Ness Notes (March 20)
The NCAA field has been whittled down to just 16 teams and tournaments will resume on Thursday and Friday. For the ninth year in a row, Duke will be playing in the Sweet 16, with the next longest active streak of any school at just two! The ACC, the surprising MVC and the SEC have two schools in the Sweet 16, but the big winner is the Big East.
My free play is Louisville over Clemson on the NIT at 7:00 ET. I’m looking to bounce back from a bad NCAA weekend with a 15*NIT blast tonight in the college hoops. In the NBA, I follow my 20* GOY no Conf winner on the Nets with a 15* NBA mismatch as I look to continue my 62% NBA streak since Feb. 3.
After earning a record eight invitations to the Big Dance, Big East schools quickly went 0-3 on Thursday. However, the conference went 5-0 on Friday and 4-1 yesterday (Pitt lost), sending Connecticut, Georgetown, Villanova and West Virginia to the Sweet 16. The Big-10, the highest-rated conference according to RPI, saw ! all six participants are 3-6 over the weekend and will have no teams in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1996!
The MVC saw two of its four teams make it through the first weekend of the tournament. Wichita State (seeded 7) is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1981 and Bradley (seeded 13) has made it through the second game of this tournament for the first time since 1955, when only 24 teams competed.
George Mason (seeded 11) of the CAA beat Michigan State (LY Final 4 team) and North Carolina (defending champions), to become the first Sweet 16 representative from that league since Richmond in 1988! I have the next three days to recap the weekend and preview upcoming games.
The NIT resumes tonight with six second-round matches. Three of the four No. 1 seeds are still alive, as only Maryland has fallen, 87-84 at home in Manhattan on Saturday (as 12-point favorites!).
Home teams went just 4-4 SU (3-5 ATS) in the opening eight games, but went 14-2 SU and 11-5 SU in the 16 first-round games. Colorado, which lost 79-61 to Old Dominion last Wednesday, joins Maryland as the only SU losers in the first round at home.
ESPN broadcasts the Notre Dame/Michigan game at 7:00 ET. Michigan is one of the three remaining No. 1 seeds and won at South Bend on Dec. 3, 71-67. The Wolverines are favored by four points with a total of 144.
ESPNU airs Hofstra at St Joe’s (7:00 ET), a rematch of a NIT game last year. The Hawks beat the Pride last year in Philadelphia, 53-44. Hofstra’s 24 wins (now 25 after beating Nebraska 73-62 on Thursday) were the most of any school not invited to the NCAA. St Joe’s are favored by six points (133).
Louisville is the other No. 1 seed in action tonight, as the Cardinals host Clemson at 7:00 ET. Louisville struggled in its first season as a member of the Big East, but this year it is 13-1 in non-conference games. Cards are favored by 4 1/2 points (136 1/2).
Manhattan is at Old Dominion tonight (9:00 ET) and the Jaspers have the distinction of being the only one of the 16 teams that played in the first round that is still ‘alive’. Old Dominion is favored by nine points (144).
Over the weekend in the NBA, the Pistons split two games but still own the best record in the league at 52-13. The Heat won twice and now have won 15 of their last 16 goals going 45-21, still trailing the Pistons by 7 1/2 games.
The Nets defeated the Mavs on Sunday (100-89) and look safe for the No. 3 seed in the East. The Cavs have a three-game lead over the Wizards for the fourth seed in the playoffs (the last one with home-court advantage), but the Pacers and Bucks are only a half game and a game and a half behind Washington, respectively.
In the West, the Spurs beat the Suns on Friday night in their only game of the weekend and, along with losing the Mavs on Sunday, took a half-game lead in the Southwest Division and in the overall standings. of the Western Conference (52-14). to 52-15).
The Suns (45-20) lead the Clippers by 7 1/2 games in the Pacific and the Nuggets look like a piece of cake to capture the third seed by winning the weak Northwest. Right now, the Mavs look like the fourth seed, despite their great record.
Tonight’s NBA card features just four games. The Pistons, who are just 1-7-1 ATS in their last few games, host the Hawks at 7:35 ET. Detroit is favored by 13 1/2 points (194). The Lakers are also in Boston to take on the Celtics at 7:35 ET. There was a time when this was an “event” but not anymore.
LA enters with a three-point loss to the Nets (Friday) and a one-point loss to the Cavs (Sunday), leaving them at 34-34 (tied with the Kings for last place in the West playoffs). Boston is just 28-39 on the year and 3 1/2 games out of last playoff spot in the East. The Celtics, who beat the Lakers 112-111 in Los Angeles on Feb. 26, are 2 1/2-point favorites (202 1/2).
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