Ncaa Basketball Predictions - March 18, 2008

We are ready for the post-season tourneys, as we have picks in the NIT, CBI and NCAA Play-In game. We finished off the regular season on a high note as we nailed our pick on Georgia to win the SEC Championship game as a +300 ML dog! Today we have our Guide to Filling Out Your Bracket as well as six selections today with a few more upset calls.

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Today's NCAA Basketball Picks:

Game: Rider at Old Dominion (7:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 2 units on Rider +225 (moneyline) (risk 2 to win 4.5)

This game kicks off the College Basketball Invitational - a new single elimination tournament to be held on the home courts of the higher seeds. This is Rider's first tournament game since the NIT in 1998. They lost to Siena in the MAAC Tournament but they are no slouches. They had a good season, tying for the best record in the MAAC. They bring a 23-10 record into this one (12-8 on the road) and have the MAAC Player of the Year in Jason Thompson. ODU is just 17-15 overall in contrast. They have just one double-digit scorer on the team and no one that can compaer to Thompson. We think this is anyone's game and as such we'll take the dog for the nice moneyline payout.

At 7'7" Kenny George gets all the attention on this Asheville team, but this team has some players. He is however a difference maker. NC Asheville lost only to Eastern Tennessee State, North Carolina, Tennessee and Winthrop with him playing. He had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks against the Heels. He had 7, 13 and 4 against Tennessee as well as 16, 13 and 3 vs. SC - a game they won. They played at two of the top teams in the country in Tennessee and North Carolina and held their own, dropping both by less than this pointspread. Ohio State got off quickly at 12-3, but really slid and finished just 7-10. Disappointed on being a bubble team that was left out in the cold means getting up for UNC Ashville might be quite a chore, so we will ride the dog here.

Mount St. Mary's surprised everyone with three easy wins to earn the right to open the NCAA Tournament against Coppin State. They were 1-4 against these teams in the regular season. All three teams they beat shot as poorly as they have all season, and much worse than the Mountaineer's allowed all season. Good defense? Bad offense? Probably a combination of the two. Coppin State opened the season 2-19 against D-1A teams and was arguably was the worst team in the country. The only blemish since then was to regular-season conference champion Morgan State by four points on the road. They finished the season superb at 12-1, and it was the biggest turnaround in NCAA history! They still have a losing record, but consider the fact that Oakland and Michigan entered the play-in game at 12-18 in 2005 and won. Florida A&M at 14-16 won the play-in game in 2004. NC Ashville at 14-16 won the play-in game in 2003. Siena at 16-18 won the play-in game in 2002. The record may say 20 losses, but this is a confident, completely different team that has lost just once, and by less points than this in their last 13. We would not be shocked if they win here, so we will grab the points.

The Zips had NCAA Tourney aspirations, but fell to Kent State in the Conference Final. Kent State was simply the better team, besting the Zips three straight times on the season. The Zips can score and hit FTs. When playing on other teams' courts this season they were a strong 7-4 ATS. Florida State lost four of their last eight on their home floor which is more losses than they sustained at home since '04-'05 when they went home early. Truth be told, this is a bad State team. They lost both Swann and Breeden, which took away some scoring and depth that helped lead to a 7-10 finish on the season. The Zips are plenty capable of winning here and should hang close inside the number.

Houston has beaten Nevada six of the seven times they have met. We like their chances at the upset win here to make it seven of eight. Houston has the offense to keep with the Wolfpack and should be in this game till the end. The Cougars are 12-3 the past three seasons vs. teams like Nevada that don't pressure much (those that force under 15 turnovers per game). Over the past two seasons they are 17-6 following an ATS loss. Under Tom Penders, this team is 15-5 off a loss to a conference rival. They are also 8-1 after allowing 75+ points in two straight games under Penders. Finally, Penders is 11-1 SU in games coached followinga loss by 3 or fewer points. We'll back Houston for the upset win.

Rhode Island is a 21-win team that cracked the Top 25 this season. They finished poorly but well enough to land a bid to the NIT. They get a Creighton team that have a 1-4 mark in home NIT games. The Rams can score with the best of them, averaging 80.8 ppg on 47% shooting. If they are on, there is no reason they can't win this game. They are 9-1 this season in non-conference games and 6-2 in tournament games the past two seasons. Rhode Island for the upset win.

Results: 2-4

NCAA Basketball Picks Resources:

• Don't forget to visit our college basketball sports book.
• Check out our updated college basketball sports handicapping philosophy.
• Check out ncaa tournament predictions here.
• Don't forget to visit our 2007 NCAA basketball preview.
• View our college basketball Game Analysis here.
• View our updated 2007 NCAA basketball prior picks season results.
• Updated today: march madness brackets.
• Check out college basketball ATS standings here.
• Updated today: blog NCAA basketball.
• View our updated NCAA basketball pick.
• Here we show our college basketball prior picks.
• Check out our updated college basketball odds.

Check out the last five NCAA Basketball Picks Newsletters:

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-17-2008
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NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-16-2008
These teams have played very competitive against each other with both games going to OT. These games saw 196 and 178 points scored, but more importantly 164 and 162 before OT. The Tar Heels are puttin...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-15-2008
Hartford? UMBC? Who the heck are they? Exactly. We think there's value on this game, in part due to the lack of attention to this America East Conference title game. We think the dog has a good sh...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-14-2008
The Buckeyes played in the National Championship game last season. Now they are fighting for a birth to into the tournament. They beat the Spartans on Sunday by 9 points but that was a home game for t...

NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-13-2008
We had to ponder some numbers regarding Georgetown. Why does a team that shoots 48.3% and 37.1% from three-point range, as well as the best FG percentage defense in the country at 36.4% (and just 29.1...