Free 2011 NCAA Basketball Championship Pick

Monday's 2011 NCAA Tournament Championship Game concludes the 2010-11 season of college basketball, which for us really just began and March. We've had a successful run considering a) we hadn't bet on a college basketball game this season until the tournament and b) we bet on every single game in the tournament. Even with those two caveats, we've gone 55% during the tourney, proving yet again that we are pretty much awesome at whatever we do, regardless.

We'll try to continue our awesomeness with our championship pick:

Butler +3 1/2 over Connecticut

Given the lack of attractive girls from Butler posting scandalous pictures on the internet, please accept the above photo of Matt Howard bleeding his face off. Please, ladies of Butler, feel free to send along any such photos (scandalous, not bleeding) to stocklemonblog@gmail.com and we will ensure that you get the appropriate attention from our site.

For posterity's sake, here are our records thus far from the 2011 NCAA Tournament March Madness:

Round 1: 3-0-1

Round 2: 16-16

Round 3: 7-9

Sweet 16: 7-1

Elite Eight: 1-3

Final Four: 2-0

Total: 36-29-1... 55%

Free NCAA Tournament Final Four Picks

It's Final Four time, folks. The culmination of a month-long period in which the nation pretends to still care about the NBA's farm system is this weekend. Here are our Final Four Picks:

Butler -2 1/2 over VCU

UConn +2 over Kentucky

Best of luck and check back Sunday for our Free 2011 NCAA Basketball Championship Pick!

And Then, There Was The Final Four

Just as we had predicted to start the NCAA Basketball season, VCU and Butler will be playing for the National Championship... or not.

Actually, we only correctly picked (against the spread) that Butler would be back. We got beaten by the hook in the UConn game (-2 1/2) and were flat out wrong on the others. So here we are, VCU, Butler, Kentucky and Connecticut. We'll have our picks later this week.

And no, we don't know why the only pictures of hot basketball girls happen to be Asian. Not that we're complaining.

The results:

Round 1: 3-0-1

Round 2: 16-16

Round 3: 7-9

Sweet 16: 7-1

Elite Eight: 1-3

Total: 34-29-1... 54%

It's Been a Sweet 16, Indeed (7-1 Round)

Our picks rebounded on the way to the Elite Eight, giving us one of our most profitable weekends of NCAA Tourney action, well, all season. And yes, that is Diana Taurasi. Deal with it.

Here are our Elite Eight Picks:

UConn -2 1/2 over Arizona

Butler +4 over Florida

North Carolina +2 over Kentucky

Kansas -10 1/2 over VCU

And a record update:

Round 1: 3-0-1

Round 2: 16-16

Round 3: 7-9

Sweet 16: 7-1

Total: 33-26-1... 56%

Adding One Game To Saturday's Card

Just one pick to add today to our previous picks posted last night:

UConn -6 over Temple

Add that to our previous picks and we've got a eight-play Saturday and a nine pick week. It's our smallest card of the season, but hey, quality over quantity.

Oregon State -20 1/2 over Louisville

USC -12 over Minnesota

Wisconsin -12 over Arizona State

Utah State +3 1/2 over Fresno State

Florida State -10 1/2 over BYU

Purdue -17 over Ball State

Alabama -24 1/2 over Duke

And again, that's Oregon STATE over Louisville. Best of luck to everyone and enjoy the Saturday. Here's a look at our Free NCAA Football Pick results so far:

Free NCAA Football Picks
Week 1: 5-4-1
Week 2: 8-4
Week 3: 1-0
Overall: 14-8-1... 64%

Ride Our 67% Free NCAA Football Picks!

If there's one thing we love about the beginning of a new season, it's that if we have a good first week, we can advertise our bloated percentage like the capping Gods that we are. Last week's 2-1 performance qualified as a good first week.

While 67% isn't too far fetched for some of our systems, our Free NCAA Football Picks were just 53% last season. Regardless, we're hoping for an even better week this time around to further inflate our winning percentage. Here are our Free NCAA Football Picks that we believe will help us do just that.

North Carolina -5 over Connecticut

Wake Forest -3 over Stanford

Army PICK over Duke

If you recall, we lost last Thursday before going 2-0 on Saturday, so we should be advertising our Free NCAA Football Picks as 100% on Saturdays. Hopefully we'll be able to next week.

Good luck!

2009 NBA Draft Lottery Proposition Bets

We've looked at several 2009 NBA Draft proposition bets over the last few days, and are mostly going of off those posted at BetED. We've narrowed our search for probably winners down to six different props, two of which involve four players that are nearly locked in as lottery picks. With that in mind, we'll reveal those first.

This close to the actual draft, many of the betting options that are favored to win are favored for very good reasons, so you're going to be getting pennies on the dollar with many of these. Still, if you find enough that you like--and get enough right--you can make some nice change on the NBA Draft.

Both of the lottery props that stood out to us are "Which player will get drafted first" type of deals.

UConn center Hasheem Thabeet (-325) vs. Arizona State guard James Harden (+225)

At -325, it's tough to bet Thabeet, but it would be an enormous upset for Harden to go before him (even bigger than Harden's appealing money line suggests). Big men are at such a premium in this draft, and we still think Thabeet will be the second player off the board. It's much easier to find a guy who can do similar things to Harden then it is to find someone to bring the size and defense of a guy like Thabeet. If you're willing to put a decent amount on this one it could be worth your while.

Davidson sharpshooter Stephen Curry (-200) vs. Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn (+150)

This one is a little tougher, as indicated by the lower juice for Curry, but we have to go with the favorite in this one as well. Curry could go as high as the top five, though he probably won't. Flynn is rising fast, which makes us a little reluctant to pull the trigger on Curry, but in the end we think Curry has done nothing but help himself over the last few months and should be off the board before Flynn. All it takes is one team, though...

We'll have some more prop bets for you later in the day in preparation for the 2009 NBA Draft tonight, so stay tuned.

2009 NBA Mock Draft: Picks 1-2

Our pick-by-by 2009 NBA Lottery Mock Draft begins today with the first two picks in the draft. The Clippers have an obvious choice, while the Grizzlies isn't so easy.

We'll roll the picks out in pairs for the next week leading up the real NBA Draft on June 25.

1. Clippers: Blake Griffin, PF/C, Oklahoma

The Clippers won the Griffin sweepstakes thanks to a little bit of luck from the ping pong balls in May, and they'll be reaping the benefits in May (yeah, that's right, playoffs) for the next decade at least. Griffin is a can't miss prospect and is the real deal down low, so much so that not even the Clippers can screw this up. We can see him as a dominant big man in the league for a long time.

2. Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn

With Griffin off the board, the real draft begins. Big men are so hard to come by early in this guard heavey draft, and we think they'll be even harder to come by for the teams picking after Memphis. Thabeet is a talented kid and is NBA ready thanks to his college experience and incredible 7'3'' size. He's limited offensively but should be a wall defensively. The Grizzlies will be glad they passed on the many available point guards.

Two down, 12 to go as we mock the NBA Draft Lottery Picks. Check back tomorrow for picks three and four.

2009 NFL Mock Draft: Picks 30-32

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the tenth and final installment of our 2009 NFL Mock Draft. You can check out the previous nine sections of this 10-part series by clicking the links on the upper right hand side of the page. 

Some trades have been made and some drug tests have been failed, but overall, we think we're at least in the ballpark on a good majority of these picks. 

Now, to finish this thing out... 

30. Titans: Robert Ayers, LB, Tennessee

Ayers has been shooting up draft boards and is the player in our mock draft that we see as most likely to go way before we have him selected. Still, the Titans executives who surely read Stock Lemon are giddy about Ayers being available late in the first round. Ayers could either be a 3-4 linebacker or a 4-3 end and will make an impact at either position. He's got what every NFL scout loves in the draft--upside. Some think he has the potential to be the best defensive player in the draft, and the Titans don't mind stealing the in-state product at No. 30. 

31. Cardinals: Donald Brown, RB, Connecticut

The Cardinals are looking for some backfield help, and while the top two running backs are long gone, Donald Brown could make a case for being in the top group of RBs. Brown is a hard worker, and while he might not have the exact measurements NFL teams rave about, he uses his small size to his advantage as a shifty and elusive back. If the Cards don't take him here, he won't last long in the second round. 

32. Steelers: Max Unger, C, Oregon

This is one of the best drafts in a long time in terms of interior lineman, particularly at the center position. Unger heads up a talented group big bodies that will be selected in the second and third round. Unger can simply do it all, including play left tackle as he sometimes did at Oregon. The Steelers have been successful by taking advantage of late first round picks, and this selection will be no exception. 

And with that, we conclude our 2009 NFL Mock Draft. Make sure to check back and see how we did once the real NFL Draft is in the books!

2-0 Day Yesterday!

Another good day for our Free NCAA Basketball Picks yesterday, as both of our Final Four selections covered. 

Michigan State and UConn went well over the o/u of 135 in State's 82-73 victory while North Carolina covered the -7 spread in an 83-69 victory over Villanova. 

We should have a pick on the National Championship tomorrow, so come on back!

Free Final Four Picks

The Final Four is finally here, as are a couple of Free NCAA Basketball Picks from our trusty system. 

UConn/Michigan State OVER 135

North Carolina -7 over Villanova

North Carolina shows up as a system play but we are very hesitant to play it. Villanova should be getting a little more love from the bookies, but there is still value on North Carolina.

Good luck!

Stock Orange

We know we usually go by the name Stock Lemon, but in light of the recent play by the Syracuse Orange, we might start going by Stock Orange. 

Even Lemmy has turned into Orangey! 

After a six overtime victory over UConn last night, Syracuse came back to beat West Virginia--in overtime. The Orange won the game 74-69, covering the +6 1/2 point spread and winning us some cash in the process. 

Our Free NCAA Picks are now 11-8 (58%) in 2009, including nine of the last 14 (64%), getting hot right in time for March Madness. More plays should be coming tomorrow, so stay tuned as always. 

More Free NCAA Football Picks

To go along with our Game of the Week, we have four more Free NCAA Football plays for today.

USC -11 over Ohio State

Oklahoma -20 1/2 over Washington
Virginia +11 over Connecticut

Arizona -10 1/2 over New Mexico

First, in what is definitely our second biggest play this Saturday, we like Mark Sanchez and the Trojans to humiliate the Buckeyes of Ohio State. Nothing personal, Ohio State, Big Ten teams just always seem overmatched against the top programs in the nation.

Then we like Oklahoma to route Washington, in what continues to be a disappointing season for the Huskies.

Finally, we hear dogs barking in favor of the Cavaliers, so look out UConn.

Good luck with the plays and enjoy another great Saturday of college football action. UPDATE: We're adding Arizona to the card, so we now have a total of five games today.

Drake and an Under Round Out Friday

Here's our last batch of picks for Friday:

Drake -4 over Western Kentucky

Connecticut/San Diego UNDER 130

Lots of favorites, a few dogs, and a few unders complete our day of picks for Friday's action. We've made a play on every single game of the NCAA Tournament thus far and plan on winning some more games on Friday.