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Vegas veteran Benjamin Eckstein, author of America’s Line, brings three decades of expertise to make weekly picks in his”Ecks & Bacon” column.
Final Four picks
LAS VEGAS — Can’t recall which one of those 279 sites where I read this, but this is actually the first time in 31 years that one of those so-called Blue Bloods will not be in the Final Four. We are talking North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, UCLA and Louisville. That’s THIRTY-ONE YEARS! 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 Kentuckyback to back to back, to make it to their first EVER Final Four. That was VERY impressive. And the last W against Kentucky has been WITHOUT among 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 necessarily calling for the upset, but would buy the hook, push on the line to +6, and observe Sir Charles cry on national TV. Crying since, as we all know,” Barkley is a ferocious sports bettor, and he’ll be all 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 push Tech to +3. What else can the Red Raiders do? They rolled into the Sweet 16 against the second-best defensive group in college hoops, Michigan, also blew the Wolverines off 63-44. They then looked at the daunting task of confronting the NUMBER ONE offense in the Nation in the Elite Eight, Gonzaga. You believe the Raiders were worried? Nah. They held that the’Zags to ONLY 69 points, nearly TWENTY points under their season average of 87.6.
What 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 straight up, covered seven of the last eight, and steps onto the court in Minneapolis working within an 8-0 spread PERFECTO on the road. It ai not gonna be easy, but we’re backing the beard, Chris Beard!!!
NBA pick For the wagering pleasure, here will be some spread stats of this day. The Nuggets may not catch the Warriors for the top seed in the Western Alliance, but you know they are gonna deliver some warmth to this ESPN matchup from the Blazers. Denver has been around a sweet roll, winning nine of the past 13 up, but against the spread, the Nugs have covered just four of the previous 12.
They have been stingy with things permitted and also have gone UNDER at 10 of the previous 12 games. Portland brings a similar portfolio into the dining table, winning eight of the last nine straight up, but have done WAY better from the spread, covering four of the last five. Looking at the big picture, the Nuggets’ in general spread log sits in 40-38, 24-15 in the house and 29-26 as a favored. The Blazers’ overall spread mark is 44-33-1, 21-18 on the street and 13-15 within an underdog. Light tickle to Portland.
NHL select Additionally skating on the NHL ice, and got a play into the Blue Jackets on the Rangers.
PLZ hit me on Twitter over the weekend, even @vegasvigorish, just in case anything pops.
Benjamin Eckstein is a nationally syndicated sportswriter/oddsmaker. His column, America’s Line, together with the Ecks & Bacon appetizer, has conducted in the New York Daily News and over 100 other papers 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 loser. If you wanna piece of Eck, hit on his email…ben@americasline.com.

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