Sports Bet College Basketball: NCAA College Basketball Picks Odds & Betting Lines

April 1, 2002

Monday: Slam Duncan Sports - Indiana/Maryland Over
Tuesday: Hoops Wins -
Wednesday: Black Sports -
Thursday: Tipped Off Basketball Locks 2002 - br> +4½
Friday: Networked Sports -
Saturday: Slam Duncan Sports -
Sunday: Win Club 2002 -

Featured Picks courtesy of SportsBetAmerica.com

Indiana Hoosiers (25-11) vs. Maryland Terrapins (31-4)
(NCAA Championship - Georgia Dome - Atlanta, Georgia)

The Indiana Hoosiers will look to make NCAA Tournament history, as no fifth seed has ever won a National Championship. The Hoosiers have played the underdog role since the Sweet 16. The upset over Oklahoma, 73-64 in Saturday's Final Four carried the Hoosiers to it's sixth National Championship game and first since 1987. They have never lost a final contest. Maryland has won 31 of its 35 games this season and reached its first-ever final, by upsetting the Kansas Jayhawks, 97-88. The Hoosiers have a 4-0 all-time advantage against the Terrapins. The two last met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1981, when the Hoosiers crushed the Terps, 99-64.

The Hoosiers have gotten production from so many players during the tournament. Their team MVP, Jared Jeffries was held to eight points and eight rebounds Saturday. Guard Tom Coverdale, who has been hampered by a sprained ankle played 29 minutes, scoring three points and handing out four assists. Donald Perry backed up Coverdale and scored a career-high 10 points. Center Jarrad Odle is the only starter that posted double figures in scoring, with 11 points. Forward Jeff Newton came off the bench for a career day. Newton scored a career-high 19 points, while grabbing six rebounds and blocking four shots.

The Terps feature fine balance and an outstanding inside-outside game, but during the tournament, guard Juan Dixon has carried the club. The All-American tied his career-high with 33 points, on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor and 5-of-11 from beyond the arc in the win over Kansas. Dixon is averaging 27.2 ppg during the tournament and has reached 27 points in four of the five tournament contests. Steve Blake starts along side Dixon. The solid point guard scored eight points and handed out 11 assists last time out. Lonny Baxter, Chris Wilcox and Byron Mouton form a strong frontline. The Terps potent offensive attack his averaging 85.3 ppg.