College Basketball Picks for 3/16/23
College Basketball
12:40 PM EST
Rotation # 740
Virginia -5.5 over Furman (loss)
Furman is a great team that plays out of the Southern Conference. The Paladins run a successful offense, but they play bad defenses and don’t have a strict schedule against Quad 1 or 2 teams. They are 1-2 in those games and have yet to learn what they are up to defensively. Virginia is a bland team that runs the shot clot down and smothers teams with defense. Virginia needs to get their offense going to have any chance of beating great teams in the tournament. Look for UVA to put up a lot of points against a bad defense from a bad conference. Furman head coach Bob Richey is coaching in his first tournament while Tony Bennett has an NCAA Title and remembers the pain of a first-seed exit a few years back so he won’t take the Paladins lightly. March Madness is all about upsets, and people are looking for them. That shouldn’t be the case today. Look for Kihei Clark to have a huge game. Take Virginia.
College Basketball
1:40 PM EST
Rotation # 761-762
Utah State/Missouri Over 155.5 (loss)
Utah State has two quad wins and dominated quad-two teams. The Aggies have the tools to pull an upset today as they have size, experience, and a great shooting team. Missouri’s team consists primarily of transfers and a new coach, Dennis Gates. Missouri can play with pace when needed, with their offense being much better than their defense. Today’s game should be a thriller between two highly experienced and offensive teams going back and forth. Neither team is good at defending the three-point shot, but both are excellent at taking it. Both teams get excellent production from their bench, so there is little drop-off when the substitutes enter the game. Look for a classic shoot-out. Take the Over.
College Basketball
3:10 PM EST
Rotation # 738
San Diego State -4.5 over Charleston (win)
The NCAA Tournament is all about upsets, so usually, slight underdogs are the teams America loves to back. Charleston is a great team out of CAA who runs the floor quickly and can shoot, but their quality of competition has been poor. Charleston is capable of an upset if their offense gets going. San Diego State played in a much better conference and had great numbers against top-level teams. Look for the Aztecs to control the pace of the game, which will frustrate the Cougars’ NASCAR speed offense. SDSU has superior athletes and plays a much more demanding schedule. Look for Nathan Mensah to be a beast of the glass and for Matt Bradley to get buckets. Take San Diego State.
College Basketball
4:10 PM EST
Rotation # 764
Arizona -14.5 over Princeton (loss)
Arizona is a high-tempo basketball team that will run groups over if they can’t score. The Wildcats have the experience and should put up more points by the end of the game. This year, the Tigers had a weak non-conference schedule and only played weaker competition. The Tigers only played one quad game this season and lost. Arizona took a page out of the Gonzaga book, as many of their players are from overseas. The Wildcats will dominate on the glass by using their size. Look for Oumar Ballo and Azuolas Tubelis to take over, leading the Wildcats to a big win. Take Arizona.
4:30 PM EST
Rotation # 760
Arkansas -1.5 over Illinois (win)
Arkansas and Illinois have a lot of similarities, as they both have good coaches, brought in a lot of transfers this year, didn’t shoot many three-pointers, and both struggled down the stretch. Look for today’s game to turn into a classic old-school contest. Arkansas is slightly better on offense and defense and played a much better schedule, as SEC play is better than the ACC during the 2022-23 season. Look for Ricky Council to lead the way for the Razorbacks. Take Arkansas.