2014 NCAA Tourney Handicapping
The first weekend of action in the NCAA Tournament has provided many thrilling moments. Upsets were anything but rare, and a few Cinderellas made an appearance.
The first weekend of action in the NCAA Tournament has provided many thrilling moments. Upsets were anything but rare, and a few Cinderellas made an appearance.
It is a little bit odd that Duke beat Creighton by a greater margin than they did Albany. I thought the Blue Jays would be able to push Duke but they shot horribly in a very disappointing performance.
Two games in and the Cardinals have won by 31 and 26 points. If that pattern holds than they should beat Oregon by 21 and might not be challenged until the Championship game.
Marquette has played 2 close games to advance to the Sweet 16 only winning those games by a combined 3 points. After an easy win in their first Big Dance game the Hurricanes struggled on offense in their last win only winning by 4 points.
The Buckeyes escaped their third round game against Iowa State with a victory. In my opinion they were outplayed but a win is a win.
I have long admired the Shockers program and I thought they would play well but I just didn’t see how they would beat Gonzaga. Even if they were able to shorten the game a little bit and play their guts out I still thought they would come up just a little bit short.
Ohio is the Cinderella of the Sweet 16 being the 13th seed and while they face the Midwest #1 seed in North Carolina the Tar Heels and their title hopes took a huge blow in their last game when they lost G Kendall Marshall, who leads the nation in assists, to a wrist injury.
Ohio is not the only Cinderella in the Sweet 16, as 11th seed NC State is still alive and both teams are in the Midwest Region.
The Cincinnati Bearcats are on a serious roll right now. No they did not win the Big East Tournament but check this: in their last 11 games they are 9-2 with only 5 points separating them form 11-0; 5 of those wins were against ranked teams with their only losses to tournament teams South Florida and Louisville.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs Ohio State Buckeyes
Thursday March 22
East Region – Boston, MA
9:45PM
Moneyline: No money line currently listed
Spread: Ohio State -8
O/U: 129
Cincinnati
I am not saying the Bearcats are my pick to win it all but they certainly deserve to be here and won’t be intimidated by Ohio State.
Cincinnati is coming off a win against Florida State which is no easy task.
Guard Sean Kilpatrick got his game back scoring a team high 18 points as forward Yancy Gates was neutralized in the post by the Seminoles. The game against FSU was far from pretty but it showed the Bearcats have more than enough grit.
I really like the way they locked in at the foul line making 82% of their shots (they were 64% during the regular season).
Ohio State
I suppose I have to eat some humble pie after Ohio State eliminated my Gonzaga Bulldogs. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
In the first half the Zags were all over the Buckeyes but their staying power wasn’t very strong, surprising because I still think they are the deeper team. Ohio State didn’t dominate but they got the job done.
Fellow Ohio school Cincinnati is in the way but this is a favourable matchup despite the steam behind the Bearcats right now.
I am still looking for the evidence that Jared Sullinger is going to be a good player at the next level.
If that is the case he should be able to have success against Bearcats beast of a power forward Yancy Gates. I think it will be a bit of a stalemate which is fine for the Buckeyes who are superior at all the other spots.
They will probably win going away this time. Next us Wisconsin? Maybe.
Spread Pick: Ohio State -8
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Ohio State 72 – Cincinnati 62
Kentucky has lost two games all year long and one of them was to the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers beat the Wildcats 73-72 in Bloomington earlier this year thanks to a Christian Watford three-pointer at the buzzer.
Who would have guessed that the Round of 32 matchup would be Lehigh vs. Xavier? If you had this matchup in your bracket then you have to be one in a million.
This could quite possibly be the best game of the this year’s Sweet 16, and is definitely the most evenly matched, as the No. 3 Seed Marquette Golden Eagles take on the No. 7 Seed Florida Gators in the second game of a double header in Phoenix on Thursday.
After meeting just once since the turn of the century in a 2009 NCAA tournament regional final showdown, the top-seeded Michigan State Spartans will once again meet up with the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals, this time aiming to exact a little revenge on that 1959 88-81 loss, in Thursday’s West Regional semifinals in the Valley of the Sun.
There seems to be no real compelling storyline for the Wisconsin Badgers right now. All they have done to this point is what they are supposed to: crushing a small conference foe and playing a competitive game against Vanderbilt.
Sweet 16
#4 Wisconsin Badgers (26-9) vs #1 Syracuse Orange (33-2)
Thursday March 22
East Region – Boston, MA
7:15PM
Moneyline: No money line currently listed
Spread: 120.5
O/U: Syracuse -3.5
Wisconsin
In my mind this is a very dangerous team because they very rarely beat themselves. The Orange are no slouches but if they can win they might face off with Ohio State in the Elite Eight.
That would be fun.
With the focus on Kendall Marshall’s wrist injury many are forgetting the best point guard around might just play for the Badgers. He doesn’t have the gaudy assist number, and is forced to lead the team in scoring, but there are none in the college game better at controlling a game than Jordan Taylor.
It will be interesting to see how Wisconsin attacks that zone, especially with their bigs, who shoot the ball so well from the outside.
Syracuse
Well no Fab Melo – no problem…so far. They had one close game and one, not the only problem was they came in the reverse order with UNC Asheville giving the Orange a serious scare from #16 seed line. Against a shorthanded Kansas State squad they had a much easier time. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Over the two games no single player has stood out.
A great show of depth but usually teams have that one player that steps forward this time of year.
When you play Syracuse you know what you are going to get.
I think this might be a game where they might want to force tempo a little more and be more aggressive offensively and defensively. They have a huge advantage in terms of depth even with Melo out.
Looking forward to getting a nice look at guard Dion Waiters on the grand stage.
He has quietly become their best player.
Spread Pick: Wisconsin +3.5
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Syracuse 69 – Wisconsin 67
Welcome to the CappersPicks.com college basketball weekly predictions pages! We KNOW you will find our FREE weekly NCAA hoops picks, tips, betting advice, strategies, Cbb gambling articles and more to help you become the best College BASKETBALL bettor on your block!!
Welcome to the CappersPicks.com college hoops weekly predictions pages! We KNOW you will find our FREE weekly March Madness predictions, tips, betting advice, strategies, CBB gambling articles and more to help you become the best College Hoops bettor on your block!!