Thursday's Opening Round Smackdown !!

Keith · #1 03-17-2009, 07:52 PM

going to be out of town on Wed. and a good part of Thursday, so I am posting now.

First the re-cap. Had a really nice run the past 3-4 weeks, going 20-10-1 for my last 31 posted plays

. Hope to keep it going right through the Big Dance. There are a few games I like for Friday (especially Utah State), but I'll be back before then. But for the entire Thursday slate, only 1 game really jumps out at me.

For Thursday, I am going to take the Oklahoma Sooners to massacre Morgan State. I will lay the 16.5 points. Here's why:

First of all, is there a 2 seed that is getting LESS talk out there than Oklahoma ?? Blake Griffin is back, and he is going to lead this team deep into the tourney. Oklahoma was 27-5 on the year, with an RPI of 6 (!!!). They average 79.2 points per game, with a field goal percentage of 48.9 (again !!!). They shoot a respectable 68.1% from the free throw line. Let's try something here. What do all of these teams have in common: Purdue, Utah, Va. Comm., Texas, Okla. State and Texas A&M ??? Answer---they are all tournament teams that lost to Oklahome this year.

Meanwhile Morgan State won the MEAC, but they weren't even the best team in the conference ! They were 23-11 on the year, but with an RPI of 133. They average only 67 points per game, with a very weak 42.4% field goal percentage. From the free throw line, they are a mediocre 65.1%. OK--now let's take another quiz. What do THESE teams have in common ? St. Francis (PA) (RPI 323), Florida A&M (RPI 306) and Hampton (RPI 249)?? Answer---they are all teams that beat Morgan State this year !!

This one is going to be an old-fashioned butt-kicking. Sooners roll by 20+ points.

Thursday's play is Oklahoma -16.5 points.

P.S. Good luck fellas. I'll be back late in the day on Thursday. Someone give me a bump (or two) between now and then. Thanks guys.