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5* Syracuse
4* Illinois
4* Texas
Matt Fargo
Arizona vs Texas
Pick: Arizona +6
I feel there is a lot of value in Arizona in this game. This is one of three games that feature a four seed against a five seed this weekend and it is the biggest spread of them all but I do not think it is warranted. A lot of times seedings can mean little but in this case we are also seeing a team with an RPI of 13 (Texas) against a team with an RPI of 20 (Arizona) and that is certainly not a huge discrepancy. I expect this game to be very close and Arizona does in fact have a great chance to win outright. I played against Texas on Friday and even after putting together a sizeable lead, the Longhorns only won by four points over a tough Oakland team that would not quit. I'm still not completely sold on Texas, which made it to the top of the polls at one point this season and as you can tell by the seeding, the committee agrees. Arizona came away a winner against Memphis after a very slow start which I thought was surprising following its last second loss in the Pac Ten Championship. We will see a quicker start here. Texas was a team that no one on the Big XII could solve as it started the season unbeatable. It ran off 11 straight Big XII wins to open the season including nine of those by double digits. The Longhorns closed the season by going just 2-3 however with the wins coming against last place Iowa St. and by six points over Baylor. They easily handled Oklahoma and went on to defeat Texas A&M in a back and forth game before getting thumped by Kansas in the Big XII Championship. The Wildcats possess a superstar in Derrick Williams, the Pac Ten Player of the Year, they play great defense and they control the glass. As a matter of fact, the Wildcats finished as the best rebounding team in the Pac Ten and posted a 21-1 record when they won the battle of the boards. Winning the battle of the boards won't be easy but the same can be said for Texas which normally wins that battle as well. The Longhorns are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite of fewer than seven points. 9* Arizona Wildcats
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
8* Marquette +5
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on Marquette:
The Golden Eagles went 17-12 ATS this year; in their first round matchup they beat Xavier 66-55 as 1-point favorites.
On the other side of the court: The Orange went 15-17 ATS this year; in their first round matchup they beat Indiana State 77-60 as 13-points favorites.
Bottom line: The 11th seeded Golden Eagles beat the third seeded Orange 76-70 on January 29th, and I believe the will be the case again today; "There's some preparation that's already taken place in a quick turnaround that you don't have to go back and redo," coach Buzz Williams said.
Marquette had little problems scoring against the Orange zone; however it will have to do a better job against Scoop Jardine who had a 13 points and 13 assists in the initial meeting.
Marquette is too talented a shooting team; I expect this one to come down to the final moments; 8* TOP SHOCKER on MARQUETTE!