2008 NCAA March Madness Cinderella PicksMarch 19, 2007By Bodog Nation Contributing Writers From Detroit to Houston, Charlotte to Phoenix it's time for the madness of March and the greatest tournament in sports Murder, Wildcats and Patriots. It takes a strange mix to make a Cinderella in March Madness. Luckily, we here at Bodog Nation know a thing or two about mixing it strange. Below are our picks for NCAA basketball tournament bracket busters: Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears were the last team called for a date to the Big Dance on Selection Sunday, but they're the one most likely to put out. After all, it's been 20 years since they've seen any NCAA tournament lovin', and they're gonna be hungry. Yep, Baylor's been battered with several key scandals, including the murder of Patrick Dennehy at the hands of teammate Carlton Dotson just five years ago, but winning a game in March Madness is something they can do against first round opponent Purdue. Led by guards Curtis Jerrells and LaceDarius Dunn as well as the inside play of Kevin Rodgers, the Bears are the 12th highest scoring team in the country at 81.4 points per game. They also led the Big 12 in 3-pointers per game at 8.6. Check out Bovada and start winning NOW! Bovada Sportsbook, Casino, Poker Room & Racebook is known in the online gambling industry for having phenomenal customer service, safe and secure deposit methods, fast & easy payouts and terrific bonuses! BET on Sports & play Poker at BOVADA and receive a 20% FREE BET on your first deposit! Baylor was 13-10 against the spread this season and was particularly good on the road at 7-2. The Bears have played very well in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball and have several big wins on the road, including a 68-64 triumph over Notre Dame on their resume. The Boilermakers are touted as a top defensive squad, having averaged 8.5 steals per game and given up just 61.2 per game. However, the Big Ten was weak this season and only two teams (Indiana and Michigan State) averaged more than 70 points scoring. In fact, the scoring average for the entire Big Ten was just 65.8 points per night. So the question is: Was the Purdue defense that good, or was the conference that bad? I'm going with the latter. Bottom line, if Baylor can spread the floor and shoot for a decent percentage, it's got a good chance to expose Purdue and advance. They're currently three-point underdogs in the Bovada Sportsbook. - Miguel Strother Place your March Madness picks and March Madness bracket predictions today! Cal State Fullerton If a Cinderella team is defined as a squad that can have a brief moment of grandeur before returning to ordinariness, then the Titans certainly have the qualifications. They enter the NCAA tournament for the first time in 30 years and will face a team susceptible to the upset. Last year, Texas A&M Corpus Christi gave Wisconsin a grueling first-round game. This time, there's no Alando Tucker to rescue Bo Ryan's team. Like Corpus Christi, CS Fullerton scores a ton (82.6 points per game) and will put pressure on the Badgers to come up with offense. The Titans won the Big West thanks largely to a balanced attack led by 6-foot-5-inch forward Scott Cutley and 5-foot-11-inch guard Josh Akognon. If CS Fullerton can prevent Brian Butch from controlling the game in the paint, it has the opportunity to pull a first-round shocker in Omaha, Neb. The matchup with Wisconsin, which won the Big Ten, is a contrast in styles. Normally, you would give the edge to the defensive team, but because the Badgers can be so anemic on offense, the Titans present an intriguing bet. - Adrian Brijbassi Arizona The Arizona Wildcats are making their 24th straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, so it might sound a little strange to make them a Cinderella pick. But as a 10-seed, they certainly qualify. Arizona fought through a turbulent year. On Dec. 6, it was announced that coach Lute Olson would miss the entire season on a leave of absence, putting the team in the hands of assistant Kevin O'Neill. The Wildcats then proceeded to go 1-3 to start their Pac-10 season. The Wildcats ended up at 19-14 (8-10 in the Pac-10) and own one of the worst overall records of any tourney team. There's a pretty good excuse for that though: They played the second-toughest schedule of any team in the nation. Only Tennessee faced a more challenging slate of games. Among the teams that beat Arizona in 2007-08: Kansas, Memphis, UCLA (twice) and Stanford (three times). If the 'Cats can get past No. 7 West Virginia (24-10) in the first round of the West region, a showdown with Duke looms. And if there's one way to turn a season around in a single game, it's beating Duke. - Jason Brough Now that the Madness has arrived, check out the March Madness predictions and start filling out your NCAA March Madness Bracket! George Mason Hey, why not? Folarin Campbell is hoping for a Final Four run. (AP Images)It's only been two years since the Patriots' improbable Final Four run. So why can't something similar happen again? Seniors Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell were both integral contributors on that 2006 squad, and now they're back, leading the charge for Jim Larranaga's plucky program. The Pats captured the Colonial Athletic postseason tournament to dance their way into March. It capped off a topsy-turvy regular season that saw Mason finish 12-6 in the regular season (finishing second behind VCU) and the knowledge that - if they wanted to repeat the mid-major madness of 2006 - they had to win out in the conference tourney. Which they did. But it didn't come without skepticism. "They think it was a fluke,'' Larranaga said. "What most observers and fans don't understand is that the difference between the high-level and mid-major levels is really referring to programs that have more money." - Mike Halford --- by Bodog at 1800-sports.com on March 21, 2008
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