Conference tournaments are all that’s left, so that means afternoon games for the next few days. Be sure to check our picks early.

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 14-11-1 +2.0 units
Season: 75-70-5 -2.0 units

St John’s +4 vs UConn (at MSG 1:30 pm) W

The Johnnies are not only the home team, but I feel they are the better team. As of last week, some so called experts still had UConn in their 64 team field despite their 7-10 conference record. This is based on reputation only as this team is not very good. St Johns will win outright.

Providence/Seton Hall over 166 (at MSG) W

Providence likes to press and push the pace. Seton Hall loves to shoot and definitely won’t try to slow it down. Being in MSG, both teams will try to put on a show and score 100+. If you get any number below 170, I like the over.

Wright St +7 @ Butler (Horizon championship) L

I’m typically not a conspiracy theory guy, but part of my reasoning with this pick is a conspiracy theory. Butler is in the field of 64 no matter what happens in this game. So why wouldn’t a part of Coach Brad Peters want Wright St to win so the conference can have 2 teams in the big dance? Regardless of this, Wright St is playing well and will keep this a low scoring game. They NEED to win this in order to make the dance, so the urgency is there. Butler has struggled as of late, so I like the points.

Record: 2-1

This is one of the last big slates we’ll have for a while. It’s the true start to March Madness as we’re shooting for the moon with our most plays of the year.

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 11-8-1 +2.3 units
Season: 72-67-5 -1.7 units

Florida St +2 @ Miami L

Maryland -5 @ Virginia W

Tulsa +7 @ Memphis L

Louisville +1.5 vs Syracuse W

Marquette -7.5 vs Notre Dame L

Washington -3.5 @ Oregon St W

Record: 3-3

Now that the conference tournaments are here, the pickings are a little slim, and the trends get thrown out the window.

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 10-7-1 +2.4 units
Season: 71-66-5 -1.6 units

Creighton -3.5 vs Bradley @ St Louis L

Detroit -2 vs UW-Green Bay @ Butler W

Record: 1-1

SPEED BUMP! We’re over it now. Time to get back to winners.

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 9-6-1 +2.5 units
Season: 70-65-5 -1.5 units

Buffalo +2.5 @ Miami OH L

Richmond -3.5 vs Dayton W

Record: 1-1

Things keep rolling in March. A careless turnover by Villanova cost us a 3-0 night, but we still managed a push. If you bet this game late, then you won the Nova game as well and went 3-0.

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 9-3-1 +5.7 units
Season: 70-62-5 +1.8 units

Duke -1.5 @ Maryland L

It’s senior night for Greivious Vazquez, but we don’t care. Duke is still the better team and have owned Maryland the past few years. I hate to root for Duke, but the smart money is with the Devils tonight.

South Carolina -3 vs Alabama L

Pretty even teams. Carolina is at home and really needs a win to keep their NCAA hopes alive. Take desperation in this one.

Duquesne +1 @ St Bonaventure L

Record: 0-3

We’re undefeated in March! I don’t expect that to last long, but I do expect us to stay in the black this month and get our season total in the black.

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 7-3 +3.7 units
Season: 68-62-4 -0.2 units

Villanova -4 @ Cincinnati Push

This is a trap line, but I’m a sucker. Nova is superior in both the front court and back court. This is a low number to cover on the road, so the chances of a Cincinnati back door cover after a second half let down is less likely. Take the Cats!

Syracuse -14 vs St John’s W

In their first game at #1 in the polls, you can look at it in one of two ways. Either Syracuse will be excited about the ranking and will come out to prove to the world they deserve the top ranking or you can think this will motivate St John’s and make Syracuse play tight. I’m going with the former. St John’s lacks outside shooting to defeat the zone and the length of Syracuse will cause problems and result in easy transition baskets.

East Carolina +12 @ Central Florida W

System play

Record: 2-0-1

March is here, but the true Madness is still a few weeks away. Our picks have been mad good lately, so let’s hope the calendar change hasn’t slowed down our streak.

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 6-3 +2.7 units
Season: 67-62-4 -1.2 units

Oklahoma +13.5 @ Texas W

The Horns are beat up at the most important spot…guard. This is too many points to be giving up for a struggling team in a rivalry game. Dogs have been good to us here at bookiehitmen.com, so naturally we’re taking the points in our only premier pick of the night.

A nice start to the week. Many close calls, and we were on the right side of most. Now we need to reach the plus side for the season.

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 4-2 +1.8 units
Season: 65-61-4 -2.1 units

Louisville +4 @ UConn W

First time ever that all 5 of my top formulas like the same side.

Seton Hall -3 vs Marquette L

Hate to go against my home team, but MU has played on the edge all season. I just think the Hall has too much fire power on the home court for MU to hang with them. Look for one big run out of the Hall to result in a double digit win.

Michigan St +4 @ Purdue W

How can you go against Izzo in February or March? The loss of Hummel may not be a huge impact in this intense game, but he’ll definitely be missed. Michigan St needs the win more and when Kalen Lucas is on, the Spartans are tough to beat.

Record: 2-1

Totals for 2/27/10 thru 3/12/10: 0-0
Season: 61-59-4 -3.9 units

Northern Iowa -7.5 vs Illinois St L

NIU was thought by some to go undefeated in the conference. They’ve struggled as of late dropping a few games. I expect them to regain their dominance at home with an easy win.

Evansville +9.5 @ Drake W

System play

Maryland +1 @ Virginia Tech W

Maryland is just the better team so I’m taking them.

Nebraska -3.5 vs Texas Tech W

Two even teams. Each plays much better at home than on the road, so I’m taking the home court advantage.

New Mexico +8.5 @ BYU W

New Mexico has struggled historically in Provo. However, they are a versatile and talented team with more weapons than the Cougars. Look for a close game.

Long Beach St +6 @ Pacific L

Record: 4-2