No time for write-ups right now (just finished taking two tests), but I think Sam Houston St. jumps out to an early lead and keeps it close at the end. Let's see how this goes.
This seems like a bad matchup for Cornell who relies on the 3 so much, but Temple is one of the best teams at defending it. I like Temple to win comfortably by 6-9.
Texas A&M -3 2u
Utah St. compiled great stats over the year and was one of the best shooting teams in the country, but much of that was against what was a weak WAC. Texas A&M has a height advantage and I think they keep Utah St. from shooting at a good %. One of Texas A&M’s weaknesses is that they tend to turn the ball over, but Utah St is terrible at getting steals. I just don’t see any places that Utah St. has the advantage. Texas A&M is just really battle-tested and never had any bad losses. I like Texas A&M to win by 7-10 and have them in my Final 4 in that god awful region.
New Mexico St. +13.5 2u
I think Michigan St. is overvalued right now. They are extremely inconsistent and haven’t had any really impressive wins this year. New Mexico St. is dangerous now that they are fully healthy and has a bunch of guys who can create their own shot. I think they keep it close and have a shot to win at the end.
Going for a third straight winning day to start the tourney:
St. Mary’s +4.5 2u
Great matchup for St. Mary’s, their frontcourt should dominate, and their guards are excellent at shooting 3’s. Villanova isn’t efficient at times and goes through scoring droughts especially against teams that out-rebound them. St. Mary’s should win this game.
Northern Iowa +11.5 2u
This will be Kansas’s biggest test before they play Ohio St./ Ga. Tech in the Elite 8. Northern Iowa is an excellent defensive team. their efficient offensively and are great at drawing fouls. I think they’ll get Kansas in serious foul trouble and keep it close until the end.
Kansas St. -4.5 2u
BYU hasn’t seen a team that plays defense this well all year. I like KSU to win by 9 or more.
Old Dominion +4.5 1u
I wasn’t too impressed by Baylor in their win over Sam Houston St. SHSU was able to keep it close despite shooting at a very low rate. Baylor’s offense looked lethargic at times when forced to play a slow half-court game. ODU is much better on defense than SHSU and matchup well enough to slow down Udoh. This is my smallest play because ODU struggles shooting the ball at times, but I still think it’s a tossup so there’s value in the dog.
I won on all my larger plays.. ODU was tied late in the game, but Baylor was able to pull away. It's been a great tourney so far even though my brackets are ruined thanks to Kansas.
The oddsmakers continue to give no respect to Texas A&M. They are really physical and play solid defense so I think Purdue will go through scoring droughts, and Texas A&M will get out to a quick lead. I think Texas A&M might struggle on offense, but I still like them to win by 8-9, maybe even double digits.
Georgia Tech +6 2u Georgia Tech +255 1u
Georgia Tech has a big size advantage and should be able to get an Ohio St. team with a notoriously weak bench in foul trouble. Georgia Tech is also a very good defensive team and should be able to keep Ohio St. from having any easy shots. I like Georgia Tech to keep it close and grind out a win.
Maryland -1 2u
I just don’t think Michigan St. will be able to keep up with Maryland who can score in spurts and also plays solid defense. I like Maryland to win by 6-7.
Cornell +4.5 1u
I think Cornell matches up well against Wisconsin who is a much slower team than Temple. This is my smallest play of the day since so much of their success depends on whether they are hitting the 3’s and while they are great at getting open looks, they could always have an off day. An example of this is Ohio who went lights out against Georgetown, and then played Tennessee and couldn't hit anything. I still think there’s value since they have a good chance to win.
FWIW Texas A&M and Georgia Tech are my two biggest plays of the tourney so far.
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