posted March 10, 2009 at 12:30 EST in NCAA B Betting Trends
Big East Tournament Simulation - UConn is the Champion
by Mike Rose
Big East Tournament
The online betting world is just one more week away from March Madness, but as a tremendous appetizer for the main course, BetUS customers can try their hands in the Big East Tournament. The following is an X-Box simulation of the entire tournament to determine which team will get the automatic ticket to the Big Dance next week.
In the opening round of the tournament, the chalk held firm. The Cincinnati Bearcats (18-13, 11-14 ATS), the Georgetown Hoyas (16-13, 8-16-1 ATS), the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17-13, 8-16 ATS), and the Seton Hall Pirates (16-14, 16-9 ATS) all kept their slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive with easy first round victories.
2009 Big East Tournament Bracket Simulation
The second round kicked off with a tremendous game that probably amounted to be an elimination game for the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats and the Providence Friars (18-12, 11-15 ATS) combined to put up 210 points, but in the end, the Friars held off a late Cincy charge to eliminate the Bearcats by a 107-103 final count. Other second round winners included the Fighting Irish, who dumped the West Virginia Mountaineers (21-9, 13-14 ATS) 82-71, the Marquette Golden Eagles (23-8, 12-13-1 ATS), who likely ended the Tournament dreams of the Hoyas with a 68-60 victory, and the Syracuse Orange (23-8, 14-13 ATS), who bounced the Pirates out, 91-73.
The last eight games began with the #1 ranked Louisville Cardinals (24-5, 17-12 ATS) making its case for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament at the expense of the Providence Friars. The 71-52 victory was capped by a tremendous 18-0 run in the 2nd half that blew the game wide open after the first 25 minutes was very competitive. Guard Terrence Williams led the ‘Ville with 14 points, but four other Cards racked up double-digits as well.
The #4 Villanova Wildcats (25-6, 16-11 ATS) were the first victims of a mild upset. The fifth seeded Golden Eagles of Marquette erased a seven-point deficit with two minutes to play to pull out the 62-60 outright victory and advance to the conference semis.
Both the #2 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers (28-3, 16-8-1 ATS) and the #3 Connecticut Huskies (27-3, 11-13 ATS) crushed their opposition, as the Panthers took out Notre Dame 68-52, while the Huskies eliminated the Orange 70-54.
The third battle between the Panthers and Huskies was yet another classic. C Hasheem Thabeet finally had his way with the staunch Pittsburgh defense, scoring 38 points to go along with 19 boards. However, Pitt wouldn’t go quietly into the night. The Panthers scored the final eight points of regulation to force an extra frame, and then erased a six-point deficit to force a second extra session. In the second overtime, Connecticut finally put away its biggest rival of the season, winning 88-85 to advance to the Big East final in a BE Tourney game that will be talked about for years to come.
The other semifinal wasn’t nearly as entertaining as #1 Louisville ended the hopes of Marquette by trouncing them 90-72. Once again, four Cards finished the game in double digits, as HC Rick Pitino’s team put an authoritative stamp on its #1 seed in the “Big Dance.”
In the final, Connecticut looked every bit as good as it had against every other team not named Pittsburgh throughout the regular season. The Huskies bolted out of the blocks with a 17-5 run and never looked back. Thabeet had another double-double, logging 29 points and 13 boards, which included a whopping 19 in the first half. He almost outscored the Cards himself in the first frame, as the Huskies led 38-21. Every time Louisville got within a dozen, someone on UConn quieted the run. In the end, Connecticut won the Big East crown with the 72-57 “Big Apple” cover.
