The Pittsburgh Penguins have become very accustomed to playing without their full complement of stars over the years and Tuesday night begins a new chapter in that troubling novel. Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely after getting his jaw broken against the Islanders – it`s a good thing for Evgeni Malkin and the newly acquired studs Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow!
Bounce- Back Minded Red Wings Host Struggling Avalanche Monday
The Detroit Red Wings will look to put forth a better effort than we saw against Chicago Sunday – a humiliating 7-1 home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks when they take on the Colorado Avalanche. The Wings had looked good before two straight losses while the Avalanche won last time out but are still just 2-8 in their last 10 games.
The final score of Louisville vs. Oregon probably didn’t tell the true story of the game. It looked kind of close but really the Cardinals were in control – no surprise.
NCAA Tournament – Midwest Bracket
#1 Louisville Cardinals (32-5) vs #2 Duke Blue Devils (30-5)
Sunday March 31
Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, IN
5:05PM
Moneyline: Louisville -175, Duke +155 at GTBets
Spread: Louisville -3.5
O/U: 137
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For bettors it was a disappointment as the Cards failed to cover for the first time in the tournament.
Now they square off against Duke, a team they lost to back in November…when they were missing center Georgui Dieng.
Guard Russ Smith was fantastic once again scoring 31 points even though he made just one three pointer. He made 12 of 14 from the free throw line showing the versatility to his game – I am not sure the Blue Devils have a good counter for him defensively.
It seems like every tournament game a new face steps forward for Louisville. Against the Ducks it was sophomore guard Kevin Ware, who more than doubled his seasonal average with 11 points.
To demonstrate how unlikely that was – it was his first double digit game since the first game of the season.
Louisville continues to roll and the fact that they did not beat Oregon by 20 probably makes them even more valuable in this one. They are playing great but you have to think that there are some who are going to see that loss to Duke and get on the Blue Devils to bring this one down further.
Let’s hope so.
I thought Friday night would be the end of the line for Duke. Michigan State fights you in a way that most teams don’t and I thought Duke wouldn’t be able to respond. I certainly did not see them being able to get the Spartans bigs off their games the way they did, holding them to 30% shooting from the field. [ad-6571516]
If they still have something left in their tank they are going to need it all to beat Louisville one more time and earn a trip to the Final Four.
Guard Seth Curry had a fantastic shooting game in leading the Dookies over MSU but I don’t see that happening against Louisville this time around. He was 3 for 11 in that early season victory, a game where center Mason Plumlee was the top scorer.
Plumlee will definitely find it harder this time around and the Blue Devils will likely need to get at least some production from their bench. In the victory over LU only 3 of 76 points came from subs.
It’s Duke so you can’t run your mouth off and say they can’t win…they almost always do. Still I think it will be much harder for them to do what they did again in this game.
Louisville is looking super hungry and their defense is better now than the last time they played.
It is hard to beat a team that good twice.
Spread Pick: Louisville -3.5
O/U Pick: Under
Score Prediction: Louisville 69 – Duke 62
Slumping Rangers Take on Old Nemesis Montreal Saturday Night
To say that the New York Rangers have been awful lately would be an understatement – 3-5-1- in their past nine games and clinging onto a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Now they head into Montreal against the Canadiens who won the first two meetings this season by a combined 6-1 score.
The Buckeyes win against Arizona followed the same blueprint as their win against Ohio State. They were outplayed by the Wildcats for stretches, let them back into the ball game late, all before hitting a game winning three with almost no time left on the clock.
It is a little bit odd that Duke beat Creighton by a greater margin than they did Albany. I thought the Blue Jays would be able to push Duke but they shot horribly in a very disappointing performance.
Kings and Blues Continue their Push for the Playoffs Thursday Night
Two teams holding down playoff positions in the Western Conference meet in a very important game Thursday night as the LA Kings, a winner last time out against the best team in the NHL Chicago take on the scuffling St. Louis Blues who have lost three of their last four games overall.
Two games in and the Cardinals have won by 31 and 26 points. If that pattern holds than they should beat Oregon by 21 and might not be challenged until the Championship game.
The Buckeyes escaped their third round game against Iowa State with a victory. In my opinion they were outplayed but a win is a win.
Headline: Disappointing Eastern Teams Try to Right the Ship – Rangers Visit Flyers
Two of the more disappointing teams in the Eastern Conference go head-to-head on Tuesday night with both searching for consistency along their uphill climb toward the playoffs.
I have long admired the Shockers program and I thought they would play well but I just didn’t see how they would beat Gonzaga. Even if they were able to shorten the game a little bit and play their guts out I still thought they would come up just a little bit short.
Slumping Kings Take on Suddenly Mortal Blackhawks
The Los Angeles Kings will attempt to snap a 126 minute streak without a goal on Monday night when they head to the Windy City to take on a Chicago team that is still miles ahead in the NHL overall standings but has three regulation losses in their last 10 games.
Ole Miss continued their spirited play, upsetting the Badgers in their opening round game of the tournament.
The Buckeyes were happy to let Iona set the pace and beat them at their own game, winning by 25 while scoring 95 points in their opener. Don’t let that number fool you as they are far from an elite offensive team.
Louisville was Russdiculous in their tournament opener beating overmatched North Carolina A&T by 31 points.
Despite Belmont being a perennial Cinderella pick, the Arizona Wildcats had little trouble dispatching them in their opening round game.
