Ouchewowa. Another year, another Sweet 16 with ZERO perfect brackets remaining through any of the major online outlets. Jack Gohlke is getting PAID off of his dismantling of Kentucky, racking up NIL deals with Buffalo Wild Wings, OOFOS, The NIL Store, Intuit TurboTax and Barstool Sports. The big but not so successful program vultures snatched up FAU’s Dusty May, while Vanderbilt grabbed JMU’s Mark Byington immediately following their respective losses. No time to lick wounds, on to the next round of battle.
Game of the Week: Tennessee vs Creighton
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the schedule this year is complete buffoonery. A 9 PM local time start for a Sweet 16 game on a Friday does nothing but slap the players—who have put immense time and effort into their careers and this season—in the face. I’m so sorry that the West Coast, known for its perfect weather, relaxed work hours, and fair-weather fans, has had to fake being sick and put off work until Monday in recent years with zero repercussions because you can’t be fired or evicted.
This game will deliver everything and more. Creighton vs. Oregon was arguably the best game so far, battling through a double-overtime thriller. And Tennessee held off a late surge by Texas, giving them a taste of mortality heading into a matchup that some may argue should have them at PK instead of -2.5.
Not planning to bet on this one (yet). There could be another blockbuster game on Sunday – details at the end.
Confident Matchups
UConn vs SDSU
UConn all the way. Defensively, the teams are very similar. Offensively, they could not be further apart. Connecticut has the highest-rated offense, while the Aztecs have the lowest. The spread is 11.5; take the Huskies.
Arizona vs Clemson
The Tigers have made a great run, busting up a ton of brackets with their R1 and R2 wins. Mine was a casualty because I had Lobos vs. Wildcats for the Sweet 16 matchup. Regardless, this is the end of the road. They haven’t been scoring enough to be a real threat to Arizona, and their defense, while impeccable against New Mexico, is just not ready for the boys from Tucson.
Arizona -6.5 and team over 80.5 points.
I’m glad these are the first two games of the weekend because I’m assuming they will serve as background noise rather than competitive displays. But, I hope the first halves are good.
Leaning Matchups
UNC vs Alabama
On paper, UNC should win this one, but as we saw with Michigan State, if they allow their opponents to go on a scoring run, they can fall out of sync and face an uphill battle. The line started at a wild -2.5 for the Tar Heels but has since shifted to -4.5. If the sharp money shifts this closer to the original line, I will likely take UNC ML. What I do like in this game: Rebounds.
RB Parlay: Bacot 10+, Ingram 8+ for +120, throw in Estrada 6+ for +283.
Marquette vs NC State
Marquette showed how deep they can reach, coming back from a hard-fought battle against Colorado (what a fantastic program; hope they run it back next year). I’ve already written about how I see them and Illinois in the same boat and think they should win this matchup. That being said, NC State has some special sauce cooking on the front burner right now. With an absolute refrigerator under the rim, DJ Burns Jr., gobbling up a lot of second chances last weekend.
NC State to upset Marquette +225.
The rest of the bunch: I like Illinois and Houston, don’t like Purdue (shocker), but may save some bullets for Saturday and Sunday.
Elite 8 and Final 4 Predictions:
- UConn and Houston make it through the weekend.
- As pre-tourney prediction stated: the winner of Creighton/Tennessee will play in Phoenix.
- Hoping for Arizona vs UNC, the only other grab-your-Dune-popcorn-bucket level of entertainment I can see besides Creighton/Tennessee.
BOL!
The Weekend Heater 
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