Piaad 3 Basketball

Every year about this time the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference starts to separate the elite teams from the weak teams, the men from the boys, the contenders from the pretenders. This season is absolutely no exception. A few of the best Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference teams have made their presence felt this year and are poised to make a run at the league title. Let’s take a look at which teams have the best shots at accomplishing this feat. If you are interested in seeing the end-of-season conference championship tournament, make sure you head on over to StubHub.com to get tickets. Or, if your favorite team makes it to The Dance, get NCAA Tournament tickets to see their games!

Siena – The Siena Saints ended the 2010 regular season atop the MAAC standings, with a record of 24-6 overall and 16-1 inside the conference.  This team looks like it is set for another NCAA Tournament run, and perhaps even a couple of wins in the tourney as well.  But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The Saints have played very good defense overall this year, and they’re particularly adept at consistently keeping their opponents from getting to the free throw line. Some of the team’s best wins came against Northeastern in the beginning of the season, and then against Fairfield in mid-January.

However, some of the Siena fans are worried about this team’s lack of action against top-tier teams. As recently as Feb. 20 the Saints left their somewhat easy conference schedule to play the better-than-average Butler. They ended up getting creamed, 70-53. Let’s hope that, once in the NCAA Tournament, the Siena boys can mount a better solid effort against a good team.

Fairfield – Fairfield has an outside shot at winning the MAAC title or even, perhaps, getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They finished 20-9 overall and 13-5 in the MAAC. However, one problem with Fairfield is its lack of success against the top teams in the nation. While they played Maryland, Rhode Island and Siena this season, they failed to beat these teams and thus do not have a signature season-defining win to their credit. Most of Fairfield’s offense runs through Derek Needham, a point guard who can get into the lane but more often than not shoots from the outside and dishes to the always-dangerous Anthony Johnson. This is a team that could cause headaches for any first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament—assuming Fairfield can get there, of course.

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is coming to a thrilling conclusion heading into tourney time, and the race for the league title is heating up by the second. Will you be there to see which MAAC team has what it takes to win the conference and make an appearance in the NCAA Basketball Tournament? Get tickets to the final games of the season from StubHub and cheer for your favorite MAAC team to go all the way in this year’s big dance!

The Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers will meet on the court at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night at 7:00pm EST in a battle of division rivals in a game that can be seen on ESPN. NBA betting odds have the Cavaliers listed as 13-point favorites in basketball picks against the Pistons while the game’s with a total of 198. The Pistons were crushed 128-104 by the New York Knicks last time out as 4-point underdogs in NBA odds. That game’s 232 points sailed OVER the posted total of 205 in NBA picks at online sportsbooks.

Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince had 16 points apiece for the Pistons for their fifth straight loss in sports odds. “We lost our edge tonight, there’s no question about it, and I was disappointed, because we’ve been playing some pretty good basketball up until tonight. And give them credit, they made shots,” Detroit coach John Kuester said after the game. “We did not play with the type of intensity we have in the past.” Heading into tonight’s match-up on ESPN, the Pistons are 21-40 straight up, 25-33-3 against the spread as favorites in NBA betting odds, and 6-4 after playing the Knicks. Bet the Pistons +13 as road underdogs in NBA picks against the Cavaliers for tonight’s game with a 10% bonus and 110% poker instant bonus.

LeBron James poured in 26 points and dished out 14 assists for a double-double on Wednesday, one short of his career high, as the Cavaliers defeated the Nets 111-92. The Cavaliers covered the 10-point spread in NBA betting odds and the 203 points made it OVER the posted total of 195 at online sportsbooks. J.J. Hickson collected 20 points with 13 rebounds for a double-double for the Cavaliers. Antawn Jamison chipped in with 19 points in that win. “Guys knocked down shots,” James said after the game. “Our offense puts guys in position and I attract a lot of attention. I trust my teammates when I get the ball to them.” Bet the Cavaliers -13 as home favorites in NBA betting picks against the Pistons with a 10% bonus.

Heading into tonight’s game on ESPN, the Cavaliers have won five straight games, are 48-14 straight up on the season, 31-29-2 against the spread as favorites in NBA betting odds and 4-6 after playing New Jersey. Cleveland is 5-0 against the spread in NBA picks for their last 5 games when playing Detroit and 13-1 straight up for their last 14 games at home. The Pistons are 2-7 against the spread in NBA odds for their last 9 games when playing on the road against Cleveland and 6-13 against the spread in their last 19 games on the road. The NBA betting total has gone UNDER in 16 of Detroit’s last 19 games when playing on the road against Cleveland. Vegas sports odds at the MGM Mirage sportsbook have the Cleveland Cavaliers -13 favorites over the Detroit Pistons with a total of 198.

A basketball player should eat healthy not just for the game but for his overall health. But since the sport burns a lot of energy, players should eat more foods that contain the right nutrients that will give him the energy to sustain his fuel requirement – but still balanced to attain optimum use.

There are 2 basic food groups that a basketball player should eat: protein and carbohydrates.

Proteins – are the building blocks of the body which is responsible for paving the increase of strength and muscle mass through exercise. Protein is found in fish, eggs, dairy products, milk, and meat. There are also kinds of vegetables that are rich in protein. These are leguminous plants or plants which grow on the vine or climbing pea or bean such as peanuts, soya, and asparagus. Protein should supply 10 percent of our energy needs.

Carbohydrates – are essential for the functioning of our brain. Carbohydrates are stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. They are often found in foods such as rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, fruits, honey, jam, and pulses. Carbohydrates should supply 50 percent of our energy needs however, since a basketball player requires more fuel to keep him in the game, some sports nutritionists require players to have 70 percent carbo diet. 

As always, fat is needed but should be minimized.

Before the game…

Eat at least 1 hour before the game. This gives the body ample time to digest the food before using it during the game. It is suggested that the player should eat lots of carbohydrates to store energy.

During the game…

Players aren’t often seen eating during the game but most people don’t know about this: eating a bananna during the game helps players to replenish lost energy quickly. Regularly drinking fluid during the game helps the player to bring back the water he has lost from the game.

After the game…

After the game, the player should eat protein, then carbohydrates. This is because protein helps facilitates carbohydrate to replenish the storage chemical of the cell of the body called glycogen. Glycogen stores glucose, an important component in metabolism. Without these two, the body won’t regain the energy that is lost from the previous game and will contribute to mental and physical fatigue.

Take note that protein and carbohydrates aren’t the only requirements of a player. He should also exercise to help keep his body healthy and fit.