Vegas veteran Benjamin Eckstein, author of America’s Line, brings three decades of experience to produce weekly selections in his”Ecks & Bacon” column.
Final Four picks
LAS VEGAS — Can’t remember which one of those 279 websites where I read this, but this is actually the first time in 31 years that among the so-called Blue Bloods will not be in the Final Four. We’re talking North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, UCLA and Louisville. That is THIRTY-ONE Decades! WOW!
Now for the winner of this first game on Saturday between Virginia and Auburn. Speaking of Blue Bloods, Charles Barkley’s Tigers beat Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky, back to back to back, to make it to their first EVER Final Four. This was VERY impressive. And the previous W against Kentucky was WITHOUT one of their best players, Chuma Okeke. Auburn rumbles into the celebration on a 12-0 straight-up PERFECTO and has covered eight of the last 10.
Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers come in with an impressive resume as well, winning 13 of the previous 14, but contrary to the spread, the’Hoos have managed to cover only three of the previous seven. Not calling for the outright upset, but would purchase the hook, push the lineup to +6, and watch Sir Charles cry on national TV. Crying since, as all of us know,” Barkley is a ferocious coral sports betting bettor, and he’ll be over Auburn plus the points.
In the nightcap, we are gonna roll with Texas Tech +2.5 points over Michigan State. Of course, we’ll purchase the hook and drive Tech to +3. What else can the Red Raiders do? They rolled to the Sweet 16 against the second-best defensive group in school hoops, Michigan, and blew the Wolverines off 63-44. Then they looked at the daunting task of facing the NUMBER ONE offense in the Nation in the Elite Eight, Gonzaga. You believe the Raiders were nervous? Nah. They held the’Zags into ONLY 69 points, nearly TWENTY points under their season average of 87.6.
What about any other matchups using all the Big Ten? Gotcha. Besides the Michigan game, Tech stomped on Nebraska 70-52. More? OK. TT has won 13 of the last 14 up, covered seven of the last eight, and steps onto the court in Minneapolis working within an 8-0 spread PERFECTO on the street. It ain’t gonna be easy, but we’re backing the beard, Chris Beard!!!
NBA select For your wagering pleasure, here are your disperse stats of this day. The Nuggets might not grab the Warriors for the top seed in the Western Conference, but you know they are gonna bring some heat to this ESPN matchup from the Blazers. Denver continues to be around a sweet roll, winning nine of the past 13 straight up, but against the spread, the Nugs have covered only four of the last 12.
They’ve been stingy with points permitted and have gone UNDER at 10 of the last 12 games. Portland brings a similar portfolio into the dining table, winning eight of the previous nine straight up, but have done WAY better against the spread, covering four of their previous five. Looking at the big picture, the Nuggets’ in general spread log sits at 40-38, 24-15 at house and 29-26 as a favorite. The Blazers’ overall spread markers is 44-33-1, 21-18 on the street and 13-15 as an underdog. Light tickle to Portland.
NHL select Skating on the NHL ice, and got a drama on the Rangers into the Blue Jackets.
PLZ struck me Twitter over the weekend, @vegasvigorish, only if anything pops.
Benjamin Eckstein is a nationally syndicated sportswriter/oddsmaker. His column, America’s Line, together with all the Ecks & Bacon appetizer, has run in the New York Daily News and above 100 other newspapers since 1988. It is possible to follow him online at www.americasline.com. He is beloved by most, when he picks winners, and detested by others, when he picks the occasional failure. If you wanna piece of Eck, hit his email…ben@americasline.com.
Celebrity Fails
