Friday Night Underdogs

After the 7th gimme Purdue layup rolled off the rim last night, I changed the channel. Very painful. On to Friday:

College Basketball

Arizona +9 +105, 2 units to win 2.1 units

No significant public consensus here, just a feeling that Arizona is getting a couple of extra points here because of the constant refrain you hear on ESPN of "they barely got into the tournament in the first place" and such. Louisville has not dominated its first two opponents (yes, they won by 20 vs. Morehead State, but only led by 2 at the half), and their free throw shooting has been horrendous (seriously, 50% combined in the first 2 games - I know 10-year-olds who can make half of them). At the very least, the future pros on the Wildcat roster have incentive to play hard and boost their draft stock. Chase "The Great White Hype" Budinger can't afford to fall any further, can he?

Syracuse +1 -102, 2.04 units to win 2 units

File this under if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I haven't been on the same side as the Cuse much this season, but they have often been overrated (or, at least, I thought so). Tonight, as the lesser seed and slight underdog, the tables may have turned to some degree. The teams that have had success against the Orange's 2-3 zone this year, not surprisingly, have been teams (Louisville, Villanova, Georgetown) who have several capable 3-point shooters on the roster. Oklahoma is not such a team. With nobody hitting from deep, the zone doesn't get stretched out, and Blake Griffin is going to be double and triple teamed all night. If it comes down to free throws at the end, Syracuse will need to make sure to keep the ball out of the hands of Onuaku and Jackson, but everybody else is solid.

NBA

Hawks +1 -104, 1.04 units to win 1 unit

Public likes the defending champs, even with KG still playing limited minutes, but the line isn't budging. After failing to beat the Magic, the Celtics may be on cruise control the rest of the regular season, but after last season's playoff series loss, this game probably still means something to the Hawks. We'll take the home dog.

Good luck everybody.