Ben Howland does really really good in the NCAA tournament. Get this. UCLA under Ben Howland has won half of their games as an underdog. I don’t mean just covering the spread…I mean they BEAT the other team.
1. UCLA lost against Texas Tech in 2005 0/1
2. UCLA beat Memphis in 2006. Memphis was the #1 seed in the West and was a 2.5 favorite. 1/2
3. UCLA beat LSU in the Final Four in 2006. Again, LSU was a 2.5 point favorite. 2/3
4. Florida was favored against UCLA by 1.5 and beat UCLA in the National Title game of 2006. 2/4
5. UCLA beat Kansas and was, once again, a 2.5 point favorite over UCLA. 3/5
6. Florida was favored over UCLA in the final four by -3.5 points. 3/6
There you have it. Under UCLA, Ben Howland has won half of his games when the other team is favored.
and, for what its worth, lost none.
Did I mention I love Ben Howland?
March 31st, 2008 at 12:57 am
[...] Ben Howland pretty much is the man. We’re going to win it all. (Gutty Little Bruins) [...]
March 31st, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Here’s another one for you: UCLA is 22-7-1 Against the Spread (ATS) overall as an underdog over the last few years. They perform particularly well as a small dog (from +1.0 to +5.5), going 8-2 ATS over that span.
I will say that the Bruins had perhaps the least impressive run to the Final Four (although UNC beat a bunch of cream puffs and Louisville) but there is no doubt that they are ready for this game. I think they are a great value play.