Big Men to play big roles in South Region

This time of year the mantra of winning college basketball is having great guard play. Every team reportedly needs a player that can control the tempo, knockdown shots and defend the perimeter. But what about a big fella in the middle? One who can score in the paint area and draw fouls to help his team get in the bonus shooting free throws sooner, resulting in fewer empty trips. Another example would crashing the offensive boards on errant shots for demoralizing baskets and what about having an intimidating defensive presence that makes shooters wary when they are within several feet of the rim! All four teams have individual or collective players that could be the reason they move on to Sunday’s Elite Eight.

Omar Samhan vs. the Waco Gang

Tenth-seeded St. Mary’s has much the same feel as the conference partner Gonzaga had back in 1999. That Gonzaga team went to the Elite 8, with three consecutive upsets, led by guards Matt Santangelo and Richie Frahm. Watching that team play, you were struck by the fact they looked like a collection of guys that would be playing at the health club in the not too distant future, not being Mickey D’s All-Americans with a professional career in their future.

Taking a gander at St. Mary’s (28-5, 22-9 ATS), their team has many of those same qualities except for one person, Omar Samhan. The Gaels big man is one of the finest centers in the country and a terrific example of someone who benefitted from four years of collegiate ball. He has an assortment of moves around the basket and always works to make himself available for passes to the post, which is how he’s scored 61 points in two games. Samhan this season has become a more skilled passer, able to find open shooters on the weak side as double-teams are about to arrive. He’s a very big reason why St. Mary’s is 16-6 ATS facing defensive teams forcing 14 or fewer turnovers game this season.

He and 6’11 Ben Allen will be dueling with Baylor’s big men.

The Bears (27-7, 17-10 ATS) have the size and quickness edge in the paint with 7’0 Josh Lomers and 6’10 Ekpe Udoh. It appears Udoh will probably draw Samhan on defense and he has the quickness and arm length to play denial defense and shot-blocking skill to make him hesitant. Lomers also will undoubtedly take a few turns and he has the bulk to match strength with St. Mary’s big men.

Udoh is also a rim-runner, able to play at accelerated pace, which makes him devastating dunker and exceptional offensive rebounder. Baylor’s length at several positions on the floor allows them to be 7-0 ATS vs. excellent three point shooting teams converting 41 or better of their attempts.

Baylor is a 4.5-point favorite, with total having dipped to 142 at DiamondSportsbook.com. Though Waco is a long way from Houston (where this game is being played), Texans tend to stick together and the Bears will have partisan fan-base. The Bears are 11-2 ATS having won four of their last five games and are 14-3 OVER after playing a game as favorite this season. Don’t expect St. Mary’s to be intimidated, with the gregarious Samhan always having something to say.

The Gaels are 8-1 ATS in any tournament game this year and 10-seeds are 4-7 SU against three seeds in this round. One bad note for St. Mary’s, if this 10-seed didn’t make the tournament last year (which the Gaels did not), they are 0-7 SU.

JaJuan Johnson takes on Duke brigade

Purdue (29-5, 15-18-1 ATS) lacked size before Robbie Hummel went down, now they have to find other ways to win. Coach Matt Painter has dug into the old Southern Illinois playbook (his last stop), where he made size not matter. To upset Duke as 8.5-point underdogs, the Boilermakers are going to have to win the battle on the perimeter and have Johnson create a stalemate inside.

Johnson has good moves around the basket, however, as he exhibited against the stronger Texas A&M big men, he can go outside and bank 15-footers and comfortably make 18-footers, which opens the middle for cutters. Much like the win over the Aggies, Purdue has to manufacture points and have a high number of points per possession. The Boilers have cashed eight of previous 11 tickets as neutral site pooches.

Duke (31-5, 20-14-1 ATS) can bring tall, strong players in waves. Center Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas start things off with solid defense and score enough to have to be guarded by opponent. Next comes the Plumlee brothers, both are aggressive rebounders on each of the floor and what they lack in quicks, they make-up for by using bodies to stay fundamentally sound. Like Purdue, the Blue Devils permit 61 points per game and their opponents only convert 40.1 percent of the time. With Duke’s defense, they are 8-2 ATS after allowing 25 points or less in the first half last game this year.

The oddsmakers believe Purdue will control the tempo, with 126.5 listed total. The Boilermakers can’t allow many short Duke runs of 6-0 or 8-2, since they lack the firepower to run with the Blue Devils and are 6-13-1 ATS after a cover dating back to last season. Jon Scheyer and teammates only committed five turnovers against California last Sunday and are 8-1 ATS after a game committing eight or less miscues.

This was the only region to have expected 1 vs 4 matchup. The top seeds are 26-10 SU, winning by 8.6 points per game. A key number for the lower seed is score differential to pull the upset. Four seeds that win by 10 or more points are 7-6 when these seeds collide; all others are 3-18 SU. (Purdue is +9.9)

Sensational Saturday

Came back around with 2-1 day and look to deliver even better results for today. We start with 25-4 ATS system in the NBA and move on to CBB totals trend that matches the taste of both teams. I’ve had a very good start in the tournament and offer my best play for today. Good Luck

What I thought today- Ran out of time, yesterday, hopefully today. (For those that get my email plays, please note I have Butler/MS OVER, but at last night's 128 not today's 132).

3Daily Winners is – No.1 the last 10 days at Cappers Monitor
3Daily Winners is - No.1 in College Basketball for the season (units) at Cappers Monitor
3Daily Winners is – 135-87 (60.8 percent) since Jan. 24 in CBB

I have a guest blogger named Rick who is frequent reader and very knowledgable bettor who is attending the games in Milwaukee and supplies this report.

I was impressed with Xavier...they're a well-coached team...everytime Minneoata made a run at them...they turned it up on both ends of the court and were very focused.

I know a team can look great playing a very low- seed, but Pitt showed the best combination of inside-outside game, coaching, and "going for the kill" when they had to. Jamie Dixon doesn't have a Final 4 on his resume, but he cosistently does a great job.

Georgia Tech raced off to a 6-0 lead...OSU threw a variety of different defenses, and the Yellow Jackets took some time to adjust, and they eventually did.... for the win. I hope they can adjust to these match-ups more quickly. They had the lead and had some insurance, but in a later round game, they might not have that luxury!

Ohio St. ws up 13-3 in no time, but they let UCSB back in the game. They dominated the boards,and had seven blocks at halftime. They have a lot of outside firepower, with a lot of great shooters, but I worry about their lack of consistent inside, offensive play, and some of the starters getting in foul trouble. I see Lauderdale as the key...he had a big spurt in the second half. and needs to keep that intensity, and to stay out of foul trouble. Pitt kept playing intense with an early lead, but Ohio St., in my opinion..kind of let-up...they need to stick to the game plan for 40 minutes.

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Free Basketball System -1) Play On road teams like Toronto scoring 103 or more points game on the season, after trailing in their previous game by 20 or more points at the half. In the previous five years this system is 25-4 ATS, 86.2 percent.

Free Basketball Trend - 2) Double angle from article below - Murray State is 10-0 OVER after making 53 percent or less of their free throws and Butler 10-1 OVER in all neutral court games over the last three seasons.

Free Basketball Pick -3) I’m going as well as anyone in the NCAA’s at 7-1-1 and my best play today is St. Mary’s. (To receive all my plays for FREE signup for mailing list to the right)

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Nova on the ropes?

You would have to believe so by the way they are playing and evidently other actions off the court. Villanova (25-7, 18-13 ATS) has won three of their previous eight games, covering the spread twice (one was by a single point). The big question about the Wildcats seems to be commitment.

Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher were the latest players late in the season to be a part of coach Jay Wright’s “teaching points”, starting the a NCAA game on the bench. Does this appear to be a team hungry to return to the Final Four?

Villanova was a 17-point favorite over No. 15 Robert Morris and needed five extra minutes to put away the Colonials 73-70. Nova’s biggest lead of the game was six points as they shot 35.3 percent as a team and were 6-22 from behind the arc and at the end of the contest, one team got a standing ovation and it wasn’t Villanova. The Wildcats will have to work hard to keep 8-1 ATS record in road games playing their second game in three days over the last two seasons.

St. Mary’s (27-5, 21-9-1 ATS) is the opponent out of the 10th seed slot and they are very capable at 13-3 and 12-4 ATS on the road. After losing consecutive road games at Gonzaga and Portland in the middle of February and allowing 80 points in each, coach Randy Bennett made it point to reconstruct St. Mary’s practices, starting each one with defensive focus. This new strategy has work emphatically, as the Gaels have rattled off six straight wins and five covers.

Another big factor in St. Mary’s success and it big, literally, is the domination of 6’11 center Omar Samhan. He tore up the Richmond defense with his 29 points and 12 rebounds, leading the way in comfortable 80-71 upset of the Spiders. Samhan has enjoyed more freedom in the low blocks as point guard Mickey McConnell and freshman guard Matthew Dellavedova have shot the rock with greater effectiveness deep. St. Mary’s is 10-3 ATS away from home after two or more wins this season.

Villanova is five-point favorite with total of 153.5 at Bookmaker.com, which should mean a high scoring affair. The Wildcats may be 15-6 ATS versus offensive teams scoring 77 or more points a game, but 10-seeds have won outright 40 percent of the time against No. 2’s if they average better than 72 points a game and if they outscore opponents by at least five points per contest (St. Mary’s at 13.5). The Gaels are 12-3 ATS on the road after scoring 80 or more points.

This is the opening game on Saturday slated for 1:05 Eastern and Villanova is 17-4 UNDER after failing to cover the spread in three or more consecutive games.

Four Conference titles on the line Monday night

Tonight, the soon to be assembled field of 65 for the NCAA Tournament will add four more teams with automatic bids, as four conferences will play their championship games in televised tilts. While some of these teams don’t register immediately for the common fan, the sharp sports bettor has a vast knowledge of all eight competing teams and will want to take notes of the winner of each championship and determine if they any chance of pulling a first round upset, if so designated.

West Coast Championship 9:00E ESPN

The most recognizable squad playing tonight is Gonzaga (26-5, 15-10-2 ATS). The Bulldogs are going to the Big Dance regardless of the outcome this evening and are making their 12 consecutive appearance in the WCC championship, attempting to knock down their 10th title in that span. Gonzaga has three very good players, all with NBA-type ability. Matt Bouldin and Duke’s Jon Scheyer are the most complete guards in the country, able to score or set up teammate for basket seemingly at will.

“We come into this every year and want to win it,” said Bouldin, the conference player of the year. “We want to be playing our best game going into the NCAA tournament. Winning this thing is everything.”

Running mate Steve Gray also has all-around skills in the backcourt and the player that helped put Gonzaga back in the Top 25 despite heavy personnel losses is freshman Elias Harris, who has 25.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in two wins over St. Mary’s. Gonzaga has covered eight straight against teams with winning record.

The Gaels (25-5) work is not done; with most knowledgeable experts with how the field is chosen believing St. Mary’s has to win to be in. If left up to sports bettors, the Gaels would already be in with their ultra-profitable 19-9-1 ATS record. However their wins are largely unimpressive and two of their losses have to Gonzaga by scores of 7 and 19, failing to cover either time. St. Mary’s knows center Omar Samhan will deliver, averaging 26.0 points and 11.5 rebounds, however points from the backcourt is paramount and getting Ben Allen in scoring mode. The Gaels are 18-0 SU when the Aussie reaches double figures and he’s averaged just 7.5 points in two outings.

Gonzaga is the betting choice at DiamondSportsbook.com, favored by 3.5-points with total of 146. Like usual, it will be difficult to bet against the Zags, as favorites are 59-30 ATS in this tourney since 1998, including 4-2 ATS this year. St. Mary’s needs prayers, since they are 0-8 ATS as neutral site underdogs.

Colonial Athletic Championship 7:00E ESPN

The CAA went more according to form than expected with regular season champion Old Dominion (25-8, 12-16-1 ATS) facing William and Mary (22-9, 16-10-1 ATS). The top-seeded Monarchs almost didn’t make this destination, forced to double overtime by Virginia Commonwealth yesterday, escaping 73-69 as two point favorites. Gerald Lee’s 26 points and Ben Finney’s huge three-point with 67 seconds left in the second overtime was the deciding edge. ODU has covered six of last eight as chalk.

William and Mary is the fifth seed and has had two close calls, narrowly knocking off James Madison in first game and squeaking by Northeastern 47-45 on Sunday as five point underdogs. The Tribe is 12-6 and 11-6 ATS away from home, but has lost both meetings to ODU. William and Mary is seeking first ever NCAA bid and will have to shoot well and block-out on the boards, since they lack the athleticism to go up and down with Old Dominion. They are 16-5 ATS as underdogs.

The Monarchs are favored by nine-points and the favorite has won this event nine straight times with 6-2-1 ATS record. Before believing Old Dominion is automatic, consider their 3-13 ATS record at neutral sites.

MAAC Championship 7:00E ESPN2

A few of the lower seeds pulled off upsets in the early rounds, but once the semi-finals began, the cream rose to the top. Siena (26-6, 16-12-2 ATS) was once again the league champion and takes on the club that finished right behind them in the standings, Fairfield (22-9, 14-11 ATS). The Saints will enjoy a decided advantage playing on their home floor at Times Union Center, where they are 14-0 (5-6-1 ATS) this season. Siena is making their fourth straight trip to the title games and has won each of the last two years. Seniors Edwin Ubiles and Alex Franklin are the bell-cows for the Saints who are 7-3 ATS facing a club with a winning record.

Fairfield showed the oddsmakers they deserved more respect, taking down Niagara 69-63 as 1.5-point underdogs yesterday, in spite of being higher seed. The Stags offense is spearheaded by Derek Needham and Anthony Johnson and they will have to come up big since Fairfield has lost twice to Siena this campaign. The Stags did cover the number once in their matchups and is 9-4 ATS on the road this season.

Fairfield is catching eight points, with total of 138 and underdogs of 4.5 or more points are 5-43 and 19-28-1 ATS in this tourney. The road team is 8-1 ATS in previous nine tries.

Southern Championship 9:00E ESPN2

There will be a new champion in the Southern Conference with the departure of Stephen Curry from Davidson. It seem fitting it should end this way as division kings Wofford (25-8, 15-11-2 ATS) and Appalachian State (22-11, 17-8 ATS) do battle. This is Wofford’s first ever appearance in the championship game and they come in riding a 12-game winning streak (5-5-2 ATS). Noah Dahlman leads the Terriers at 17 points per game and if reserve Terry Martin can drain 17 points off the bench like he did in the semis, Wofford has a real opportunity to cover the four-point favorite role they have been given.

Appalachian State is out to win their first SoCon crown since 2000. The Mountaineers are paced by leading scorer Donald Sims and they might need a similar eruption from Kelly Brand, who scored a career-high 37 points last evening against the College of Charleston, converting five of six three-point shots.

Appalachian State is on a real spread roll with 10-1 ATS mark in last 11 and is 104 ATS away from home.

Tune it up for Thursday

We are off a 3-0 Tuesday and I believe 12-3 (11-3-1 for some) in last 15 tries for 3DW. Kyle has been nothing short of amazing and hands out what he believes to be another CBB winner out of the West Coast Conference. On the topic of the WCC, that is where today’s Top Trend comes from. Today’s Top System is not official play (needs to be 80 percent) however the best I could find is awfully close at 79.2 percent. Good Luck

What I thought last night- Ohio State deserved to lose last night, taking I believe eight consecutive shots from 20 feet or better and not converting one after taking the lead in second half. Coach Thad Matta gets a C for last night for not running play in the lane. (Don’t want to hear they couldn’t pass the ball down low either, I witnessed six times somebody was open in the post)

Sometimes life isn’t fair. Notre Dame deserved to win last night at Louisville, losing in 2 OT’s without Big East’s leading scorer and four players fouling out but didn’t, at least backers got the money.

It was vodka bottle clear last night what is wrong with Texas, collectively they just don’t play as hard as they did earlier in the season, period.

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Free Basketball System -1) Play Against home favorites of 10 or more points like Denver U. revenging a loss vs opponent of 10 points or more, against opponent off a home loss against a conference rival. This almost qualifying system is 42-11 ATS, 79.2 the last five years.

Free Basketball Trend - 2) The Portland Pilots (good to know your nicknames) are 10-1 ATS as a favorite this season winning by 14.3 points per contest.

Free Basketball Pick -3) Mr. College Basketball, Kyle, is on 25-4 run and prefers St. Mary’s tonight.

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WCC Clash - Round 2

One of the most overused words in sports today is- adversity. The moment that struck everyone that this particular word was being taken too conveniently to describe too broad a subject matter was when Tom Brady said his New England Patriots has overcome a lot of “adversity” in putting together 18-0 record after his team had just won the 2008 AFC championship on the way to playing the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. As it turned out Brady did face real adversity the following season, blowing out his knee and coming back to play this past season.

Instead of adversity, let’s start a new word for sports speak, resiliency. Gonzaga (19-4, 11-8-1 ATS) started the season with two very good guards, a potentially outstanding freshman forward and their usual rugged schedule. The Bulldogs exceeded early season expectations and quickly grew as a team under the leadership of coach Mark Few and established they would still be the favorite in the West Coast Conference.

After plowing thru the first part of the WCC slate, at the end of January, Gonzaga trailed by 14 points in the second half to last place Santa Clara, before winning 71-64 as 12-point favorites. Two nights later, at San Francisco, no such luck as they lost to the Dons 81-77 to fall into first place tie with St. Mary’s.

The Zags didn’t take the defeat lightly and pounded Portland 76-49 at home next, but less than 48 hours later they had a date with Memphis at their place. It turns out this contest was the top play in most forums that day; play against Gonzaga with the five points by professionals and amateurs alike.

What focus the Bulldogs had lost, it was back like a HD picture and they upset Memphis 66-58. Seniors Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray exhibited leadership and dragged the younger players back to playing 40 minutes of basketball, which they did against the Tigers. Gonzaga is 10-0 and 7-2 ATS this season off a spread cover and showed ample resiliency.

Saint Mary’s (21-3, 16-6-1 ATS) has just one loss in the West Coast Conference and it was to Gonzaga 89-82, in which the team collectively felt they placed too much pressure on themselves to play perfectly. The Gaels have been buoyed by that fact and have also shown resiliency, as they have come right back and played the same kind of basketball they had all year, winning six straight (3-2-1 ATS). The St. Mary’s players, led by center Omar Samhan, know this is their chance to take control of WCC and they are 8-0 and 7-1 ATS in road games this season.

Bookmaker.com has the Gaels as six-point underdogs since they have lost 13 in a row at Gonzaga, though been competitive in covering six times. St. Mary’s is 10-2 and 9-3 ATS playing with three or more days rest and has to hope their three freshmen are more settled this time around. A loss sets up a very negative state of affair for the Gaels, who have to play Saturday against an improved Portland squad and one loss could easily turn into two.

Gonzaga has covered their last six contests vs. teams with .600 or better records and would love to see the athletic Elias Harris match his last effort against St. Mary’s where he scored 31 points. The Zags are often a top heavy home favorite and are 2-4 ATS at the McCarthey Athletic Center, in spite of 8-1 record. Since last season, they are 1-7 ATS at home playing teams with a winning record.

This WCC tilt is on ESPN2 starting at 8:00 Pacific and one factor every bettor has to think about is Gonzaga’s 66.1 free throw percentage, dead last in the conference for accuracy.

Best Bets in College Basketball

College basketball has evolved into conference play and a number of teams have gaudy records, some are of value and others not. In the sports wagering game of cat and mouse, spread wins and losses supersede conventional win/loss numbers, as team’s heavy one way or the other draw the scrutiny of those setting the lines. Let’s face it, understanding information is the key to winning consistently, along with an instinct to spot a winner based on various factors. Here we will look at a number of the top winning college basketball teams covering the spread and if they are a good or bad bet going deeper into the season.

St. Mary’s (14-2, 13-2 ATS)

The Gaels lost a ton of talent from last year’s squad, including the brilliant Paddy Mills and figured to finish no better than third place in what could a down year for the West Coast Conference. It was fairly easy to make the argument that St. Mary’s was burned by the NCAA after being snubbed with 28-7 record, primarily because Mills suffered hand injury and the team faltered because of that down the stretch. Players like center Omar Samhan vowed to make sure that wouldn’t happen again and has kept his word thus far. It would be incorrect to call the Gaels schedule imposing; nevertheless, they’ve faced teams that at least deserved to have a spread in virtually every contest. St. Mary’s is a patient offensive team, shooting almost 50 percent and works the ball around for good shoots in coach Randy Bennett’s offense. Defensively, the Gaels are adequate in holding opponents to around 42 percent shooting and as usual are lights out at tiny McKeon Pavilion (3,500 capacity) with 8-1 and 7-1 ATS record. St. Mary’s notoriety mostly comes from playing Gonzaga; oddsmakers won’t pay a great deal of attention to them as long as they don’t enter the Top 25 or make a lot of headlines. Should be able to secure a fair price on the Gaels in the coming weeks.

Texas (15-0, 8-3 ATS)

Coach Rick Barnes Longhorns are very deserving of high ranking and for a club this high on the charts, have covered an abnormal amount of games. In trying to understand why, Texas has faced an exceptional non-conference slate, which has presented less inflated numbers that would correlate with top-notch status. The Longhorns have proven they have the skill and depth to override opposing teams. This has been particularly true against teams that compete with Texas for 25-30 minutes, then players that could start for most of the Horns opponents, overwhelm them down the stretch as these bench players and fresher starters are able to play their game against worn out foe. Texas is 8-3 ATS as favorite, but is not lock they appear. Coach Barnes has to get after his guys from time to time, since they are so skilled on offense; they kept caught up in making buckets instead of defending the basket. Most of the time they will be able to overcome this and cover inflated numbers, but as was the case in the Arkansas road conflict, they surrendered 48 first half points and never was close to covering the 14-point spread due to lack of defensive intensity.

Kansas State (13-2, 7-3 ATS)

The Manhattan ‘Cats were supposed to be good, but not this good! Though Bob Huggins stay was just one season, he made an indelible mark on the program and coach Frank Martin continued right where Huggins left off. Kansas State’s depth allows Martin to sit any player who is not going all out on the floor. Martin wants his players like a Motorhead CD, aggressive on offense, defense and crashing the boards. The Wildcats are blessed with an exceptional backcourt. Shooting guard Jacob Pullen can scorch the nylon and really heat up beyond the arc. Denis Clemente pushes the ball with his blazing speed for easy layups or passes for spot up three’s by teammates. K-State lacks that one consistent scorer in the paint, nonetheless junior Curtis Kelly and Luis Colon have played better this season. Kansas State will see inflated numbers at Bramlage Coliseum, however are still worth consideration if opponent is weak defensively (44 percent shooting percentage or higher). On the road, taking the purple clad ‘Cats as underdogs is good wager, as long as the opposing team has an average or less backcourt, which Clemente and Pullen could run roughshod on. This team feeds on emotion and is 11-2 and 6-2 ATS after a victory.

Oregon State (7-8, 8-2 ATS)

At the beginning of 2010, the general appearance is coach Craig Robinson, might be having a better first quarter than is brother in law (The President) in the court of public opinion. The Oregon State head man might be carrying a small container of Tums in sport jacket, as his Beavers have played nine of 15 games decided by eight or fewer points. Robinson, in his second year, is working on upgrading the talent in Corvallis, but until then has decided that playing defense is the best way for his team to have a chance to win. It’s nothing fancy for Orange and Black, focusing on playing positional defense, not getting beat off the bounce and helping out when necessary. Despite a 2-4 SU record as an underdog, Oregon State has hung tough, losing by just 1.2 points per game in that role and sporting a busy 6-0 ATS record. With the Pac-10 languishing this season, the Beavers catching points looks like an opportune wager.

Villanova (11-1, 11-4 ATS)

College basketball is a guard-oriented sport, since it is much easier to find players that can be dynamic at 6’3 or less than it is to find a 6’10 big man. Coach Jay Wright has always understood this and recruited accordingly. That doesn’t mean Wright wants a one-trick pony in backcourt, his players have to be versatile performers offensively and defensively and willing to track down rebounds. Villanova’s quick getaway has been fueled by persistent defensive pressure, keeping foes right around 40 percent shooting and Scottie Reynolds directs an offense NASCAR champion Jimmy Johnson would be proud, having many gears, including sticking it on the floor. Studying the patterns of the Wildcats against the spread the last several years, oddsmakers have had a real beat on Nova. They seldom cover by more than four or five points, which is coach Wright’s style of play. The Wildcats are 12-1 and 9-4 ATS as chalk and have been superb when playing with three or more days off with 8-1 and 7-1 ATS mark. Big East play tends to grind up most teams, keeping them around .500 against the number. For the short term, as long as Villanova continues to play great defense, they have to be considered a play on team as a favorite or dog.

Northern Iowa (14-1, 11-3 ATS)

Subtract the head-scratching loss to DePaul in the second game of the season; the Panthers are on track for a truly special campaign. Northern Iowa returned nine players that accounted for 91.7 percent of its scoring from team that tied for first in the Missouri Valley and won the conference tournament to earn NCAA berth. The Panthers aren’t going to mesmerize opponents with blazing speed; however they will carve them up a like turkey with the conference’s best inside duo, accurate outside shooters and a team that doesn’t make mistakes. 7’1, 290 pound Jordan Eglseder is turning into dominant beast, as he and Adam Koch control the paint. The perimeter players feature a cast of sharp shooters, with the Panthers hovering around 40 percent all season from three-point range. With all the veterans on this team, they are unaffected by outside surroundings and just goes about their business of winning basketball games. This team started the year with three goals, win the Valley regular reason and postseason tournament to earn higher seed and get to at least the Sweet 16. Would not recommend betting against them.