Best Bets for 16 games in 12 hours 🏀

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The first two days of the tournament are LOADED with great matchups. I’ll give you my picks for a few of the games plus some of the best bets, who to ride to the Final Four and my pick to win the National Championship.

Have fun and take a breather, this whole weekend is a marathon, enjoy it and bet responsibly!

Thursday Best Bets & Picks 💸

West Virginia (-2.5) vs Maryland: This game gets the whole day started and it’s one of the best games of the day. Maryland has a very low turnover rate and limits their opponents shooting wise. West Virginia, on the other hand, is one of the best rebounding teams in the country. The big key in this game will be coaching and Bob Huggins at West Virginia has a big advantage over Kevin Willard at Maryland. Mountaineers win a close game, but cover to start the tournament.

Utah State (-1) vs Missouri: This game has the makings of a huge offensive outburst. Missouri and Utah State are two of the best offensive teams in the entire tournament. Missouri is aggressive and turns teams over a ton, but struggles to rebound. Utah State is very good at rebounding and is efficient across the board. Utah State wins and covers a very close game because of the offenses, but rebounding is the difference for the Aggies.

Princeton vs Arizona (-14): This is the one big spread I love because of what Arizona has looked like compared to Princeton. Arizona is one of the best offensive teams in the country and they have the best front court in college basketball with Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo. Princeton relies a ton on their point forward Tosan Evbuomwan to do everything. Arizona is too big and too good on offense, the Wildcats roll here.

Illinois vs Arkansas (-2): Arkansas and Illinois are talented enough to be seeded a lot higher than this, but both were too inconsistent. The talent and coaching on Arkansas has more to like right now than Illinois. Both teams are also very good on defense, but Arkansas is better on offense and that’s the difference. Razorbacks win a VERY close game, but cover too.

Boise State vs Northwestern (-1.5): These two teams both struggled down the stretch a bit. Northwestern is a great story, especially being their second appearance in the tournament EVER. Their issue is that the offense struggles at times. Boise State is solid on both offense and defense and is very balanced across their starting lineup with each player averaging double digits. Boise State is winning this game because of the balance on offense and defense.

Penn State vs Texas A&M (-3): These are two very good teams that made noise in their conferences this season. Texas A&M is widely viewed as a team that’s under-seeded, but so is Penn State. A&M is playing very well right now and can rebound better than Penn State, while Penn State is heavily reliant on three-point shooting, which has boom or bust potential. A&M is better defensively and that’s the difference. The Aggies win a close game, but cover late.

Friday Best Bets & Picks 💸

USC vs Michigan State (-2): This is an underrated matchup in the first round. Michigan State is a very good offensive team, especially from three-point range. USC is decent on both offense and defense, but goes in droughts too much on offense. The big difference in this game is Tom Izzo coaching for the Spartans. Izzo is the difference in a Spartan friendly crowd in Columbus. Michigan State wins outright and covers.

Pittsburgh vs Iowa State (-4): This is the most competitive 6 vs 11 seed matchup. Pitt is coming off a win against Mississippi State in the First Four, where they won against a very similar style team. Iowa State is very good defensively, but has trouble scoring at times. Pitt can score, which is a big difference. Take Pitt and the outright upset because Iowa State can’t be trusted on offense.

Drake vs Miami (-2): This is going to be an awesome game. Miami has two of the best guards in the country in Jordan Miler and Isaiah Wong, but they can’t do everything. Drake is top 30 in all of college basketball in points allowed on defense and has a very good player in Tucker DeVries. Take Drake in the outright upset here because Miami is a little injured coming into this game.

Florida Atlantic vs Memphis (-2): This is another great 8 vs 9 matchup. Florida Atlantic is tied for the lead in wins this season at 31 and completely smashed any expectations they had. Memphis on the other side, is going to have the best player in this game with Kendric Davis at point guard. Memphis wins and covers this game pretty comfortably because Davis is that much of a difference maker.

Kent State vs Indiana (-4): This might be the most popular upset pick in the tournament. Indiana is flawed outside of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino this season. They also lost one of their best guards for the season in Xavier Johnson. Kent State has also been competitive with other teams that were better than Indiana too, with close losses to Houston and Gonzaga. Kent State wins outright in a big upset.

Arizona State vs TCU (-5): Arizona State looked very good in the play-in game against Nevada. It’s a perfect spot to fade the Sun Devils here because of how good TCU has looked at times this season. They’ll have the best player on the court in this game in Mike Miles Jr., who might be the best point guard in the country. TCU should cover this game and win very comfortably against an Arizona State team that struggles to score at times.

Final Four and National Championship Picks 🏀

Final Four:

Alabama vs Marquette: Alabama has been the most dominant team in college basketball this season. They’re lead by Brandon Miller, who’s a star as a freshman, and is going to be an NBA Lottery Pick this summer. They’re very athletic and can score at will against anyone, while also playing very good defense. Marquette is a very good team that can shoot and play defense with any team, with the standout being Tyler Kolek at point guard. Alabama’s defense is the difference here and pushes them forward to the National Championship game.

Houston vs Gonzaga: Houston has arguably been the most consistent team in college basketball this season. They’re second to no one in defense and rebound the ball very well. Marcus Sasser is also a great primary scorer. Kelvin Sampson has established himself as an amazing coach and he’s going up against Mark Few who’s also a legend too. Gonzaga is one of the best offensive teams in the country and they STILL have Drew Timme after all this time. He’s great down low for the Zags and can score from anywhere on the block. Still, Houston is more complete and beats Gonzaga due to defense for a National Championship game in their home town.

National Championship:

Houston over Alabama: These are the two best teams in college basketball this season. Alabama already beat Houston on the road 71-65 after coming from behind to beat the Cougars. This matchup has everything from Kelvin Sampson facing Nate Oats and then the two superstar players like Marcus Sasser and Brandon Miller. Houston is so well-coached and rarely makes mistakes, and that’s the difference. Houston beats Alabama in the National Championship game in their home city.

Bet w/ Your Head 🧠

• Remember to bet responsibly

• Bet with your head and not over it

• Take breaks

• Use money you can afford to lose

• Set limits for yourself

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