The 2009 NIT brackets have been announced and the Vegas odds will be up shortly. Auburn and Florida headline the top seeds. The big March Madness betting line though is up for the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. To get NCAA Tournament tickets, FatHeads or team gear check out the Guy Store.
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Rockets look to blast past the Hornets, the Caps meet the Thrashers, and college hoops fans start filling out brackets.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
Both the Rockets and the Hornets will be looking to get back into the win column on Monday night when the two teams meet in New Orleans in one of five games on the NBA schedule. Houston was upended 88-85 by the Spurs on Saturday despite a 21-point performance from Ron Artest. New Orleans was blasted 97-79 by the Bulls on Saturday, with Chris Paul leading the team’s attack with 29 points.
Also on the NBA‘s schedule for Monday: Toronto at Charlotte, Portland at Memphis, New Jersey at Denver, and San Antonio at Oklahoma City. The Spurs got 28 points and eight assists from Tony Parker in that win over the rival Rockets, and they beat the Thunder 109-104 at home in their first-ever meeting in December. The Thunder fell 106-95 to the Suns in their game Saturday night.
Monday sports picks
No need to wait until the NIT Tournament picks and predictions or even Big Dance betting odds as there are several big sports picks for Monday. On a 22-4 run with NBA totals, Kongpop Sukhibomrong, head of the famed Pan-Asian Syndicate which dominated Asian and European soccer for years has now taken over the North American sports scene. Pop’s syndicate is the most requested source of winners in the history of the SuperLockLine and MasterLockLine. Today get three NBA totals
Sports service out of New York is No. 9 this year in the NBA and No. 11 all-time. (Stats are out of 620 services and syndicates monitored, rankings based on total net units won based on one-unit per play). They go for their sixth straight NBA Game of the Year winner tonight on Portland/Memphis. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick
The march toward Madness . . .
College hoops gets a night off on Monday before action resumes again on Tuesday with the Play-In Game between Alabama State and Morehead State. The field for this year’s Big Dance was announced on Sunday night’s Selection Show, with Louisville, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, and Connecticut earning the top seeds for the tournament. Those teams will see their first tournament action on Thursday and Friday when March Madness finally gets underway in earnest.
There are actually three other postseason tournaments vying for your attention this year, most notably the Postseason NIT which will stage first-round matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday and eventually wrap up at Madison Square Garden on April 2. As well, there’s the College Basketball Invitational, which also has first-round games Tuesday and Wednesday and concludes March 30-April 3 with a three-game Championship Series. Finally, there’s the new CollegeInsider.com tourney, with games starting Tuesday/Wednesday and a championship March 31.
Sharp players will check out ScoresOddsPicks.com for exclusive and free sports handicapping databases for March Madness picks and predictions.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The Capitals will be gunning for their fourth straight victory on Monday night when they play on the road in Atlanta in one of just two games on the National Hockey League schedule. Washington made it three straight wins on Saturday, holding off the Hurricanes for a 5-4 victory. The Thrashers have been red hot as well; they knocked off the Sabres 4-3 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive win.
The other game on the slate will take place on the west coast, with the Kings playing host to the Predators. Los Angeles fell 2-1 to the Sharks in a shootout on Saturday, with Erik Ersberg stopping 38 of 39 San Jose shots on the night. Nashville is coming off a 2-0 win over the Coyotes on Saturday night, as Pekka Rinne stopped all 18 shots he faced and J.P. Dumont had the game-winning goal.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
The World Baseball Classic continues on Monday with a game between Venezuela and Puerto Rico at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. The Venezuelans toppled the Cinderella team from the Netherlands 3-1 on Saturday, while the Puerto Ricans blasted the United States 11-1 in their first game of the second round. The winner of that Monday matchup advances to Wednesday’s pool final. The other WBC game on Monday will take place at San Diego‘s PETCO Park, and will be an elimination game between the losers of the late Sunday contests.