It is a bitter sweet day for us at FiveStarPick.com.  We couldn’t be more excited about watching tonight’s 2009 NCAA Basketball Championship, but this game marks the end of betting on college hoops this year.  So our advice to you tonight is to sit back, order your fat ass a pizza, have a few cold ones and tell your woman that there will be no Grey’s Anatomy tonight!!! 

Las Vegas sportsbooks list North Carolina (33-4 straight up, 16-19 against the spread) as 7.5-point favorites with the total coming in around 154.

Michigan State (31-6 SU, 21-12-1 ATS) is coming off an upset victory over UConn, 82-73, as a 4.5-point dog in Saturday’s 2009 Final Four.  Izzo has brought to the Final Four a team that exudes his personality the best.  The Spartans fight for every loose ball, they crush the boards and they play tenacious D.  For example, UConn’s A.J. Price had been challenging the nation’s premier defenses all year long, but on Saturday, Price was 5-20 from the floor.  Coincidence? Not hardly.  UConn was bigger and stronger than Michigan St., but the Spartans were better and most importantly, they wanted it more.  As Rudy Tomjanovich said about the Houston Rockets…”never underestimate the heart of a champion.” 

North Carolina was made the clear-cut favorite to win the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.  The Tar Heels have dominated all callers as evidenced by their 5-0 ATS record in the Tournament.   UNC got on top of Villanova early and never let up.  The Wildcats tried to make a run in the second half, trimming the deficit to 5, but Danny Green answered with a long 3 and ‘Nova’s momentum was brought to a quick close.  The Heels ended up with the win and the cover, 83-69, as seven-point favorites.   Ty Lawson scored 22 points, had 8 assists, 7 boards a pair of steals.  Wayne Ellington added 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists.  And Tyler Hansbrough had 18 points, 11 boards and four steals.

Now let’s talk trends…The Tar Heels are 4-5 ATS as single-digit favorite this year, but they have cashed in all three such spots in this 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament.  Michigan St. is 5-2 both SU and ATS as a single digit dog.

In tonight’s matchup you will see UNC run the floor at every opportunity behind the skills of Ty Lawson and the Heels will shoot the 3 any chance they get with Lawson, Ellington and Green.  Michigan St. will play the Heels tight with terrific defense and rebounding.  This is going to be a great game.

So who do YOU think is going to cover the spread in the 2009 NCAA Basketball Championship Game?  We would like to hear your thoughts, 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 NCAA Basketball Championship 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.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

The pros at FiveStarPick.com will be handicapping 4 games for our members on tonight’s board.  The focus of this preview will be the always great rivalry between the Michigan State Spartans and the Michigan Wolverines.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list Michigan State (19-4 straight up, 11-8-1 against the spread) as 4-point favorites with a the total fluctuating between 133 and 133.5.

Michigan (15-9 SU, 10-8-1 ATS) has lost 6 of its last 8 games, but covered the spread in their last 2.  The Wolverines lead UConn at halftime on Saturday, 34-33 and were up 43-39 mid way through the second half, but the Huskies eventually pulled away and beat the Wolverines, 69-61.  Michigan was getting 16 ½-points, so it was an easy cover for Big Blue backers.  Douglass scored 20 points and made 6 of 8 from behind the arc in the loss.

Michigan State has won 4 of its last 5 games both SU and ATS.  Last Saturday they covered against Indiana as 21-point favorites, 75-47.  Chris Allen scored 16 points for the Spartans off the bench and Draymond Green had a double-double that included 15 points and 12 rebounds.

But Michigan is always tough on their home court boasting a record of 12-2 SU and 7-2 ATS in Ann Arbor. They have home wins over Duke, Illinois and Penn State.   Michigan is 3-5-1 ATS in nine games as an underdog this season.

Who covers the spread in tonight’s game?  Step up your game, become a member of our family and find out.  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking College Basketball winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 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