Vegas veteran Benjamin Eckstein, author of America’s Line, brings three years of expertise to make weekly selections in his”Ecks & Bacon” column.
March Madness picks
LAS VEGAS — Gimme a few Cal-Irvine +3.5 points on Kansas State. Actually, we chose +5 if the line opened, and it is down to +3.5. So, I could take K-State -3.5 and shoot for the elusive centre, and beg for a four-point final margin. Maybe. However, lemme tell you. Yeah, I call them Irving because that was my grandpa’s name.
And they have perhaps my FAV nickname ever, the Anteaters. Yet again, get the Big 12 is WAY much better than the Big West. But, Irving roars into the first-round matchup on a 16-0 straight-up run, also has covered nine of the last 10, with a single push. Also, one of K-State’s best gamers, an All-Big 12 first-teamer for two decades, F Dean Wade, is GONE. Eaters gotta EAT!
Quack Quack. Yeah, the Ducks, baby! Oregon dropped my favorite college player, Bol Bol, yeah, son of Manute, back in January. But the Ducks do have one of the greatest trainers on the side of the Mississippi, Dana Altman. Regardless of where he belongs, he does is win. Altman posted a 68-54 listing at Kansas State, 327-176 at Creighton, and is currently 235-95 in Oregon. This is not his very best gaggle of ducks, sorry, had to throw gaggle in. Really, how many times do you get to use gaggle in a lifetime? Oops, never mind, that is for geese. Ducks are a flock.
Back to biz. And we are speaking MONEY, baby! Oregon has come down the stretch just like Secretariat, winning and COVERING eight in a row. Totally know the Big Ten is far better than the Pac-12, however, Wiscy has been burning cash. The Badgers have covered only two of their last 10, and 20 percent doesn’t make it within my world.
Close down it in Columbia, South Carolina, together with Duke -27 over North Dakota State. Are you gonna observe a second HUMONGOUS No. 1 vs No. 16 mad? Not certain but we do have some numbers you might wanna seem at. Talking Duke and North Dakota State. And talking a 27.5-point disperse. That’s a whole lotta chalk. If you’re not a fan of this Summit League, subsequently the Bison probably haven’t hit your radar display. That is why I am here. NDSU was a cash cow, or cash Bison if you will, covering two of the last 13 total, and five of the last six on the street.
As for the big picture, the Blue Devils’ in general spread log sits in 18-16, 9-8 on the street and 16-15 as a favorite. The Bison’s overall spread mark is 15-17, 7-12 on the road and 4-8 within an underdog. For you totals gamers, the Dookies have gone OVER only nine times, UNDER that an incredible 24 occasions and pushed after, while Dakota has gone OVER 20 times and UNDER 12. Gonna tickle a Bison, and create a light play to the dog.
NHL pick Before I let you go, skate onto the NHL ice with me, and grab the UNDER on the Islanders/Flyers game tomorrow night.
And plz, PLZ struck me Twitter over the weekend, even @vegasvigorish, only in case anything pops on the faculty hoop board.
Benjamin Eckstein is a sportswriter/oddsmaker that is syndicated. His column, America’s Line, with the Ecks & Bacon appetizer, has run in the New York Daily News and over 100 other newspapers since 1988. It is possible to follow him online at www.americasline.com. He’s loved by most, when he chooses winners, and detested by others, when he chooses the occasional loser. If you wanna bit of Eck, hit his email…ben@americasline.com.

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