No one should be in favor of expanding the NCAA Tournament. However, raising it from 64 to 68 didn’t change the event much, and it gives us some March Madness appetizers.
[Free bracket contests for men’s & women’s tourneys for shot at $25K]
The NCAA Tournament officially kicks off on Tuesday with the first four games in Dayton. Below are the picks with the price differences From BetMGM:
Southeast Missouri State (+3.5) over Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Texas A&M Corpus Christi is the ultimate team favorite. But there was a big hit on Islanders.
Islanders coach Steve Lutz says guard Tyrion Mordex suffered a knee injury in the Southland Conference championship game and will miss the remainder of the season. James Espinosa from SportsRush 1440. This is a big hit. Mordix, a senior guard, was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. He also averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 assists. The Islanders won the conference game after Mordix went down in the first half, so maybe they can win another game without him against an inferior opponent. The Islanders are a solid shooting team from the free throw line and 3-point range. But it’s a major hit this time of year, so I’ll go with SEMO.
Mississippi State (-2.5) over Pittsburgh
This game is a great example of why the NCAA Tournament hasn’t expanded further. No team is too good, although it should be a close match.
Pitt had a brief spell in which he led the ACC, but eventually the good luck ran out in the close games. Pitt went 3-4 at the stretch. Pete isn’t a bad team but they also don’t do anything well.
There is a 28-point gap in the KenPom rankings between the teams (Mississippi State is No. 49, and Pete is No. 77). Most of that is due to Mississippi State’s defense. The Bulldogs are a big team that plays at a slow pace and will get you down on defense. The offense sucks – they’re dead in Division I by 3 points – but they got to the championship by winning a lot of rock battles. And I think they can win another contest in Dayton.
Here’s the rest of our sports betting list for Tuesday:
NuggetsSlack among the NBA corners
The Denver Nuggets were rolling in the West, and then somehow lost three in a row Chicago BullsAnd San Antonio Spurs And Brooklyn Networks. The Bulls and Nets losses were at home. The Nuggets try to turn things back as they travel to a showdown Toronto Raptors. Toronto is favored by 1.5 points.
There are eight NBA games on the schedule. Another worth seeing is Milwaukee Bucks In the Phoenix Suns. Milwaukee is favored by 1.5 points after a good win over Sacramento Monday night.
The NHL has 12 games
It’s a big night on the ice with some good matches. It might be the perfect match Tampa Bay Lightning in New Jersey Devils (-135). the Washington Capitals In the New York Rangers (-175) Another game worth watching.
What’s your best bet?
I’ll go with nuggets. It’s tough dealing with a team on a bad losing streak, but Denver has been a great team all season and these losses could be a wake-up call. I don’t think the Nuggets are suddenly down, and they’re going to start picking things back up with a win as a small underdog on Tuesday night.
