Are You (your bracket) Still Alive?

By Dan Rodgers

The NCAA has been thoroughly entertaining thus far. Most of the games have been competitive and that is what most people want. However, I have a bracket, and even though my champion has been long gone, I can still tie for first place. If you go back and look at my bracket, I have Missouri beating Louisville in the Elite 8. If only I had chosen Louisville instead...haha.

I was working all day yesterday, so I didn't have time to post my picks, but I did like Louisville to win outright, and I already have Ohio State in my Final Four so clearly I liked them as well. Today we had Kentucky do work against Baylor, so I have another Final Four team correct. UNC is the other team (I have them in the championship), and they are tied with Kansas at halftime.

Anyway, on to the NBA...

Utah Jazz @ Atlanta Hawks -1 = This is an interesting game. Utah is not a good road team and Atlanta is a good team even though they haven't been playing great. They are at home and there is no reason they shouldn't win outright. The Hawks have won three in a row and just seem to do enough to win the game. Meanwhile, even with wins in their last two road games, Utah is a terrible 7-16 on the road this season. CORRECT - it took four overtimes to get it done, but the Hawks did as expected.

Memphis Grizzlies @ L.A. Lakers -6.5 = The Lakers are 20-3 at home this season. The Lakers have won seven of their last 10. Kobe Bryant is the best scorer in the NBA (28.5 ppg). The Grizzlies have lost three in a row. The Grizzlies are 9-14 on the road this season. The Grizzlies lost last night in the same building to the Clippers by 16. These are all of the statistics I have come up with to enforce my decision of picking the Lakers tonight. INCORRECT - The Lakers played crap defense the entire night and Kobe got benched even though he had a solid shooting night.

Enjoy tonight's games. The Heat play in Oklahoma City tonight and it should be a great game.

Rodgers That

So far so good

By Dan Rodgers

Well, I'm perfect thus far with my bracket. UNC-A made it interesting against Syracuse, but the Orange came out on top. Murray State absolutely owned Colorado State as I predicted. There is nothing tonight that I like as much as I liked Murray State.

Kansas State/Southern Miss is the only game that you could have gotten wrong. The other games have included relatively high enough seeds so that you shouldn't have gotten any wrong.

Long Beach State vs. New Mexico is the game to watch right now. LBSU is up by two with a few minutes left. There is usually a 5/12 upset so this could be it. New Mexico separated themselves with some free throws at the end and won by seven.

I think Gonzaga should beat West Virginia and since that spread is only Gonzaga by one point, you aren't really risking much besides picking the Zags to win straight up. CORRECT. There should be some great games the rest of the night, so if I were you, I would just sit back and enjoy them.

However, when it comes to the NBA there is one game I like.

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Utah Jazz -2.5 = The Jazz are 15-6 at home this season, and even though Minnesota is a solid road team, I don't think they can overcome Utah at home. Utah knows they need to stay solid and get some wins if they want to make the playoffs so they should take care of business at home like most teams. CORRECT

Rodgers That

No CBB Tonight... But We Still Have the NBA!

By Dan Rodgers

I know I've been struggling in my NBA picks recently (a pathetic 3-7 in my last 10), but I feel a turnaround tonight. We don't have any college basketball tonight as the brackets are all set and the first batch of play-in games is tomorrow, as well as the NIT.

There are a few NBA games that caught my eye and here's my take on them:

Milwaukee Bucks -3 @ New Jersey Nets = I know that I've been getting killed by taking road favorites, but I think this is a rare exception. The Nets are one of two teams (Hornets) that tend to play better on the road. New Jersey only has four wins at home, while 10 have come on the road. Like just about every other NBA team, Milwaukee plays better at home, but they've won two in a row, three of four, and put up 100+ points in three straight games. Ersan Ilyasova is playing lights out for the Bucks as they try to get by without Andrew Bogut. Ilyasova had 29 points and 25 rebounds in Milwaukee's last game against New Jersey. The Nets are coming off another home loss and will be without Mehmet Okur, Brook Lopez and possibly Deron Williams. CORRECT

Charlotte Bobcats @ New Orleans Hornets -7 = I know this is a huge spread between two terrible teams. I also know that I just spoke poorly about the Hornets at home, but they are playing the Bobcats! The Hornets look to put get their third two-game winning streak of the season, while Charlotte has lost three straight (including a 27-point beat-down handed out by OKC). I don't see any reason for the Hornets to not continue to build confidence and look for Chris Kaman to have another solid game in the paint. INCORRECT - one of the worst basketball games you will have ever seen...

Washington Wizards @ San Antonio Spurs -14 = The last time I picked against the Wizards they won outright. However, they are on the road against one of the best teams in the West so I just don't see that happening. The Spurs, who will be getting Tony Parker back, look to rebound from a 120-108 loss to the Clippers and the Wizards are a good team to get your act together against. I expect a very complete game and a solid defensive effort from this veteran San Antonio team. CORRECT - WOW! What a nail-biter...

Detroit Pistons @ Utah Jazz -6.5 = This is an interesting game because the Pistons have somehow won three in a row (all at home). The Jazz are coming off back to back road losses and find themselves on the outside looking in for the playoff race in the West. Utah is a damn good home team (14-6) and even though the Pistons are playing well, they might just be what the doctor ordered considering how terrible they are on the road (3-15). Expect a big night from Millsap who has is averaging a double-double in his last few games against Detroit. CORRECT

Enjoy the games tonight and make sure to fill out your brackets!

Rodgers That

CBB Lite

By Dan Rodgers

Today there aren't too many games, but a lot of the games are good ones. I'm going to start with Memphis. They play the smoking hot Marshall.

Marshall @ Memphis -12 = The Thundering Herd destroyed Southern Methodist and beat Tulsa in three overtimes before a convincing 9-point win over Southern Miss. A lot of people are picking Marshall because they are so hot, but I think they are going to run out of gas. I expect them to hang with the Tigers early and for Memphis to pull away in the second half. The Tigers are also hot, and playing at home. Memphis has won six in a row, all by double digits, and is shooting lights out this season (fifth in nation in FG%). CORRECT

I'll be back in a bit and post more games...

I like Ohio State, Michigan didn't play very well yesterday. The 7.5 is a bit high, but the pick would definitely be them - CORRECT. I also like Missouri (-3) over Baylor.

Colorado vs. Arizona -3.5 = The Wildcats beat the Buffaloes by 14 in the regular season. I think they are clearly the better team and couldn't believe that the line was so low. I don't have much else to say other than I think Colorado much struggle offensively. I think this is an easy win. INCORRECT

Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt -6.5 = Vandy destroyed Ole Miss by 26 in the regular season. They are coming off of a 22-point win over Georgia, and I can't figure out for the life of my why this line isn't bigger. I don't see any reason why Vandy doesn't give us a repeat performance for an easy win. CORRECT

I'm going to try to hit a sweetheart teaser because the lines work so well:

NC State vs. UNC -1 = Bringing this line down to one is what makes this so damn appealing. The Wolfpack has been playing well recently but I don't see anyway they can beat UNC. The Tarheels are smoking right now and looking to leave no doubt that they deserve a No. 1 seed in the tournament. CORRECT

Massachusetts +11.5 vs. St. Bonaventure = UMass has just been playing really well the last few games and I don't see this one turning into a blowout. I'm not too well versed on these two A-10 teams, but getting 11.5 after UMass beat the Bonnies outright earlier in the season sounds good to me. CORRECT

Wisconsin +12 vs. Michigan State = I usually don't like picking against the Spartans because they are such a dangerous team. However, the Badgers have been playing incredibly well as of recent and I think their tough defense will keep them in this game. INCORRECT - The Badgers cut the lead to 11 with 20 seconds left and for some reason felt the need to foul. MSU made both to make the lead 13. Wisconsin missed a three and a layup after getting the offensive rebound... a very brutal way to lose.

I'll be back later with some NBA.

There isn't much I like in the NBA tonight, because all of the bad teams are on the road playing good teams and the spreads are huge.

Utah Jazz @ Chicago Bulls -11 = I know this is a big spread, but I made a play against the Jazz last night and it paid off. As I said last night, Utah is an awful road team and they lost by 13 in Philly yesterday. There is no reason for them to not be dominated again tonight by the Bulls. CORRECT

Also, I like the UNDER 197 in the OKC/Charlotte game. Charlotte has trouble scoring anyway and five of the Thunder's last seven games have gone under. INCORRECT

Rodgers That

Better Lucky Than Good

By Dan Rodgers

Unfortunately, my early teaser didn't hit yesterday because Wake decided to suck while Maryland decided to have their best game of the season. Toledo was closer than I thought but that backdoor three was awesome and felt great after an iffy day.

Only one late game sticks out to me tonight in college basketball:

Missouri -5.5 vs. Texas = I know people say it's tough to beat a team three times in a season (Missouri won both regular season matchups), but the Tigers are a much better team than the Longhorns. Texas surprisingly beat Iowa State yesterday and Missouri destroyed Oklahoma State. I just think that the Tigers are hoping that winning the conference tourney (which would most likely mean beating Kansas) would earn them a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. CORRECT

I haven't done very well nor had much of an opinion of the recent NBA games but tonight that changes.

Utah Jazz @ Philadelphia 76ers -6.5 = This spread is way off in my opinion. Now, I haven't been completely on but most of the teams have been on the road. Philly is at home and Utah is a bad road team (5-13). The 76ers are coming off of a 32-point victory of the Celtics and there is no reason the same won't happen here. CORRECT

I also like the Celtics at -3 and Oklahoma City is a huge favorite at -13 but I think they can get it done at home. (Celtics destroyed but Oklahoma City got embarrassed and lost outright. )

Rodgers That

NBA trades shake up league

By Dan Rodgers

A few notable trades, other than Melo to the Knicks, took place before the deadline. The most notable of those other trades was probably former-Jazz PG Deron Williams being traded to the New Jersey Nets. In return, the Jazz received PG Devin Harris, rookie forward Derrick Favors, a 2011 first-round pick, a 2012 first-round pick (via Golden State) and cash considerations.

I think the Jazz absolutely destroyed in this trade. The Nets needed a star because they didn't win the Melo sweepstakes so they settled for Williams. The Jazz were smart enough to realize that Williams probably wouldn't have re-signed with them when his contract is up in 2012.

Devin Harris is a solid guard and Favors is a rookie so it can't hurt to take a chance on him. The draft picks are always good to pile up because you have to replenish the talent pool and there is nothing wrong with cash.

Other trades include Charlotte sending Gerald Wallace to the Blazers for bench players and draft picks. Boston also sent Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstis and a draft pick.

Melo and Deron Williams were the high-profile players to change teams but players like Harris, Wallace and Perkins can be important to a teams success. We'll see how much of an impact they have on their teams since all are playoff bound.

Rodgers That