Month: March 2019

Wow. Can’t believe Gonzaga lost to St. Mary’s by 13 last night. Gonzaga scored 47 points. Gonzaga beat St. Mary’s by more than 47 in the regular season. That is insane. Zach Norvell Jr. was 1-11 shooting for Gonzaga. I don’t know why he was taking 3s at the end of the game when he was clearly cold. Seems like feeding Rui Hachimura would have been the better option. St. Mary’s played a great game. They made some unbelievable shots down the stretch as the shot clock expired and their defense was impressive throughout the game. Congrats to the Gaels for making the NCAA tourney and making all the bubble teams hate them for taking a spot. Shoutout to Binghamton sucking against Vermont and Notre Dame for holding on. Notre Dame blew a huge lead because they stopped feeding Mooney, thankfully they went back to him towards the end of the game for the win.

70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units

28-26-1 this season up 3.53 units

Cal +10 for 4 units. Cal lost by 9 to Colorado earlier this season. Cal shot 38% and Colorado shot 50% in that game. I think those numbers are a lot closer in this one. Both of these teams have won 3 in a row. Cal beat Washington and Washington State, two teams Colorado has lost to in the past month. California lacks depth, but that does not matter as much in these first round games. Justice Sueing and Paris Austin have stepped up for Cal over the past few games. Colorado has not won a game this season when they score less than 64 points. Cal only averages 11 turnovers a game. Cal takes care of the ball and slows the game down for the cover.

Norfolk State -8 for 4 units. Norfolk State is coming off of a tough loss to Howard. South Carolina State is coming off of a rare win against Maryland Eastern Shore. Norfolk State averages 3 more blocks a game and 3 more rebounds a game than South Carolina State. The Spartans will have the advantage inside. Norfolk State beat South Carolina State by 5 in South Carolina this season, they win this one by more in Norfolk.

Air Force -11 for 4 units. San Jose State lost by 14 to Air Force recently. San Jose State gives up over 81 points a game. Their defense is like a sieve trying to hold water. San Jose is 11-17 ATS this season. Send it.

Hofstra and Northeastern play in the CAA final tonight. Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis (PA) play in the Northeast Conference Championship. Wright State and Northern Kentucky play in the Horizon League Final. Gonzaga and St. Mary’s play in the WCC Championship. Finally, Omaha and North Dakota St. play in the Summit Championship. Obviously, Gonzaga is the best team playing tonight, but if you haven’t watched Northern Kentucky play this season, tonight is a good night for it. Drew McDonald is fresh off his game winning 3 against Oakland. McDonald is 6-foot-8 and is averaging a healthy 19/9 while shooting over 41% from 3. He’s worth the watch. Here’s a low quality (prolly not allowed on Youtube) view of his game winner last night.

70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units

26-26-1 this season down 2.46 units

Notre Dame -1 at -120 for 5 units. Notre Dame has lost 7 in a row. The last time the Irish won, was in February against Georgia Tech. They play the Yellow Jackets again today. Nate Leszewski and John Mooney are going to have to make shots for this to win. The Fighting Irish struggled against GT’s zone a little bit in their 10 point win in February. Neither team is deep, but in a first round ACC matchup, depth does not matter as much as it will later in the tourney. Georgia Tech has the better guard play, but Notre Dame has the advantage down low. Notre Dame does this frustrating thing… they will be in a close game and not give the ball to their best player, John Mooney, like at all. I know people hate when James Harden just dribbles for 20 seconds and then shoots.. I wish Notre Dame would do that with John Mooney. Feed your best player and you will win tonight Notre Dame.

Vermont -15 at -110 for 2 units. Binghamton is bad. They average 65.7 points a game while giving up 71.6 points a game. Vermont are a great passing team that plays solid defense. Anthony Lamb has been great in his junior year for Vermont (21/8/2). Binghamton won’t be able to guard him. Huge lines are always tough in March, but I like this spot.

70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units

24-25-1 this season down 3.71 units

Wofford at -321 for 6 units. Fletcher Magee has best combo of name and silky shot in college basketball since Jimmer Fredette.

Magee needs 6 more 3 pointers for the NCAA record. He will get it with at least 2 more games to play this season. Wofford’s coach, Mike Young, had this awesome quote. “We’re not a democracy. […} Load him up. We’ve had a number of guys we’ll load up. We don’t get into feelings around here. It was Hubie Brown who said you run special plays for special players.” UNC-Greensboro are a solid team and they won this tournament last season, but Wofford has too much firepower. Wofford gets their 20th straight victory and win the SOCON.

Hofstra -10 at -120 for 2 units. Delaware lost to Hofstra by 22 to end the regular season. Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman is one of the best guards that no one is talking about. The Queens NY native is putting up 26.5/4 this season. He is good enough to carry Hofstra to an upset in the NCAA tournament. Hofstra has a lot better offense, an advantage inside, and better perimeter defense. Take the Pride to cover against Joe Flacco’s old school.

Northeastern at -156 for 2 units. Northeastern are shooting the ball well at the right time. This is basically a home game for Charleston so the line has some value in it even though it is more than -150. Vasa Pusica and Anthony Green are the best inside-out combo in the CAA. Charleston has some solid wins against VCU and Memphis, but they seem to slip up as well, with losses to William & Mary and Drexel. The margin for error is so small for Charleston in this game with how Northeastern are playing. I think Charleston is the better team over the course of the season (their record shows that), but it is March and the hotter team usually wins in March… Go Huskies in this one.

No top 10 teams play tonight, but they all play tomorrow except for Gonzaga. Duke/UNC, Michigan/Michigan State, and LSU’s first game without the FBI-probed Will Wade all take place this Saturday. Stephen A. Smith called Will Wade a fool and that is way worse than anything the FBI can do. LSU has suspended Will Wade for making more “offers” to players than just a scholarship offer. The best game tonight is either Bowling Green/Buffalo or Minnesota/Maryland. There are some favorable spots, conference tournaments, and win streaks on the line tonight. VCU are going for 12 in a row at home against Jameer Nelson’s former school St. Josephs. Buffalo are going for 10 in a row against Antonio Daniels’ former school Bowling Green. Belmont are going for 14 against – I don’t know any athlete that went to Austin Peay, but you get it. Finally, Murray State are going for 10 wins, but they play Jacksonville State, who are going for their 9th straight win.

70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units

24-23-1 this season up 2.29 units

Murray State -6 at +103 for 3 units. Jacksonville State beat Murray State by 20 in Alabama this season. Now Murray State gets a chance at them away from Jacksonville State’s home. The Gamecocks shot the ball the best they have all season in that win over Murray State. They shot 63% in the second half! Murray State will make the defensive adjustments needed in this one. Murray State has the best player on the court in Ja Morant. The Racers have won all of their past 5 games by double digits. They get revenge tonight.

Loyola Marymount -5 at +106 for 3 units. Pepperdine can get hot from 3, but Marymount’s defense should limit them in this one. Loyola has not covered this spread in either game against Pepperdine this season (lost by 15 at Pepperdine). That will change tonight. Batemon and Scott have both been playing well for Loyola of late. Batemon had his worst game of the season at Pepperdine, he won’t play that poorly tonight. Marymount are on the outside looking in on the NCAA tournament bubble and they have to win this 2nd round WCC tournament game if they want to keep their season alive.