15-10-1 on NCAAB in 2017 up 5.25 units
38-35 on NCAAB in 2018 up 3.35 units
2-0 on NCAA Tournament
Rhode Island -2 for 4 units. Rhode Island was in the tournament last year and lost to eventual final four team, Oregon. Rhode Island is full of seniors that will make life difficult for Trae Young. Jared Terrell is a 6 foot 3, 215 pound beast that will give Young fits. Rhode Island set the school record for longest win streak this season. Oklahoma is 10-20 against the spread this year. Give me the team that has more experience and a better record over the past month.
Tennessee -12 for 3 units. Wright State has never won a tournament game. This will be a large step up in competition over anyone they have faced all year. Tennessee is a solid defensive team that will suffocate Wright State. The Raiders lack of offensive options will see them lose by double digits.
Gonzaga -12 for 3 units. I actually really like this UNCG team, but Gonzaga is a terrible matchup for them. Greensboro’s strength is their defense, but going up against one of the best offenses in the country will be tough. Gonzaga also has the experience of losing in a national title, they have not forgot that pain. Gonzaga’s point guard Josh Perkins had an interesting quote when he said “Oregon lost on a free-throw box-out. Things matter more in March that don’t really show up other times and really separate teams.” One of the things that matters most for Gonzaga in this game is guarding Francis Alonso, the Malaga, Spain, native. Alonso has been scorching from 3 all year shooting over 40%, sadly for him and Greensboro, Mark Few will game plan to stop him.
Kansas -13.5 for 3 units. People are saying Penn is the best 16 seed ever. Cool. Kansas won the regular season and conference tournament of the toughest conference in the country. Devonte’ Graham and Malik Newman will prove to be too much for the Quakers. Penn has a young team led by sophomores and will be back in the NCAA tournament in the near future after an 11 year drought. Penn played another 1 seed this year (Villanova) and lost by 28. I expect more of the same here.
Duke -20.5 for 1 unit. Iona does not have the size or the defense to contend with Duke. Greyson Allen is an easily hateable Duke player, but he is pretty damn good at basketball. Wendall Carter Jr. has really been coming on for Duke and almost made Dickey V orgasm (not hard to do) in the last Duke game he commentated. If Iona had a Lehigh C.J. McCollum-like player, they may be able to upset Duke, but they don’t.
Miami -1.5 for 1 unit. Jim Larranaga knows how to take a team deep into the tournament. The Ramblers of Chicago have a great defense, but Miami won’t slip up like their rival Florida did against this team. I want to play this for more units, but the line reeks of an upset. The Hurricanes have a balanced team much like their opponent, this should be a great game.
Seton Hall -2.5 for 2 units. Seton Hall will be able to bully NC State down low. Both these teams faded a little down the stretch. Angel Delgado for Seton Hall has been a man amongst boys in many games this season. Omer Yurtseven and this NC State team played better than many thought they would this season, but I think that ends here. Kevin Keatts is a great coach though and NC State will be back in this tournament next year.
Radford +23.5 for 1 unit. Villanova is 1-7 against the spread in their last 8 NCAA tournament games as a 1 seed. I like how Radford looked in that play-in game and that should give them some confidence going into this game. Radford’s bench will need to play as well as they did against Brooklyn if they want to cover.
Kentucky Davidson over 143 for 3 units. Both teams are hot and the spread is a tough to predict 5 points. I am taking the over in this one and cheering for both teams to stay hot. I have actually watched more Davidson than Kentucky this year (sorry Big Blue Nation) because I love freshman guard Kellan Grady, who averages 18 points a game. Maybe I am crazy for liking a freshman in this game that doesn’t play for Kentucky, but I do. Kentucky looked pretty damn good in the SEC tournament championship dropping 77 on a great Tennessee defense.
San Diego State +4 for 2 units. SDSU is 3-1 vs top 25 teams this year. Houston finished the season strong. This should be a great game. The Aztecs have 5 players that average double figures and have won 9 straight. Houston is building a nice program down in Texas, but 4 points is too many to lay against a rolling San Diego State team. I could see a buzzer beater in this one.
SF Austin +11 and over 137 for 1 unit each. SF Austin has beat VCU and West Virginia in 2012 and 2014 respectively as a low seed. They have experience and score over 80 points a game. I have Texas Tech doing well in my bracket, but it would not shock me if they get upset here. The Lumberjacks not only score, but force turnovers better than just about anyone. Texas Tech will be looking to advance in the tournament for the first time since Bob Knight was their coach (2005).
Virginia Tech -2 for 1 unit. VT is just the better team, although I love Collin Sexton as much as anyone else. I do not buy the idea that Sexton can lead his team deep in the tournament like Kemba Walker did for multiple reasons. First of all, Kemba’s team won their conference tournament, Alabama did not even make it to the final. More importantly, Virginia Tech is a damn good basketball team that gives full effort every game. How could you not give full effort for Buzz Williams honestly. Virginia Tech got knocked out in the first round last year, but that experience will help them here. The Hokies have a starting lineup of people that average double figures and they can shoot from deep.
Arizona -8 for 3 units. Arizona has turned it on lately by simply feeding the ball to Deandre Ayton. If they had done that all year, they would most likely be a 1 seed.. Oh and if they were not getting investigated by the FBI. Buffalo coach Nate Oats thinks this is not a bad matchup for his team, I tend to disagree. The only team that Buffalo played that has bigs even close to as good as Arizona was Texas A&M, Buffalo lost that game by 16.
Montana +11 for 1 unit. I know I know, Michigan is one of the hottest teams in basketball, but I really like Montana’s guards. Leading scorer and Oregon transfer Ahmaad Rorie will have to play a great game for Montana to win. Montana will out hustle you with strong guard play, so Michigan has to be careful in this game.
St Bonaventure +6 for 1 unit. I’ll take the team with two great senior guards to cover in March. Florida is a streaky team that loves to shoot 3s. This could lead to them winning this game by double figures or losing straight up if their shots do not fall.