Vegas Knows Best Roars Back For The Big Ten Tournament

by Kevin HD on Mar 11, 2009 11:15 AM EDT in Basketball Comment 5 comments

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After a long absence, I've dusted off the old "Vegas"* bookmark list for some pre-game numbers.

*Called "stats" on my work computer, of course.

The lines are 'open' numbers and subject to change, but I'll attempt to keep them updated until tomorrow.

Round One - Indiana "@" Penn St. (-9)

Previous Lines

Date	Location	Line	Result
1/17/09	@IU	PSU -4	Penn State 65, Indiana 55
2/28/09	@PSU	PSU -14	Penn State 61, Indiana 58

(the rest of Thursday's games, with notes, after the jump...)

Notes:

So in about two weeks the line has dropped from 14 to 9, but keep in mind that (1) Indiana played PSU tough last time, and (2) this is essentially a home game for the Hoosiers.
So with that in mind, it's a large jump up from the -4 number that was given to the first game between these team played in Indiana

Round One - Northwestern "@" Minnesota (-2)

Previous Lines

Date	Location	Line	Result
1/18/09	@NW	NW -1.5	Northwestern 74, Minnesota 65
2/22/09	@Minn	Minn -6	Minnesota 72, Northwestern 45

Notes:

Either Vegas thinks NW is bringing a busload of fans or Minnesota is getting severely punished for their performance against Michigan.
With Northwestern a potential bubble kid (okay, long shot, but still alive), and Minnesota's tailspin, it will be interesting to see how the public will interpret the classic "who will want it more" approach to gambling.

Round One - Iowa @ Michigan (-5)

Previous Lines

Date	Location	Line	Result
1/11/09	@UM	UM -7.5	Michigan 64, Iowa 49
2/22/09	@Iowa	Iowa -1	Iowa 70, Michigan 60 (OT)

Notes:

The line in February is an interesting one, although Michigan was right in the middle of an ugly stretch of basketball.
Iowa seems to get a very good home court adjustment considering the drop off they've had in enthusiasm.
Most of you are aware of this, but we are definitely pulling for Iowa here; the bubble implications are hazy at best, but at this point every little thing might count.

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Comments

So we want Iowa to knock off Michigan

Do we “want” Minnesota to beat Northwestern, or could a Northwestern win be good for us. The games will be much more fun if I understand who to root for.

We just needed a couple players, a couple people to buy in to the fact and we were able to do it. --A.Q. Shipley

by psu on Mar 11, 2009 12:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs