Toothpaste Versus Religion

So far I've cursed two teams' tournament chances by discussing them in my blog. Luckily, they're both from South Carolina.
First, I bestowed praise on the Camels of Campbell University. Second, I called for the Citadel to upset Davidson in the Southern Conference Tournament. Neither team could manage a win in the first round of play. I will not, however, accept blame for the demise of South Carolina-Upstate, because the team didn't even qualify for the conference tournament.

Perhaps I should jinx another region of the country. I'll grab my pocket atlas, close my eyes, open a page at random, and point my finger.
Okay, pointing now...East Timor?
This is a world atlas. Forgive me.
Narrowing down to a few pages.
Okay, let's try it again.
I landed on Ohio. Those poor souls.

I choose the University of Akron. The Zips are currently in 2nd place in the MAC, and led by a couple of big forwards named McKnight and Linhart. Their point guard is named Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens. The student newspaper is called "The Buchtelite." Named after industrialist John Buchtel, who supported wage reductions during the Great Hocking Valley Coal Strike of 1884-1885. I'm not making this up. He exploited coal workers, but he also gave a lot of money to create a college in Akron. So there's that. Anyways, Akron is doing better than a bunch of Ohio schools on the basketball court this year, including conference foes Toledo, Kent State, Bowling Green and Ohio. Now I have doomed the Zips in the Mid-American Tournament (starting on Wednesday).

Off on another tangent now...
Charles called me this morning from the Luxor Hotel sportsbook in Las Vegas. He was looking to me for some advice on betting. I told him a Citadel win was a sure thing (my bad). He bet on Washington State to cover a first half-spread against the Huskies, which didn't happen (never bet on your team, unless you're betting against them). Charles took No. 18 Xavier to cover the spread (-6.5) against Richmond, and the Musketeers lost the game by 5 points (whoops). Fortunately, Charles bet on UTEP and Kansas - which is back on track after its loss to Texas Tech.
This kind of track record might dissuade the normal person from placing future bets, but I say, "No. Go big!" And I think Charles agrees with me. I told him I want to put $10 on Holy Cross against Colgate, no matter the spread. He replied, "Ah yes, toothpaste versus religion." I'll take Christianity over dental hygiene any day of the year.
Although I'm thinking Arkansas-Little Rock is going to destroy Denver. Should I go with my gut?

Stay tuned for more March Madness coverage.