College Basketball Picks for 4/1/23
College Basketball
6:09 PM EST
Rotation #702
San Diego State -2.5 over Florida Atlantic (loss)
The Final Four will take place at NGR Stadium in Houston, Texas. Remember that this is a football field. The NCAA crams a small court in the middle of a large arena to make money. Three-point shooting will get more challenging due to depth perception. I want to back teams that take most of their shots close to the basket. San Diego State is a tough basketball team that stresses defense. The Aztecs were the only team in the tournament that played a demanding non-conference schedule, which helped them in March. In our Underdog Pick of the NCAA Tournament that has cashed 8 years in a row, I said Florida Atlantic was the dark horse team of the tournament. The Owls are a great team but played the weakest schedule of the remaining four teams. The Aztecs will control the game by slowing down the pace. FAU shoots many three-point shots, which could become equivalent to turnovers in these conditions. The Aztecs are excellent at stopping opponents from making three-pointers. The Aztecs are the more physical team that should advance to the Final Game by playing elite defense. Take San Diego State.
College Basketball
8:49 PM EST
Rotation #703
Miami +5.5 over UConn (loss)
Tonight’s game seems like a contest that will be high scoring, but we have to remember the game takes place on a football field. Depth perception leads to a lot of missed shots and air balls. UConn is an excellent team that looks like the best squad left by the eyeball test. The Huskies play excellent defense and have the physical size to wear teams down. Adama Sanogo is your adult Uncle dunking on you as a kid in the driveway. Miami has the best overall team shooting left in the tournament. UConn has a couple of guys that play lockdown defense, but the Hurricanes should share the basketball well and knock down easier shots. Miami could be a better defensive team, but their style of play offensively makes up for it. Head Coach Jim Larranaga will never get closer to winning a title in his 37 years of coaching. Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller, and Nijel Pack are great guards, and Norchad Omier has the physical size to do damage in the paint. Tonight’s game should be the more entertaining of the two and go down to the wire. The Hurricanes are a good value as the underdog. Take Miami.