Pac 10 Parlay

The college regular season is heading to a close, which means sadly there are only a few more betting weeks left before the crapshoot that is March Madness. Right now, my bankroll is looking very N.I.T., but a late push here can make all the difference.

California -2 at Washington State. Coming off a really bad loss to Arizona State and with Washington on the horizon, this is a pretty big game for the Bears as a three game losing streak is not a way to win friends with the selection committee. Leon Powe should take control early and put Washington State coach Dick Bennett in a really bad mood. Oh wait, he's always in a bad mood. Nevertheless, I think this will be one of those games where Cal actually plays with some focus and fools some people into believing they're a really good team.

Stanford +9 at Washington. After losing at home to the Wildcats, Stanford knows that they need to run the table and go deep into the Pac 10 tourney if they want any hope at an invitation to the big dance. That dream could come to an end very quickly as the Huskies will be seeking payback for a giveaway loss at Stanford earlier in the season. Washington has been winning of late, but they haven't been blowing people out. I think that trend continues tonight as they win a close game, something like 75-71. In other prop bets: over/under on points for Brandon Roy- 18; over/under on the BAC for the Stanford tree- .18. I like the over on both.

Oregon State +15.5 at UCLA. Since the Olympics are coming to a close, I'll go ahead and evaluate this game with an Olympics' metaphor. With the grind it out style of play that Ben Howland has chosen for UCLA, it would take a gold medal performance for the Bruins to beat anyone by 16 or more. Like fellow Westwood native Sasha Cohen, I expect UCLA to earn a silver tonight, winning the game by around seven or so. The invitation for a long, soothing massage in consolation for the silver, however, is extended only to Ms. Cohen.