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Inside Look At The Elite Eight
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Author: Tom Stryker - Friday, March 23, 2007
Inside Look at the Elite Eight
On Saturday and Sunday, March Madness will be at its peak when eight of the best college
basketball teams in the land fight for a berth in the NCAA Final
Four.
This round of the Big Dance is probably the most difficult of them all. The
"promised land" is in sight and tension and nerves are at an all-time
high.
When I handicap the tournament, I break down the rounds individually to try and isolate
profitable sets. The teams in the Elite Eight are usually the best-of-the-best. The
mismatches that occur in the early stages of the tourney are much more difficult to
uncover at this stage of the tournament. Except for a few rare occurrences, these eight
teams are all capable of beating one another. Therefore, underdogs might be worth a look.
With that thinking in mind, I turned to my college basketball database to see what I
could find.
First, let's take a look at specific seed information.
These are overall records dating back to 1990.
No. 1 Seed - 26-18 SU and 17-26-1 ATS
No. 2 Seed - 13-16 SU and 13-15-1 ATS
No. 3 Seed - 9-8 SU and 9-8 ATS
No. 4 Seed - 8-2 SU and 7-2-1 ATS
No. 5 Seed - 4-0 SU and 4-0 ATS
No. 6 Seed - 1-6 SU and 3-4 ATS
No. 7 Seed - 0-5 SU and 2-2-1 ATS
No. 8 Seed - 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS
No. 9 Seed - 0-1 SU and 0-1 ATS
No. 10 Seed - 0-4 SU and 2-2 ATS
No. 11 Seed - 1-1 SU and 1-0-1 ATS
No. 12 Seed - 0-1 SU and 0-0-1 ATS
No. 13 through No. 16 seeds - None.
It is important to note that No. 1 seeds have struggled posting a soft 17-26-1 ATS record.
Also, No. 4 and No. 5 seeds combined have inked a solid 12-2 SU and 11-2-1 ATS record.
Earlier in this article, I mentioned that this round of the tournament could be
dog-oriented. I was right on the money. Since 1998, favorites in the Elite Eight are a
dismal 10-23-3 ATS including a stunning 3-17-3 ATS provided our "play against"
piece of chalk owns a won/loss percentage of .850 or better.
There are two other technical situations that are worth noting. Usually, in the Big
Dance, you want to play against a team coming off an upset victory. That's not the case
in the Elite Eight round. Teams coming off a straight up dog win at this stage of the
tourney have posted a sizzling 20-12-1 ATS record including a sensational 14-3-1 ATS mark
provided they are matched up against a foe that carries a won/loss percentage of .838 or
better.
This last situation is probably the best of the three. Technically speaking, Elite Eight
underdogs or favorites of -9 or less are a stiff 12-31-3 ATS provided they own a won/loss
percentage of .845 or better. If our "play against" side is battling an
opponent that carries a won/loss percentage of .850 or less, this angle dips to a shocking
5-25-3 ATS!
Before you invest your hard earned dough on March Madness action this weekend, be sure you
run through the technical information I just provided. It could either save you money or
make you a bundle depending on how you use it. Best of luck men, Tom Stryker.
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- Tom Stryker's NBA Playoff Blowout Bounce Back
- NBA Last Home Game Super Situations!
- Tom Stryker's Round 2 NCAA Tournament Seed Information
- NBA Late-Season Money Maker!
- College Basketball Technical Handicapping System
- College Basketball Handicapping System
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