The NCAA Tournament has lived up to all the hype. From FDU’s shocking win over Purdue to some buzzer-beater magic, March Madness has been nothing sort of excellent so far. The Sweet 16 is nearly upon us and with all the matchups now set, it’s time to dive a little deeper to find where to place our wagers.
#7 Michigan State vs #3 Kansas State
#8 Arkansas vs #4 UConn Huskies
#9 Florida Atlantic vs #4 Tennessee
#3 Gonzaga vs #2 UCLA
#1 Alabama vs #5 San Diego State
#5 Miami vs #1 Houston
#15 Princeton vs #6 Creighton
#3 Xavier vs #2 Texas
Arkansas was able to topple Kansas and make a real statement heading into the Sweet 16. While I’m going to be on the Razorbacks +3 here, I really like the ‘over’. Arkansas has shot a disappointing 6-26 from the three-point line in their two matchups so far. They’re shooting just 31% on the season but in tournament play, that number cannot fall to around 25%. UConn, meanwhile, shot 36% on the season, but that number is up to 44% in the NCAA tournament.
UConn’s dominant defense will be the X-Factor here and if their offense can keep firing at the rate it currently is, Arkansas will have a hard time keeping pace. This should be a close encounter, but one that sees UConn ultimately pull out the win.
Alabama was unlucky not to cover its ginormous spread in its opening win, but with an 8-point spread against SDSU, the line looks much more favorable. The Crimson Tide is scoring 82.3 points per game in comparison to SDSU’s 71.9. The huge difference is that Bama ranks first in rebounds in all of college basketball and its youth has looked unphased in tournament play up to this point.
I have no problem backing Bama in this matchup. They have the best player in the tournament in Brandon Miller and are by far the most dangerous team. At this point in the proceedings, I feel like that might just be the deciding factor.
This match has ‘upset’ written all over it. The Michigan State Spartans are the #7 seed and its defense has been brilliant in this years’ March Madness. From upsetting Marquette to dominating the interior, the team has gotten to the Sweet 16 relatively comfortably, while K-State has looked wobbly at times. Kansas State looked undisciplined fairly frequently in their win over Kentucky.
I’ll take the more buttoned-up team that will be able to reliably get to the charity stripe and make the most of its opportunities. At -2.5, this is a fairly strong pick.
Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire
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