There is money to be made this weekend as teams look to punch their tickets to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The schools that go on to make the Sweet 16 will make a nice chunk of change and get plenty of attention for staying alive until late March, but the money I’m talking about is for you, the gambler. There are some nice opportunities floating around there, so let’s get it.
LSU Tigers -2.5 vs. Maryland Terrapins
The Terrapins barely survived a game challenge from Belmont on Thursday, and this is looking like a team that’s out of gas. Maryland is one of the youngest teams in the NCAA Tournament, and they weren’t particularly great down the stretch. The Terps were 6-7 over their last 13 games prior to their victory over Belmont on Thursday. LSU is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, and I look for the Tigers to punish the Terps on the glass.
Michigan Wolverines -6.5 vs. Florida Gators
This line has shifted down by a half-point indicating action on Florida, but I’m more than happy to lay the points with Michigan. The Wolverines have been one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country, while the Gators are hitting under 50 percent of their two-pointers and just a third of their three-point attempts. Michigan has been much better on defense, and the Wolverines have two solid offensive options in Ignas Brazdeikis and Charles Matthews. Look for Michigan to have a major rebounding advantage too after Nevada grabbed 19 offensive boards against Florida in a loss.
Florida State Seminoles vs. Murray State Racers Under 145
I’m going against the line movement here. This total opened at 141 and has since gone up four points, but I think the under is the right play. FSU is an athletic defense-first team, and the Seminoles aren’t too great on the offensive end. The Seminoles have great help defense, and they will be able to close out on Ja Morant to keep him relatively bottled up.
Michigan State Spartans -10 vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers
We saw these teams square off in East Lansing earlier this season, and the Spartans dominated the Golden Gophers. Michigan State won 79-55 with Nick Ward dominating in the paint and Matt McQuaid lighting it up from three. Having a healthy Ward has made the Spartans even more dangerous, and not having him for weeks gave some of their bench players some extra seasoning.
The Spartans are just too good. Ward and Nick Goins should give Michigan State a major advantage on the glass, and McQuaid and Cassius Winston are proven scorers on the perimeter. Minnesota was fortunate to face a Louisville team that was really struggling down the stretch, and the Golden Gophers have had their share of woes after losing seven of their last 10 at the end of the regular season.
Kansas Jayhawks +2.5 vs. Auburn Tigers
You might say that I’m being blinded by the name on the jersey, but this is an underrated Kansas team. The Jayhawks hammered a Northeastern team that many thought could give them a game on Thursday, and Dedric Lawson showed why he is one of the best big men in the country. Lawson went 9-16 from the floor and hit three threes to lead the team with 25 points and also grabbed 11 boards in the win.
More importantly, Kansas got some rest it didn’t expect to get since the game was such a blowout. No Jayhawk played more than 31 minutes, and that will help them as they don’t have a deep bench. I think this game is going to be a toss-up, so I’ll always go with the underdog in that case.
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