The NCAA Tournament starts in a matter of hours with the tip of the first First Four game in Dayton. It’s a 16 vs 16 battle between Liberty and North Carolina A&T for the right to step into the ring with mighty Louisville later in the week. Here’s a quick breakdown of the two player props available with an actual game pick at the end. Liberty Flames vs North Carolina A&T Lines, NCAT -3, Over/Under 126. Moneyline, NCAT -150, Liberty +135 Liberty Total Points, Over/Under 61.5 points NCAT Total Points, Over/Under 64.5 points Total 3-pters Mader, Over/Under 12.5 John Caleb Sanders, Liberty, Over/Under 17.5 points + rebounds……The Flames arrive in this even off an impressive Big South Tournament run. They were just 6-10 in league play, “good” for fifth in the Big South North Division. But they won four games against teams with a combined 44-20 league mark to earn a spot into the NCAAs and eventually this First Four game. Sanders is the Flames leading scorer and one of three players that averages between 14.2-13.0 points per game, with the others being Davon Marshall and Tavares Speaks. The Flames are 55th nationally in 3-pt shooting and 32nd in 3-pt shooting defense, so there’s the
Selection Sunday Day Eve
It’s been a dismal year on the bubble. So it was fitting yesterday that most of the teams chasing after the final at-large bids all lost. The dramatics on the bubble grew with every choke job yesterday, but with all the defeats, where do we even stand? If Bracketologists are correct that helped teams like Boise St and Middle Tennessee St, which havent played in days and lost way too early in their respective league tournaments to usually stay competitive this week, sneak into the field. The other result it that it sets up a possibly crazy Saturday on the bubble. Thats interesting because typically the bubble wars pretty much come to end by the close of the last Friday before selection day. Sure there is the near annual can somebody upset Memphis in the Conference USA Championship. This year it’s Southern Miss turn in the box. Maybe there’s one other bid thief still alive too on Saturday. But this year? There are six viable bid thieves still going strong, all tipping between 11:30 am and 4 pm. If the exact opposite happens today as yesterday and these teams all win, then the picture becomes even murkier, but the clear edge would go to the best last impressions. CONFERENCE USA
Big Ten Tournament Preview
Not to be a killjoy but the Big Ten Tournament isn’t as wide open as you might imagine. Sure the conference – this year more than ever – is loaded but here’s a simple yet important fact: Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Illinois have won 11 of the 15 tournaments. Much like Duke’s seemingly single-handed dominance of the ACC Tournament (with UNC success sprinkled in), these four horses have pretty much dominated the Big Ten Tournament. Even more interesting: The No. 1 seed has won six of the past eight tournaments, losing in the finals of another one. So, as much as we all want to be giddy about the winner of the 8/9 Illinois/Minnesota game making a run history says we need to relax and drink a tall glass of reality. This statistical trio isn’t meant to sway you from looking at a sleeper team making a deep run, just that your sleeper team probably won’t win the whole thing. On four occasions the championship game has featured a No. 8, No. 9, No. 10 and No. 11 seed. While all those teams lost, it leaves open the possibility that a likely NIT-bound team could have a 50/50 shot in the title game