This is March. The best time of the year…
This article will be a quick read to give you some more reaction and insight into the 68-team tournament. We don’t want to tell you who to take or not to take just some initial thoughts.
Then we’ll dive into our 5 favorite first-round sides. We’ve been red hot this year as our Lock of the Days for College Hoops are 35-22-1!
First Thoughts:
– Texas, Alabama, and UConn being in the same region is unbelievable. We believe all three of these teams can easily make the Sweet Sixteen and even Elite Eight, but the way they got placed that will be impossible! Either way, these teams can score and are names you want winning.
– The number one overall seed (Gonzaga) has been struggling as of late. They haven’t made the Final Four in the last 6 years nor have they won it all in the past 8 years. Duke got bounced in the Elite Eight last tourney and the year before that UVA was upset by UMBC.
– Missouri vs Oklahoma is a very intriguing 8 vs 9 matchup. Both these teams are very similar. They started the year off well and have been struggling as of late. They both have a ton of senior leadership and at times have looked very good. We weren’t happy they were seeded next to each other as we thought they would win at least one game. – Just in OU’s star guard Devon Harmon will be out the first weekend.
– 12 vs. 5 Matchups – Some tempting names on the board indeed. Nova who has struggled without their star guard Collin Gillespie and Winthrop has one loss on the year. UC Santa Barbara has been a popular name thrown around. They score a lot and Creighton got beaten up in the Big East Championship. Meanwhile, Georgetown coming off 4 straight wins in the Big East tourney faces off against the unknown of the Pac-12, Colorado. Got to ride the hot hand right? Finally, Oregon St. is coming off a Pac-12 tourney Championship and will be playing Tennessee who will be without their big guy Fulkerson.
– The Illini are the hottest team in the country right now and are coming off a Big Ten Championship. The Illini and Gonzaga are the best all-around teams in terms of size, shooting, defense, etc.
Five Favorite Side Picks
- First Four Matchup – Michigan St. -2 vs UCLA
We believe Sparty should get it done. They’ve seen better competition than UCLA and Izzo comes alive in March.
- Arkansas -8.5 vs Colgate
Colgate is creating a tiny bit of chatter because they score a lot. However, they only played 5 different teams in the regular season. The O/U on this game is 161, which tells us the Razorbacks will cover. Vegas thinks there will be points, but Colgate won’t score enough to cover.
- Ok St. -7.5 vs. Liberty
Really? 7.5 points? People love the 13 over 4 upset and are probably all over the Liberty Money line and spread. Ok St. would be 7.5 favorites to some Big 10 and 12 teams, but not Liberty. This team is way too hot and includes potential first overall pick Cade Cunningham.
- Georgia Tech +5.5 vs Loyola Chi.
Loyola does not score enough to even think about covering 6. The reason this line has moved so far towards Loyola is because the ACC player of the year for Georgia Tech, Moses Wright, is out. He’s their big guy, who would be the best matchup for Loyola’s Big Cameron Krutwig. The O/U on this game is 124.5. The reason it is so low is because Loyola plays very slow basketball. Not a recipe for success on covering. If Georgia Tech stays in this game they’ll have no problem covering. Tech is on an 8-game winning streak after their ACC Tourney Championship.
- Winthrop +6.5 vs Villanova
We have to take the points here with Winthrop. They can score and Villanova hasn’t been able to do much on offense without Gillespie.
- Bonus Pick: UConn -5 vs Maryland
Whenever we lock in UConn they always cover… just saying. UConn is a lot better on offense and Maryland oftentimes struggles to score. James Bouknight is going to make a name for himself in this tourney. Go Huskies.