifth in the polls this season, and were in the Top 25 as recently as the end of February. They had a sloppy run where they lost to Kansas State, Missouri, and Nebraska (by four, four, and three points, respectively) that hurt them in the polls, but they have proved on more than one occasion this season that they have the ability to take down teams on a big stage.

In December, they took down UCLA and Villanova in back-to-back games, they defeated Wisconsin on the road, and took out Oklahoma. Against the Top 25, they are 3-4, but against the RPI Top 50 they are 6-6.

Matchups

If the Longhorns can get by Tubby Smith's Gophers in the first round, they will move on to face Duke in the second round. While this may sound very intimidating, keep in mind that Duke has not made it to the Sweet 16 since the 2006 tournament, and that as a two seed last season they were upset by No. 7 West Virginia. The Blue Devils live and die beyond the arc, and they have shown the college hoops world on more than one occasion this season that they are fallible.

Should the Longhorns make it to the Sweet 16, they will most likely have a rematch of a December game, either UCLA or Villanova. They have the ability take down either team, as they beat them before and can beat them again.

A run to the Elite Eight is definitely a possibility for the Longhorns. Once there they would face Pitt, who has been taken down by various weaker teams this season—West Virginia, Villanova, and Providence.

No. 10 West—Maryland Terrapins

20-13, 7-9 ACC, RPI: 55, SOS: 18

The Terps may have 13 losses this season, but eight of them have come to teams in the Top 25, five of which were to teams in the top-spot at some point this season—Duke, UNC, and Wake Forest. Unfortunately, that does not account for the other five losses on their books.

Depending on which Terps team shows up, they can make a run that will surprise many all the neysayers. If you didn't follow college hoops very closely this season, make note that the Terps defeated both UNC and Wake Forest.

Matchups

Coming out of the Pac-10, California is a good team, but they have a 2-3 record against the Top 25. They finished the regular season 2-3 (one of their wins was in OT), and they were knocked out of the PAC-10 Tournament in the first round (after finishing the regular season tied for third).

Next up for the Terps would be Memphis. I know that this is like throwing rocks at a hornet's nest, but I'm still not sold on the Tigers. They are a good Conference USA team—no one disputes that—but they were not overly successful during their out-of-conference schedule. They have only played three Top 25 teams this season, and they went 1-2 in those games. Their three losses this season came against Xavier, Georgetown, and Syracuse—three teams who play at a higher level than the Tigers' C-USA competition.

No. 11 West—Utah State Aggies

30-4, 14-2 WAC, RPI: 23, SOS: 135

The Aggies have a 30-win season and the WAC regular season and tournament titles under their belts, but it was only good enough for an 11-seed in the eyes of the selection committee. They have the WAC Player of the Year on their squad, as well as the WAC Coach of the Year—two awards that probably shouldn't be taken lightly.

What was light, though, was their schedule, which is the reason for their ranking. They faced no Top 25 teams this season, and they only went 1-2 against RPI Top 50 teams. With that being said, they still have a Top 25 RPI and are 25th in the Coaches Poll.

Matchups

The Aggies face Marquette in the first round. The Golden Eagles struggled down the stretch and lost one of their leading senior guards. They did have an incredibly tough schedule as well, which is part of the reason for their slip, but the loss of Dominique James is clearly going to hurt them. The Aggies match up well against the Golden Eagles, and they stand a very good chance of getting by them.

In the second round, they will face Missouri (who is playing Cornell in the first round—Ivy teams haven't won an NCAA Tournament game in the past 10 years). The Tigers are a great Big 12 team who have been very successful against tough opponents this season (they have gone 4-1 against Top 25 teams), but they have also failed to get 'er done multiple times this season, losing by double-digit points on four occasions.

Should they make it to the Sweet 16, the Aggies will face either Maryland or Memphis (see above).

Other Cinderella Potentials

No. 12 South—Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

24-8, 15-3 Sun Belt, RPI: 43, SOS: 125

WKU took down top seeded Louisville earlier this season, and they have a very favorable matchup against Illinois, who are without senior guard Chester Frazier.

No. 5 West—Purdue Boilermakers

25-9, 11-7 Big Ten, RPI: 20, SOS: 28

The Boilermakers secured the automatic bid to the Big Dance after winning the Big Ten Tournament, but they would have received an at-large one regardless. They are currently ranked 17th, but they have been ranked in the Top 10 on more than one occasion this season.

No. 10 Midwest—USC Trojans

21-12, 9-9 PAC-10, RPI: 38, SOS: 21

If you believe in momentum, then the Trojans are a team that you want to take a look at. After going 1-6 in February, they have been perfect in March, including a run through the Pac 10 Tournament where they defeated California, UCLA, and Arizona State (all seeded higher than them in the NCAA Tournament).

All of these teams have the potential to pull off some major upsets—let's just hope you decide to include them in your brackets!

If you've found this article useful, please visit The Sports Chat Place, where you can find March Madness articles and picks from any of our writers!

West Virginia-Dayton: 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks ATS, March 20

Ryan Brennan — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:32:00 -0400

No. 11 Dayton Flyers vs. No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers

NCAA Tournament First Round—Midwest Region
Friday, March 20—3:00 PM EST on CBS

Preview

The Dayton Flyers received an at-large bid to the Big Dance for their first trip since 2004. They had a very successful season, going 2-1 against Top 25 teams, and 9-4 against the RPI Top 100.

West Virginia has had a successful season as well, making it to the semifinals of the Big East Tournament before losing in overtime to Syracuse. They finished the season tied for seventh in the Big East, but they only went 4-9 against the Top 25 overall.

The Flyers gained a ton of national attention early this season when they took down Marquette at the end of November. Before the calendar turned, they went 12-1, and in their first ten games in 2009 they went 9-1.

They found their success by having a well-rounded team: sophomore forward Chris Wright was named to the All A-10 Second Team, junior guard Marcus Johnson was given honorable mention, freshman guard-forward Chris Johnson was named to the All-Rookie Team, and junior guard London Warren was named to the All-Defensive Team.

But the Mountaineers are a different beast than their fallen Big East brethren. While they have a quality backcourt, their star player resides in the frontcourt. They have two non-Top 25 losses this season—Kentucky and Cincinnati—and the rest have come from ranked opponents, including five losses to teams that were the top team at one point this season.

West Virginia's squad also features individuals who have had their own success this season—Da'Sean Butler was named to the All-Big East Second Team, Alex Ruoff was named on the Honorable Mention, and Devin Ebanks was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team.

The Mountaineers made it to the Sweet Sixteen last season before losing to Xavier in overtime, a team Dayton knows very well. This should be a great March college hoops game between two teams that received at-large bids.

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Dayton	26-7	11-5	12-14	27	94	67.5	61.5
West Virginia	23-11	10-8	16-14	21	10	72.4	61.6

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
Dayton	42.8	39.6	33.1	31.7	64.5	41.0	6.3	14.1	13.8	3.5
West Virginia	43.0	41.9	33.1	30.0	69.6	42.0	6.8	15.3	12.0	4.6

Stats Leaders

	Dayton	West Virginia
PPG	C. Wright - 12.9	D. Butler - 17.3
	M. Johnson - 12.2	A. Ruoff - 15.9
	C. Little - 8.0	D. Ebanks - 10.4
RPG	C. Wright - 6.5	D. Ebanks - 7.7
APG	L. Warren - 4.3	A. Ruoff - 3.5
SPG	L. Warren - 1.6	A. Ruoff - 1.7
BPG	C. Wright - 1.2	W. Smith - 1.6

Prediction

Want to see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread? Please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Picks: Midwest Region, March 20 (Part 2)

Ryan Brennan — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:31:52 -0400

At CBBPlace.com, we've been doing College Basketball Picks Against the Spread all season. There are five of us from CBBPlace who also write on B/R: Ryan, Mitch, Dave, Shaun, and Steve. There is a very good chance that if you have been following college basketball this season (even just casually), you have read something by one of us.

With that in mind, we have decided to do our first ever collaboration article—we are all going to do quick picks against the spread for the NCAA Tournament, and they will be posted in a series of articles broken out by the date of the game and region of the tournament.

We have posted well over 1,000 Free Picks Against the Spread this season and have amassed more than 500,000 hits since the site went up at the end of January! The bottom line: Hopefully we know a little something about the teams involved in these games!

NCAA Tournament—Midwest Region

Thursday, March20

No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 16 Morehead State
7:10 PM EST

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Morehead St	20-15	12-6	19-11	140	189	70.2	66.8
Louisville	28-5	16-2	21-11	4	11	43.9	61.6

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
Morehead St	43.9	41.5	33.2	35.1	72.1	42.4	6.7	12.9	15.3	3.9
Louisville	45.1	39.3	36.0	30.4	64.3	40.6	9.3	16.6	13.7	6.2

Line: Louisville -22.0

Mitch: Louisville -22.0—The Eagles are a feisty bunch but being feisty isn't going to help them enough against the Louisville defense.
Dave: Louisville -22.0—Morehead State will crumble against the 'Ville defense.
Ryan: Louisville -22.0—Louisville's on a ten-game win streak and has won big on more than one occasion. If the Big East couldn't stop them, Morehead State won't be able to either.
Shaun: Louisville -22.0—Top seeds beat the play-in game winner by an average of 27 points per game, and there's no reason to think this game will be any different.

Dog Feces w/ Googly Eyes from Geico Commercials: Morehead State +22.0

If you enjoyed these picks, please take a look at CBBPlace.com, where we will be picking every March Madness game!

Please take a look at our other NCAA Tournament First Round Picks:

Midwest Region, March 20
East Region, March 19
East Region, March 20
South Region, March 19
South Region, March 20
West Region, March 19
West Region, March 20

Marquette-Utah State: 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks ATS, March 20

Ryan Brennan — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:00:15 -0400

No. 11 Utah State Aggies (30-4, 14-2 WAC) vs. No. 6 Marquette Golden Eagles (24-9, 12-6 Big East)

NCAA Tournament First Round—West Region

Friday, March 20—12:30 PM EST on CBS

Preview

After winning 30 games this season, the Aggies are headed back to the Big Dance for the first time since the 2006 tournament after winning both the WAC regular season and tournament titles. They defeated second seed Nevada by 10 in the finals to secure their automatic bid.

Marquette had a slightly different path to the NCAA Tournament this season—after starting out 20-2, the Golden Eagles stumbled a little bit and have since gone 5-7.

This can be attributed to a couple of things—first, their incredibly tough schedule down the stretch (they faced all three Big East No. 1 seeds in a row, in addition to two three seeds—UConn, at Louisville, at Pitt, Syracuse, vs. Villanova). Then during their first game of that stretch, they lost their senior guard Dominic James, who was averaging 11.4 PPG and 5.1 APG.

In their most recent game, the Golden Eagles faced Villanova in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. After being down by 16 at the half (and 17 at one point), it looked like they were going to be able to pull off the biggest comeback of the tournament (and why not? A bunch of other records were about to be broken as well).

They led by one with 10 seconds left in the game. But the Wildcats pulled a last-second backdoor cut to move into the semifinals and avoid being on the wrong side of a record.

Despite their shortcomings down the stretch, the Golden Eagles are still in the Top 25. They are currently ranked 23rd in the AP Poll and 24th in the Coaches. Marquette hasn't fared the best against the Top 25 this season—they are 5-7—although something can be said for having only two non-Top 25 losses (Dayton and South Florida).

The Aggies, on the other hand, are yet to face a team in the Top 25, although they are 1-2 against RPI Top 50 teams and 4-3 against the RPI Top 100. Their biggest game came in their annual competition against Utah, where they won 66-64 and extended the home team win streak to seven years in that rivalry.

Despite this and their 11th seed, the Golden Eagles should not take the Aggies lightly. Senior forward Gary Wilkinson led Utah State in points and rebounds, which was enough to secure him the WAC Player of the Year award and honors to the All-WAC First Team. Junior Jared Quayle landed on the All-WAC Second Team, and Stew Morrill grabbed the WAC Coach of the Year Award.

Marquette grabbed some of their own awards in the Big East as well—senior guards Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews were named to the All-Big East First and Second Teams, respectively.

This should be a great game between two quality programs. Both teams have the ability to go deep into the tournament, so it's a shame that one of them has to get knocked out in the first round.

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Utah State	30-4	14-2	14-12-1	23	135	72.9	62.1
Marquette	24-9	12-6	14-13-1	35	47	78.8	69.5

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
Utah State	49.8	42.0	39.8	36.7	73.9	37.1	4.9	16.3	11.3	2.5
Marquette	45.6	44.9	34.9	35.0	72.0	37.9	8.1	15.5	11.7	3.0

Stats Leaders

	Utah State	Marquette
PPG	G. Wilkinson - 17.1	J. McNeal - 19.7
	J. Quayle - 12.9	W. Matthews - 18.4
	T. Wesley - 11.9	L. Hayward - 16.1
RPG	G. Wilkinson - 6.9	L. Hayward - 8.6
APG	J. Quayle - 3.7	J. McNeal - 4.0
SPG	J. Quayle - 1.4	J. McNeal - 2.1
BPG	T. Wesley - 0.8	J. McNeal - 0.6

Prediction

To see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread, please head over to The Sports Chat Place!

Syracuse-Stephen F. Austin: 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks ATS, March 20

Ryan Brennan — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:49:13 -0400

No. 14 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (24-7, 13-3 Southland) vs. No. 3 Syracuse Orange (26-9, 11-7 Big East)

NCAA Tournament First Round—South Region
Friday, March 20—3:20 PM EST on CBS

Preview

Stephen F. Austin won the Southland East conference regular season, and then made a run through the conference tournament to secure the automatic bid. This is the first trip to the Big Dance for the school.

For the Orange, this is their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 2005-06 season, when they last won the Big East Tournament.

They made it to the Big East finals of this season after playing seven overtimes in two games (a record six against UConn). They were clearly spent as Louisville ran away with the win.

The last time the Orange were a three seed was in 2003, when they won it all. Big East Tournament MVP Jonny Flynn will be hoping to repeat that achievement this year. Flynn was also named to the All-Big East Second Team this season.

While his teammates have not received the same sorts of accolades, they have been instrumental in Syracuse's success this season.

Andy Rautins is a three-point machine (he kept them in the game against UConn), and Eric Devendorf is a quality guard (he hit the would-be game winner against UConn at the end of regulation, but it was then taken away when the ball was deemed to still be touching him as time expired).

Paul Harris, who was a high school teammate of Flynn's, is averaging 12.6 PPG in the frontcourt, and he is joined by Arinze Onuaku (with 10.3 PPG) and Rick Jackson (with 8.1).

The two key players for the Lumberjacks reside in their frontcourt—Matt Kingsley is averaging a team-high 16.2 PPG and 7.8 RPG, and Josh Alexander adds 14.5 PPG and 5.4 RPG.

Kingsley was named as the Southland Player of the Year (in addition to being on the All-Conference First Team), and Alexander was named to the All-Conference Second Team.

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Stephen F. Austin	24-7	13-3	1-2	74	237	66.3	56.0
Syracuse	26-9	11-7	16-15	12	7	81.1	72.3

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
Stephen F. Austin	44.6	37.4	32.4	27.2	65.0	38.7	6.1	13.3	12.2	3.2
Syracuse	48.8	41.3	34.8	29.4	63.9	43.5	8.0	18.3	15.3	5.2

Stats Leaders

	Stephen F. Austin	Syracuse
PPG	M. Kingsley - 16.2	J. Flynn - 17.5
	J. Alexander - 14.5	E. Devendorf - 15.9
	E. Williams - 7.6	P. Harris - 12.6
RPG	M. Kingsley - 7.8	P. Harris - 7.9
APG	E. Bell - 3.6	J. Flynn - 6.7
SPG	J. Alexander - 1.1	J. Flynn - 1.5
BPG	M. Kingsley - 1.3	R. Jackson - 1.5

Prediction

To continue reading and for Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread, please head over to CBBPlace.com!

Bleacher Report - Articles by Ryan Brennan

Bleacher Report College Hoops Weekly Pick 'Em: Final Standings

UNC-Michigan State: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Championship Picks

UNC-Villanova: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Final Four Picks

UConn-Michigan State: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Final Four Picks

Bleacher Report College Hoops Weekly Pick 'Em: Week 20—The Final Four!

UNC-Oklahoma: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament South Region Elite Eight Picks

Louisville-MSU: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Midwest Region Elite Eight Picks

UConn-Missouri: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament West Region Elite Eight Picks

Pittsburgh-Villanova: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament East Region Elite Eight Picks

Pitt-Villanova: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Picks ATS, March 28

No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers (31-4, 15-3 Big East) vs. No. 3 Villanova Wildcats (29-7, 13-5 Big East)

NCAA Tournament Elite Eight—East Region Saturday, March 28—7:05 PM ET on CBS

Michigan State-Kansas: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 27

No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (28-6, 15-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (27-7, 14-2 Big 12)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—Midwest Region Friday, March 27—9:37 PM ET on CBS

Oklahoma-Syracuse: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 27

No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners (29-5, 13-3 Big 12) vs. No. 3 Syracuse Orange (28-9, 11-7 Big East)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—South Region Friday, March 27—7:27 PM ET on CBS

Pitt-Xavier: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 26

No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers (30-4, 15-3 Big East) vs. No. 4 Xavier Musketeers (27-7, 12-4 A-10)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—East Region Thursday, March 26—7:27 PM ET on CBS

UConn-Purdue: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 26

No. 1 Connecticut Huskies (29-4, 15-3 Big East) vs. No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers (27-9, 11-7 Big Ten)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—West Region Thursday, March 26—7:07 PM ET on CBS

Memphis-Missouri: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 26

No. 2 Memphis Tigers vs. No. 3 Missouri Tigers

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—West Region Thursday, March 26—9:37 PM ET on CBS

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks: South Region, March 27

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks: Midwest Region, March 27

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks: West Region, March 26

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks: East Region, March 26

Duke-Villanova: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, Mar. 26

No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (30-6, 11-5 ACC) vs. No. 3 Villanova Wildcats (28-7, 13-5 Big East)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Region Thursday, Mar. 26—9:57 PM ET on CBS

Bleacher Report College Hoops Weekly Pick 'Em: Week 19—March Madness!

Memphis-Maryland: NCAA Tournament Second Round Picks ATS, March 21

No. 2 Memphis Tigers vs. No. 10 Maryland Terrapins

NCAA Tournament Second Round—West RegionSaturday, Mar. 21—3:20 PM ET on CBS

Villanova-UCLA: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Second Round Picks ATS, March 21

UConn-Texas A&M: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Second Round Picks ATS, March 21

USC-BC: 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks ATS, March 20

No. 10 USC Trojans (21-12, 9-9 PAC-10) vs. No. 7 Boston College Eagles (22-11, 9-7 ACC)

NCAA Tournament First Round—Midwest Region Friday, March 20—7:20 PM EST on CBS

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament: Sleeper Teams for Your Bracket

West Virginia-Dayton: 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks ATS, March 20

No. 11 Dayton Flyers vs. No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers

NCAA Tournament First Round—Midwest Region Friday, March 20—3:00 PM EST on CBS

2009 Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Picks: Midwest Region, March 20 (Part 2)

Marquette-Utah State: 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks ATS, March 20

Syracuse-Stephen F. Austin: 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks ATS, March 20

No. 14 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (24-7, 13-3 Southland) vs. No. 3 Syracuse Orange (26-9, 11-7 Big East)

NCAA Tournament First Round—South Region Friday, March 20—3:20 PM EST on CBS

NCAA Tournament Elite Eight—East Region
Saturday, March 28—7:05 PM ET on CBS

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—Midwest Region
Friday, March 27—9:37 PM ET on CBS

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—South Region
Friday, March 27—7:27 PM ET on CBS

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—East Region
Thursday, March 26—7:27 PM ET on CBS

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—West Region
Thursday, March 26—7:07 PM ET on CBS

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—West Region
Thursday, March 26—9:37 PM ET on CBS

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Region
Thursday, Mar. 26—9:57 PM ET on CBS

NCAA Tournament Second Round—West Region
Saturday, Mar. 21—3:20 PM ET on CBS

NCAA Tournament First Round—Midwest Region
Friday, March 20—7:20 PM EST on CBS

NCAA Tournament First Round—Midwest Region
Friday, March 20—3:00 PM EST on CBS

NCAA Tournament First Round—South Region
Friday, March 20—3:20 PM EST on CBS