Capturing Cricket Cash and Bolstering Butler

John Daly gave us another ride this time.  However his one over second round put him out of contention but made the cut.  His green and white pants made more headlines on Friday.  Meanwhile, the World Cup of Cricket started off.  Australia crushed England in the second game of this long tourney.  ATB will start examining key games.  Today, we look at an up and coming NHL team.  Also we have a NCAAM Free Pick for you today in this edition of your ATB News.

Developing Character

Young gun NHL teams can find it difficult in their initial Stanley Cup Playoff runs.  The amount of open ice considerably shrinks as goals become a premium.  Bodies are strewn about blocking shots and pulverizing forwards into the boards.  This is what the Islanders are facing but an injury has blossomed into an opportunity.  Kyle Okposo is a key cog and without him, the goal scoring has dropped.  Facing this, their third and fourth lines have risen to address the shortfall.  A few losses started but then the wins started coming as the physical game missing in most teams like this have been discovered. Casey Cizikas and Colin McDonald have been called up and now are part of this fourth line.  Depth and quality of character has been found in New York.  Tailing the Islanders in the playoffs could pay off handsomely this year.

Bolstering Butler

Today the Butler Bulldogs have a chance to move into a tie atop the Big East.  This from a team that was picked near seventh in the conference preseason polls.  At 18-6, they are 8-3 in conference and get to play Villanova tonight.  What makes this program a safe bet this season is that they do not lose to teams they should not.  Under the top 35 in the RPI, Butler has only lost once.  This huge game will be the ATB Free Pick Selection for Saturday.

+2 is the spread for a Butler team that is 12-1 at home.  Their offense goes through one man, Kellen Dunham.  He can be contained despite his 16.7 ppg.  He is slow on the dribble but can get his shot off against sloppy defense.  Offensive rebounding got them over the hump against North Carolina.  With Villanova unable to contain offensive rebound chances, Butler could get the win they covet.  At +2, just take the Butler moneyline as hustle wins out this evening.  Good fortune and we will talk to you tomorrow.