You’ll recall that last December we pissed off what seemed like the entire state of Montana with a selection on Appalachian State plus the points over the Grizzles in the 1-AA/FCS football semifinals.  Maybe this can be considered some kind of atonement.  Anyway, we got off to a brutal start on the first day of March Madnesss betting losing in OT with Florida +5 over BYU.   There’s no bigger rip in the shorts than losing in OT with a decent priced underdog.  We rebounded nicely with our other early play on Murray State as they were an outright winner over Vanderbilt.  We’ll try to keep the winners coming for the evening session starting with Montana vs. New Mexico. One suggestion for the University of Montana–you need to get more pictures of your cheerleaders and/or other campus hotties online. They’re hard to come by and as a result I’ve been forced to resort to a picture of a dude in a bear suit.

MONTANA VS. NEW MEXICO:

This game goes at 6:50 Pacific.  You people in Big Sky Country already know how good Montana’s Anthony Johnson is, but for the rest of you take heed–he may be the best player on the court in this game.  The only reason that Johnson isn’t a lock for the NBA is his size–he may be a little small for an NBA shooting guard.  He’s definitely got pro level skills.  He probably won’t get drafted, but he’s the kind of guy with superior talent, excellent work ethic and generally a good head on his shoulders that find a way into the league.  Were I a NBA GM he’s the kind of guy I’d take a shot on even if he’s not the prototypical 2 guard.  In any case, this is a great opportunity for Johnson to showcase his skills.  The rap on Montana is that they’re a one man team which may be true to some extent, but in this case that may not be a bad thing.  Montana shoots the ball well from behind the arc–as does New Mexico.  We look for the Grizzlies to slow the tempo, which may take the Lobos out of their game somewhat.  Ultimately, we don’t trust New Mexico to get a sizable margin against a decent team with an individual talent like Johnson.  New Mexico is on a 2-5 SU/1-6 ATS run on neutral courts; Montana has done well this year in non-conference games (7-3 ATS) and against teams with winning records (10-6 SU/11-5 ATS).

PLAY MONTANA +8′ OVER NEW MEXICO