Daily ArchivesMarch 11, 2016 - HRWager.ag

March Madness for 2016 sees a polarizing situation for the top teams.  When the calendar first turned to 2016, top teams were falling left and right.  The resulting aftermath finally has given us four teams that are almost entrenched as top seeds for Selection Sunday.  Good morning and welcome to HRWager.  Today, we will be focusing on those four and other major schools that should hold up their seedings when the action starts next week.

March Madness : Kansas is Class of Their Own

When a team has the ability to flame out in the Big 12 tourney and still hold a number one seed, they must have a quality resume.  28-4 with most wins against the RPI 50.  Combine that with their dominance of the Big 12 for over a decade and they are the class of the tournament this year.  Look for Villanova, North Carolina, and Virginia to snag the other top seeds for the big dance.

#1 Seeds Do Not Dominate Betting Favorites

Linesmakers like to take under consideration recent momentum as a key for NCAA futures to win the tournament. This has a higher precedence over the seeding for wagering purposes.  This is a sample of what the NCAA futures are to win the whole show as of right now.

1. Michigan State +500
2. Kansas +500
3. North Carolina +900
4. Kentucky +1000
5. Oklahoma +1200 

The non number one projected seeds among the favorites have a marquee star to lead the way.  Denzel Valentine’s presence with Michigan State has been seen when he was hurt and the Spartans slid off the map.  Oklahoma has Billy Heid and his absurdly high points per game he brings the Sooners.  Finally, the Wildcats of Kentucky has the usual influx of freshman talent whose prowess peaks around this time of season.

With a look ahead, we can savor the appetizers of the conference tournaments right now.  Do your scouting for the big dance and make a profit to boot.  Allow your superior sports knowledge to translate into cold hard cash.  Invest in your HRWager account and reap the potential from the 2016 March Madness.

Sports investors crave NHL Free Picks that are not only profitable but provide entertainment value as well.  Here we have the Blackhawks (41-21-6) visit the Dallas Stars (40-20-8) on 3/11.  Tied at first place, this will break up the log jam in the Central.  With St. Louis a scant point away, the loser here could find themselves tumbling all the way down to third place.  Which way will the winds of profit blow in from for this 8:30 PM EST start this Friday?

NHL Free Pick : No Consensus

Linesmakers and even the open market themselves can not decide on a favorite here.  The biggest weakness of either team coming into this one has to be with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Their penalty kill unit has been one of the worst in the league in their last twelve games.  In that limited span, just a shade over 61 percent of the man advantage situation nullified is not going to win you games.  Some of this can be explained by that energy lull in this part of the season.  Too soon to ramp up the playoff machine, teams tread water and the ones that rely on defensive skills suffer more than the offensively gifted teams.

Dallas Also Lags Defensively

Injuries have more to play in the role of this stat.  40 goals allowed in their last ten games.  Jordie Benn and John Klingberg have those mysterious lower body injuries to thin their defense.  Now add the name Jason Demers and his shoulder to the scratch list.  Couple that with their top line of forwards slumping offensively and the Stars are in a bad way coming into this game.    Finally, goalie Antti Niemi has been on the shelf close to ten days.  His close to five goals against in his last five games has seen him lose starts to backup Kari Lehtonen.  Dallas’ starting goaltender is unconfirmed as of this article’s press time.

In a battle of near equals in a pivotal game, energy concerns fall by the wayside for handicapping purposes.  The penalty kill unit for the Blackhawks will be infused with effort and that is a lot of the battle when faced man down situations.  Dallas has a host of injuries and talent is much harder to compensate for.  HRWager advises our friends and clients to invest in the Blackhawk ML this evening.  Good fortune and we will see you later on in the day here at the HRW