By Chris Marler
Higher seeds ruled Saturday in the NCAA Tournament. Only Texas advanced among the underdogs.
The tournament has seen a lot of chalk so far. Favorites have dominated. The lack of upsets hasn’t diminished excitement, though. Will that change Sunday? We will wait and see as eight more teams will punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 on Sunday.
Jake’s Picks
Purdue -7.5
Iowa State -4.5
Tennessee/Virginia Under 137.5
UConn -4.5
Jake’s Takes
The size advantage for Purdue is real. Purdue can control the paint and tempo and will wear Miami down inside. Iowa State and Kentucky will get physical, and Kentucky struggles when things get physical. Iowa State’s defense and toughness travels, and that will be the difference maker. I think Iowa State wins by six to 10 points. Virginia’s offense has been much better than year’s past, but the story in this game will be told through their elite defenses. It will be a slow pace, halfcourt game where the first team to 65 wins. UConn being a 4.5 point favorite is surprising because they are a complete team. Their balance on both ends is tough to deal with and their shot quality and execution late in games will ultimately help them pull away late.
Marler’s Picks
Purdue -7.5
St. John’s -3
Tennessee ML
Florida -10.5
Texas Tech ML
Latrell Wrightsell Over 2.5 3s
Marler’s Takes
For luck’s sake we will continue not doing any research on today’s picks to overthink them. The good news is, knock on wood, we’ve done super well on this side of the bracket going 6-2 on Friday. Hopefully that continues on Sunday.
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