March Madness Bracket Picks - January 15, 2008

We suffered a losing night last night - just our fourth losing night out of the last twenty. We stand at 68-36 (65%) over the past three weeks. Tonight we have six picks...

Today's NCAA Basketball Picks:

Game: North Carolina State at Clemson (7:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 5 units on Clemson -750 (moneyline) (risk 5 to win 0.7)

Both of these teams lost to top-ranked North Carolina but the difference is stark. NC State lost by 31 points while the Tigers took the Tarheels to overtime, losing by just two points. Clemson's only ugly loss was to Charlotte and that can be chalked up to having that game follow the big Tarheels matchup. The Wolfpack had been riding a seven game winning streak prior to their beatdown by NC but that game showed what happens when they face a top-notch team. Clemson has a good defense and a great offense that is scoring 82.7 ppg on the season. The Tigers are too much for NC State tonight.

Oklahoma State has had an impressive run, as they have put five straight in the win column. The only problem we have with that is that those were all at home, where they are a perfect 10-0 on the season. The road has been a completely different story, where they have gone 1-4, including a 9 point loss to North Texas. They have been out-scored in those four road losses by 18 ppg and are a completely different team. Baylor has line value because they have not been on the national scene in a long-time. But things are changing. They have already beaten Notre Dame, Wichita State and Winthrop on a neutral floor, and won at South Carolina. They nearly knocked off Washington State at home, where they are otherwise perfect. This team is loaded with scorers, as all five starters score in double-digits, and they have a 6th player at 9+ per game. They hit over 40% of their threes, which matches what they give up from the field overall, so they defend well. Baylor is a team that will be heard from in March, and they get the comfortable win here.

Gabriel Moore, Mick Yelovich and Todd McCoy are all Indiana State seniors. They have come to Missouri State three times and lost by 20, 19 and 24 points. They are not alone. Indiana State has not won here in an eternity, having dropped the last ten games by 15 ppg! It has been a problem for this class of Sycamores playing on the road, as they have logged a 3-26 SU mark in MVC road play. They have lost 18 games by double-digits! It has been a problem for Indiana State for a long time as they have logged just 12 wins in their last 85 road ventures. This Bears class has enjoyed a 22-8 mark at home in MVC play and 44-10 overall. And, both of their home conference wins this season have come by double-digits. There is too much distance between these teams which are night and day, home vs. away, and without Larry Bird on the floor for the Sycamores, Missouri State should roll.

The Salukis have yet to capture a true road victory this season. They won two conference games early but have since dropped seven in a row away from home. This is their best shot to get one and we think they get it. Evansville has an offense that is even worse than S. Illlinois'. And, S. Illinois has a big defrensive edge. The Salukis are holding foes to 61.4 ppg includikng just 58.3 per game away from home. Evansville is 0-5 in conference play, getting outscored by 11 ppg. S. Illinois is 49-16 SU in their last 65 games vs. losing teams. They are also 17-7 vs. conference opponents the past two seasons. They held their last opponent, Indiana State to 32.1% shooting from the field and should be able to hold down Evansville enough here to chalk their first road win.

Boston College had an inexcusable loss to Robert Morris, but came back and dominated Wake Forest 112-73. That's a win that shows what this team is capable of when they are clicking. Miami comes in at 14-1 and amazingly after 15 games, remains untested. They haven't left their home-court since December 13th and that usually spells trouble. What is even more troublesome for the Canes is Boston College has owned them. Boston College has won the last 10 meetings between these schools, and has covered nine straight as well! You can be sure that BC will be feeling good off of their 39 point win, and playing their "A" game, getting a shot at a ranked opponent at home. Boston College in this one.

Nebraska as rolling until they ran into the buzzsaw called Kansas last game. The Cornhuskers had won six in a row and 11 of 13 going into that game. They certainly couldn't hang with the Jayhawks but Colorado is a different story. The Buffs are only 8-7 with a losing home record. Nebraska's defense, which allows 55.3 ppg, is going to do a good job to keep Colorado off the scoreboard. Colorado has lost two in a row including a 13 point loss to Tulsa as a favorite. The past two seasons, this team is just 2-8 at home after having lost two of their last three. We like Nebraska to be focused here after the big loss and to bounce back and get a win.

Results: 5-1

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Check out the last five NCAA Basketball Picks Newsletters:

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-14-2008
The Citadel owns just five wins on the season, and when you consider four of those have been to teams outside Division-1, that leaves them with one win. This is a team that shoots poorly and doesn'...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-13-2008
Niagara can score but Manhattan's defense is pretty good. Niagara chucks up 24 three-pointers per game, making 8 per game, which is where much of their scoring comes from. But, Manhattan is 10-1 U...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-12-2008
St. John's has shown its inexperience all season, occasionally putting together good stretches in games, but not 40 minutes. And they make too many unforced errors. All signs of a typical inexperi...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-11-2008
Niagara is coming off a 96 point performance while Siena is off a 52-point game. What gives here? We like this game to come in UNDER the lofty total. Niagara has the propensity to be an up-and-down te...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-January-10-2008
Five of the six games these teams have played over the past three seasons have gone OVER but we like this one to buck that trend. Hofstra is horrendous on the road, especially offensively. They are 0-...