(photo: John Amis)
I will do my best to provide college basketball winners for you on a nightly basis. The majority of the nights we will try to keep it to three plays, but some days may ask for more. I recommend you play them individually .. however, never be scared of a little sniper parlay!
Season Record: 214-174
Season Best Bet Record: 69-45
3/10 Card:
Purdue -6.5
Tennessee -5
Temple/Cincinnati u142
Oregon +6
Texas -2.5
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Purdue -6.5 : The Scarlet Knights gave the Purdue their first loss of the season this year. That will not be lost on the Boilermakers. They have also heard the noise of the country collectively now labeling them overrated. I think this will be a great chance for them to assert themselves against an inferior opponent while trying to obtain a 1 seed and showing the country that they are still elite. The important part about this matchup is that Smith and Loyer will be able to compete defensively. Rutgers is 211th in the country in offensive efficiency and that number is continuing to slide. Purdue also made the mistake of getting away from Edey in the first game. He had no issues with the Rutgers’ interior defense. He was 6-10 from the field, and 7-9 from the line. He also grabbed 5 offensive rebounds. Painter will be sure to use his biggest weapon to their advantage today. If they outlast UCLA this weekend, then they will secure a 1 seed. This feels like a wire-to-wire comfortable win for the Boilers on fresh legs.
Score Prediction: Purdue 70 – Rutgers 60
Tennessee -5 : This is my Best Bet. Rick Barnes has had massive success in this tournament since lifting this program to a national contender. The Vols have made the Final of the SEC Tournament in three out of the last four years, and won the whole thing last season. Tennessee is a veteran squad and many of those players are still on this team. This tournament winning experience is a massive advantage here over the upstart Mizzou Tigers. Also, this game is being played in Nashville. Bridgestone Arena will feel like Thompson-Boling at times. Mizzou won the only meeting between these teams earlier this season on a miraculous buzzer beater. They also hit 14 threes. An 86-85 final is extremely out of the norm for a Tennessee game. Mizzou only turned the ball over 7 times that night, and I think that we will see that number heavily rise today. They average 11.5 turnovers on the season and Tennessee is Top 20 in the country in turning their opponents over. I also expect Tennessee to dominate the glass again. The Vols are 5th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage, and pulled down 15 of them against Mizzou in that last meeting. JJJ and Julian Phillips returning to full health has picked up the spirits of this team after losing Zeigler. I believe that the coaching advantage and home court atmosphere will carry the Vols to another SEC Tournament semifinal. This bet is Shot Quality approved. Below is a preview of their Matchup Breakdown:
Score Prediction: Tennessee 76 – Mizzou 65
Temple/Cincinnati u142 : Both teams bring a key piece to our under today. Temple likes to slow it down and work the halfcourt offense when they can. They are 179th in tempo. Cincinnati can also play slow at times, and is a Top 90 defense in the country in regards to efficiency. The first game of this series ended on 131 and was a pace that I would expect from these two teams. The 2nd game ended on 169 points. However, there were 21 points scored in an OT frame. The game ended on 148 in regulation, but the pace was still pointing towards an under. We just saw 18 threes and 45 free throw makes in that game. These two teams will play to an under pace again today in a tournament setting.
Score Prediction: Cincinnati 70 – Temple 68
Oregon +6 : Dana Altman always pushes the right buttons in tournament play. He has made the Pac 12 Championship game in 4 out of the last 6 seasons. It is also imperative that his team performs well in the Pac12 Tournament this year because they are on the outside looking in of the NCAA Tournament field. The Ducks just may be peaking at the right time though. They have won four straight entering this game with UCLA tonight. They will need that hot form to contend with a great UCLA team. However, this is not the same UCLA team that Oregon lost to by 7 points on February 11th. The Bruins are going to be without Jaylen Clark for the remainder of the season due to a torn achilles. He was a major factor in that win over Oregon. He scored 13 points in the 70-63 win, and also recorded 4 steals. This should give Oregon confidence that they can tighten up the turnover woes that they had from the previous game, and give UCLA a run for their money. I like the Ducks to keep it close here.
Score Prediction: UCLA 69 – Oregon 66
Texas -2.5 : This was close to a Best Bet. I know that our Hornies looked great yesterday in their win over Kansas State. However, they are really going to feel the absence of Eddie Lampkin against the frontcourt of Texas. He had 14 rebounds in the two games vs Texas this season, and really served Jamie Dixon well by filling the gaps in the post to prevent Texas’ drives to the rim. Also, the Texas defense has been DOMINANT over the past two games. They held Kansas to just 59 points in their regular season finale, and then followed that up by only allowing 47 points to Oklahoma State in the Quarterfinal of the Big 12 Championship. This team is peaking at the right time and my preseason future aint looking so bad after all!
Score Prediction: Texas 75 – TCU 68
Best of luck! Let’s snipe this one y’all!!
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