Tweet
Saturday's Title Action
March 11, 2017
Saturday, March 11
BIG EAST FINAL
Matchup Records Skinny Projection
.
No. 1 Villanova
Overall: 30-3 SU, 18-15 ATS
Totals: 12-21 O/U
No. 6 Creighton
Overall: 25-8 SU, 19-12 ATS
Totals: 13-17-1 O/U
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 6 Creighton (FOX, 5:30 p.m. ET)
If this game is close down the stretch, neither one of these teams should be shook given what transpired in the semifinals. Both teams are here because they not only landed the last punch, but also dodged the final bullet. In the Wildcats' case, that was a point-blank layup missed by Seton Hall's Angel Delgado, who would've likely sent a game the Pirates led for the majority of the evening to overtime if he'd executed something he typically manages in his sleep. The degree of difficult for Xavier's JP Macura was much more challenging since he pulled up from nearly 25 feet, misfiring on the game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds after Blue Jays' leading scorer Marcus Foster snapped a tie with a pull-up 3-pointer of his own. Creighton has reached the Big East final for the second time since joining the conference in 2014 and finding immediate success thanks to Doug McDermott. Bryce Cotton, who has since bounced around the NBA and is currently playing Australia, led Providence to a 65-58 win at the Garden. Villanova won its second title, the first under head coach Jay Wright, in '15 but lost last year. Even after winning an NCAA championship and dominating the league with a 16-2 regular season, the Wildcats are hungry to claim another one of these and looked every bit invested as they rallied from 11 points down and held on after four lead changes in the final minutes. Josh Hart, a top candidate for National Player of the Year, led Villanova with 19 points and 10 boards, delivering the go-ahead 3-point play with 9.6 seconds remaining. It won despite shooting 5-for-19 from beyond the arc and 10-for-17 from the free-throw line, so 'Nova did some flirting with disaster and still won for the 13th time in 14 games. Foster's shot connected with 6.9 seconds left, on the heels of losing a late lead with just 15 ticks left. Despite draining 13-of-20 3-pointers, Creighton's fate wasn't decided until Xavier's final attempt clanked off the rim. After shooting 18-for-25 from the field in the second half and 7-for-9 from 3-point range, the Blue Jays will come into their third clash against Villanova with some confidence. They've rescued their profile in this tournament following a skid after losing point guard Mo Watson to a knee injury. In center Justin Patton, Creighton has a big man who can command attention inside the way Delgado did, so 'Nova must be prepared for another challenge after being pushed around by Seton Hall in the paint. Villanova beat Creighton in Omaha (80-70) on Dec. 31 when it was the No. 1 team in the country and 79-63 in Philly on Feb. 25 when it was ranked second. That first game was a New Year's Eve battle of unbeatens, won by Jalen Brunson's career-high 27 points. Foster led Creighton in scoring in both games, averaging 24.5 points despite the losses. The Blue Jays could probably rise a seed line or two with a win here, while Villanova has already done enough to secure a No. 1 seed, though it could be ranked as the top overall team by finishing the deal here. The under has prevailed in 12 of 17 'Nova games following Friday's win and came through in both Creighton games. It has hit in five of six Jays' games, including yesterday's by a half-point.
Villanova 74
Creighton 66
BIG 12 FINAL
Matchup Records Skinny Projection
No. 2 West Virginia
Overall: 26-7 SU, 13-14-1 ATS
Totals: 15-12-1 O/U
No. 4 Iowa State
Overall: 22-10 SU, 17-12 ATS
Totals: 17-12 O/U
No. 2 West Virginia vs. No. 4 Iowa State (ESPN, 6:00 p.m. ET)
In early February, Iowa State owned a 6-5 record inside the Big 12 after losing at last-place Texas. The Cyclones have torn through the conference recently by winning eight of nine games to reach the Big 12 championship against West Virginia. Iowa State cruised past TCU on Friday, 84-63 as 4 ½-point favorites to cash the OVER for the eighth straight game. The only loss in this stretch for ISU came in the season finale at West Virginia, 87-76, as the Mountaineers pulled off the season sweep of the Cyclones. WVU squeezed past Kansas State in a 51-50 victory on Friday, but failed to cover as six-point favorites. The Mountaineers dropped to 1-5-1 ATS in the last seven games, in spite of winning six times during this stretch. West Virginia is playing for the Big 12 championship for the second straight season after losing to Kansas in 2016, while Iowa State captured the tournament title in both 2014 and 2015.
West Virginia 80
Iowa State 77
ACC FINAL
Matchup Records Skinny Projection
No. 3 Notre Dame
Overall: 24-9 SU, 18-11 ATS
Totals: 15-13-1 O/U
No. 5 Duke
Overall: 26-8 SU, 14-18-1 ATS
Totals: 17-16 O/U
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Duke (ESPN, 9:00 p.m. ET)
The Irish topped Florida State in Friday's semifinals, while the Blue Devils topped UNC in the third installment of the 'Battle of the Blues'. So we'll get a matchup against good friends Mike Brey and Mike Krzyzewski in the ACC Final. These two sides met once during the regular season, and it was the Blue Devils coming away with an 84-74 victory in South Bend. Notre Dame has come alive over the past few weeks after a four-game slide from Jan. 24-Feb. 5. The Irish are 8-1 SU over their past nine outings, and 8-2 ATS over their past 10 outings. The 'under' has cashed in five of their past six outings, while the 'over' has cashed in each of Duke's three tournament games so far, and four in a row overall. The Blue Devils are looking for their 20th ACC Tournament championship, most of any school in the conference. Notre Dame won their only ACC Tournament in 2015. For just the second time in the past seven years the final does not feature the University of North Carolina.
Notre Dame 83
Duke 81
PAC-12 FINAL
Matchup Records Skinny Projection
No. 1 Oregon
Overall: 29-4 SU, 19-13 ATS
Totals: 18-13-1 O/U
No. 2 Arizona
Overall: 29-4 SU, 17-14 ATS
Totals: 15-17 O/U
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 2 Arizona (ESPN, 11:00 p.m. ET)
The Ducks handled the Sun Devils 80-57 in the least entertaining of the Pac-12 quarterfinals, running away from the No. 9 seed after the break. While the league's other two heavyweights square off in the nightcap, Dillon Brooks-led Oregon will try and guard against complacency against a Cal team still looking to cement an NCAA at-large bid. Holding off a late Utah surge to prevail in a bubble battle helped aid their cause, but the Bears struggled down the stretch and don't have the most impressive of resumes, making this a must-win if it wants to be confident going into Selection Sunday. Since February began, Cal's two most impressive outings before yesterday's win were losses at Arizona and home against Oregon, which won 68-65 on Feb. 22. The Bears blew a 16-point second-half lead when Dillon Brooks connected on a 3-pointer with 0.2 left, rescuing a game that the Ducks trailed by 10 pints with less than five minutes remaining. Weeks later, Cal is still looking for the signature win that escaped them and knows it will likely see full-court pressure considering how poorly it handled it as Oregon staged its comeback. Jabari Bird scored 20 points in that loss and was the driving force on Thursday, pouring in 26 and connecting on a crucial 3-point play to help the Bears avoid blowing an 11-point lead with 2:17 remaining. Both Ducks' wins over Cal went over the posted total, as have both games for the Bears in this tournament. Oregon had a four-game run of overs ended when yesterday's win over ASU fell well short of 154.5.
Oregon 76
Arizona 72
March 11, 2017
Saturday, March 11
BIG EAST FINAL
Matchup Records Skinny Projection
.
No. 1 Villanova
Overall: 30-3 SU, 18-15 ATS
Totals: 12-21 O/U
No. 6 Creighton
Overall: 25-8 SU, 19-12 ATS
Totals: 13-17-1 O/U
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 6 Creighton (FOX, 5:30 p.m. ET)
If this game is close down the stretch, neither one of these teams should be shook given what transpired in the semifinals. Both teams are here because they not only landed the last punch, but also dodged the final bullet. In the Wildcats' case, that was a point-blank layup missed by Seton Hall's Angel Delgado, who would've likely sent a game the Pirates led for the majority of the evening to overtime if he'd executed something he typically manages in his sleep. The degree of difficult for Xavier's JP Macura was much more challenging since he pulled up from nearly 25 feet, misfiring on the game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds after Blue Jays' leading scorer Marcus Foster snapped a tie with a pull-up 3-pointer of his own. Creighton has reached the Big East final for the second time since joining the conference in 2014 and finding immediate success thanks to Doug McDermott. Bryce Cotton, who has since bounced around the NBA and is currently playing Australia, led Providence to a 65-58 win at the Garden. Villanova won its second title, the first under head coach Jay Wright, in '15 but lost last year. Even after winning an NCAA championship and dominating the league with a 16-2 regular season, the Wildcats are hungry to claim another one of these and looked every bit invested as they rallied from 11 points down and held on after four lead changes in the final minutes. Josh Hart, a top candidate for National Player of the Year, led Villanova with 19 points and 10 boards, delivering the go-ahead 3-point play with 9.6 seconds remaining. It won despite shooting 5-for-19 from beyond the arc and 10-for-17 from the free-throw line, so 'Nova did some flirting with disaster and still won for the 13th time in 14 games. Foster's shot connected with 6.9 seconds left, on the heels of losing a late lead with just 15 ticks left. Despite draining 13-of-20 3-pointers, Creighton's fate wasn't decided until Xavier's final attempt clanked off the rim. After shooting 18-for-25 from the field in the second half and 7-for-9 from 3-point range, the Blue Jays will come into their third clash against Villanova with some confidence. They've rescued their profile in this tournament following a skid after losing point guard Mo Watson to a knee injury. In center Justin Patton, Creighton has a big man who can command attention inside the way Delgado did, so 'Nova must be prepared for another challenge after being pushed around by Seton Hall in the paint. Villanova beat Creighton in Omaha (80-70) on Dec. 31 when it was the No. 1 team in the country and 79-63 in Philly on Feb. 25 when it was ranked second. That first game was a New Year's Eve battle of unbeatens, won by Jalen Brunson's career-high 27 points. Foster led Creighton in scoring in both games, averaging 24.5 points despite the losses. The Blue Jays could probably rise a seed line or two with a win here, while Villanova has already done enough to secure a No. 1 seed, though it could be ranked as the top overall team by finishing the deal here. The under has prevailed in 12 of 17 'Nova games following Friday's win and came through in both Creighton games. It has hit in five of six Jays' games, including yesterday's by a half-point.
Villanova 74
Creighton 66
BIG 12 FINAL
Matchup Records Skinny Projection
No. 2 West Virginia
Overall: 26-7 SU, 13-14-1 ATS
Totals: 15-12-1 O/U
No. 4 Iowa State
Overall: 22-10 SU, 17-12 ATS
Totals: 17-12 O/U
No. 2 West Virginia vs. No. 4 Iowa State (ESPN, 6:00 p.m. ET)
In early February, Iowa State owned a 6-5 record inside the Big 12 after losing at last-place Texas. The Cyclones have torn through the conference recently by winning eight of nine games to reach the Big 12 championship against West Virginia. Iowa State cruised past TCU on Friday, 84-63 as 4 ½-point favorites to cash the OVER for the eighth straight game. The only loss in this stretch for ISU came in the season finale at West Virginia, 87-76, as the Mountaineers pulled off the season sweep of the Cyclones. WVU squeezed past Kansas State in a 51-50 victory on Friday, but failed to cover as six-point favorites. The Mountaineers dropped to 1-5-1 ATS in the last seven games, in spite of winning six times during this stretch. West Virginia is playing for the Big 12 championship for the second straight season after losing to Kansas in 2016, while Iowa State captured the tournament title in both 2014 and 2015.
West Virginia 80
Iowa State 77
ACC FINAL
Matchup Records Skinny Projection
No. 3 Notre Dame
Overall: 24-9 SU, 18-11 ATS
Totals: 15-13-1 O/U
No. 5 Duke
Overall: 26-8 SU, 14-18-1 ATS
Totals: 17-16 O/U
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Duke (ESPN, 9:00 p.m. ET)
The Irish topped Florida State in Friday's semifinals, while the Blue Devils topped UNC in the third installment of the 'Battle of the Blues'. So we'll get a matchup against good friends Mike Brey and Mike Krzyzewski in the ACC Final. These two sides met once during the regular season, and it was the Blue Devils coming away with an 84-74 victory in South Bend. Notre Dame has come alive over the past few weeks after a four-game slide from Jan. 24-Feb. 5. The Irish are 8-1 SU over their past nine outings, and 8-2 ATS over their past 10 outings. The 'under' has cashed in five of their past six outings, while the 'over' has cashed in each of Duke's three tournament games so far, and four in a row overall. The Blue Devils are looking for their 20th ACC Tournament championship, most of any school in the conference. Notre Dame won their only ACC Tournament in 2015. For just the second time in the past seven years the final does not feature the University of North Carolina.
Notre Dame 83
Duke 81
PAC-12 FINAL
Matchup Records Skinny Projection
No. 1 Oregon
Overall: 29-4 SU, 19-13 ATS
Totals: 18-13-1 O/U
No. 2 Arizona
Overall: 29-4 SU, 17-14 ATS
Totals: 15-17 O/U
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 2 Arizona (ESPN, 11:00 p.m. ET)
The Ducks handled the Sun Devils 80-57 in the least entertaining of the Pac-12 quarterfinals, running away from the No. 9 seed after the break. While the league's other two heavyweights square off in the nightcap, Dillon Brooks-led Oregon will try and guard against complacency against a Cal team still looking to cement an NCAA at-large bid. Holding off a late Utah surge to prevail in a bubble battle helped aid their cause, but the Bears struggled down the stretch and don't have the most impressive of resumes, making this a must-win if it wants to be confident going into Selection Sunday. Since February began, Cal's two most impressive outings before yesterday's win were losses at Arizona and home against Oregon, which won 68-65 on Feb. 22. The Bears blew a 16-point second-half lead when Dillon Brooks connected on a 3-pointer with 0.2 left, rescuing a game that the Ducks trailed by 10 pints with less than five minutes remaining. Weeks later, Cal is still looking for the signature win that escaped them and knows it will likely see full-court pressure considering how poorly it handled it as Oregon staged its comeback. Jabari Bird scored 20 points in that loss and was the driving force on Thursday, pouring in 26 and connecting on a crucial 3-point play to help the Bears avoid blowing an 11-point lead with 2:17 remaining. Both Ducks' wins over Cal went over the posted total, as have both games for the Bears in this tournament. Oregon had a four-game run of overs ended when yesterday's win over ASU fell well short of 154.5.
Oregon 76
Arizona 72
Comment