The end to one of the maddest March Madness tournaments is near. Not only is this the fourth time in tournament history that no one seed reached the Final Four, it is the first time that ZERO top three seeds made it to this point. Three of the teams are also first timers, with UCONN being the only veteran and the clear favorite to win it all.
Let’s examine the two matchups we are blessed with this weekend, and I’ll give my worthless picks for who I think will come out on top.
GAME ONE – (9) FAU VS (5) SDSU
The Florida Atlantic Owls are on one of the most historic runs in NCAA history, and they look to extend that run with a win over the San Diego St. Aztecs on Saturday night. If the Owls were to win it all, their 300-1 opening odds would be the largest to win a title since seeding began in 1979.
FAU faces a tough matchup against SDSU though. The Owls strong suit lies in their performance beyond the arc, while the Aztecs lies in their perimeter defense. In a true case of an unstoppable force vs an immovable object, I have a feeling that FAU’s three point efficiency will drop off, leading to a loss. Their average percentage has declined in the tournament compared to the regular season, and the shift to playing in a football stadium has negatively affected range-centered teams in the past, so my pick for this game is SDSU.
GAME TWO – (5) MIAMI VS (4) UCONN
UCONN is a monster that seems unstoppable. Miami has proven to be a team capable of stopping the unstoppable after a beating Houston in the Sweet 16. What will the end result be? Who knows, but odds are leaning severely in UCONN’s favor (-260).
One thing is for sure, the pairing of Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins will be tough for Miami to stop. Miami’s weak link is their defense, and UCONN has been on an absolute tear in recent games. Throughout the tournament, the Huskies have beat opposing teams by an average of 22.5 games, with most of their points coming in the second half.
I believe that whoever comes out with a win in this game will win the title. That being said, I don’t think Miami will be capable of stopping the freight train that is UCONN. I am so confident in this that I encourage you to take the spread of -5.5 instead of betting outright, and I would also implore you to place a future on them winning the tournament.