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And So It Goes....

Overall: 7-1-0 (0.875)
Basis Function: Daubechies4

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Monday, March 2, 2009

March 2nd, 2009 Picks

Well, a pretty nice day overall as I went 4-1 with 3 or more goals in the Villa/Stoke match, Hamilton pts. and ast., Illinois, the Pacers, and Oregon. Illinois was a very disappointing loss as they had plenty of opportunities to take the lead and change the nature of the game. They were outrebounded, and they also turned the ball over too much (17 to 11 for MSU) and shot under 30% on their threes. The one time they had the game tied was the one time they were over 30% on three point shooting. That Inter Milan game was insane! I guess I should have expected a let down after the match with Manchester United. It’s like the Nuggets beating L.A. and then losing to the Pacers. On to another day and on to the picks.

1) Guimeraes @ Braga – Braga wins
2) New Orleans Hornets @ Philadelphia 76ers – Philadelphia
3) Colorado Avalanche @ New York Islanders – New York
4) Villanova @ Notre Dame – Notre Dame
5) New Mexico State vs. Texas – Texas has a greater winning margin
6) Tony Parker vs. Zach Randolph – Parker scores more points

Analysis
1) Braga will be missing their top goal scorer, Albert Ze Meyong, while Guimeraes will be adding a new signee to their team, Cìcero. Cìcero has been playing for Dinamo Moscow, though he was not called as a starter or a sub last year. He was a regular fixture on the Muscovite squad the year before but did not score a single goal. Meyong has the amazing stat of having 8 goals on 8 shots. That leaves 13 goals scored by other members of SC Braga. On the road Guimeraes has never won or drawn against an opponent who has allowed less than 10 goals at home. Braga has allowed 5. Braga has only drawn once at home and has shut out six opponents, all victories. Aside from the draw to Naval 1° Maio Braga has never lost to an opponent who allows more than 8 goals on the road. Guimeraes has allowed 15.
Confidence: W6 streak or less

2) This is New Orleans’ 15th back-to-back set of games this season. The Hornets are 2-7 on the road in the second night of a back-to-back. They’ve won both games four times, once at Golden State then at Phoenix, once at Oklahoma City then at home against Orlando, once at Memphis then at home against San Antonio and once in a home-and-home against Oklahoma City. They’ve split the back-to-back eight times, and lost both games twice. It seems more likely they’ll have a let down after a competitive game against New Jersey and split this back-to-back as well. Philadelphia is also looking as if they’re regaining their pre-All-Star break form. New Orleans is 15-13 on the road and Philadelphia is 17-13 at home.
Confidence: W2 streak or less

4) Villanova has only lost three times on the road in conference, to a very good West Virginia team and to UCONN and Marquette. They’ve also won some close games against the bottom-feeders, a 2 point win over DePaul, a 4 point win over Seton Hall, and a 9 point win over South Florida. Notre Dame has beaten a good Louisville team, and beat them by 33. They also lost to Marquette by 7 and UCONN by 8. If Notre Dame can shoot 33% or better on threes and Luke Harangody can stay out of foul trouble they have a good shot of winning this game.
Confidence: W3 streak or less

5) New Mexico State went on the road and lost to Boise State by 3 points in a very close game. Texas went on the road and beat Baylor by 6 in another extremely close game. The Aggies are favored by 6.5 to 7 points, while the Longhorns are favored by 7.5 to 8 points. Boise State is a half-game back from New Mexico State in the WAC. Baylor is three games behind Texas in the Big 12.
Confidence: W5 streak or less