Matt's Past Picks
I believe the market is too low on Arizona and too high on Houston at the moment. Arizona is off an emotional overtime win against TCU while Houston just beat Illinois by 15 points. The Wildcats will have the best player on the floor in Benedict Mathurin (17.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG) and a pair of big men in Azuolas Tubelis and Christian Koloko who should dominate the paint. I'm backing the team that's been better all season long in a buy low, sell high spot.
Texas Tech has been a fantastic team against the spread this season, covering in 22 of 36 games (61.1%). They are also 9-2 ATS against ranked opponents and 15-4 ATS with two or three days off. A major advantage for the Red Raiders in this game will be their experience. Out of the six Texas Tech players who average over 25 minutes per game, four are seniors and two are juniors. Duke, on the other hand, relies on three freshmen two sophomores, and one junior who is playing in his first NCAA Tournament. I'm backing the better defensive team with the more experienced roster to win.
I think this game will come down to coaching, and Villanova's Jay Wright is a far superior coach to Michigan's Juwan Howard. The Wildcats are undersized in the matchup, which is why I believe Jay Wright will draw up a perfect game plan for them to make things tough on Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson. I don't believe the Wolverines have the defensive ability to keep up with Villanova's high-powered offensive attack, and they struggle to defend the three-point line, something I expect Villanova to expose in a big way. Lay the five points with the better team and coach.
Memphis turns the ball over at an insane rate, ranking them near the bottom of all college basketball. Boise State ranks in the top 80 of forcing turnovers on defense, so I expect the Broncos to make things difficult for Memphis on offense. Boise State is a veteran team, with five of their top six players all seniors. With well over 60% of the public on Memphis, I will gladly take more than one possession worth of points with a tough Boise State who has battled against tough teams in the Mountain West all season. Memphis is 11-14-1 ATS as a favorite while Boise State is 7-2 ATS this season as an underdog.
The Cowboys are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, this time in the play-in game against Indiana as a No. 12 seed. I like how Wyoming matches up with Indiana, as they can counter Indiana's best player, 6-foot-9 Trayce Jackson-Davis, with their own big man, Graham Ike. Checking in at 6-foot-9 and 252 pounds, Ike is averaging 19.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. The Cowboys also have senior guard Hunter Maldonado, a player who can do it all. Maldonado is averaging 18.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Indiana also shoots under 70% from the free-throw line as a team, so with a close spread like this, I love the fact that Wyoming is getting over one full possession of points.
This is a Colorado State team that I believe can win the Mountain West Tournament, and it starts tonight with a win over Utah State. The Rams have already beaten the Aggies twice this season, once by five points and more recently by 11 points on the road. Utah State is coming off a game yesterday against Air Force where they shot 42.9% from the three-point line, which should regress towards their average of 34.8% in tonight's contest. The Aggies have trouble defending the three-point line, while Colorado State shoots 36.6% from downtown. I like the better team covering just over a possession here with fresh legs.
Nebraska has played well down the stretch, beating Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin all on the road, which is why I suspect 75% of the public is backing them to cover against Northwestern. These two teams played twice during the regular season, with Northwestern winning by 24 on the road and 11 at home. Northwestern defends at a high level and takes care of the ball on offense, while Nebraska struggles to defend (allowing 78.8 PPG) and is not a good rebounding team. The Wildcats will get it done for a third straight time and cover the 4.5 points.
Arkansas has been one of the SEC's toughest teams in the last two months, winning 14 of 15 games. Their only loss was a one-point road loss to Alabama. The Razorbacks are also a great cover team, 18-12 ATS on the season. This is a revenge spot for Tennessee and I expect them to win the game, but 6.5 points is too many. Arkansas has a 10-point win over the Volunteers back on Feb. 19, and this should be another low-scoring affair with two elite defenses. Back Arkansas with two-plus possessions here.
I love everything about this spot for Michigan. This is a must-win game for the Wolverines' tournament hopes, as they are currently on the bubble with three tough regular-season games to go. It is also a revenge spot, as Michigan lost to Michigan State earlier this season, 83-67. In that game, Michigan shot just 3-19 from the three-point line while the Spartans made 9-18 from downtown. Michigan's Hunter Dickinson had 25 points last time they played and I expect him to feast again tonight. Take Michigan laying the points in a 'Maize Out' game at the Crisler Center.
IUPUI enters the first round of its Horizon League Tournament game with just five available players. Yes, you read that right, the Jaguars will have just five players available for tonight's game. These two teams played back on Dec. 4 when IUPUI actually had a full roster and Oakland won the game by 33 points, 78-45. Plus, Oakland is actually a decent team this season who will make their free throws and force plenty of turnovers. I see this being a 30-plus point blowout.
This is Auburn's biggest remaining game of the season. They currently have a one-game lead over Kentucky in the SEC standings. I believe Bruce Pearl's squad will be motivated in their only game this season against the Volunteers and are the better team here. In order to win the SEC regular-season title, this is a must-win for the Tigers. Auburn is led by true-freshman Jabari Smith, who is a mismatch for anyone on Tennesse's roster. I think Auburn has a great chance to win outright, so I love the fact they're getting three-plus points here.
I love this revenge spot for the Johnnies, who lost by 23 on the road to Creighton earlier this season. In that loss, the Bluejays shot 14-27 (51.9%) from the three-point line, 20 percentage points higher than their season average. Creighton is coming off a one-point home win over Marquette and now has to fly east to take on a St. John's team in a tough Carnesecca Arena. Creighton is highly turnover prone while St. John's is excellent at forcing turnovers. I expect St. John's high tempo to be too much for the Bluejays to handle on the road.
At 21-6 on the season and 12-2 in conference play, Boise State leads the Mountain West over Wyoming by 0.5 a game. They have already played SDSU once this season, winning 42-37 a month ago on the road. This game will be a defensive struggle but the Broncos have the better offense which is why I like them laying just one possession at home. This is Boise State's biggest home game remaining on the schedule so I expect them to be extra motivated tonight with the regular-season conference title on the line in their next few games.
This is one of Texas’ biggest home games of the regular season after having already lost on the road at Tech earlier this season. Longhorns fans will look to duplicate or better the environment Tech fans created for the Red Raiders’ 77-64 win over Texas back on Feb. 1. Texas Tech is coming off a big win over Baylor, while Texas has had this game circled on its calendar for a long time. Back the home team covering two possessions.
This is a revenge spot for Portland, who lost on the road at San Diego a month ago in overtime, 68-63. Portland is also playing great lately, winning three of their last four with their only loss a three-point defeat against San Francisco, one of the conference's top teams. The Pilots have four players who average double figures in points and are also a great free-throw shooting team, which could prove to be crucial in what should be a close game. Portland has Pepperdine up next while San Diego returns home to play a big one against Saint Mary's. Take the home team to cover the small spread.