College Basketball Picks

PJ Washington remains sidelined and is listed as questionable for this Sweet 16 game. Without Washington, Kentucky had just two double-digit scorers in the game against Wofford, which is a huge concern especially against a defensive-minded team like Houston. Sportsbooks seem to agree making the Cats only 3 point favorites. Matt Lowry gives his college basketball prediction.

Remember what Bill Simmons has fondly said: always beware of the “nobody believes in us” team. LSU has taken that status and run with it so far, winning two games by a combined six points against Yale and Maryland to overcome losing its coach and reach the Sweet 16. It’s the 30-year anniversary of the last time an interim coach won the national title (Michigan’s Steve Fisher), and the Tigers appear to have rallied around coach Tony Benford and their chance to silence their critics. Does that create an opportunity here betting LSU against the spread at +6? DJ gives his basketball pick!

Both of the tournament games have been worrying for this Tennessee team. In the first-round game against Colgate they had to go to the final minutes to put them away and of course their most recent game where they blew a 25-point lead to Iowa in the second half. Is underestimating early round teams the reason the bookmakers have made them only 1.5 point favorites?

Texas Tech’s weakness on defense is that it’s not a great rebounding team, which came back to bite the Red Raiders in the Big 12 tournament when West Virginia dominated them on the glass and pulled a stunning upset. If the Wolverines are willing to hit the glass should we expect them to cover against the 1.5 spread? Dan Jamison has your free pick!

Oregon just might be the hottest team in the nation right now after dismantling both Wisconsin and UC Irvine, making the country sit up and take notice of how good the Ducks really are. Oregon is a team that can play either pace even if Virginia slows the game to a crawl. Sportsbooks are offering Oregon bettors a big 8.5 cushion versus the Cavs. Dan looks at this match up and predicts if that will be enough!