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- These schools are headed to the Big Dance 🏀
These schools are headed to the Big Dance 🏀
Plus: NL Futures ⚾️ and No. 1 Draft Pick Odds 🏈
It’s FINALLY March! The best month of the sports calendar. The NCAA Tournament is right around the corner, but the craziness has already started!
A few conference tournaments have tipped off, but we’ll see most of the madness start next week with conference championships happening throughout the week. Check out my picks below.
March is Here 🚨
Credit: Sports Illustrated
The month where college basketball completely takes over! With so many games happening all at the same time, it’s one of the best times of the year to place bets. It also ends up being the most profitable time for the casinos in Las Vegas… shocker.
Here are my picks for the Power Conference Tournaments:
Big 12: Kansas over Texas. This is going to be the toughest conference to win of all the tournaments. The Big 12 has around 8 teams that could end up making it in the NCAA Tournament and these are two of the best. Kansas is the pick to beat Texas because of the coaching aspect. Bill Self won a national championship just last year, and will be the difference in this great game. This is a battle of wing players and Kansas wins that in a VERY close game.
Big East: UConn over Creighton. The Big East has been a very good conference this year and has no clear favorite in this tournament. UConn fell a bit, but might be one of the hottest teams in the country right now. Creighton also recovered very well from a slump. These are two of the streakiest teams in the country, but UConn has a little more depth than Creighton who’s had some issues there. UConn wears Creighton down and pulls away late in a close game.
ACC: Miami over Duke. The typical ACC powers have not been their dominant selves this season, with Syracuse and Louisville being very bad, North Carolina being on the bubble, and Duke not living up to expectations. The best team in the conference is Miami. They have great guards that can score and defend almost anyone in the ACC, plus they’re more experienced. Miami makes a statement with a double digit win against Duke.
Pac-12: Arizona over UCLA. These are the two best teams out west. The Pac-12 is a very top-heavy league and these two easily stand out over the rest. These two are also very evenly matched. The difference is the height and depth of Arizona’s front court. They’re the best in the country. Another huge aspect is the fact that Arizona fans takeover Las Vegas for this tournament, so it could be seen as a de facto home game. Arizona beats UCLA in a classic game.
SEC: Alabama over Kentucky. The SEC has been a very good basketball conference this year, even with some teams being inconsistent. Alabama’s separated itself as the dominant team in the conference this year, but they’ve been dealing with a lot of off-court issues recently. Still, it hasn’t affected their on-court play too much. Kentucky has been very inconsistent, but they have the talent to get this far. Alabama should win a good game against Kentucky and cement itself as the top seed in the tournament.
Big Ten: Purdue over Indiana. These two rivals are the two teams that have separated themselves from the pack in the Big Ten this season. It’s a conference that has been very mediocre, with a ton of teams on the bubble. These two should meet once again in the championship game in the tournament. Zach Edey and Trayce Jackson-Davis are two of the best big men in the country too. Purdue’s the pick in this game because Indiana’s beaten the Boilermakers twice already, so expect Purdue to get some revenge in a close game.
Enjoy these next few weeks, it will be as amazing as it always is!
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MLB: NL Division Futures ⚾️
Credit: San Diego Union-Tribune
March also means Spring Training and another sport to bet on.
Last week I covered who I thought would win every division in the AL, now it’s the NL’s turn. Here’s a few frisky teams in the NL this season.
NL East:
Call it a homer pick, but hear me out on Philly.
Trea Turner, the fastest free agent this past offseason, 30.3ft/sec, has joined the Phillies. The bases are bigger now, and he has 4 and ½ inches less to run plus wears that big oven mitt on his hand!
The structure of their lineup is different this season. You no longer have Schwarber leading off, and instead you have a career .300 hitter leading off and stealing 2nd, putting you in scoring position right off the jump.
Gregory Soto joined the bullpen, and the Phillies now have the two hardest throwing left handers in baseball in both Soto and Alvarado. Don’t forget a future Hall of Famer joined the bullpen too, Craig Kimbrel.
The Mets added old man Verlander, and yes he is coming off a Cy Young season, but the cliff is approaching. You got Scherzer and Verlander both in the 40 year-old range, who now have to work quicker than ever with the new pitch clock, which I can see potentially causing injuries to their aging bodies.
The Braves are the strongest team in the division and should be favorites to win it. I see this going like last year, Braves win the division and one of these teams gets the wild card spot, which will be the Phillies.
NL Central:
Here is where the FRISKY teams live. Let’s cover who’s frisky.
The Cubs have some guys now! Hosmer, Mancini, Tallion, and Bellinger to name a few. These are big-leaguers. Sure, they aren’t what they used to be, but with them and the young talent they have coming up, that’s a recipe for frisky.
Pirates got a club too! What? Did I just say that? Look, Ji Man Choi joins the club, who has playoff experience. You have a future All-Star in O’Neil Cruz, who throws gas from the shortstop position. And Ke’Bryan Hayes could also join him at All-Star Weekend. Again, maybe not a great team, but don’t bet against them every night.
That being said, this is the Cardinals division. I thought Milwaukee could make a run with their dominant starting two in their rotation, but their offense couldn’t keep up. The Cardinals offense is stacked and if you like betting, their team total overs are going to smack all season! They had a +135 run differential last season, next closest was Milwaukee at +37. Good luck with that.
NL West:
The Dodgers just lost Gavin Lux, their starting shortstop, which is a shame. I’m interested in who they pickup since all the free agent shortstops are signed now. But worth noting, the Dodgers dealt with injuries really well last year.
I’m the most excited about the Padres in this division. They went all in this offseason, signing Xander Boegarts and locking up Manny Machado on top of the fact that they still have control of Juan Soto.
The Dodgers had the highest run differential in MLB last season at +334, while the Padres had a +45 run differential. Did the Padres do enough to overcome their big brothers?
The Dodgers’ starting pitching is still filthy with Kershaw, Urias, Gonsolin, May, and Syndergaard. Not too shabby. Plus they picked up JD Martinez.
Tatis is coming back early in the season for the Padres and I’m pumped to see him back. My brain says the Dodgers win the division, but my heart wants the Padres. Do with that, what you will.
Which Quarterback gets Picked #1 in the NFL Draft? 🤔
The NFL Draft is on the horizon, so of course that means every analyst and sports anchor is talking about who will be the No. 1 pick. It’s probably going to be a quarterback, but which quarterback is the question?
Bryce Young (-160): Bryce Young is the favorite to be the first player off the board. He’s a former Heisman Trophy winner and had a great college career at Alabama. He was dominant and could make almost any throw that was asked of him. He also single-handedly helped Alabama win games when they needed it. The one thing is that his measurements are a little concerning, with him being 5’10.5” and weighing close to 200 pounds. These measurements could open the door for someone else being drafted ahead of him.
CJ Stroud (+350): CJ Stroud is right behind Bryce Young in terms of quarterback rankings this draft, but his size could put him over the top. He had an amazing career at Ohio State and finished as a Heisman Trophy candidate each of his two seasons starting. His best game was the last game he ever played at Ohio State when the Buckeye just barely lost to Georgia in the College Football Playoff. His measurements are more like a typical quarterback with him being listed at 6’3” and 218 lbs. Young has better college tape than Stroud, but size is a BIG factor here.
Anthony Richardson (+650): Anthony Richardson has skyrocketed up draft boards recently and it’s been mainly because he might be the best athlete at the quarterback position in this draft class. His college tape is okay at best, with him missing some easy throws, but his athleticism is on full display. He’s clearly a project, but he has a ton of potential. He’s listed at around 6’4” and at 230 lbs. He has the best physical traits of any of the quarterbacks and it’s why different NFL GM’s are salivating over his potential.
Will Levis (+750): This one is the biggest long shot of the quarterbacks available. Will Levis has all the physical traits you want in a quarterback too, but he was on an okay at best college team and his tape isn’t the best because of that. Kentucky really struggled on offense and that’s going to hurt him potentially. He also is listed at around 6’3” and 230 lbs. He’s up there with Richardson for having great physical traits, but he’s still not there yet.
Paging Massachusetts 🚨
It’s LEGAL to sports gamble in Massachusetts! Rejoice! Place your bets while you can with all the offers sports books offer new users to join and play. Hurry up and keep an eye on the Celtics too! It should be available around next week!
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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