" NCAA Hoops: Saturday's Fall Out"

Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011 was an all day-all night affair for college basketball fans.  For those fans that decided to take my advice and attack these point spreads, it was a solid day overall. When the final horn sounded at the end of the night, I stood at 6-3. I'm not sure if it should have been better than that or not, so I've got mixed feelings. 

Of the three games I lost, only one (Kansas at -6.5), wasn't really close to covering the spread. Yes, the Jayhawks lost by 11, but I feel like I should have won that game since Kansas sprinted out to an 18-3 lead in the first four minutes at Phog Allen Arena. 

Although it is a 40-minute game, you usually like your chances when a team jumps out to that type of lead at home. Even more so when they have a 69 game win streak at home. Texas was just the better team today. They outworked, out-hustled, and outplayed Kansas in their own gym.

The other two losses are the games that have me thinking what could have been!  In the first game of the day,  I suggested taking Illinois (+3.5) against Ohio St.  It doesn't even bother me that Illinois had an eight point lead late in the second half.  I keep replaying the 3-point attempt by Illinois guard Demetri McCamey at the buzzer where he had the chance to steal me the point spread cover. 

The Illini were down five points with 3.5 seconds to go after two Ohio State free throws iced the game.  Illinois inbounded the ball to McCamey who drove the length of the floor and pulled up for three. Unfortunately, he hit the front of the rim and barely missed cutting the deficit to two points.  Oh well, at least he tried and gave me a run for my money, literally!

The other game that continues to eat at me is the Marquette debacle against Notre Dame.  Marquette at (+4) looked golden as they dominated play in the first half, sprinting out to a nine point lead at the half. 

Unfortunately, after scoring 45 points in the first half, they couldn't buy a bucket in the second half. Fittingly, they ended up losing by, yes you guessed it, five points.  Imagine that. 

Enough of the negativity.  There were six other games that went as planned, and left us with that winning feeling on the day.

Villanova (+6) against Syracuse was the easiest winner of the day, as they led wire to wire by double digits most of the day.  UCONN (-5.5) had to withstand a valiant effort from Tennessee in the first half before eventually pulling away late for an 11-point victory. 

Texas A&M (-5) wasn't easy over Kansas State at all, as Frank Martin had his team well prepared on the road.  With some clutch, late-game free throw shooting and key misses down the stretch by K-State, the Aggies pulled off an eight point victory. 

Florida State (-7.5) over Boston College was relatively easy, despite only a two point halftime lead for the 'Noles.  They quickly surged ahead after the break and coasted to a 16-point win. 

Then, I had Purdue (-6) eventually catch fire right before halftime against Michigan State.  Purdue was up between 10-14 points the entire second half and won by 10.  

To close out the night, I had Arizona (+3) at Washington State.  It looked really bleak early on as 'Zona was down 11 points out the gate.  The 'Cats clawed their way back in the game and hung around long enough to steal a two point road victory. 

So, there it is: a 6-3 day that feels like it should have been more like  7-2 or even 8-1. You live with the results and you move on to the next day with no regrets.

Sunday looks like a slow day for college basketball action.  I'll be taking a breather from the college hardwood to tune into something called NFL Championship Weekend. 

Check back with me Sunday night, I'll have something cooking in college hoops for Monday's action for sure.

Overall Season Record:  22-12