Irish, ‘dogs prove wags wrong

It only seems as if Luke Harangody has been playing the low post for Notre Dame since Digger Phelps was the coach. The truth is, Harangody is a fourth-year senior, with a lot of mileage on his tires.

But you can bet the Fighting Irish would like to rescind the lifetime contract Charlie Weis signed and gave it to Harangody.

In just the past three weeks, Notre Dame has put together a fat NCAA Tournament resume, adding a 50-45 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.

Harangody, who missed five games late in the season with a bone bruise on his right knee, scored 12 points to help upset the Panthers, who were 2½-point favorites.

I bet on Notre Dame, partly because the Irish are riding a hot streak, and also because it's wise to look mostly for quality underdogs in conference tournaments. It's a lesson I learned, sometimes the hard way, a long time ago.

"When the average Joe looks at some of the spreads for these conference tournament games, his first reaction often is, 'That number looks a little low,' " Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay said.

"But in reality, history tells you the 'dogs are live, not only for the cover but also the outright win, because they are playing with desperation. Most of the time it's the underdogs' last chance, and there are a lot of do-or-die games."

When teams meet on neutral courts, with multiple motivational factors in play, odd results tend to pop up everywhere. It's a tricky time to bet the favorites.

The Big East games Thursday made for a good example. The underdogs went 3-1 straight up and 4-0 against the spread, with Georgetown upending Syracuse, Marquette surprising Villanova and West Virginia, a big favorite, needing a Da'Sean Butler buzzer-beater to beat Cincinnati.

In Thursday's conference tournaments (excluding two late games and one pick 'em line) in the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, Southeastern and Mountain West, underdogs posted a 16-8 record against the spread.

The three biggest favorites on the board -- Kansas, Brigham Young and New Mexico -- all failed to cover.

Kansas, an 18-point favorite, topped Texas Tech, 80-68. BYU, favored by 17, trailed at the half before beating Texas Christian, 95-85. New Mexico, also a 17-point favorite, had to sweat before subduing Air Force, 75-69.

The Falcons were coached by Jeff Reynolds, but it might as well have been Gene Hackman on the bench because the game had a "Hoosiers" feel to it. The Falcons went 1-15 in the MWC regular season, and the top-seeded Lobos went 14-2, yet a mismatch on paper turned into a dogfight.

The 'dogs showed up hungry at the Thomas & Mack Center. Colorado State, a 10-point underdog, squandered a golden opportunity in a 72-71 loss to San Diego State. The Rams might have won if not for star forward Andy Ogide being ejected on a lame call in the first half.

In the Pac-10, Stanford was a 7½-point underdog in a 70-61 victory over Arizona State. All the motivation was with the Sun Devils, who have been sitting on the NCAA bubble, but they got smoked anyway.

Harangody's return sparked Notre Dame (23-10) to a six-game winning streak that has punched its NCAA ticket. But the Irish, who will be underdogs to West Virginia today, could fight fatigue while playing for the third time in three days.

Beware of potentially tired 'dogs, but one that looks live is Northwestern getting points against Purdue.

■ CONTEST TIME -- Several sports books, including Lucky's, Leroy's and those at the M Resort and Station Casinos, will be offering contests for the NCAA Tournament.

The Leroy's "Three 'n out" contest requires a $25 entry fee. Entrants pick one game (side or total) every day of the tournament, and when you lose three times, you're eliminated.

Lucky's is guaranteeing $6,000 in total prize money in its "College Basketball Bailout Contest." The fee is $10, and entrants select the point-spread winners in each tournament game.

The contests offer entertaining ways to bet the NCAA Tournament without risking a big bankroll.

Contact Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.