Blue Devils V. Tar Heels in 2011 – 2012 ACC NCAA Basketball This Season?
Once again in the top-heavy ACC toughest competition will be North Carolina Tar Heels and their hated rivals, the Duke Blue Devils led by the all-time win leading college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. With these two behemoths in the ACC which other teams stand a chance to compete in the conference?
You can’t count out the Maryland Terrapins’ Mark Turgeon who replaced Gary Williams and the Florida State Seminoles team to be full of surprises. The top half of the ACC will dominate the bottom feeders but this year could be wide open in the ACC for the most part. The five teams listed below will come out of this conference and play in the NCAA Tournament.
1. North Carolina Tar Heels
The #1 team in the country and with good reason is the Tar Heels. With another year of experience under their belts Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes all by themselves, will dominate teams this season.
2. Duke Blue Devils
Shooting from downtown or by pounding the ball from inside the Duke Blue Devils wil be able to beat teams. This season they should be very exciting to watch.
3. Miami
As a football town the pressure is on for the coach of the basketball program but Jim Larranaga experienced unexpected success with James Mason.
4. Maryland Terrapins
Although it may be tough legendary Gary Williams was replaced by Mark Turgeon and he will do better than many expect. In first try out of the box Turgeon should shock the ACC and get the Maryland Terrapins in the Big Dance.
5. Florida State
The Florida State Seminoles should make the tournament one more time and will win win 22-24 games.
If I were a betting man I certainly would be checking out the various sports handicapping sites prior to placing any bets on this conference this season.
Cornell Big Red vs. Kentucky Wildcats – Sweet 16 Preview
Thursday marks the start of the third round of the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament. Also known as the Sweet Sixteen, this is usually where the games start getting really interesting because there is so much on the line with each game. One of the most exciting games to watch this Thursday will likely be the Cornell Big Red vs. the Kentucky Wildcats.
The game will be aired by CBS Sports at the Carrier Dome and both teams will be looking to move on to the fourth round. Kentucky looks to be the favorite in the match with their stellar play as of late.
The Kentucky Wildcats played Wake Forest in the Second Round of the tournament and beat them by thirty points, 90-60. Darius Miller scored 20 points in that win DeMarcus Cousins had 19 of his own. Kentucky has been a joy to watch because you can tell that they have a lot of team chemistry and are having fun out on the court.
The Cornell Big Red come in as the underdog after upsetting Wisconsin in the second round. The top scorer of that game was Louis Dale with 26 while Ryan Wittman had 24 points to help out. They have some solid scorers and are a legitimate outside threat.
The winner of this game will go on to play the winner of the Washington Huskies vs West Virginia Mountaineers in the Elite 8. Kentucky is 0-1 versus Cornell all-time, but their lone game came in the 1966-67 season.
Look for the Cornell Big Red to give the Kentucky Wildcats a hard time. If Dale and Wittman can land their three pointers they could possibly outplay Cousins and Miller and walk away with the win.
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes – Sweet 16 Betting Preview
The Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men’s College Tournament is always full of surprises and big upsets, and Friday should be no exception. One of the key match ups in the third round is the Tennessee Volunteers vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Tennessee Volunteers have had a tough year so far this season. They lost Tyler Smith to a dismissal, and he was likely going to be the best player on the team. On top of that, they have had multiple suspensions and other problems on the team
Even with all of these setbacks, the Tennessee Volunteers have been able to step it up and have made it to the third round of the tournament. They have utilized the entire team to be able to make it this far into the post season.
Wayne Chism has played a big leadership role on the team, but every player has been able to step up offensively and especially defensively. They have kept their two opponents shooting below .382 from the field.
The Ohio State Buckeyes come in as the number 2 seed and are heavily favored to win this game. With Evan Turner leading the way, the team battled it out for third place in the Big Ten Conference. Turner has also showed he can be clutch with him making a long three ball in order to beat Georgia Tech on Sunday. He scored 29 points and had nine assists and nine rebounds in that win.
The only problem for the Ohio State Buckeyes is their lack of depth on the bench. This could be a factor to keep them from going too much farther in the tournament.
2011 Preakness Stakes Picks And Predictions
Entering the Kentucky Derby, Mucho Macho Man, like the rest of the field had high hopes. Finishing third at the first leg of the Triple Crown he managed to come through with a solid performance. Even though Mucho Macho Man figures to be a key figure in the quest for Animal Kingdom towards the Triple Crown, he may not have won the race as he would have liked.
Mucho Macho Man is one of the favorites at 5-1 in Preakness Stakes Odds.
By running the half-mile in 49 1/5 seconds, Mucho Macho Man had a great run at Belmont Park on the 17th of May. Although the horse ran well over the four furlongs anyway, the track wasn’t in great condition.
Throughout his most recent run, one of the encouraging things was that the horse was pretty steady. It appears that the horse could have an even better race at the Preakness Stakes than he did at the Kentucky Derby as he showed no signs of slowing down.
Animal Kingdom’s biggest rival might be Mucho Macho Man due to some recent changes in the lineup at the Preakness Stakes as he was the winner of the Kentucky Derby. Nehro has withdrawn from the Preakness, was the second place finisher at the Kentucky Derby. For the upcoming race Mucho Macho Man will likely start the Preakness Stakes as one of the favorites.
Reever Thoroughbred Racing and Dream Team Racing Stable is the owner of Mucho Macho Man. Rajiv Maragh ride the horse and the horse is the son of Macho Uno. In Pimlico, the Preakness Stakes will take place on the 21st of May.
To Honor And Serve Favorite To Win 2011 Kentucky Derby
The favored horses are all preparing to take part in the biggest race in the world for horse racing as the Kentucky Derby approaches quickly. To Honor and Serve is one of the horses that have recently gained a lot of momentum.
To win in Kentucky Derby Betting, To Honor and Serve is at 10-1 odds to win.
The momentum that To Honor and Serve has gained has not been because of his performance, to be honest. The horse has not raced for a month as he has been sidelined with a muscle strain for a while. As Calvin Borel will be the jockey for the horse in the Kentucky Derby, that is the reason why some people feel like the horse has a great chance.
In horse racing world Borel is seen as one of the best jockeys and he will have a solid race horse to work with. In the Florida Derby, a G1 race a month ago, To Honor and Serve placed 3rd as well as the previous 3 races that the horse participated in were G2 races. In those races the horse finished with 2 1st place finishes and a 3rd place finish.
The horse is trained by William I. Mott and owned by Live Oak Plantation. Even though there are doubts about whether or not the horse will be at full strength after suffering the muscle strain, Mott has trained the horse well.
If To Honor and Serve is able to show up to the Derby with good health, he should have a great chance at becoming the 2011 Kentucky Derby Champion as the field is thinned out from injuries.
Thursday Clash Between Los Angeles Angels And Boston Red Sox
In a game between teams that had very high expectations coming into the season, the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels will square off this weekend.
In MLB Betting, the Red Sox are at 7-1 and the Angels at 30-1 to win the World Series.
Only one of the teams has been coming through to meet their hopes while each team had high expectations prior to the 2011 campaign. While the Red Sox are 5-10 and in the cellar of the American League East, the Angels are 10-5 on the season and they are atop the American League West.
In a row the Angles have now won 5 games. Dan Harem and Jeered Weaver, two of their starters have carried a large share of the load this season. With an ERA that is among the best in the league each of the pitchers is 4-0 on the season. As Weaver is scheduled to start against the Rangers on the day before the series is set to begin, fortunately for Boston, they will only have to face Harem in this series.
In this series, the Red Sox will have Beckett, Lester, Matsuyama and Lackey taking the mound. Even though they have some experienced pitchers that may be able to turn things around, their pitching has been poor in many games this season.
Although on Monday he had a great outing against the Blue Jays and looks like he might be returning to form, Matsuyama had been terrible all season. if the Red Sox hope to win they will need their pitching to step up in this series. As long as they aren’t put in too big of a hole, their hitting should be able to take care of business.
Sunday Clash Between Los Angeles Lakers And Oklahoma City Thunder
On Sunday April 10, the Los Angeles Lakers will battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder as both finish out their seasons in preparation for the NBA Playoffs. Kendrick Perkins has already been talking trash in regards to Lakers big man, Pau Gasol and their coach Phil Jackson, who is the new addition for the Thunder.
In basketball betting Odds the Lakers are the favorite to win the NBA Championship this season at 9-2 whereas basketball picks have the Thunder at 15-1.
Perkins did not show Gasol much respect as he called him “soft” as well as he also called Jackson “arrogant.” When the two take the floor on Sunday it will be an interesting matchup. With the improved play of Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom off the bench, the Lakers have been a dominant team on the boards.
Even though Kobe Bryant has suffered his usual assortment of minor injuries, he has staved off major injuries this season. Bryant has continued to be the team leader and scoring leader of the Lakers in spite of his battle with the injury bug. Bryant is always known for turning it up a notch in the NBA Playoffs as he is averaging a little more than 25 points per game.
In the NBA Kevin Durant is still one of the best players who is flying under the radar in Oklahoma City. In the first round of the NBA Playoffs last year the Thunder gave the Lakers all they could handle as well as with the Lakers this year their acquisition of Perkins could lead them to a later NBA Playoffs battle.
This Sunday’s game will lay the groundwork for the 2011 NBA Playoffs as the Thunder are stronger this year and more seasoned.
Weekend Clash Between Kentucky Wildcats And Connecticut Huskies
This weekend the University of Connecticut Huskies will battle against the Kentucky Wildcats. Even though this game will be tough for either team, the winner of this game will have a shot at winning the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky is a 2-point favorite in Basketball Picks and College Basketball Odds.
In a preseason tournament these teams played earlier in the season. Nobody expected the Huskies to make the showing that they did as they were unranked. In order to grab the opportunity to play against Kentucky for the tournament championship they beat 2nd ranked Michigan State. The Huskies won the game by 17 points as the Wildcats simply could not contain Kemba Walker.
This season the Huskies have been excellent in tournament settings. En route to winning the conference tournament, they won their preseason tournament and beat ranked teams in a row. They can step up in big moments to win big games all season what they have proven.
Compared to any teams in the tournament, the Wildcats have had one of the hardest roads to the Final Four. The team managed to beat Princeton, West Virginia, Ohio State and the University of North Carolina to get where they are after winning their conference tournament over Florida. Certainly Kentucky has proven that they belong in this game.
The Wildcats look much better than they did at the beginning of the season as they have changed their offense to accommodate their players. Between these two teams this should be a very different game than the last matchup. As these teams leave everything on the court, look for this game to go to the wire.
Looking At – 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational
During March 21-27, the Arnold Palmer Invitational being held at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida, which will bring together one of the strongest fields of the year as most golfers use the event as a tune up for The Masters in early April.
Tiger Woods will attempt to find his swing on one of his favorite golf courses as he has committed to the event this year. Woods now plans on stepping it up a notch in the Arnold Palmer event as he finished tenth in his last event, the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. In PGA odds, Woods will no doubt be near the top of the favorites.
As Ernie Els won the event, Woods, a six time winner of the event, watched from home and as he looks to reclaim his No. 1 golfer in the world status, he has hopes of taking home his seventh trophy.
Ernie Els will be one of the favorites heading into the event as he will return as well to defend his title. Jhonattan Vegas and K.J. Choi will be the other golfers to watch on the Bay Hill course.
Jhonattan Vegas’ season has been magical to this point as he ranks third in the FedEx Cup standings. Vegas has a first and a third this early in the season as he has scored four top 25 finishes in eight tournaments.
Even though K.J. Choi is coming off of a seventh place finish in the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles he ranks 46th in the FedEx Cup standings. Although Choi has been better than average scrambling to save his shots, he has struggled with accuracy this year.
Vanderbilt Commodores Will Take On LSU Tigers This Weekend
This weekend the Vanderbilt Commodores will battle against the LSU Tigers. This Thursday, both these teams are playing in the first round of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and the game will be played in Atlanta, Georgia.
In comparing these universities, the Commodores are the far superior team. The Commodores are the 24th ranked team in the nation as they have managed to put together a great season. While playing in the SEC, they are 21-9 on the season and they have achieved a 9-7 record. This year, the Tigers have not been nearly as successful. They have been dominated in the SEC, winning just 3 of their 16 SEC games as they are just 11-20 on the season.
By putting a lot of points on the board, the Commodores manage to win. In terms of points per game at just under 77 points per game, they are the 27th best team in the nation. Because of their great field goal percentage, they are able to score so well.
Being a terrible shooting team, the Tigers are also a terrible scoring team. At just under 63 points per game they are just the 306th best team in the nation. At 40 percent they are shooting a terrible percentage. In terms of field goal percentage, they are the 311th best team.
The Tigers will really need a miracle if they hope to win as they are much overmatched in this game. If they have hopes to win they will need one of their top players to have an amazing shooting night.
