I didn’t drink until I picked Rick Barnes to win the national championship.
Only later.
Here are two for the spread bets for Tuesday’s first four games.
Midwest Region: No. 10 Colorado (-2.5) vs. No. 10 Virginia.
It’s not just that Tony Bennett’s team haven’t passed the eye test. The Cavaliers’ slow-paced, defense-oriented style is never visually pleasing.
However, the University of Virginia’s offense has been underrated most years, consistently ranking in the top 20 nationally, and having the second-highest offensive efficiency in its 2019 title season.
But this group is by far Bennett’s worst in this era, ranking 289th nationally in shooting percentage and 194th in offensive efficiency.
The Cavaliers have lost five of their past nine games and their last two NCAA Tournament openers, and have been held to 50 points or less in half of their past eight games.
Colorado State is preparing for this stage, coming from a conference (Mountain West) that has qualified for more tournaments than the ACC. The Rams were strong on both ends of the floor, defeating six teams in the NCAA Tournament, including a 21-point win over No. 3 seed Creighton.
Virginia’s defense will also have a hard time slowing down fifth-year senior guard Isaiah Stevens, who ranks sixth in the nation in assists and shoots nearly 45 percent from 3-point range.
West: 16th Howard (-3.5), 16th Wagner
The Seahawks are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years. It’s a shame that the Staten Island school’s drought of damaging talent like Dan Hurley’s 25-win team and Bashir Mason’s team that won three NEC regular season titles didn’t end.
Wagner’s run through the Northeast Conference Tournament as a No. 6 seed was a great story, but the offense isn’t built to excel on a Dayton floor that routinely produces tight shooters.
The Post has you covered with a printable NCAA bracket featuring the entire 68-team field for March Madness 2024.
Wagner’s offensive line isn’t built to do much, ranking 334th in offensive efficiency and the team’s field goal percentage (39.2) is seventh-worst in the nation.
In addition to being the most high-profile school in the nation, Howard has won eight of its last nine games and its offense averages 12 more points per game than the Seahawks.
The Bison also have experience playing in last year’s NCAA Tournament and former Ivy League Player of the Year Seth Towns, 26.
Do you want to bet on college basketball?
This season: 9-15
2011-23 Record: 349-308-12
