January 8, 2025

Yo! Joey Brackets

Who exactly is this guy Joe Lunardi and why does every college coach need his help these days?

Joseph Lunardi (AKA Joey Brackets) has been a fixture on ESPN and ESPN.com since his first Bracketology was pushed online back in 2008. His first post collected over 250,000 hits the first day and now it routinely receives millions from the second week of the season until the final selection of NCAA tournament teams. The busiest days are of course this coming weekend from Friday through Sunday at 6PM EST prior to the selections when he is adding and subtracting teams that have folded during their conference tournaments.

Lunardi correctly predicted all 65 teams to appear in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and correctly selected 63 out the 65 teams in the 2009 field by placing both Creighton and St. Mary’s incorrectly in his final bracket on March 15. Last year Lunardi only incorrectly left Arizona off his bracket so needless to say he really knows his stuff. A lot will be determined in the next few days and you can rest assured that Lunardi will be all over the action and constantly updating his predictions for the tourney.

According to Joey Brackets here are the latest bubble teams:

Last Four In

* Memphis
* Arizona State
* San Diego State
* Illinois

First Four Out

* Washington
* Seton Hall
* Rhode Island
* Ole Miss

Next Four Out

* Dayton
* UAB
* Mississippi State
* Minnesota

College Basketball Bets of the Day – March 9th, 2010

The Big East tournament kicks off today and another three teams will win a bid to the NCAA tournament. As each day passes the excitement and anticipation builds. 2-0 yesterday and looking to have another solid day today. Good luck!

Troy pick’em
Oakland pick’em
UConn -4

Overall Record:

College Basketball 45-30-3 (2009-10) 242-179-9 (overall)
NBA 1-2 (2010) 45-38 (overall)
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football 37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)
NFL 35-20 (2009-10) 138-92-5 (overall)

College Basketball Bets of the Day – March 8th, 2010

Championship Week is in full swing and tickets are being punched for the Big Dance each and everyday. I don’t have any picks for the conference championship games this evening, but we do have two games for you. Good luck!

Oakland -8.5
IUPUI -3.5

Overall Record:

College Basketball 43-30-3 (2009-10) 240-179-9 (overall)
NBA 1-2 (2010) 45-38 (overall)
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football 37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)
NFL 35-20 (2009-10) 138-92-5 (overall)

Remembering Hank Gathers

It was 20 years ago yesterday that we lost one of the best college basketball players of all time in Hank Gathers. Gathers left Philly and the east coast so he could go play for little ole Loyola Marymount and ex-pro head coach Paul Westhead. Gathers alongside Bo Kimble would end making the Loyola Marymount Lions a must see college basketball team and a pure joy to watch. In the 1988–89 season, he became only the second player in history to lead NCAA Division I in scoring and rebounding in the same season. Gathers averaged 32.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. The next season would be his last because on March 4, 1990 he collapsed with 13:34 left in the first half of a West Coast Conference tournament quarterfinal game against Portland. Hank collapsed just after scoring on an alley-oop dunk that put the Lions up 25–13.  He was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital at the age of 23. An autopsy found that he suffered from a heart-muscle disorder, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

I remember watching this specimen of a human play a few times in my days and I truly have never seen a team play the way the Lions did. They typically shot the ball within 10 seconds of gaining possession and their defense was a full court press designed to force their opponents into a frenzied up-and-down game. Loyola Marymount own the records for the 5 highest scoring games in NCAA history including the blowout of reigning National Champ Michigan 149-115 in the second round of the 1990 tourney.

Hank was so good at everything on the court except for foul shooting. When he finally had enough of those woes he started practicing shooting his free throws left handed. He became proficient and increased his FT% considerably because nothing was going to beat Hank.

Hank’s life unfortunately ended too early and he is just another example of how life is really too short.

Check out the cut of the 30 for 30 story to be aired on ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4960817

College Basketball Bets of the Day – March 4th, 2010

Yesterday was a real stinker and one we hope to not replicate anytime soon. Those days will happen and you just have to forget all about them and move on to the next day. Have a great day and good luck to everyone!

Pacific -2.5
Ohio -7.5
Missouri State -9

Overall Record:

College Basketball 41-29-3 (2009-10) 238-178-9 (overall)
NBA 1-2 (2010) 45-38 (overall)
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football 37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)
NFL 35-20 (2009-10) 138-92-5 (overall)

Kansas Assistant Loves Him Some Porn

Kurtis Townsend an assistant coach for the Kansas Jayhawks must be a really huge fan of porn or he is just looking to to have some fun with a professional. Townsend provided free courtside tickets to adult film star Samantha Ryan for last night’s rivalry game against Kansas State in Lawrence, Kansas. Samantha is an alum from the University of Kansas (they must be so proud) and she was so happy about her courtside seats she tweeted her appreciation and took photos for her fans. Ryan is 26 years old and has already been in over 140 pornos to date in case you are counting. Samantha’s support must have helped because the Jayhawks destroyed #5 Kansas State 82-65 last night

College Basketball Bets of the Day – March 3rd, 2010

Happy hump day folks! Conference tournaments are under way and there are going to be a ton of games over the coming days. We have three games we like tonight and I suspect there will even be more over the next week or so. Good luck!

UAB -2.5
Mississippi State -2.5
Lipscomb -7
LaSalle -4.5

Overall Record:

College Basketball 40-26-3 (2009-10) 237-175-9 (overall)
NBA 1-2 (2010) 45-38 (overall)
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football
37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)
NFL 35-20 (2009-10) 138-92-5 (overall)

College Basketball Bets of the Day – March 1st, 2010

Today is officially the first day of March which can only mean things are really heating up. Our picks on Saturday were money in the bank and we intend on continuing the momentum. Good luck folks!

Georgetown +6.5
Georgia Southern +5.5

Overall Record:

College Basketball 39-25-3 (2009-10) 236-174-9 (overall)
NBA 1-2 (2010) 45-38 (overall)
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football
37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)
NFL 35-20 (2009-10) 138-92-5 (overall)

College Basketball Bets of the Day – February 27th, 2010

It isn’t long now until conference tournaments begin and the madness really kciks into high gear. Our picks have been lacking a bit over the last few days, but on the year we are still looking pretty good. Let’s make today a good one and whether you like our picks just make sure to beat the bookie. Good luck!

Notre Dame +10.5
Tennessee +2
William & Mary +4.5
Central Michigan -4.5
Wright State -1.5
Charleston pick’em

Overall Record:

College Basketball 34-24-3 (2009-10) 231-173-9 (overall)
NBA 1-2 (2010) 45-38 (overall)
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football 37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)
NFL 35-20 (2009-10) 138-92-5 (overall)

College Basketball Bets of the Day – February 24th, 2010

There is a whole litany of games to choose from this evening, but in the end we only selected two. Feel free to tail or fade. Good luck!

Xavier -4.5
Iowa State -4.5

Overall Record:

College Basketball 34-22-3 (2009-10) 231-171-9 (overall)
NBA 1-2 (2010) 45-38 (overall)
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football 37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)
NFL 35-20 (2009-10) 138-92-5 (overall)