NCAA Basketball Free Pick – Friday, February 25, 2011
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Siena (11-16, 7-9 MAAC) at Fairfield (22-5, 14-2 MAAC)
Date/Time: Friday, February 25, 2011, 9:00PM EST
Venue: Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Broadcast: ESPN2
Money Line: Siena +350 / Fairfield -450
Spread: Farfield-9 ½
Over/Under: 132
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Fairfield continued their upswing as the Stags lit up Bridgeport on Saturday beating the Austin Peay Governors, 76-69.
Now they will turn their attention to the visiting Siena Saints who snapped their four-game losing skid with a 71-60 win over the Maine Black Bears their last time out.
Siena was deadly accurate from behind the arc, crushing Maine in three pointers with 24 points from beyond the arc. Siena definitely had one of their better performances in blocked shots. They registered seven for the game and destroyed their 3.4 season average.
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Clarence Jackson had his fourth straight double-digit point game, leading the Saints with 17 points on 50 percent shooting in 29 minutes while Ryan Rossiter, recorded a double-double including a game-high 16 rebounds. It was his 22nd this season and 54th of his career.
The long and short here is Siena notched a needed win against a cupcake team in beating Maine, but it still won’t help their NCAA tournament resume. While, it may be too late for the Saints, they could play spoiler by beating the Stags who are trying to notch its first trip to the Big Dance since 1970s. It was, perhaps, the golden age of Fairfield basketball. There were three trips to the National Invitation Tournament and three trips to the ECAC tournament. There was a 16-win season, two 17-win seasons, an 18-win season, and a 22-win season.
The Stags looked good against the Governors, as they spread the ball around and dished out 14 assists while taking advantage of 25 Governors’ turnovers to secure their win.
Derek Needham, who has led the team in scoring in 15 out of 27 games this season, did it again posting a game-high 19 points in 39 minutes while Ryan Olander helped the cause by topping everyone with three big blocked shots.
Fairfield needs wins, regardless of the how good the competition is, and Austin Peay isn’t top-tier. But the win extended the Stages winning streak to four and has to be a confidence builder for sure.
Entering Friday’s game, the Stags are slight favorites over the Siena Saints. Who have gone 5-8 on the road this season while the Stags are a middling 7-7 and home.
The odds makers have the Fairfield Stags as a -9.5 point favorite with an over/under of 132.
Matt’s Free Pick: Fairfield – The Stags shouldn’t have too much trouble with the Saints. All they need to do is play like they have over their last four, and they should pick up a tourney bid win.
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Siena Saints Betting Trends:
- Siena is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Siena is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Siena’s last 8 games on the road
- Siena is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Fairfield
Fairfield Stags Betting Trends:
- Fairfield is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- Fairfield is 21-2 SU in its last 23 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Fairfield’s last 6 games
- Fairfield is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games at home
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