The 2009 Final Four is in Detroit this weekend and the lines and odds are already out.  FiveStarPick.com will be giving its members the ATS winners of both games this weekend and in the Championship Game on Monday night.  

North Carolina remains the favorite to win it all at -165 (risk $165 to win $100) by Las Vegas sportsbooks.  The Tar Heels advanced to the finals by beating the No. 2 seed Oklahoma, 72-60, in the South Region finals. The Heels easily covered the spread as seven-point favorites.   As always, Ty Lawson was the fuel to Roy Williams’ fire.  Lawson scored 19 points, grabbed five rebounds, had five assists and three steals against one turnover in the victory.  Las Vegas currently lists North Carolina as a 7.5-point favorite over Villanova with the total hovering around 162.

The Villanova Wildcats knocked off top-seeded Pitt in Saturday’s closest game.  Scottie Reynolds scored the game winning shot with 0.5 seconds left to send ‘Nova to the 2009 Final Four for the first time since 1985. The Wildcats won outright as 2-point underdogs.  Coming into the tournament, Villanova’s odds to win it all was 40/1 (risk $100 to win $4,000).  Since, the number has moved to 5/1.

Michigan State dominated Louisville in the Midwest Region finals with a 64-52 victory as seven-point underdogs.  Tom Izzo has brought MSU to the Final Four 5 times now in his career. The Spartans won the title back in 2000 by beating Florida in the championship game.

Las Vegas sportsbooks have opened UConn as a 4-point favorite over Michigan State with a total of 131. UConn beat Missouri 82-75 in Saturday’s West Region finals and covered the 6.5-point spread by a half point thanks to 10 consecutive free throws in the final minute and a missed lay-up by the Tigers with a second left on the clock. Kemba Walker had 23 points off the bench.

So who do YOU think is going to cover these spreads in the 2009 Final Four?  We would like to hear your thoughts about how to handicap these games, so leave us a Comment by clicking the Comment button below.  Or better yet, why not try our service out for 2-days for only $19.99 and see if our talent for picking the 2009 Final Four winners against the spread exceeds your expectations?  With over 3400 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  By the way, our dime bettors were up over $100K in 2008.  Join today and start winning tonight.

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FiveStarPick.com had a slight kink in the armour last night with a 1-3 ATS record, but today is a new day, and new opportunities have presented themselves.  The focus of today’s preview is the Big East/Big 12 showdown between the UConn Huskies and the Missouri Tigers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list UConn as 6.5-point favorites with the total coming in around 150. 

UConn (30-4 straight up, 14-14 against the spread) crushed Jim Calhoun’s Purdue team, 72-60, as a seven-point favorite.  Hasheem Thabeet led the Huskies with 15 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Craig Austrie had a team-high 17 points, while A.J. Price had 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Stanley Robinson chipped in 10 points and 11 boards.

Missouri (31-6 SU, 20-10 ATS) roasted the Number 2 seed Memphis, 102-91.  Missouri won outright as a 5-point underdog.  J.T. Tiller scored a team-high 23 points, while Leo Lyons had 15 points and 12 rebounds. DeMarre Carroll added 17 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a blocked shot.   The victory was Missouri’s sixth straight both SU and ATS.

UConn has covered the spread in all three of its tournament victories over Chattanooga, Texas A&M and Purdue. The Huskies have won by an average of 31.3 points per game.  UConn owns a 6-4 ATS record in 10 games as a single-digit favorite. Meanwhile, Missouri has compiled a 4-2 ATS record in six games as an underdog.

So who do YOU think is going to cover this spread?  We would like to hear your thoughts about how to handicap this game, so leave us a Comment by clicking the Comment button below.  Or better yet, why not try our service out for 2-days for only $19.99 and see if our talent for picking College Basketball winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 3400 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors were up over $100K in 2008.  Join today and start winning tonight.

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RED HOT !!!!! FiveStarPick.com is ripping into a 14-2-1 against the spread run and tonight we look to give our members the ATS winners in 4 NCAA Basketball Tournament games.  The focus of today’s preview is the matchup between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list North Carolina (30-4 SU, 13-19 ATS) as a 9.5-point favorites with a total of 162.

Gonzaga (28-5 SU, 15-15 ATS) advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 2006 by beating Akron and Western Kentucky.   In their 83-81 win over the Hilltoppers, the Bulldogs freshman guard Demetri Goodson’s threw up a game-winning shot with 0.9 seconds left.  The Zag’s overcame a last-minute Western Kentucky rally as Steffphon Pettigrew tied it up with 7.2 seconds remaining on the clock. All 5 Gonzaga starters were in double figures, but the Zags failed to cover the 10-point spread.  Matt Bouldin led the Zags with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

UNC almost exited early in last Sunday’s second-round matchup against LSU. The Tigers trailed by 9 at intermission, but came out swinging in the second half and scored on six straight possessions to take the lead.  LSU lead by as many as 5 before Ty Lawson took the game over.  Lawson, who had missed UNC’s three previous games with turf toe, poured in 21 of his 23 points in the second half to lead the Tar Heels to the Sweet 16.  North Carolina was able to cover the spread as a 12-point favorite, 84-70.

These schools met two seasons ago at Madison Square Garden with Gonzaga winning 82-74 as a seven-point underdog.  Gonzaga’s Josh Heytvelt overwhelmed UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough with 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Meanwhile, Hansbrough had just nine points, nine boards and four turnovers.  In the point-guard matchup between Ty Lawson and Jeremy Pargo, Lawson had 11 points while Pargo had 16 points. 

So who do YOU think is going to cover this spread?  We would like to hear your thoughts about how to handicap this game, so leave us a Comment by clicking the Comment button below.  Or better yet, why not try our service out for 2-days for only $19.99 and see if our talent for picking College Basketball winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 3400 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors were up over $100K in 2008.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com is coming off an 8-1-1 ATS run and looks to increase that number today as we give our members action tonight in the 2009 NIT Basketball Tournament.  The focus of today’s preview is the matchup between the Florida Gators and the Penn State Nittany Lions.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Gators as 11.5-point home favorites with a total of 140.

Penn State (24-11 SU, 15-12-1 ATS) has been using the dissapointment of not making it to the Big Dance to fuel its fire and keep its season alive. The Nittany Lions just dropped Rhode Island as 1-point home favorites on March 19th, 83-72.  Penn State was able to pull out the win despite being without Jamelle Cornley, who sat out with a bad shoulder.  Stanley Pringle picked up the slack adding 19 points and 4 rebounds and Talor Battle was a major contributor with 16 points, 5 assists and 4 boards.

Florida (25-10 SU, 12-15-1 ATS) could be destined for its fourth NIT Final Four after beating the Miami Hurricanes as a 5.5-point home favorite on March 20, 74-60. Nick Calathes scored 21 points with 6 boards and 7 assists.  The Gators shot 52 percent from the field against Miami and they’re hitting 54.2 percent of their field goals in the NIT.

So who do YOU think is going to cover this spread?  We would like to hear your thoughts about how to handicap this game, so leave us a Comment by clicking the Comment button below.  Or better yet, why not try our service out for 2-days for only $19.99 and see if our talent for picking College Basketball winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 3400 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors were up over $100K in 2008.  Join today and start winning tonight.

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FiveStarPick.com has a full plate of action today for our members.  The focus of today’s preview is the matchup between the Dayton Flyers and the Kansas Jayhawks.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list Kansas (26-7 straight up, 19-7-1 against the spread) as a 8-point favorites with a total of 135.

Dayton (27-7 SU, 14-15 ATS) advanced to the second round by upsetting West Virginia, 68-60, as a nine-point underdog. Chris Wright had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Flyers in their first NCAA Tournament win since 1990.

Kansas just got by North Dakota State, 84-74, as 8.5-point favorites thanks to 32 points and 8 assists from Sherron Collins.  Cole Aldrich had 23 points and 11 rebounds.

The Jayhawks have crushed their competition as a single-digit favorite with a 9-2 ATS record.  Dayton is 5-1 against the spread this year in six games as an underdog.

So who do YOU think is going to cover this spread?  We would like to hear your thoughts about how to handicap this game, so leave us a Comment by clicking the Comment button below.  Or better yet, why not try our service out for 2-days for only $19.99 and see if our talent for picking College Basketball winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 3400 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors were up over $100K in 2008.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com