posted March 31, 2008 at 14:34 EST in March Madness Betting Trends

What a weekend! That game between the Davidson Wildcats and the Kansas Jayhawks was an absolute thing of beauty. First, I have to say that the play that Davidson coach Bob Mckillop drew up for the last shot was less than impressive. I won’t knock the guy because he did put his team into a position to upset a national powerhouse, but - - okay, I will knock him. Seriously, Bob, you could have tried something else! That other kid, the one not named Stephen Curry, Bryant Barr, was three for four behind the arc. Didn’t you see how the Chicago Bulls used MJ as a decoy for Jim Paxson to hit the three in the 1993 NBA Championship? Didn’t you?

That would have been something. Curry is returning to Davidson next year. Forget it. This team is definitely in the Top Ten for the entire season. They might secure a top one or two seed in the tournament. I need to write one more thing about the Kansas/Davidson game before shutting up about it. A shout-out goes to Brandon Rush. He wasn’t shooting the ball very well so Kansas coach Bill Self game him one job and one job only, stop Stephen Curry. He did. Rush ended up leading Kansas in the rebound department with seven boards. Great players adjust and do what they can to help their team win. That’s Brandon Rush.

Okay, one more thing about the Kansas win, it assured that all four number one seeds, for the first time in NCAA Tournament history, made it to the Final Four. I, for one, thought it was a big long-shot. If somebody had asked me to set odds for it happening, I would have had to make the odds somewhere around + 1000. I though Kansas was incredibly vulnerable. I thought Memphis was incredibly vulnerable. I though UCLA was a lock because of their draw and I though that NC had the second best chance to make it but still had to go through a tough Louisville squad - - which they did.

Kudos to all four teams - - in particular the Memphis Tigers who have looked every bit like the best team in college basketball in their last two games.

It’s time to look back at each individual game this past weekend - - yes, that includes Kansas/Davidson, so there’s more for me to write about those guys - - and figure out if we can discover anything important that will help us this weekend.

Xavier vs. UCLA - - The BetUS line was UCLA – 6. UCLA ended up winning 76 to 57. That’s + 13 against the BetUS spread. What to learn about this game? UCLA’s defense is fantastic. If they can get some offense against Memphis, then I love them. I absolutely love them.

Louisville vs. North Carolina - - The BetUS line was North Carolina – 5.5. NC ended up beating the Cardinals by 10 points. That’s + 4.5 against the BetUS spread. But it wasn’t real. Louisville was in the game until the last two minutes. They began fouling, the Tar Heels hit their free-throws, the Tar Heels ended up covering the spread. Things might be different come this Saturday.

Texas vs. Memphis - - The BetUS line was Memphis – 3.5 - - In hindsight this should have been an easy game to call. Too much emphasis was placed on Texas’s guard - - I was at fault as well - - and not enough on Memphis’s big men. Memphis is an excellent team. If they hit their free-throws there are very few teams in college basketball who can beat these guys. Maybe two - - UCLA or North Carolina. Memphis absolutely destroyed the BetUS line by beating the Texas Longhorns 85 to 67. That’s + 14.5 against the BetUS line. Still, this weekend they play that UCLA defense. It could be a different story for the Tigers.

Davidson vs. Kansas - - The BetUS line was Kansas – 9.5 - - I actually thought this was going to be a tough game for Kansas. The Jayhawks weren’t close to covering the BetUS spread. They won this game by two points. But Kansas did win this game. That says a lot about this team. It says that Kansas doesn’t have egos on their team as the leading scorer on Sunday, Sasha Kaun, comes off the bench. It’s also clear that Kansas will fight as hard as anybody in the tournament. I can’t wait to see the match-ups this Saturday in the Kansas/North Carolina game. It’s going to be something!

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