Well, well, well... Here we are. March Madness in full swing.
We already had a big upset last night in the Arizona game. Tough night for them, shooting just a hair over 11% from the 3 point line. They had to rely on paint scoring but there just wasn't enough to overcome that prolific display of offense by Buffalo - shooting over 50% from the field and almost scored 50 points in the second half! Other than that, looks like everything is progressing as expected for the tournament thus far.
A lot of big games this weekend to look forward to.
Butler is squaring off with Arkansas - looking to be a blowout 10 minutes in. Sorry Arkansas fans. Thought this was going to be a close game with Butler winning by 6-10 points, but this is still a game worth watching even if Butler still has twice the points that Arkansas does at halftime. Good teams with chemistry are capable of some pretty amazing runs, and I would not be surprised to see this game get closer.
We also have another promising contest in Kansas State and Creighton. With all the K-State stars slated to play in the match up, it's up to whoever wants it most now. Should be an exciting offensive game to watch. I would think with the latest developments that Kansas State would become the favorite, but it seems that the point spread still favors Creighton. Over 144.5 points seems to be the safe bet in that contest.
The rest of the games for Friday should be pretty easy pickings, Michigan State, Xavier, Virginia, Auburn and North Carolina should all be easy wins for them barring unfortunate injuries.
Moving on to Saturday, we have some really interesting games.
Villanova, Kansas and Tennessee should pass without issue.
If Buffalo's shooting percentage holds for the next game, Kentucky could have their hands full.
Duke may have a problem as well with Rhode Island if they continue to under perform. Rhode Island has had a pretty good year, and play some pretty solid defense. Duke should take it, but it looks like it will be a tight game, definitely single digit point spread, the under on the point total seems like it might be a pretty safe bet as well.
I like Ohio State to win over Gonzaga, oddly enough. The Zags are on quite the winning streak, but all streaks come to an end unfortunately. Ohio State has had a few hiccups and their defense is still lacking, but what they lack in defense they make up for in firepower. With both teams shooting around 50% for the year, it should be a great game to watch, the better percentage will likely win this game. Will certainly be closer than the last time they met.
Last match up I am going to touch today is the Houston-Michigan match up. Looks like it should be a pretty easy win for Michigan, but let me tell you this Houston team is not to be taken lightly. If the Houston big men manage to stay out of foul trouble, and Rob Gray has some help on the offensive end, Houston has a good chance of pulling off this upset. That being said, if Michigan plays like they did in the 1st round, they will have a tough time even if it's just Rob Gray.
My big money, big risk picks for Saturday are the Ohio State +3.5 and Houston +3.0.
My safe picks are Texas Tech ML, Kansas ML, and Villanova ML. Doesn't get much safer, but if you parlay them together you can get a nice return for the day.
Looks like the Butler game has started while I was still finishing up writing this post, so that is going to have to be it for now. Enjoy watching the future NBA stars perform at the collegiate level. Hope everyone who is placing bets on the games does their own research as well and bets responsibly.
Thanks for stopping by and see ya later.
RedCar goes VROOM!