RAS
Arkansas-Little Rock +4
Power Play Wins
Clemson -4.5
Jimmy Boyd
3* Knicks -4
4* Charleston -5
JB Sports
3* Bucks
1* Knicks
Sam Paolini
20* Boston / Columbus Under
BIG AL
100% CLEMSON/UAB NCAA "PLAY-IN" WINNER
At 9 pm, our selection is on the UAB Blazers plus the points over Clemson. A lot of the talking heads are making noise about the inclusion of UAB in the NCAA Tournament -- and I can't disagree with that assessment, given that schools such as St. Mary's, Colorado and Virginia Tech were left out -- but I wouldn't have included Clemson, either, in the 68-team field. Indeed, when one compares the resumes of UAB and Clemson, one finds that the Tigers had 0 victories vs. any teams from the RPI-Top 50. Its best wins this season were against Boston College, Virginia Tech and Florida State, but none of those were true road games. Indeed, the only true road games that Clemson won were at Charleston, Georgia Tech, and Miami, and none of those teams are in the Tourney this year. I don't like laying points with teams who fit that kind of profile. UAB, for its part, at least accomplished something this year, and that was to win its Conference's regular season crown. The Blazers were 12-4 in the league, but fell to 8th-seeded East Carolina in the quarterfinal round of the C-USA Tourney. But before that game, UAB had won and covered seven of eight games! UAB plays at a VERY slow tempo (62.9 possessions per game (318th in country), and that will make it more difficult for Clemson to break away from the Blazers. Indeed, UAB was 7-1 ATS as underdogs of +2 or more points this year. And Clemson is an awful 10-32 ATS since 1991 as favorites away from home vs. foes off a pointspread loss (including 0-7 ATS in post-season games)! Clemson also favors a slow tempo (65 possessions per game (253rd in country), so I look for a very low-scoring game tonight. Grab the points with UAB.
Joseph D'Amico
Austin Peay St vs. Boise State
Play: Boise State -8½
Austin Peay played a solid season at 20-13. However, the Governors have trouble on the road at 8-8 away from home. The squad “stepped up” in class against Purdue and Memphis and lost both contests. To make matters worse, their top-scorer, TyShawn Edmondson injured his knee 2 games ago. Edmondson (averages 17.1 PPG) made a superficial appearance in the last game, a 68-49 beating at the hands of Morgan State. The Guard is not expected to play today. Austin Peay doesn’t have a single player that can take the ball to the hole against Boise State. The Broncos have won 9 of their L10 SU, going 6-2-1 ATS. They have a slew of talent, led by Guard La’Shard Anderson (15.5 PPG) and Forwards Arnold, Montreal, and Noonan (32.7 PPG combined). This is a very athletic team that will own the paint and the glass in this matchup. The Governors are 0-5 ATS their L5 games played on the road and 22-46-6 ATS their L74 non conference games. The Broncos are 5-1 ATS their L6 overall and 8-3 ATS their L11 non conference games. Take Boise State.
Brandon Lang
20 Dime Hofstra + 2.5
Keith Glantz
25* Clemson
25* Creighton
25* UTEP
25* Coastal Carolina
Chris Jordan
200♦ Dayton +5.5
Bob Balfe
NC Asheville -4 over Ark Little Rock
The winner of this game will have the luxury of facing Pittsburgh for an early exit on Thursday. The key to this matchup is size and athleticism. UNC Asheville will be without their center Cunningham, but are lucky to be facing a small team that doesn’t get a lot of blocks or steals. UNC Asheville is also among the best in the nation at getting steals and they should have a nice rebounding edge tonight. This team is on average about 2 inches taller and 13 pounds heavier per man for the players that will be on the court most of the night. UNC Ashville is also a little better from the foul line. If they can minimize their turnovers (15 per game), they should win this by double digits. The only way they lose this game is if they beat themselves. Take UNC Asheville.
UAB +4.5 over Clemson
You could switch uniforms and you would not even know it. These teams are almost identical to each other in a lot of areas of the game. Both play great defense and are great against the 3 ball. I would suggest the Under tonight, but I am afraid this game is going to be so close we could get OT. This line should be a PK. Clemson is a little more athletic coming from a better conference, but the Blazers are great from the foul line and a little better in the assist-to-turnover ratio. This game should come down to the wire and I feel like 4.5 points is a good value for us. Take UAB.
Gary Olshan
UTEP vs New Mexico
Pick: UTEP +6.5
With key G Gary out for New Mexico, compelled to take 3 hoops with dangerous UTEP squad eager to get a crack at old rival New Mexico. Miners have the most explosive scorer on court in G Culpepper, and Tim Floyd's changing defenses will be a problem for Lobos without G Gary in control.
Mr. East
Colorado State
The Duke's Sports
Dayton (+6) for 2 Units
Good value with a Flyers' team that showed grit on the road and played well down the stretch of the season. Dayton has also been strong in non-conference action at 20-7 ATS and sports a strong 14-6-1 ATS mark as a road dog in this spread range. Yes, the Cougars have a strong home floor; however, this second grade tournament does not draw much interest or emotion from the student body thereby creating a neutral floor effect. Consequently, road teams do well early in these tournaments. And Charleston's veteran forward -- Jeremy Simmons -- who averages 13.3 ppg and 6.2 rpg, will not play thus leaving a void in the low post for the athletic Flyers' big men to exploit. Dayton it is.
Maddux Sports
Milwaukee +5.5
NC Asheville -4
UAB +4.5
Colorado St -6.5
Hawaii -1.5