Washington and Marquette meet in first round of 2010 NCAA Tournament

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles and the 11th-seeded Washington Huskies will meet in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's East Region.

Up next for the winner of this contest is a second-round clash with either third-seeded New Mexico or 14th-seeded Montana.

Washington has lost its last 10 games against Big East Conference foes, not exactly a source of confidence heading into tonight's affair. The Huskies earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Pac-10 Conference Tournament title with three consecutive victories last week. They are 24-9 and are making their 14th appearance in the "Big Dance", posting a 15-15 record in their previous showings.

As for Marquette, it is making its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 28th overall, and the program is 34-28 all-time in college basketball's top postseason event. The Golden Eagles were awarded with an at- large bid after posting a 22-11 record and reaching the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament. Marquette has faced a current member of the Pac-10 Conference 19 times and owns a 13-6 record.

Marquette has won both previous meetings with Washington, the most recent of which took place in 1978.

The Huskies rely heavily on a pair of standout performers to carry the load at the offensive end. Quincy Pondexter leads the team in both scoring (19.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg), and he is a 53.5 percent shooter from the floor. Pondexter is also an 84 percent shooter from the foul line, so he often has the ball in his hands at the end of close games. Isaiah Thomas checks in with 17.1 ppg for the Huskies, who are posting 79.8 ppg while limiting opponents to 69.9 ppg. They have been strong on the boards this season, outrebounding foes by 4.3 rpg. Washington carries a seven-game win streak and plenty of confidence into this clash. Pondexter is the first player in Pac-10 history to earn five Pac-10 Player of the Week honors in one season, and he figures to be the focus of the Golden Eagles' defensive efforts tonight.

Marquette is generating 72.9 ppg while limiting opponents to 64.2 ppg. There are three double-digit scorers in the fold, and Lazar Hayward checks in with 18.1 ppg. The versatile forward is an 84.3 percent shooter from the foul line, impressive to say the least. Hayward does more than just score, as he is ripping down 7.7 rpg to go along with 60 steals. Jimmy Butler provides 14.9 ppg on 53.5 percent field goal efficiency, and he is pulling down 6.4 rpg. Rounding out the trio is Darius Johnson-Odom with 12.8 ppg on the strength of his 47.4 percent shooting from three-point range. The Golden Eagles have only committed 340 turnovers, 136 fewer than the opposition. They have also attempted 119 more free throws than the opposition.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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