| Mar 8th, 2010 It’s almost March
Madness betting time, and sports betting players can get some
practice in as the conference tournaments will begin on Tuesday, heading into
Selection Sunday when the field of 64 for the NCAA Tournament will be set,
prior to the play-in game. South Florida kept their dreams of the big dance
alive with a late-season three-game winning streak, and they’ll try to keep it
going when they face lowly DePaul in the first round of the Big East tournament
at Madison Square Garden.
South Florida vs DePaul odds – Tuesday, March 9, 2:00 PM ET
The Bulls (19-11, 9-9) dropped UConn
75-68 at home in a battle of the bubble teams, and South Florida shot 50.9%
from the floor. Dominique Jones was 7-of-12 from the field to lead the way with
20 points for the Bulls, who didn’t take many three-pointers (six), but made
the most of them (four). The Bulls also got 17 points off the bench from
Augustus Gilchrist, who not only has one of the best names in the country, but
he’ll also be a big man to watch in the Big East next season after two very
good years on campus.
The Blue Demons (8-22, 1-17) head into this game on a
12-game losing skid, but at least they’re not giving up: during those 12 games,
only two of those losses have been by more than 10 points. Their finale
resulted in a 90-82 loss at home to St. John’s in triple overtime, and they
lost a 16-point halftime lead before fading in the last period of extra time.
Mac Koshwal had 23 points and 10 boards to lead the
Blue Demons, who hit 12 of their 28 three-point attempts, but they went to the
foul line 22 fewer times than the Red Storm, and that was the difference.
The Bulls will definitely be favored in your gambling software,
and a 63-59 win at DePaul on March 2nd
was their third straight over the Blue Demons. Jones scored 20 points for the
Bulls, while Koshwal added 24 points and 11 boards
for the Blue Demons as neither team shot better than 38.5% from the floor. That
game was won for South Florida on the boards as they outrebounded the Blue
Demons 39-27, including 14-6 on the offensive glass, and those second chances
helped the Bulls through their shooting slump. The Blue Demons will be better
next year, but the Bulls are on a roll right now and they know that they can
clinch a spot in the big dance. Meanwhile, DePaul would probably have to beat
everyone in the Big East tournament by 20, and they still wouldn’t make it into
the Tournament.
College basketball odds pick: South Florida
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