Strong defense is important during this period. I’m still working on my piece.
UW (-8.5) vs. Illinois State
Point spreads are the only potential source of anxiety.
I think UConn could lose. It’s happened three times this season, including once in the past 25 games.
Teams with bigger auras and more menace (1974 UCLA, 1985 Georgetown, 1991 UNLV) fell short.
However, there is no evidence to suggest that the Husky hit a speed bump.
And there’s no reason to believe Illinois is built to shred millions of brackets.
In a battle between the nation’s top two offenses, the defense will decide the outcome. UW, which has lost three serious road games against top-50 defenses, boasts a top-10 defense that hasn’t allowed a team to shoot more than 40 percent from the field in the last two contests, while the Illini Ranked 200th. They were 229th in points allowed, 229th in opponent 3-point percentage, and 84th in defensive efficiency.
Dan Hurley is undefeated against the spread in nine tournament games at UConn, with the Huskies winning by an average of nearly 23 points per game. Let’s ride until we die.
Clemson (+2.5) vs. Alabama
Since at least 2002, no title game player has ranked lower than 46th in the nation in defensive efficiency.
At some point, Alabama’s 104th-ranked unit will have a shortened season.
Do you want to bet on college basketball?
Even with the most explosive offense in the country, you can’t expect them to sprint against the Tigers. The Tigers have won their last two games against top-10 offenses in the NCAA Tournament, including an 85-77 victory over the Tide in Tuscaloosa in November. Alabama had the fourth lowest production of the season.
Relying on P.J. Hall and Ian Schiefferin, who combined for 30 points and 22 rebounds in their last matchup, Clemson should control inside and slow the pace, giving the Tigers another chance to pull off a complete upset.
Otherwise, Clemson is 9-1 against the spread this season.
This season: 26-28
Records from 2011-23: 349-308-12
