Late Games Preview-First Round 3-19-21

(13) Liberty v. (4) Oklahoma State

Liberty is not a team that anyone should take lightly. The Flames went 23-5 and finished first in the Atlantic Sun while ending the season on a 12 game win streak. The only knock on Liberty is that the cancelation of their conference tournament championship game means they have not played basketball in nearly two weeks. Oklahoma State capped off a good season with a strong Big 12 Tournament run where they lost in the final to Texas. The Cowboys are led by the best pure basketball player in the country, Cade Cunningham, who should have no problem getting looks tonight. Oklahoma State is on upset watch, that is until Cunningham takes over.

The Bet: Over 139.5 Total Points

(9) Wisconsin v. (8) North Carolina

A primetime 8-9 matchup between two big name colleges is always a great game to watch. Wisconsin has limped into the tournament, going 3-7 in their last 10 and sputtering out early in the Big Ten Tournament. North Carolina, on the other hand, might just be playing their best basketball of the season. Some considered the Tar Heels longshots for the tournament as late as February, until they won 6 of 9 games down the stretch. Momentum will mean something here and I can not find a good reason as to why Wisconsin is the favorite.

The Bet: North Carolina Moneyline

(15) Cleveland State v. (2) Houston

Cleveland State went 19-7 this season and finished second in the Horizon league. Their recent play has been sharp, winning 4 in a row and 8 of their last 10. Houston is a team not many consider elite, despite their high seed. The Cougars dominated the regular season, going 24-3, and finishing the year winning 9 of its last 10. Houston is a massive favorite, rightly so, but whether they will win by 20 plus remains to be seen. I expect the points to flow as Houston’s star player, Quentin Grimes, takes over the game.

The Bet: Over 135 Total Points

(13) North Texas v. (4) Purdue

North Texas has been a popular upset pick in a lot of brackets this year. The Mean Green finished the year on a 4 game win streak to secure the auto-bid out of Conference-USA. There is no home court advantage in March Madness, as every game is at a neutral site, but Purdue has a distinct advantage since the entirety of the tournament is in Indiana. Purdue battled hard in their Big Ten Tournament overtime loss to Ohio State and had ended the regular season on a 5 game winning streak. It's tough to see this being a blowout the way both teams play defense, but I do believe Purdue has enough quality to advance.

The Bet: See My Parlay

(10) Rutgers v. (7) Clemson

This is a very interesting matchup between two very interesting teams. Neither team has a player that averaged greater than 15 points per game and both were among the best defensive teams in their respective conference. This is going to be an absolute rockfight and the total reflects that at 125. In games like this, where both teams will struggle to score, there will be little separation. While I project Rutgers to score the upset and advance, Vegas considers Clemson the underdog, so I will take the football school on the spread.

The Bet: Clemson Spread

(11) Syracuse v. (6) San Diego State

Shocker, Syracuse slipped in the tournament with an at-large bid and might score a big upset in the first weekend. The Orange know how to play in March, and their hall of fame coach, Jim Boeheim, will entrust his son, Buddy Boeheim, with leading the way. San Diego State cake walked through their conference's regular season, won the Mountain West tournament, and are on a 14 game win streak. The committee must hate the Azteks in giving them this first round matchup. SDSU will either lose here or make a deep run, there is no in-between. Either way, I am not betting against Syracuse in the tournament.

The Bet: Syracuse Spread

(14) Morehead State v. (3) West Virginia

Morehead State is a sneaky good mid-major team who went 23-7 in the Ohio Valley regular season and finished the season on a 7 game win streak. Their 15 point win over fellow top conference contender Belmont in their last game shows they are no joke of a squad. West Virginia had a solid Big 12 regular season and boasts a deep squad that relies upon defense and quality shot selection to win games. Vegas favors the Mountaineers by 12.5, and if it were closer to 15 I would feel very comfortable taking Morehead State, but quality often wins these games, take this pick at your own discretion.

The Bet: Morehead State Spread

(12) Winthrop v. (5) Villanova

Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament ends with what I expect to be a great game. Winthrop might just be the best mid-major in the country with a 23-1 record and absolute domination of the Big South. Villanova enters the tournament severely wounded after losing their best player, Colin Gillepsie, to a season ending injury which contributed to their early exit from the Big East Tournament. Villanova is squarely on upset alert and Winthrop smells blood in the water. I anticipate a low scoring affair to end our first day of March Madness.

The Bet: Under 143 Total Points, Sprinkle on Winthrop Moneyline

Fancy a Parlay?

Purdue, Houston & West Virginia to Win