Friday, April 03, 2009

Final Four musings

We have good teams reaching the Final Four, with a lot of experienced coaches. Something is missing though and I can’t my finger on it. Yes, I am bummed that Pitt is out, but I do like this Villanova team. I was not really sold on this Louisville team. I picked them to win it all at the beginning of the year, then changed my mind, and then got back on board. That sums up Louisville; talented but inconsistent. Still I would have liked to have seen that high energy style play on. I am not a fan of Michigan State and they have proven me wrong all year. I just don’t like big 10 basketball and teams that rely heavily on defense. It is a good strategy to win, just does not make for good TV viewing. But, I like Izzo and they deserve to be there so I won’t complain.

Of course, I will be watching and have planned my day accordingly. I am taking the kids to the park at 5:45am for some good quality time and then I am “checking out”. Here are my thoughts on the game.

MICHIGAN STATE +4 vs. Uconn

The kiss of death. I have been a hater all year, and now I am on them? Here is why.
1) Izzo. This guy is the best coach in the land. He constantly gets his underachieving teams to the final four. Calhoun is great too, but I have more faith in Izzo.
2) Home game. The crowd will no doubt be a benefit to MSU
3) Sutton. He can and will shoot the 3 and likely pull Thabeet away from the basket. This will be a benefit to the rest of the Spartans.
4) Defense. As I stated above, it is boring, but effective. Uconn will surely have an advantage inside, but MSU has a deep bench and they will be prepared for this. Uconn however is not that great of a shooting team, outside of Price.

I think Michigan State wins. I will take the points and the MONEYline. I hate totals, but since there are only a couple of games, I will make a pick. Give me the under of 133.5.
Final score 65- 60 Michigan state

NORTH CAROLINA -7 vs. Villanova

The easy bet is to take Villanova and assume this is way too many points. But, like all other UNC games, unless the opponent wins, North Carolina is going to cover. They are too talented and can score too quickly. The only way they don’t cover, is if UNC is down over 10 at half time, and even then I would not put it past them to still hit the original number. Villanova will have to shoot great, which they have shown they can do. They are tougher than UNC and they possess the guard speed that will give UNC fits. However, UNC will have its way with Nova inside. I think this will be a close game throughout and it would not surprise me to see Nova up at halftime, but when it is all said and done, UNC will be meeting MSU in the final game. I will take the over in this game 158.5

Final score UNC 88 Villanova 78

Good luck!
Money

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