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The NCAA tournament is here! Today and the tomorrow are the days in which you go into a basketball coma, watching games from the early morning to the late night and loving every second of it. Then doing it all the next day and the day after that. There is nothing in sports quite like the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The tournament has become a bit more wide open in recent years as the proliferation of one and done players has made it harder to build a strong team which makes it even “madder” than in year’s past. Kentucky has more NBA players than anybody, but their team doesn’t scare me that much and I’d be surprised to see them in the Final Four. I love that. Anything can happen in this tournament and it’s good to go in with that knowledge.
The thing to look at in the first round is the middle match-ups. It’s fun to take a +22.5 underdog and hope for the best, but that is not smart betting. The five through 12 seeds are a lot closer than you’d think and this is prime upset territory. That’s where we’ll be focusing our tips today.
NCAA Basketball Betting Tips:
This is the first time Northwestern -2 has been in the NCAA tournament and it’s also the first time that a 15-loss team has been the favorite. I just don’t think Vanderbilt is that good and Northwestern is one of the hardest playing teams out there. Winning this game would be like winning the championship for them and I think they’ll do it today.
Northwestern is coached by Chris Collins, NBA coach Doug Collins’ son. For our next pick we’ll go with another legacy pick with Rick Pitino’s son, Richard Pitino’s Minnesota -1 team. This team has grown a lot this year and I think Middle Tennessee is a great match-up for them.
The Florida Gators had a great season, but finished just 1-3 and have been struggling without John Egbuno. Coming in cold and being without a key player is prime real estate for an upset and I’m loving East Tennessee State +10.5.
The 12/5 match-up is always prime for an upset and surveying the board, I think that Nevada +6.5 over Iowa State is the best chance on this won. The Wolf Pack come into this game on a nine gaming winning streak and will look to make it ten today.
NBA Betting Tips:
The match-up of the night for me is the Utah Jazz at the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Jazz have been betting better and better all season long and look close to locked in for the four seed in the West. That is a big jump for a team that wasn’t in the playoff picture last year. The Cavs have struggled of late, but came back strong against the Pistons on Tuesday. This is definitely going to be an offense vs. defense war. I think that Rudy Goebert and the Jazz defense is undeniable and the Cavs might have to work harder than they want to tonight. Give me Utah +6.5 as this one will be close.
The Warriors burned me the last time out, but I am getting back on that horse again today. This time is just too good to keep playing like this. I don’t care if their bench is bad or their offense keyed in on Durant or any other excuse. This is a team with three of the top 15 players in the NBA and they should kill the Magic. I think they will tonight. Warriors -14.
