NCAA Tournament Thursday
Sit back as we handicap every game on the Thursday slate!
We’ll be handicapping every NCAA Tournament to help everyone this weekend. You may ask why? Well, we feel it is necessary to give y’all as much information as possible to be successful during March Madness. There are hundreds of way to gamble on the tournament or fill out your bracket so that is why we will try to get you everything you need. Going into today our record on the season is: (141-141-3) including NCAA Tournament record (3-1) with our goal to finish above 52%. Let’s get after it!
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11:15am cst: West Virginia Mountaineers (-2) vs. Maryland Terrapins
#9 seed WVU has it’s shot to prove they have been a good team in a great conference all season. Maryland had a good season but most of its work was done at home as they were undefeated in Big 10 play. West Virginia can shoot the 3PT and play defense. I wouldn’t want to trust the Terrapins away from home against a real Big 12 team. Maryland doesn’t really have an offense. Their defense creates its offense with turnovers but that’s the Mountaineers game too. I trust the better offense and team here with Huggy Bear and his Mountaineers.
11:40am cst: Furman Paladins (+6) vs. Virginia Cavaliers
This number climbed up a tick from 5.5. We will have a battle of two completely different styles. The Paladins love to run, gun and shoot the 3PT. Virginia of course is a half court team that loves to play slow. The UVA offense is decent put they have a history of playing flat against mid-majors in the 1st round. UVA struggled with good offenses in the ACC especially Miami. If Furman can hit their threes I like them to advance. Furman is the #4 most efficient offense in the country.
12:40pm cst: Utah State Aggies (-1.5) vs. Missouri Tigers
I have a feeling this will be a good one. I’ve seen plenty of both of these teams. Utah State is one of the best 3PT shooting teams in the country and are a veteran squad. They also have the only HC Ryan Odom the only one to defeat a #1 seed as a #16. The Aggies also have the same center that was on that team and he’s bigger and stronger. USU is more of an all around team than Mizzou. Mizzou relies too much on the 3PT and will be smaller than the Aggies. Mizzou is also a different team away from home. I like the more well rounded team here with the Aggies.
1:00pm cst: Howard Bulls vs. Kansas Jayhawks (-22)
This is a huge number of course but I expect the Kansas to be locked in and not to mess around. Howard has a bottom tier offense and I don’t expect them to keep pace or backdoor. Kansa is one of the top 5 teams in the country and probably the best when they are playing to their full potential. Bill Self will be back and they will want to get back on track after being smacked around by UT.
1:45pm ct: Texas A&M Corpus Christi (+24) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
How about we get a little nasty here? I think Alabama is the best all around team in the country. They could demolish anyone but this Islander offense has a chance to backdoor this game. The Tide could run away here but the Corpus Christi offense shouldn’t be taken lightly. The Alabama defense should take care of business but watch out for the backdoor to be open on this one. If you skip it I don’t blame you.
2:10pm cst: College of Charleston Cougars vs. San Diego State Aztecs (-5)
I know CoC will be looked at like the Cinderella darlings this year but we’ve had SDST rated high all season. That’s because of their defense and veteran team. They play a hard nosed defensive style that could mess with any rhythm that Charleston may try and get into offensively. The Aztecs have some size, which is something that the Cougars have trouble with. There’s no NBA talent on this CoC team and I think this is too large of a step up in competition for them. Love the Aztecs defense.
3:10pm cst: Princeton Tigers vs. Arizona Wildcats (-14.5)
The issue here for Princeton is this: they are a finesse team. A finesse mid-major cannot defeat the best finesse team in the country in Arizona. U of A won the Pac 12 tournament and is firing on all cylinders. They have a ton of NBA talent on the roster and I can’t see an upset happening here. Once Tubelis gets going and they start hitting from three I don’t know what Princeton could do. Arizona’s only problem is they get bored after they are up 20 points and that is the only thing that scares me. The Wildcat big men should have a field day especially if they decide they want to play defense, which I expect they will with a motivated HC Tommy Lloyd.
3:30pm cst: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (-2)
This is a matchup of two of the teams with the most talent coming into the season. Arkansas has a team full of NBA players but haven’t lived up to its talent level. They can get lost offensively, not play defense because they rather play offense and always get into foul trouble. Illinois is as cold as can be. Can they rise to the occasion? I doubt it. I rather lay the points with the stronger offensive team. If Matthew Mayer and Terrance Shannon aren’t making their 3PT then they’ll have a long night. Teams like Arkansas usually rise to the occasion in March. I can’t trust Illinois here with this short of a number.
5:50pm cst: Auburn Tigers (-1) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
Add this game to the fade the Big 10 list. Auburn hasn’t been one of the best teams in the country or the SEC. They have talent but were exposed when they faced the better teams in the SEC. Auburn has a lot of close losses, they are well coached and are a veteran team. They have good size and can rebound with Johnni Broome who also leads the team in scoring. Rebraca may has some fits with someone as physical as Johnni. We know Iowa’s story it hasn’t changed - if they make 20 3PT they probably win and if they don’t they will lose. I’m not much of a fan of they way Iowa has played since McCaffery came back to the team. If Payton Sandfort and Kris Murray get hot they have a shot. I’ll take the more physical team that won’t rely on the 3PT to bail them out.
6:10pm cst: Oral Roberts vs. Duke Blue Devils (-6)
I’m sure you probably heard how Duke is on its way towards another 1st round upset. But if you been following us then you already know how high we are on the Blue Devils because of the way they have been playing defense. Not because of the name on the front of its uniform. Oral Roberts has some seasoned NCAA Tournament players but this Duke team is just playing on another level right now. This number is too short and I’m willing to lay it this Duke team filled with NBA players that are on playing as a top 3 team in the country. This number is too short and Duke isn’t an overrated Ohio State team with no NBA talent. Don’t ride the upset train here.
6:25pm cst: Colgate Raiders (+13.5) vs. Texas Longhorns
I think UT is playing as good as anyone right now and would be in my top 5 power ranking coming into this game. Because of the way they walked through the Big 12 tournament I think there may be a little natural looking past Colgate here. The Raiders are a mid-major but rank 6th in the country in offensive efficiency. If the Raiders can find a way to get easy buckets they can stick around in this game. UT can blow teams out but aren’t always successful when they have to lay a large number. It is all about surviving and advancing for Texas here. There is also a possibility of a matchup with Texas A&M waiting for the Longhorns in the next round. Plenty of factors working against UT here with too many points to lay.
6:45pm cst: Boise State (+1.5) vs. Northwestern Wildcats
I’ve seen plenty of both of these teams and this should be a great game. NW goes as its veteran point guard Boo Buie goes. Boise State has players that can score at every position who can shoot 3PT or work the ball inside. The Bronco offense is a bit more efficient than Northwestern’s is. Boise is led by its three headed monster in Tyson Degenhart, Max Rice and Marcus Shaver Jr. They can do it all. I feel Boise has more offense and defense that could get them through any rough stretches. The Wildcats ending the season losing 4 of its last 5 games.
8:20pm cst: Northern Kentucky Norse vs. Houston Cougars (-19)
The Cougars have been in the #1 spot for quite some time. They’ve done it playing tough, mean defense. Their offense can get stagnant at times but its defense is so good it allows them time to regroup. Houston got the shit kicked out of them by Memphis. If you don’t think they are going to have their best defensive performance of the season then I don’t know what to tell you. This one should get ugly.
8:40pm cst: Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (+11.5) vs. Tennessee Volunteers
This is a different Tennessee team without PG Zakai Zeigler so you can make whatever kind of jokes you want about Rick Barnes. Louisiana has a top 50 ranked team in offensive efficiency, which is something Tennessee doesn’t have. Vols do have a great defense but it’s the offense I’m worried about. I’ll take the points here because I feel like Louisiana will give Tennessee hell and all they can handle. If they don’t get the outright win, I see them covering this number. Vols are juiced here so this number may climb by morning.
8:55pm cst: Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Texas A&M Fightin’ Aggies (-2.5)
The Nittany Lions showed some grit in its Big 10 run to the title game that gave them their last little push to get into the NCAA Tournament. Both of these teams are red hot and play the same sort of game. Both have strong guards but I think that Texas A&M has the advantage int he rebound and Free Throw department. The Aggies definitely have a better defense. A much better defense. With similar offenses, I rather take the stronger defense with the stronger rebounding.
9:05pm cst: UNC Asheville Bulldogs vs. UCLA Bruins (-17.5)
UNC Asheville does not have the type of offense that can keep pace with UCLA. Not to mention UCLA has a tenacious defense. Last year I thought the St. Mary’s Gaels could upset UCLA in the first round. Well, the Gaels got beat by about 40 points. This number is too low. UCLA should roll here.
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