Sweet Sixteen Best Bets

The Field of 64 has been whittled down to 16, and boy was there some upsets along the way! My first round best bet selections churned out kiss your cousin type results. We went 4-4 ATS overall due to some bad calls and some end-game variance that didn’t go our way. Winners included Providence minus the points over South Dakota State, Akron plus the points against UCLA, Purdue minus the points against Yale, and Chattanooga plus the points against Illinois; both dogs nearly won outright. Indiana proved to be a horrendous call much like the trendy dog call with Davidson. We got nipped at the bell on the under in the NMST/UConn tilt, and then watched the Dookies give up an uncontested dunk on the game’s final scoring play. Those two swings go our way, and we make out well with a 6-2 ATS tally. They didn’t and we ate juice. Let’s turn the page and go looking for some winners with this week’s Sweet Sixteen Best Bets – Slam Your Man!!

Michigan Wolverines +5 vs. Villanova Wildcats

Some teams just know how to flip the switch this time of year. Others don’t. The Wolverines are definitely one of those teams after coming back to defeat Colorado State in the opening round, and then follow it up with a solid handling of a very good Tennessee team. I take nothing away from the job Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats do every passing season. Their surgeon-like with the way they go about their business. However, Hunter Dickinson is in a groove right now, and I don’t envision anyone on Nova’s roster being able to stop him. If they do, I’ll tip my hat in their general direction. I’ll take the five and will sprinkle a taste on the moneyline as well.

Texas Tech Red Raiders -1 vs. Duke Blue Devils

Rejoice college basketball fans! This will be the last time we ever have to see Coach K roaming the sidelines. Whether deemed wishful thinking or not, this is a game the Red Raiders will be going all-out to win with a trip to the Elite eight on the line. Though UNC tripped up Baylor, the Big 12 is a far superior conference than the ACC. The Dookies are yet to run up against a bunch quite like Texas Tech who incapacitate opposing offenses with a strangling brand of defensive basketball. I’ll pay up to see what the Blue Devils are able to do down low in this one – I’m betting it won’t be much!

Arizona Wildcats -1.5 vs. Houston Cougars

Arguably the game of the Sweet 16 finds Zona squaring off against Kelvin Sampson’s respect-hungry Cougars who will undoubtedly give them one of their stiffest challenges of the season. The contrast in styles is going to be a sight to see with Houston wanting to play a defensive grinder (No. 332), and the Wildcats racing up and down the court with their hair on fire. As great a team the Coogs have been, they’re not very deep and they don’t have the bodies or the number of fouls to contend with Arizona’s bigs. It also doesn’t have a guy named Bennedict Mathurin on the roster. I’ll lay the short price and look for Arizona to seal the deal from the stripe.

Providence Friars +7.5 vs. Kansas Jayhawks

Ed Cooley’s Friars rank out as the absolute luckiest team in the country according to the Pomeroy Ratings. That fact stuck in the craw of so many college hoops bettors looking to take advantage through the first weekend. All fading Providence resulted in was an 0-2 ATS showing after it went about its business and punched a ticket to the Sweet 16 with relative ease. Kansas trounced a cream puff in the opening round, but then nearly got clipped by a Creighton squad minus two of its best players. With it always a possibility KU chokes when it matters most, this line is simply baffling. Providence possesses the guard play and defensive prowess to really hamper a hot and cold Kansas attack. I’ll be rooting hard for my beloved Jayhawks to advance, but they’re going to need to earn it!

North Carolina Tar Heels +122 vs. UCLA Bruins

No reason to take the points in this spot. Not one of UNC’s played games was decided by a single possession. They’re blowouts either for or against them. I give Hubert Davis’s kids an excellent shot of logging what would be considered a mild upset with the team catching 2.5-points. I’ll hit the Tar Heels on the moneyline instead and look for Armando Bacot to be a living nightmare for the Bruins foul prone bigs. Jaime Jacquez Jr. is also suffering from an ankle injury heading into this game. Should he be hampered in any way, UCLA will sorely miss the 18.0 points he’s averaged in the postseason. North Carolina has been lighting up the scoreboard all season long, and I just don’t foresee UCLA being able to hang all the way through because of it. It’s crazy, but UNC’s headed to the Elite Eight!

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