Matt Fargo Sports Available Picks

March, 11 2010 9:00pm EST
ATS: Stanford Cardinal +7.5 (-110)
WIN for +4.55 unit(s)

Stanford Cardinal at Arizona State Sun Devils

After doing some research for the Oregon St./Washington game, I came across this little bit of information as to why the late game times were switched. According to Paul Buker of the Oregonian, apparently at the request of Arizona St., the gametime of Oregon St./Washington was changed to 8:30 p.m. PST. Arizona St. thought it was more equitable, seeing as how the Sun Devils were No. 2 seed that they played earlier, to theoretically have the same amount of time to rest for Friday's semifinals as the Huskies. Yes, Arizona St. seems to be assuming a win over Stanford, and assuming a Washington win over Oregon St. You can bet Stanford is pretty irate over this, not because of the time change but because of the fact that it is already being chalked up as a win for the Sun Devils. As good as the Sun Devils think they are, they are far from a lock for the NCAA Tournament so they definitely need to win a couple games here. The Pac Ten’s struggles are well documented. No conference team has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 since Jan. 11, making it difficult for teams to shed the underachieving label, no matter how much the competitive landscape in recent months has changed. However, motivation plays a big role and Stanford will have that for tonight no matter how bad the season finished. The Cardinal dropped their last three games of the regular season however going back further, they are on a two-game winning streak on the road. During this recent losing skid, one of those defeats came against Arizona St., the second loss against the Sun Devils this season. I do not play teams based on the theory of beating a team three times in a season is difficult but this case is different in that Stanford is not much worse in this matchup as the Pac Ten has been so inconsistent this season that any team can beat any other team on any given night. That definitely fits here. The Sun Devils finished 6-6 away from home this season with two of those losses coming against USC and UCLA, two non-tournament teams so they are definitely far from dominant when leaving Tempe, where they finished 16-3. Stanford also falls into a solid contrarian situation as well. Play against neutral court teams as a favorite after a win by 10 points or more going up against an opponent after a loss by 10 points or more. This situation is 203-129 ATS (61.1 percent) since 1997. The percentage may not seem great but based on the amount of the sample, 332 occasions, it is very strong indeed. 8* Stanford Cardinal

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To no surprise, the Mountain West Conference is a logjam with five teams within two games of each other. San Diego is leading the way with a game lead over UNLV and New Mexico so this has marquee written all over it. The Aztecs had won 11 straight games before getting pounded at ... read more

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Wisconsin Green Bay Phoenix @ Wright State Raiders Friday February 10, 2012 9:00 pm
This is an important game for both sides as conference tournament seedings are coming more into play as the season is winding down. In the Horizon Tournament, the top two seeds receive first round byes and while neither Green Bay nor Wright St. need to worry about that, they fall ... read more

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Virginia Tech Hokies @ Miami Hurricanes Thursday February 9, 2012 9:00 pm
It has been a rough season for Virginia Tech but things have been so close to being a whole lot better. The Hokies are only 2-6 in the ACC but of those six losses, four have come by four points or fewer with the other two coming at the hands of North Carolina and Duke. Virginia Tech ... read more

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Iowa Hawkeyes @ Northwestern Wildcats Thursday February 9, 2012 9:00 pm
Northwestern is coming off a big road win on Sunday at rival Illinois and now it is being asked to lay a big number against a team that possesses a better conference record. The Wildcats are now 4-6 in the Big Ten following two straight wins but getting that third straight victory ... read more

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Arkansas Little Rock Trojans @ UL Lafayette Ragin Cajuns Thursday February 9, 2012 8:00 pm
This is a big game in the Sun Belt Conference but the line is not telling us that. Arkansas-Little Rock leads the SBC West Division by a half-game over tonight's counterpart and that being the case, this line is off a few points in my opinion. The Trojans are riding a three-game ... read more

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North Carolina State Wolfpack @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Thursday February 9, 2012 7:00 pm
Here we have a very good team, NC State, trying to get some road revenge on a very bad team, Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack lost at home last month by 11 points and it really was an inexcusable loss as they were riding a six-game winning streak and had just won their ACC opener over ... read more

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Michigan Wolverines @ Nebraska Cornhuskers Wednesday February 8, 2012 8:30 pm
Nebraska used to own one of the better home court advantages when it was part of the Big XII Conference but the home floor has not been a very big edge this season. The Huskers were decent during the non-conference portion of their schedule but even some of those wins were suspect, ... read more

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College Basketball

Kansas Jayhawks @ Baylor Bears Wednesday February 8, 2012 7:00 pm
Kansas is coming off a tough loss on Saturday at Missouri and things will not get any easier here as it travels to Waco with first place in the Big XII on the line. The Jayhawks and Bears both trail Missouri by a half-game but this game is arguably bigger for Baylor. A loss here ... read more

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College Basketball

Florida Gators @ Kentucky Wildcats Tuesday February 7, 2012 7:00 pm
First place is on the line in the SEC tonight. Even though a Florida win would still have it a half-game back from Kentucky, the all-important head-to-head win would go a lot further. The Gators have won seven straight games since a loss at Tennessee back at the start of January. ... read more

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College Basketball

Cal Santa Barbara Gauchos @ Cal State Fullerton Titans Saturday February 4, 2012 9:00 pm
Catching Long Beach St. is the Big West Conference but CS-Fullerton does have a chance at catching Santa Barbara for second place and it can do so with a win on Saturday. The Titans are coming off a lopsided victory over a decent Cal Poly team on Thursday as they won by 22 points ... read more

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