Posted on 3/20/2008 4:10:12 PM

XBOX NCAA TOURNAMENT ATS SPORTS BETTING SIMULATION PICK TIPS

By Mike Rose

SportsBook Simulation Opening Round @ Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

(12) Temple vs. (5) Michigan State: Temple looked to build off of its dramatic A10 Tourney Championship by taking it to the 5th seeded Michigan State Spartans in our BetUS sim. The game started off very slow as each club settled for low percentage shots from the field, and Over bettors were drinking heavily at the first media timeout with the score knotted up at 12 apiece. That said, the short break was exactly what each team needed to get its offenses going. Over the next eight minutes of play, the Owls and Spartans combined for 50 points and MSU found itself with a 47-43 lead at the break. After being relatively quiet in the first 20 minutes, Dionte Christmas blew up and scored 13 of the Owls 16 points out of the break. They managed to take a 3-point lead at the 5-minute mark, and this is when each club reverted back to its poor shooting to start the game. Neither club managed to dent the scoreboard for the next couple minutes as the score sat at 70-67 in favor of the Owls. With the Total already decided, the spread was still up in the air along with the SU winner. MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo called a timeout with a little over two minutes remaining, and whatever he said sparked the Spartans propelling them to go on a 6-0 run to retake the lead at 73-70. With less than 25 ticks left on the clock, Temple decided to go for the tie rather than extend the game, but missed. MSU eventually won by a 76-75 final count after the Owls last ditch shot for three fell true.

Final Score: Michigan State 76 Temple 75

(13) Oral Roberts vs. (4) Pittsburgh: The Panthers punched their tickets to the “Big Dance” with another fantastic run in the Big East Tournament, but didn’t take the floor with the same type of desperation in their first round match-up with the Golden Eagles. Maybe their heads got a little big from reading all their press clippings over the past week. Oral Roberts came out and set the tempo of the game immediately slowing it down to a crawl. It seemed like they had the 8-pass rule in play because no shot was taken with more than eight seconds left on the shot clock. This clearly had the Panthers off their game, and even big man DeJuan Blair felt the effects picking up his 3rd foul of the first half while trying to contain OR big man Shawn King. Shockingly, Oral Roberts held a 30-21 lead at the break. Head Coach Jamie Dixon had to cook something up to spark his club in the second half, but it just wasn’t to be. The Golden Eagles extended their lead right out of the gates and held a 42-28 lead at the 12-minute mark of the second half. Oral Roberts Head Coach Scott Sutton devised a brilliant game plan that took Pitt out of its comfort zone for a full 40 minutes. Looks like this 13 seed just ruined a number of people’s brackets!!!

Final Score: Oral Roberts 57 Pitt 52

(13) Winthrop vs. (4) Washington State: Looking to match the efforts of the other 13 seed that took the floor earlier in the afternoon, the Winthrop Eagles set out to take on the Wazzou Cougars as 9-point underdogs. The game started off almost like a carbon copy of the earlier game as Winthrop played stifling defense and got a couple of the Cougars best players into foul trouble early. However, the game was higher scoring as the teams combined for 66 points at the break with the Cougars holding a 4-point lead. That lead was wiped out completely to start the second half though, as Winthrop went on a 11-1 run to open up the second half of play and shockingly held onto it for the entire second half. Wazzou pulled to within 1-point at the 2-minute mark, but couldn’t come up with the big shot when they needed it most. Down six with under a minute to go, Cougar Guard Taylor Rochestie hit a desperation three to cut the lead to three, but Winthrop surprisingly converted on every one of its FT attempts to hold on for the 72-69 upset. This floor has now seen two 13 seeds advance on it, and ruin a number of people’s brackets in the process. Must be something with the thin air!!!

Final Score: Winthrop 72 Washington State 69

(12) George Mason vs. (5) Notre Dame: With two higher seeds already falling on this court earlier in the day, Notre Dame cautiously took the floor against George Mason making it a point not to overlook the Colonial champs. The Patriots already have a history for being a giant killer evidenced by their memorable run in the tourney a couple years ago. The game started off at a snails pace with each team feeling each other out at both ends of the court. Then Notre Dame forced the issue by going on a 12-2 run midway through the 1st half. They held a 13-point lead at the break as the combo of Kyle McAlarney outside and Rob Kurz and Luke Harangody inside were too much for the Patriots to contend with. Then all of a sudden, Folarin Campbell found his stroke from deep and bigman Will Thomas started to take advantage of the Irish once Harangody got into a bit of foul trouble. The score was tied at 61 apiece with less than 4-miutes to go, and that’s when Head Coach Mike Brey’s club turned up the heat. They ran off 8-points in a row before Mason converted from the field, but the lead was too much for the Patriots to overcome and the Irish were able to salt the game away from the FT line and hold on for the resounding win and cover.

Final Score: Notre Dame 78 George Mason 67

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