American hosts Holy Cross in Patriot League title tilt

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2009 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded American University Eagles and the second-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders are set to do battle in the 2009 Patriot League Tournament title game. Considering the fact that the semifinal round took place on Sunday, expect both teams to be well-prepared and rested this afternoon.

Holy Cross crushed seventh-seeded Bucknell in the quarterfinals, 75-56, and dominated sixth-seeded Colgate in the semifinals, 61-44. The Crusaders have won this tournament five times, more than any other league member, and the most recent crown was captured in 2007. They are participating in the title tilt for the seventh time in nine years, impressive to say the least.

American beat eighth-seeded Lafayette by 22 points in the quarterfinal round before squeaking by fourth-seeded Army, 61-60, in the semis. The Eagles are the defending Patriot League Tournament champs, as they knocked off Colgate in the title game a year ago. They are 23-7 overall and cruised to the regular season title with a 13-1 mark against PL opponents.

Holy Cross owns a 15-6 series lead over American, but the Eagles won the most recent meeting in a 56-50 final on February 21st.

Looking at the recent win over Colgate, Holy Cross played tremendous team defense, limiting its overmatched opponent to 31.9 percent shooting from the field. A 40-26 rebounding advantage also helped the cause for the Crusaders, who got 19 points from Eric Meister and 14 from R.J. Evans. The only double- digit scorer on the roster is Evans, as he averages a modest 13.3 ppg. No other individual is posting more than 8.8 ppg. This marks the third straight season and fifth time in eight years that Holy Cross and American will meet in this tournament. In the league's history, teams playing on their home court have a 55-12 record, and the Crusaders will attempt to defy that trend this afternoon.

American currently holds the second-longest active winning streak in the country at 12 games and has won 18 of its last 19 games overall. The Eagles are 14-6 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament and 6-1 in games played at Bender Arena. They have now reached the title game five times in eight years and have played in the semifinal round every year during that eight-year span. There are three double-digit scorers in the AU lineup, and Garrison Carr leads the trio with 17.6 ppg despite 39 percent shooting from the field. Brian Gilmore provides 12.2 ppg on the strength of his 43.1 percent accuracy from three-point range, and Derrick Mercer brings 11.5 ppg to the lineup. In the one-point win over Army in the semifinals, Gilmore scored 19 points while Carr finished with 17.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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