College Basketball Picks

With around a month or so left until March Madness, it’s time to reassess our futures tickets before odds start slimming down on the teams we like to “win it all.” Check out Dan’s up-to-date predictions for the Big Dance!

Neither team comes into this game off a run of strong play with the Jayhawks winners of just one of their last four and the Vols losers of two straight before a narrow victory over Miss St. That has our capper making his best bet on the total for this game. Read on to get his play.

Iowa State might only go five deep with its talent now that Lindell Wigginton is out with a foot injury, but the Cyclones have proven that they can get big nights out of anyone and be successful. With five players averaging more than seven points per game, the Cyclones don’t allow opponents to shut down any one thing that they do well, because they’ll simply adjust to whatever the defense is willing to give them. Can Iowa State keep winning with a short bench? DJ has your basketball pick!

Having a target on its back hasn’t hurt Gonzaga at all when playing at home, where the Bulldogs have beaten every opponent by at least 23 points this season. Zach Norvell (18.6 points per game) has blossomed as a sophomore and now serves as Gonzaga’s main threat from the perimeter and a nice complement to the inside scoring of Rui Hachimura (21.9). In this matchup, Norvell’s shooting has the potential to be critical, as the Washington defense will attempt to choke off the paths to Hachimura and force the Bulldogs to beat them with deep shots. Sportsbooks have Gonzaga as huge 15 point favorites.

West Virginia has been a tough team to figure out since opening night, when the Mountaineers lost in overtime to Buffalo. Buffalo has proven to be better than anyone expected, but the same can’t necessarily be said for the Mountaineers, who have no impressive wins on their resume at this point and haven’t really shown the kind of defense one would expect from a Bob Huggins-coached team. What can we expect from WVU versus the Gators?