Free Ncaa Basketball Tournament Predictions - March 21, 2009
Well, the first round was not good to us. Again, sorry for that performance. I own it and vow to work as hard as I can to turn things around the rest of the tournament. Today we take to the floor with a trio of premium selections.
We are down to the Round of 32. Check out the current standings in the Wunderdog $2,000 Bracket Contest below.
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Today's NCAA Basketball Picks:
Game: U C L A vs. Villanova (1:05 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on U C L A +2 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)
We are down to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, and one can't help but notice that 11 of the remaining teams are from the Pac-10 and Big East, or more than 1/3 of the field. The only Big East team that was dominant was UConn, while the Pac-10 has surprised with two double-digit seeds advancing. The fact is that the Pac-10 has performed better than any conference so far. Villanova looks like a team that peaked too early, as mid-to-late season they were playing flawlessly at both ends of the floor. They used their interior strength to get past American as Anderson and Cunningham combined for 50 points. They won't get that against this UCLA team, that isn't quite as good as last year's team at suffocating opponents, but is still a very good defensive team, only better offensively. The problem for Nova is Scottie Reynolds has gone into a slump at the wrong time as he is just 8-26 in his last three games including just 1-11 from three-point range. That won't be good enough here, and I'll back the Bruins in this one.
Game: Purdue vs. Washington (5:40 PM Eastern)Pick: 3 units on Purdue +1.5 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)
At the beginning of the season, Purdue was one of the teams expected to have a shot to cut down the nets at the end of the year. They played four games without Robbie Hummel and a few others where he was limited. Of those games, the Boilermakers ended up dropping three of them and it definitely cost them a higher seed in the tournament, as they are better than a nine-loss five-seed team. Washington had just eight losses on the season, and all eight came at the hands of teams playing in the NCAA Tournament so they have definitely struggled against the top teams in the country. This is a team that is predicated on offense, when they score 78+ they are 17-3, when they don't, they are 9-6. That will be a problem here as Purdue has allowed just one team all season to reach 78 points in games that didn't go to overtime, and that will be the difference here. I'll go with Purdue in this one.
Game: Michigan vs. Oklahoma (5:50 PM Eastern)Pick: 3 units on Oklahoma -6.5 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)
Michigan wasn't expected to be here as this young team was supposed to be a year away, but here they are. Young teams are inconsistent, and although they beat Duke and UCLA early in the season, they closed the season at just 8-10, and seven of those 10 losses came by 10 points or more - certainly not the typical NCAA Tournament team resume. Oklahoma was blowing through everyone until Blake Griffin went down with a concussion. It took him a few games to get it back but he is healthy and productive again. Griffin is probably more important than any single player to his team in the tournament, as Oklahoma has just 2 double-digit scorers. There are just no answers for Griffin on Michigan, and he could wind up with a 30-point 20-rebound game here, and it is likely Michigan is heading home after this one. I'll lay the points with Oklahoma here.
Results: 2-1
NCAA Basketball Picks Resources:
Check out the last five NCAA Basketball Picks Newsletters:
NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-20-2009
Friday’s action begins with Syracuse taking on Stephen F. Austin. The Cuse expended a lot of energy in the Big East Conference Tournament, both physically and emotionally, and you wonder the imp...
NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-19-2009
The Memphis Tigers came within a few points of winning a national championship last year, dropping a heartbreaker in overtime at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks. That Tigers team saw Joey Dorsey, Chr...
NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-18-2009
Vermont had a good run in the NCAA Tournament a couple years ago, but certainly this isn't a team on the same level. They are a good team in the American East, but they will be harshly tested here...
NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-17-2009
This is a opening-round game in the first-ever Collegeinsider.com Tournament. Kent State is looking for their 11th straight 20-win season, but I don't see it happening tonight. Kent State was carr...
NCAA-Basketball-Picks-March-16-2009
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