NCAAM Picks and Predictions – March 14, 2021

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Ohio State vs. Illinois basketball

 

I have a crazy day today and the clocks going up an hour here on the east coast doesn’t help any. These write-ups will be shorter than usual for that reason– appreciate all the support and viewership throughout this wild week of college hoops! Coming off a sweet 4-2 Saturday, let’s keep winning!

LSU 1st half +3.5 (-110), 1.5 units: I can see Bama asserting themselves and covering the full game number at 6, but LSU has been on fire (and they look like the team I was hoping to bet on so many times before) and I think they take that momentum into the 1st half. LSU can score with anyone, especially as of late, and they have a huge revenge angle here since the Crimson Tide bested them twice in regular season play.

Cincinnati/Houston under 135 (-110), 1 unit: The Bearcats don’t have a great offense, though they do play at a high tempo. Houston plays at one of the slowest tempos in the country, however, and should be able to control this game with their methodical defense and well-timed offensive attack. I’d be surprised if Cincinnati makes it over 50 points and with a line like -13 on the Cougars, there should be enough margin to prevent excessive free throw attempts. Give me the under.

Ohio State +6 (-110), 1.5 units: I really, really love the way Illinois is playing but the Buckeyes are playing as confident as ever.  It’s hard to imagine either team preventing the other from maintaining close distance. This should be a close game in the 1st half that opens up in the second but it’ll be a back and forth battle. Illinois is really good, but are the more than 2 possessions good over an elite Big 10 team in the conference final? I don’t think so. Take the dog and the points.