The Southwest Regional of the 2011 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament continues Sunday at the United Center in Chicago Ill., (7:10 PM Eastern) with a match up between 11th seeded Virginia Commonwealth Rams of the Colonial Athletic Association and Big Ten hoops power-house No.3 Purdue Boilermakers. The Rams began the tournament as a play-in entrant with Southern Cal,(w-59-46) and have since defeated Georgetown to advance to today's third round game. The Boilermakers finished second to Ohio State in the BIG TEN standings and entered the tournament as an at-large selection.
Odds makers at most off shore sports shops list the Boilermakers as 9-chalk NCAA Point Spreads favorites for the game with a combined point total of 134. Rams backers are getting +400 on the off shore money- line while the price of a ML wager on Purdue is -500. For bettors unfamiliar with the money line format; in order to win $100 betting on Purdue, it requires a $500 wager. On the flip side, today's underdog, lined at +400 ML odds. Here if a $100 wager cashes, the player wins $400.
Early betting trends, always good tools for making NCAA Basketball Picks , are telling the player how the rest of the world is betting compared to you. The public is all over the underdog Rams in this one, and backing it up with 65 percent of of side action and 69 percent money line, that VCU wins SU. Totals betting percentages show that 83 percent are betting the game total falls UNDER the posted 135 total.
For a school like Purdue, from any of the power leagues; BIG EAST, BIG TEN, BIG 12 and others, to win the NCAA Tournament, almost always will have to go through a school like Virginia Commonwealth. Count on it every year, there will be a few schools referred to as Cinderella; you know the whole glass slipper thing. Here's the deal surrounding this game so pay close attention. The CAA doesn't know who Cinderella is because they don't play that game.
Any team who gets to the NCAA Tournament from the CAA or Horizon or Missouri Valley or the WCC can BALL. That's why three schools from the CAA made the trip in 2011.
For my NCAA Basketball Predictions I am in love with the Rams to cover ATS +9.
