Picks for 4/6/24
College Basketball
6:09 PM EST
Rotation #674
Purdue -9.5 over NC State (win)
NC State wasn’t worthy of a tournament spot for their entire body of work during the regular season, and their hopes were down to Virginia in the ACC semifinal with a few ticks left. If Virginia made a simple foul shot, it was over, but they missed, and NC State hit a toilet bowl three-pointer to send it to OT. The Wolfpack won and then won the ACC Championship to secure a bid. The Wolfpack have been on the most improbable runs in NCAA history. Purdue has the best big man in the game, as Zach Edey scores easily or gets to the foul line if he misses. The Boilermakers are the superior rebounding team and can better shoot three-pointers and foul shots. I’m not fond of it when the general betting public backs an underdog at a considerable clip, as it ends in disaster more times than not. NC State is getting a lot of the money because fate has been on their side, and they are hard to root against. The Boilermakers run a superior offense and should have no issues cracking the Wolfpack defense. Take Purdue.
College Basketball
8:49 PM EST
Rotation #671
Alabama +11.5 over UConn (loss)
Dan Hurley is an outstanding coach, and players like Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer are as good as they get. UConn has crushed every team it has faced in the tournament by double digits. Alabama plays a unique style that focuses more on their offense and simply outscoring their opponent. The Tide have stepped up their defensive play in the tournament but are not good enough to stop UConn entirely. If there wasn’t a three-point line, Alabama might be a .500 team. UConn plays excellent defense, and the three-point defense is outstanding, but Alabama will still hit shots. One thing I like about the Tide as a considerable underdog is that they make a lot of foul shots, and their bench is as good as it gets. Alabama has played the most demanding schedule in the country and won’t be intimidated. The Huskies are not used to the rapid pace the Tide will play so that foul trouble could be an issue. I believe Vegas set an over-inflated spread based on how UConn has played in the tournament. Take Alabama