HEAVYWEIGHT MATCHUP IN TAMPA | NIT CLASH IN CLEVELAND

* POWER-6 CONFERENCE TEAMS BATTLE IN TAMPA FOR SWEET-16 BIRTH
* COMPELLING MID-MAJOR FACE-OFF IN CLEVELAND w/NIT QUARTERS AT STAKE 


After a forgettable opening day, we rebounded for 2 of 2 plays to pull w/in 1 of even
Lesson Learned

NCAA TOURNAMENT | ROUND #2
Sat Mar 19 | 2:14 PM, EDT | CBS-TV
St. Pete Times Forum | Tampa, Florida

7 UCLA BRUINS 23-10 | 13-5 Conf (17-16 ATS)
2 FLORIDA GATORS 27-7 | 13-3 Conf (15-15 ATS)

Power-6 Conference Matchup between 2 Big, Strong Teams

Bruins survived trademark Free-Throw Weakness
To outlast Michigan State 78-76 in Round One

UCLA led Sparty by 23 Points after 32 Minutes of dominant Play
UCLA Lead shrank down to just to 1-pt under one minute to play

Bruin FT Futility may not work well vs Florida
UCLA will be exceedingly unlikely to toe FT Line 47x vs Fla
Florida #1 SEC, LEAST FT's Allowed (15/Gm)

Genuinely looks like nearly every UCLA edge
Is countered w/a superior Florida one

UCLA SIZE: #22 Biggest in D-1
FLORIDA SIZE: #11 Biggest in D-1

UCLA 6-10 | 311 Fr JOSH SMITH
Had his way in PAC-10 all year, w/no real Post Defenders 
Also fared well vs MSU Post-Players (14 & 10)

SMITH (& 6-8 | 225 Soph Reeves Nelson)
Have not battled Post Players of Fla Stature

FLORIDA FRONTLINE:
ALL SENIORS - ALL STURDY & FFORMIDABLE
SEC-TESTED, LONG-LEAN-MEAN FRONT LINE

• FLA 6-10 | 245 Sr MACKLIN
• FLA 6-9 | 222 Sr PARSONS
• FLA 6-9 | 221 Sr TYUS

Then, there is the matter of Fla Frontcourt

• Fla 6-2 Soph Boynton
• Fla PG 5-8 Jr Walker

14 & 15 PPG Starters  

FLA'S TOP-3 SCORERS ALSO BRING SUPERB ASST| T-Over Ratios
(1.7 | 1.7 | 1.6)
UCLA IS QUITE WEAK IN THIS AREA
(0.7 | 1.1 | 0.9)

FLA MAY BE MOST COMPLETE STARTING 5 WE'LL FIND
FLA STARTED SAME 5 FOR ALL BUT 2 GMS

Fla's Stats look like Az
(from Efficiency Standpoint)
YET...
FLA is 11th BIGGEST D-1 TM in D-1
(Az is Exactly Avg)
FLA has Experienced Sr Starting Leadership
(Az is Lacking here, no Sr's on Tm)

UCLA IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO 3-PT TMS
Fla is above avg
Yet remarkably consistent during their current 8-1 ATS Run:
LAST-8 GMS: FLA 7+ MADE THREE'S/GM

In Game w/Fla, Teams must be deep
Since Fla Picks up 5th Most FTA in D-1

FLA BENCH AVG 20 PPG last Half of Season
UCLA BENCH: 5-17 FG (0-4 DEEP) last Gm (9 Pts)

So many stats support Fla here
& Warrant a Gator Dark-Horse Nat'l Title Pick

Moreover, I sincerely believe UCLA is highly error prone
Florida's Meat-Grinder Game is Taylor-made to draw PF's on
UCLA's Josh Smith & Reeves Nelson

UCLA has also opportunistically feasted
On slumping, or unmotivated Teams last Half of this season
Florida is neither
Gators are a good deal better than UCLA
In nearly every key Bruin point of strength

FLORIDA SHOULD ROLL

2 UNIT
UCLA 
FLORIDA -5
_____________________

National Invitational Tournament
Sat Mar 19, 2011 | 2:05 PM, EDT | ESPN-U
Cleveland State University Convocation Center | Cleveland, Ohio

6 COLLEGE-OF-CHARLESTON COUGARS 25-10 | 14-4 Conf (18-13 ATS)
2 CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS 27-8 13-5 Conf (15-16 ATS)

This should be a highly entertaining game in about 9 hrs
C-O-C Goudelock had his MONSTER game to presumably close out his Home Court Career
39 PTS (8-15 Deep)
C-O-C Rolled 3 SEED, Dayton 94-84

For a good number of reasons, I like Cleveland State here
C-O-C is so hot & cold
Mostly cold on the Road
Cougars have lost 5 of 6 on Road
To some real dogs in Conf
On top of all this
C-O-C may not have busted out of Scoring slump w/ONE Good Gm
Cougars as #5 D-1 Scoring Tms
Had passed 70 Pts just 1x in previous 6 Gms (& that was at Hm also)

Cougs have whittled bench play to practically nothing lately
C-O-C Bench Last Gm | 2 Players | 4 of Cougs 94 Pts
29 Minutes Total (2-11 FG)
Tough to muster this effort again

CLEV ST plays quite good at Home (17-2)
Calculated play

1 UNIT
COLLEGE-OF-CHARLESTON
CLEVELAND STATE -5

After Favorites ruled Day-1, more wagers that they will continue.
More to come...just in case this is being read....lol