2013 NCAA Lacrosse Championship

FIRST ROUND

4/1/0

Maryland over Cornell

Cornell/Maryland o22½

Ohio State -2½ over Towson

Towson/Ohio State o18½

Loyola, MD/Duke o24½

Syracuse -5½ over Bryant

7/4/0

Maryland over Cornell

Cornell/Maryland o22½

Ohio State -2½ over Towson

Towson/Ohio State o18½

Loyola, MD/Duke o24½

Syracuse -5½ over Bryant

I went 5-0 in the first round.  5Dimes lines went up so late, I didn't have time to start a thread.  I played

Duke -135 and under 24.5

Denver over 30.5

Cornell +125

Bryant +5.5

Didn't even see that damn Ohio State line.    That was free money.  Cornell was going to beat Maryland.  It's funny, my team, UVa, had a terrible year, but they laid out the roadmap for beating the Terps.  If you can get them 6 on 6, they have very little that scares you.  The Big Red, on the other hand, have about six guys who are ligit threats when they get the ball.  Was impressed with OSU.  Never impressed by ND.  Syracuse must be crazy well coached, because there's not much elite talent out there.  Denver's good, but UNC is a crappy match-up for them.

No lines yet, but Duke will beat ND.  Cornell should beat OSU, though it might come down to face-offs.  UNC will outscore Denver (and probably anyone else they see). Yale/SU is intriguing.  I like Yale a lot, but I figure they'll find a way to get beat by two. 

Cornell - 1.5 / -215 and 23.5

Like the game over and think Cornell will win.  That said, -215 is a silly number.  OSU could totally win this game.  Hard to see this game staying under 23.5,

Syracuse -140 / Yale +100  and 18.5 - I'd probably play SU ML and would lean over, though I think this game is properly lined.

UNC -170 / Denver +130 and 25.5 - Christ, UNC might score 25.  Might look at UNC -1.5 +120

Duke -180 / ND +140 and 20.5 - I'll probably play Duke -1.5 at +115.  Another game where I'd probably lean over, though that number sounds about right.  12-8, 13-9. 

QUARTERFINALS

7/4/0

Cornell -1½ over Ohio State

Ohio State/Cornell o23½

Syracuse/Yale o18½

North Carolina -1½ over Denver

Denver/North Carolina o25½

Duke -1½ over Notre Dame

Notre Dame/Duke o25½ +105

REALLY WANT THAT DENVER/UNC TOTAL TO GO UP TO 26 BECAUSE AT -160 THAT SUCKS, SAME SAID FOR SYRACUSE/YALE AT 18 BEING AT -150, BLAH, GIVE ME 19

I seldom factor coaching into any sports wagering that I do, and I occassionally pay the price for it.  Bill Tierney coached circles around whoever that bubble-head at Carolina is. Denver doesn't have a very good defense and UNC has about six elite finishers.  Still, the Heels managed something like 6 goals out of a regular 6-on-6 set.  That's amazing.  The rest of their goals were off unsettled sitations and one came off the worst coaching decision I have perhaps ever seen in any sport (if you didn't see it, DU attempted to switch goalies while UNC had the ball; even as I type that, it doesn't seem possible).

I bought back some UNC/DU UNDER at some silly price, but I'm still mad about the 12 pipes (12!) hit in the game.  Christ, three of those go in, and the game goes over. 

I love Cornell. They a joy to watch. So many offensive weapons.  Steve Mock kind of gets disrespected because he's just viewed at Pannell's garbage man, but he's a great finisher.  I haven't always been a big fan of Pannell's, because he sometimes seems greedy, but he's be awesome for a month.  The Big Red even have a guy named Van Bourgundian, which is just cool.  They will, of course, lose to Duke, because I like them, and teams I like always lose.  I suspect I'll like the over, if it's anything under 26.  No way Cornell doesn't get 12. Duke will get 10+. Hard to see it under 25.  I suspect we'll see a pick'em with Cornell -125 or so.  The Big Red will be over-valued after destroying an OSU team that didn't seem to know how to handle the moment.  Duke has been to the final weekend seven straight times. 

Syracuse beat Yale exactly the way I figured they'd beat Yale - in some goofy, heartbreaking fashion.  I don't know what deal with the devil SU made, but it's been working out pretty well for 30 years.  Interesting game to line, as SU sounds like the "big team," but Denver's the better team.  Still, the Orange will probably win because a metiorite strikes down a last-second DU shot, or a sink-hole swallows two Pioneer players on a fast break.  I think 5 Dimes is going to have to post DU as the fav, as they are clearly the better lax team.  It's hard to account for SU's deal with the devil.  Total should be around 19.  Would probably lean under that, but that doesn't leave much margin for error. 

Oh, and I give a lot of credit to ND for getting it's head out of it's collective rear-end and playing very well.  That freshman attack guy is really, really good.  ND's coach seems like a PITA.  I find him hard to root for.  I guess I'd say the same thing about Tierney.  I was in the Denver Airport this year with the DU lax team.  They seemed like a bunch of insufferable pr1cks.  Of course, most lax players are insufferable pr1cks, so perhaps I'm being unfair.  My son got six in a game last Saturday.  He's insufferable, but not a pr!ck. 

QUARTERFINALS

8/10/0

Cornell -1½ over Ohio State

Ohio State/Cornell o23½

Syracuse/Yale o18½

North Carolina -1½ over Denver

Denver/North Carolina o25½

Duke -1½ over Notre Dame

Notre Dame/Duke o25½ +105

SEMIFINALS

8/10/0

NCAA Men's Lacrosse Semifinals - Lincoln Financial Field

Cornell -1½ over Duke

Syracuse/Denver o21½

They missed the total on the Cornell game, so now we're left with the ridiculous number of -185 on the Under 27.5.  I thought we'd see 25.5, which certainly would have come closer to splitting the action. The under here is a winner, albeit an expensive one.  I'm a little surprised you can get Duke +1.5 at plus money, though I probably wouldn't play against Cornell, mostly because I'm rooting for them anyway.  Still, Duke +165 is good value.

Hard to make a lot of sense out of Denver's results.  Syracuse has certainly been better down the stretch, but I think a lot of that has been coaching, and Tierney should be a match for Desko.  Should be close.  Would lean under 21.5 (+125), though 12-10 would hardly surprise. 

SEMIFINALS

8/12/0

NCAA Men's Lacrosse Semifinals - Lincoln Financial Field

Cornell -1½ over Duke

Syracuse/Denver o21½

Syracuse vs Duke - NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship - Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia

Duke -105 over Syracuse

Syracuse/Duke o22½

Syracuse/Duke o11½ 1H

Syracuse/Duke o5½ 1Q