We showed a slight PROFIT on Thursday but it should have been so much better. Our 3* Very Strong release on Duke (-9) was looking good as they held a 19 point lead with 13:11 remaining, then they apparently got bored, and decided to quit playing Defense. Coach John Scheyer also decided to limit their offense by directing point guard Tyrese Proctor, the same guy who scored 63 points over the last 3 games on 14-20 shooting from 3, to inexplicably stand in the corner the entire 2nd half. Proctor finished with 7 points on 3-8 shooting. This all added up to a 7 point Blue Devil victory and no cover. Hard to believe. Our 2* Strong Parlay on Forida-Arkansas came through as the Gators finally played a complete game, and the Razorbacks led the whole way before John Calipari gave the game away, by not fouling at the end of regulation, allowing Texas tech to tie the game and win in OT. It never ceases to amaze how certain coaches just don’t get it. Calipari has always been a poor in-game coach but these kids played their hearts out and deserved better. Adding .2 Units brings our rolling 32 day record to 68-48 for PLUS 73.2 UNITS.
2* STRONG – 2 Team Parlay – Florida ML -280/ Arkansas +5.5 (2 Units to Win 3.2 Units)
Florida (87-71) WIN
Arkansas +5.5 (83-85 OT) WIN
3* Duke -9 (100-93) LOSS
3* VERY STRONG – Duke -9: Tonight we have an East Region battle between 2 heavyweights as the Duke Blue Devils match up against the Arizona Wildcats. These teams met in December with Duke winning by 14. The Wildcats started slow, but then came on, but still enter this contest 3-5 ATS in their last 8. They have also taken 6 flights in the last 3 weeks. Duke has been a machine the entire year and are very likely the best team in the country. They have won 13 straight and are 10-2 ATS in their last 12. The 2 games they did not cover came when Cooper Flagg sat out with injury. Their average winning margin over the last 10 games is 25 points and 17 of their 21 wins have come by 10+ points. The Blue Devils are also 4th nationally in Assist/Turnover ratio, while the Wildcats rank 51st. I could go on. Arizona has the athletes to keep this close for a while but this team just has too much of everything, including the Best Player in the country in Cooper Flagg, and moves on to the Elite 8 in style.