Sunday Elite 8 Play of the Day

North Carolina

Let's see if I can keep this up.  2-0 yesterday with Arizona and Butler.

I'm not sure why North Carolina is getting 1.5 points from Kentucky, but I'll take it.  After all, the Tar Heels are 11-3 ATS in their last 14 NCAA Tournament games.  UNC beat Kentucky back in December and their only loss in their last 13 games was to Duke.  Harrison Barnes is proving to be a force and a team leader here down the stretch.

It has to be the Tar Heels day.

As far as Kansas and VCU.  I like Kansas to win the game, but based on how this tournament is going I like VCU getting the 11 points.

VCU's run will come to an end, but they will cover with the 11.

Friday NCAA Sweet 16 Play of the Day

Marquette

Getting 4.5 points from North Carolina makes Marquette the play tonight in NCAA Sweet 16 action.

Marquette has come on late in the season as they are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, and against ACC foes they are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games.

The Tar Heels are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games as a favorite and other than Long Island, they aren't blowing teams out.

Look for Marquette to keep it close and cover.

Here are my predictions for the other three games tonight:

Take Richmond +10.5 vs. Kansas

Take Ohio St. -6 vs. Kentucky

and

Take VCU +4 vs. Florida St.

Good Luck!

Remains of Tropical Storm Nicole Head up East Coast

A storm system moving up the East Coast soaked parts of North Carolina on Thursday, caused soggy morning commutes in the Northeast and prompted worries of flooding as far north as Maine.

Tornado watches were issued from North Carolina to New Jersey.

In North Carolina, the nearly 21 inches collected in Wilmington since rain started falling Sunday topped Hurricane Floyd's five-day mark of 19 inches set in 1999, the National Weather Service said.

Farther north, parts of eastern Virginia were under flash flood warnings. The National Weather Service also issued a tornado watch for 33 eastern Virginia counties and 21 cities, including Richmond, Williamsburg, Arlington and the Hampton Roads area.

Flash flood watches were also in effect for areas in Maryland, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

In southeastern North Carolina, about 9 inches of rain fell at the Sunny Point military terminal in Brunswick County between midnight and 6 a.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service in Wilmington reported.

The downpour came as a low pressure system from the west mixed with the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole. Nicole dissipated over the Straits of Florida on Wednesday and its remaining rainbands were expected to remain mainly offshore while tracking northward.

Earl to Hit North Carolina First

Hurricane Earl has weakened some as it approaches North Carolina, but still packs a Category 2 wallop and was expected to sideswipe the coast, hitting hardest as it passed off Cape Hatteras in early morning hours with winds of 100 mph or more.

But even a small wobble in its path could mean huge differences in the power of the wind and waves churning offshore. So state officials had prepared for days, including placing 22 pieces of earth-moving equipment along the coastal highway to scrape off sand and repair pavement after the storm. The Department of Transportation also positioned ferries to move people off Hatteras Island if the road to the lone bridge was, as expected, cut.

There could be flooding from the sound side of the Outer Banks Friday morning, but the wind, rain and surf should begin dying down.