NCAA Tournament Sides: 32-23-1, 58.2%
Conference Tournament Totals: 165-127-5, 56.5%
Conference Tournament Sides: 165-129-3, 56.1%
NCAA Tournament Totals: 22-32-2, 40.7%
1H Totals: Everything to the UNDER
| North Carolina State/Marquette | 72 |
| Gonzaga/Purdue | 73 |
| Duke/Houston | 62.5 |
| Creighton/Tennessee | 67.5 |
Sides:
Marquette -6.5 vs. North Carolina State
Big East vs. ACC battle. KenPom numbers have Marquette by 6. Marquette is 27-9 with 5 of those losses to teams still in this tournament. That's what can happen when you have played UConn 3x. Golden Eagles have played the 8th toughest schedule, won at Illinois, beat Kansas in Maui, beat Texas and Creighton at home. Rebounding is a concern but it's not a big strength for the Wolfpack. NC State has been a magical 1983 like run winning 7 straight games. In the regular season, NC State went 0-5 vs. Top 20 KenPom teams with losses of 9, 9, 13, 9, and 15. Marquette ranks #13, I think they can pull away and avoid the foul game.
Purdue -5.5 vs. Gonzaga
Purdue has the pressure; Gonzaga is back on the spoiler role again. Purdue demolished Utah State in the RD of 32 by 39 points. Boilermakers beat Gonzaga by 10 back in November, Purdue went 7-0 this year vs. teams in the Sweet 16. 3rd best on offense, 15th best on defense, they've played the 6th toughest schedule. They check all the boxes for a Final Four team. Zags are peaking at the right time winning 9 of 10, 100th ranked schedule, went 0-3 against teams in the Sweet 16 with losses of 10, 13, and 10. Gonzaga improved during the year, not enough for me to flip on Purdue. I'll lay the points.
Creighton +2.5 vs. Tennessee
What have we lacked in this tournament? Buzzer beaters! I feel like this is going to be the game. Tennessee is #30 on offense, #3 on defense, 3-2 against teams in the Sweet 16. Creighton is #10 on offense, #23 on defense, 3-2 against teams in the Sweet 16. Rick Barnes hasn't reached an Elite 8 since 2008 at Texas. Greg McDermott had Creighton in the Elite 8 last year before losing by 1 to San Diego State. Creighton has 3 options averaging 17 points per game, Tennessee has one really good option averaging over 12. The best player might belong to Tennessee, scoring options belong to Creighton. I'll grab the points with the Bluejays.
Houston -4 vs. Duke
I refuse to handicap this game. If I handicap it, I will probably want to grab the points with Duke. I have Illinois over Houston in my National Championship. Houston has the #2 defense in the country, #14 offense. Went just 1-2 against teams in the Sweet 16, all 3 games against Iowa State. For as good as the Big 12 ranked all year, Cougars are the last one standing. I'm not looking at Duke, I can't do it. Give me the Cougars.
