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Lute Olson ... are you KIDDING me!!!
Las Vegas - If the bookmakers are giving me a SIX point edge, I'm buying baabbbeee. Buying another two team 6-point teaser. Kick it off in the South Regional where Illinois will fight Iowa, for the second time, to punch a ticket to the Final Four. These Big Ten rivals have history this season, meeting back in January at Iowa. The Illini (-1.5) posted a 75-69 victory on enemy turf, and the Over/Under total, which was posted at 142.5, went high. Really like Hawkeye's coach Ben McCollum, because he is a member in good standing of the Ben Club. He wins everywhere he goes, and he doesn't just win, he WINS! Ben posted a ridonkulous 395-91 (.813) record at Northwest Missouri State, a 31-4 (.886) record in his only year at Drake and is now 24-12 (.667) with Iowa. Sorry Ben, but the winning stops tonight. So we grab Illinois and drop the Illini from -6.5 to -0.5 against Iowa.
Moving to the West Regional for the Arizona/Purdue matchup. Both teams are coming in hot. Purdue has won seven in a row, but Arizona is on a crazy 12-0 run. The Boilermakers were lucky to escape on Thursday night against Texas, squeezing out a 79-77 victory. On the other bench, the Wildcats have been on a search & destroy mission in the tournament. They crushed LIU 92-58, beat Utah State 78-66 and breezed past Arkansas 109-88. Gonna grab 'Zona and slice the Wildcats from -6.5 to -0.5 against Purdue.
And gotta throw this AMAZING piece of tournament history at you. Arizona will be playing for its first trip to the Final Four since 2001. Iowa will be playing for its first trip to the Final Four since 1980. Why AMAZING? BOTH teams were coached by Hall of Famer LUTE OLSON! Now, that's AMAZING!
ECKstats
Las Vegas - Checking in on the West Regional tonight for a look at the 'what have you done lately' category. Arizona (35-2) is playing Purdue (30-8) for a trip to the Final Four. The Wildcats have won 10 of their last 10 straight up with a 7-3 record against the spread. They have gone Over six times and Under four. The Boilermakers have won eight of the last 10 straight up and have a 4-6 record against the spread. They have gone Over seven times and Under three times. These teams have not met this season.
