WinnerOnline-Editorial

Updated April 6, 2009

NCAA basketball championship: Monday, April 6, 2009

The North Carolina Tar Heels covered as 7.5-point favorites and defeated the Michigan State Spartans 89-72.

The Total was set at 153 and went Over.

Final Four: Saturday, April 3, 2009

Michigan State punched a ticket to the NCAA basketball championship game by defeating UConn 82-73, the Spartans covered at +3.5.

North Carolina covered at -7.5 as it smoked Villanova 83-69.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Michigan State defeated Louisville 64-52 covering at +7.

North Carolina punched its ticket to the Final Four defeating Oklahoma 72-60 and covering at +7.

The Michigan State Spartans are listed at +3.5 and will play the UConn Huskies while the Villanova Wildcats will play the North Carolina Tar Heels listed at +7.5.

Elite Eight: Saturday, March 28, 2009

Not since the days of Rollie Massimino have the Villanova Wildcats made the Final Four and they did just that defeating Pitt 78-76 covering at +2.

Seeded No. 1 in the West, UConn will be the region's Final Four representative after defeating Mizzou 82-75 and covering a 5.5-point spread.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Louisville more than adequately covered the 9.5-point line set by sportsbooks in a 103-64 win over Arizona.

Listed as a pick'em by some, the Oklahoma Sooners where they way to go in this one, as they defeated Syracuse 84-71.

As a slight 1-point fave, the Michigan St. Spartans dethroned the defending champion Kansas Jayhawks 67-62.

Another top seed moves on as North Carolina defeated Gonzaga, covering at -7.5 in a 98-77 win.

Sweet 16: Thursday, March 26, 2009

Listed at -5.5 and with the recruiting violation probe casting a pall, the UConn Huskies covered the spread in a 72-60 victory.

Pittsburgh defeated Xavier 60-55 but failed to cover as a 6.5-point fave.

Memphis fought back from a huge deficit but still lost 102-91, failing to cover at -4 as well.

Villanova covered as a 2.5-point underdog and beat Duke 77-54.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Dayton' s 2009 March Madness journey ended when it lost both as an 8-point underdog and SU to Kansas 60-43.

Listed at +3.5, Wisconsin fell to Xavier 60-49.

9-point favorite Pitt failed to cover the spread in a 84-76 victory.

Louisville got all that it could handle from Siena in a 79-72 win but the Cards failed to cover at -12.

Second-Round: Saturday, March 21, 2009

The North Carolina Tar Heels covered at -13 in a 84-70 win over the LSU Tigers.

Memphis defeated Maryland 89-70 covering at -10 in the process.

UConn was also -10 and it too covered in a 92-66 victory over Texas A&M.

Villanova defeated UCLA as a 2.5-point fave by a final of 89-69.

The Purdue Boilermakers won a close won against the Washington Huskies 76-74 covering at +1.5.

Gonzaga beat Western Kentucky 83-81 but failed to cover at -11.

Duke failed to cover as a 7.5-point fave in a 74-69 win over Texas.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Kansas Jayhawks handled the North Dakota State Bison covering as 8.5-point faves in a 84-74 win.

The Marquette Golden Eagles almost blew their March Madness opening game barely defeating the Utah State Aggies 58-57. They did blow the game as a 5.5-point favorite.

Listed as a 21-point fave and the top seed in the East, the Pittsburgh Panthers failed to cover in a 72-62 win over East Tennessee St. Bucs.

The Arizona State Sun Devils defeated the Temple Owls 66-57 covering as 5-point faves in the process.

Cleveland St. pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament when it covered as an 8-point 'dog against Wake Forest in an 84-69 win.

It took two OT periods but the Siena Saints upset the Ohio State Buckeyes by a 74-72 final covering as a 2-point underdog.

Another upset took place when the Wisconsin Badgers not only covered as 2.5-point underdogs against the FSU Seminoles but won 61-59 as well.

First-Round: Thursday, March 19, 2009

There were some big lines today and not really any major upsets.

The North Carolina Tar Heels covered as 27-point faves handily beating Radford 101-58.

UConn hammered the Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs 103-47 covering as 22-point faves in the process.

Listed at -19.5, the Duke Blue Devils beat the Binghamton Bearcats 86-62.

There were some upsets however.

Even though the American Eagles lost to the Villanova Wildcats by a final of 80-67, the Eagles covered as 15-point faves.

Seeded 10th and seventh respectively in the South region, Michigan not only defeated Clemson 62-59, the Wolverines covered at +4.5.

Favored by as much as 20.5-points at some books, Cal State Northridge didn't beat the Memphis Tigers, losing 81-70 but they did cover.

The Maryland Terps defeated the Cal Golden Bears 84-71, covering as 1-point underdogs in the process.

The UCLA Bruins won by the hairs on their chinny, chin, chins when they defeated the Virginia Commonwealth Rams 65-64, however UCLA failed to cover at -8.5.

Probably the biggest upsets of the day occurred when Western Kentucky defeated Illinois 76-72; the WK Hilltoppers were 5-point 'dogs.

Opening Round - Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Morehead State Eagles covered as 2.5-point favorites in a 58-43 in the Opening Round match of March Madness and have earned a date with the Louisville Cardinals Friday.