March Madness Update Part II: Who’s Looking Good in the Big Ten, Pac 10, and Big East?

It’s time for NCAAB betting fans to take a look at a few of the key conferences to determine which teams actually have a shot to not just get into the NCAAB Tournament but to also make it all the way to the 2010 Final Four.

I already gave an update on the ACC, SEC and Big 12. Today, its time to take a look at the Big Ten, Pac 10 and Big East.

Let’s get to it!

NCAAB Tournament Update Part II

Big Ten

Who’s better? Purdue at 15 and 3 or Michigan State at 15 and 3? How about neither? The truth is that the team to watch from the Big Ten is the Wisconsin Badgers. They lost to the Spartans by 8 points in early January, but beat Purdue at home by 7 points just three days later. They’ve also beaten the Duke Blue Devils this season which was a huge victory. Wisconsin allows teams to score 56.7 points per game on average against them. That’s not a lot of points. No team, absolutely no team, is going to want to face these guys in the tournament. They’re too frustrating.

After Wisconsin, the team with a shot to make the Final Four has to be Michigan State. I really like Purdue, but State has history on their side. They also have point guard Kalin Lucas and as good as Purdue’s front line is, everybody knows that success in the tournament comes down to guard play. Lucas will be the difference maker in this year’s tournament the way he was in last year’s tournament when Michigan State made it all the way to the championship game.

Purdue’s issue is that their assists do not come from their guards. Robbie Hummel, their terrific forward, led the team in assists in their last game with 5. Their top assist guy is Chris Kramer. Sure, he’s a guard but he only averages 2.8 assists per game. That won’t cut it into the tournament.

Pac 10

UCLA is at the bottom of the Pac 10 standings. Everybody knew that they were going to lose a lot after last season, but at the bottom? That makes absolutely no sense. It means that they’ve lost the recruiting battle with somebody. Oh, yeah…that somebody is ASU, Washington, California, USC and Washington State.

It’s surprising what’s going on in the Pac 10. The truth is that even though ASU is 14 and 5 and no doubt should make the NCAAB Tournament, they have no shot of making it to the Final Four. The Pac 10, which usually is one of the Top 3 college basketball conferences year in and year out, is absolutely horrid this season.

UCLA is 7 and 10 overall. Arizona is slightly better at 9 and 9. Oregon is 10 and 7. Stanford is 8 and 9. All four of those teams usually contend for the Pac 10 title and a trip to the NCAAB Tournament. Does anybody believe that ASU, Cal, USC, Washington State, or Washington, the teams from the Pac 10 that might, the key word being “might”, get into the NCAAB Tournament have a shot at winning it?


What happened to the Pac 10? Please somebody look into this! Did the entire conference get highjacked and replaced by a high school league?

Man, the Pac 10 is bad this year. Case in point…ASU barely beat San Diego State by 3 points, 55 to 52, in their second game of the season. In the words of Stan Lee, ‘Nuff said!
Big East
As always the Big East is going to put a ton of teams into the NCAAB Tournament. Few of those actually have a shot to make it all the way to the Final Four, however.
Villanova, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Georgetown, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, and probably Louisville should get in. St. John’s, Connecticut, Marquette and South Florida will be bubble teams. Yep, the Connecticut Huskies, especially now that coach Calhoun has taken a leave of absence, could find themselves in the NIT towards the end of this season.
So, out of the eight likely teams to get a berth which ones figure to make a run to the Final Four? Only two of them, Villanova and Syracuse.
‘Nova coach Jay Wright plays a three guard line-up. Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Reggie Redding are all fantastic players with Fisher leading the team in assists and Reynolds leading the team in points. The Wildcats made it all the way to the Final Four last year and are destined to do the same this year because they are that good. With a 16 and 1 record, the Wildcats are proving to be as good as any team in college basketball this season.
So is Syracuse, by the way. The Orangemen are 18 and 1 and absolutely demolished North Carolina earlier in the season. They did lose to Pittsburgh by 10 points 82 to 72 at home, but I have no doubt that they will prove to be better than Pitt this season and have the right mix of guards and front line players to make a serious run to the Final Four.
What’s wrong with Pittsburgh, Georgetown, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Louisville and Cincinnait? West Virginia may not be as good as they seem at times and Syracuse already beat them on the road. Pitt, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Louisville all are good enough teams to make a run, but you can’t pick them all and the Big East is so competitive that invariably only two teams, possibly three, make it all the way to the Great Eight with a shot at the Final Four.
Those two in my opinion are definitely Syracuse and Villanova. The third team? Possibly Pittsburgh who has the terrific Ashton Gibbs at guard.

This information is provided in partnership with BetUs Sportsbook

More ...

Bet on NBA Basketball at BetUs Sportsbook

Join BetUs Sportsbook

Get Guaranteed Premium Winning Selections from the World's Top Documented Professional Handicappers at The Professional Handicappers League at ProCappers.com!