(photo: Hartford Courant)
I will do my best to provide a daily three ball of picks for all of you snipers out there. The goal is a 2-1 night, with some 3-0’s sprinkled occasionally. I recommend you play them individually .. however, never be scared of a little three ball parlay!
Season Record: 188-141-6
3/3 Starting Five:
Syracuse -1.5
Wichita State -3.5
UConn ML -120
Creighton +5
Mississippi State -5
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Syracuse -1.5 : What is March without Syracuse inching their way towards the bubble?! The Orange are certainly doing that after their win on Monday over Carolina. They host a tournament lock in Clemson tonight at the Carrier Dome. The Orange need this one more, and I believe they will get it done. Also, this is a typical rat line (shout out Marty Mush). Cuse lost by 16 in the first matchup, and are favored tonight. A deep dive into the stats could point to this. Syracuse won the offensive glass, and the turnover battle by 12. However, they just shot it 30% from the field. That will not happen again tonight. I like the Orange’s size advantage over Clemson to pull through in this one. They got to the line 27 times in the first game, and I expect them to get there 20+ times again tonight. Boeheim time.
Score Prediction: Syracuse 69 – Clemson 64
Wichita State -3.5 : The Shockers are still in the hunt for the AAC regular championship when they roll into New Orleans tonight. Isaac Brown is addressing this as a “must-win game” to achieve their season goals. Tulane has really nothing to play for other than pride at this point, so the hunger and desire edge should be with the Shockers. They also have the best player on the court in Tyson Etienne. The Shockers easily controlled the first meeting, and only shot 40% from the field. They will run the double on the Green Wave.
Score Prediction: Wichita State 73 – Tulane 65
UConn ML -120 : This team is DANGEROUS with James Bouknight back in the fold. He is easily one of my favorite pro prospects in college ball this season, and his electric play has brought the Huskies back to life. UConn dropped the first meeting to Seton Hall (without Bouknight), but the stats showed a very even affair. Bouknight will be the difference tonight as UConn continues to solidify themselves as an NCAA Tournament team.
Score Prediction: UConn 72 – Seton Hall 67
Creighton +5 : The Jays are just a terrible matchup for this year’s Villanova team. I know a lot of people will be picking Nova tonight. Creighton won the first game, and Nova is coming off of an embarrassing loss. Typical “get right” spot. However, the spacing and sharp shooting from Creighton caused Villanova fits in the first meeting, and it will happen again tonight. Also, Creighton has Christian Bishop and Denzel Mahoney to throw at Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. In the earlier meeting, he only scored 8 points while shooting 23% from the field while being largely defended by Bishop/Mahoney. This is a huge weapon for Greg McDermott. If Robinson-Early gets shut down, then Nova doesn’t really have anywhere to go outside of Gillespie. We all know it turns out when he tries to be the main scorer. Going against the grain here. Creighton wins again.
Score Prediction: Creighton 75 – Villanova 74
Mississippi State -5 : Picking on the Aggies in this spot. They have not played a basketball game since January. Yes, you read that right. Their last game was in the SEC/Big 12 challenge against Kansas State on January 30th. They have had a nasty COVID shutdown that affected a large majority of the roster. Without game action or practice time, I do not believe they will be able to hang with the Bulldogs tonight. Stewart Jr. and Molinar are top notch guards, and they should pull this one out. Miss State was up big in the first meeting, and got sloppy and let A&M come back and steal one. They will get their payback tonight.
Score Prediction: Mississippi State 67 – Texas A&M 58
Best of luck! Let’s snipe this one y’all!!
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