BODOG FINAL FOUR GAMBLING

Articles From WagerOnHoops.com
ABOUT Bodog Nation - Frontlines
A valuable resource for both novice and experienced gamblers alike, From the Frontlines offers an insider view into the day-to-day workings of the sportsbook industry. Open an account today over $20, and they'll reward you with a 20% cash bonus on your first deposit.

PLAIN AND SIMPLE. Our Sports Book Review rates Bodog.com as a top basketball betting sportsbook online.

Final Four Gambling: FINAL FOUR PREVIEW: Tigers Burning Bright

Shocking wins by LSU and George Mason makes this the most unlikely Final Four in years

Bet On The Final Four At Bodog Sportsbook

March 28, 2006

By Carlisle Richards
BodogNation Contributing Writer

Usually, the “madness” only strikes brackets in the early rounds.

Sure, teams from Never-heard-of-em University emerge as a tournament “Cinderella” early, but when the clock strikes Final Four there’s usually at least one No. 1 seed alive in the NCAA Tournament. Not this year.

March Madness has been particularly cruel to any bracketologist who attempted to plot a sensible path to the Final Four, picking only occasional upsets and surprises, making sure not to discount the elite teams. This year, that strategy was folly. For the first time in 26 years, no top seed will compete in the national semifinals while unlikely sleeper George Mason, a No. 11 seed, aims for history. The Patriots knocked off the top team in the Washington, D.C. Region and the Associated Press rankings, the Connecticut Huskies, in the Elite Eight to become the lowest-seeded team to reach the Final Four since LSU did it as an 11 seed in 1986.

Memories of those Tigers were evoked in Atlanta, where the current LSU team ousted powerhouses in No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Texas to earn the school’s first Final Four berth since that heralded run 20 years ago. Meanwhile, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Florida have put to rest any criticism that they were undeserving of their seeds by eliminating No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 1 Villanova, respectively.

What remains in the NCAA Tournament is a crapshoot for the NCAA Championship in Indianapolis. More than any other March, anything is possible this year.

“We still not satisfied yet. We got tapeworms in our belly. We wanna still eat.”

That’s what Glen Davis said. The LSU power forward, speaking to the Associated Press after his team eliminated Texas 70-60 in overtime on Saturday, isn’t satisfied with reaching the semifinals. And that’s scary news for UCLA, particularly Bruins center Ryan Hollins who will likely have to guard Big Baby.

The intensity and hunger that has possesed the Tigers throughout the NCAA Tournament can be directly linked to the outspoken Davis and the rugged LSU frontcourt. The 6-9, 300-plus-pound Davis has bulldozed his way to March Madness averages of 18.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

“Big Baby, he’s just a load down there,” Longhorns forward Brad Buckman told the AP. “Some of his moves are incredible.”

Davis shocked the Texas faithful in the Elite Eight with 26 points and nine rebounds (the Tigers were 3-point underdogs). He is also aided in the key by athletic freshman Tyrus Thomas, who has averaged 11.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in four Tournament games.

Their combination of power and athleticism has made them a difficult matchup. The Tigers’ interior offense and defense gives them a 3-1 record against the spread and has made them a reliable Under play with an O/U record of 10-21 overall.

“They’re going to be a tough matchup,” Buckman said to the AP. “I wouldn’t count LSU out against anybody.”

Next up for the Tigers is one of the premier programs in college basketball history. Like LSU, UCLA has kept its opponents below 60 points during the tournament and has been a strong Under play for most of the NCAA season with an O/U record of 12-21.

The strong defensive numbers for both squads says a low-scoring war is on the horizon.

“We have a lot of respect for UCLA and their tradition and what they did to get to the Final Four,” Davis said to the LA Times. “But we don’t worry that much about what it says on the front of another team’s uniform. We’re just going to go out and keep playing the kind of basketball we have been playing.”

When you’ve made it this deep in the NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 ATS record, should you still be considered a Cinderella?

“I think it’s been working for us, calling us Cinderella,” George Mason Patriots guard Tony Skinn said to the AP. “We were not supposed to get into the Tournament, we got into it. We were not supposed to beat Michigan State and we beat them. Weren’t supposed to beat North Carolina and we beat them. We definitely weren’t supposed to beat UConn. I think we’ll stick to the script going into whoever we play. We don’t mind being the Cinderella.”

No matter what people want to call them, the Patriots look to be for real and should not be overlooked by the Florida Gators. George Mason has gotten better the deeper they’ve gone into March, using its status as an unknown team from an unknown conference to catch big-league rivals off guard.

Against UConn, Patriots coach Jim Larranaga told his players that most of the Huskies didn’t even know which conference George Mason was in. The jab motivated the Patriots (8-point underdogs) to shoot 50 percent from the field in an amazing 86-84 victory over the No. 1 seed.

“I feel so good, through my own sadness, for Jim Larranaga,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said to the AP. “Playing at that level is not easy. I can only imagine the feeling they must have on that campus, in that locker room... It’s something they probably never imagined. We’ve imagined it, and we’ve done it. They could never have imagined it.”

The Patriots now need to re-focus as the Gators are ready to counter their strong outside shooting with a stout man-to-man defense. Florida is 4-0 against the spread in the tournament; the fact that the Gators have opened as 6-point favorites says that respect still hasn’t been earned.

PHOTO: Glen Davis has been lighting it up for LSU during the Tigers’ march to the Final Four (AI Wire photo).

All NCAA Basketball gambling lines and gambling totals subject to change; all times Eastern.

Start Gambling today On The Final Four At Bodog Sportsbook

* Preview No. 4 LSU Tigers (27-8) vs. No. 2 UCLA Bruins (31-6)

More Articles From Bodog