Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams quietly did one of the best jobs in the country this year. He took a program that had a reputation as a perpetual bubble-sitter to comfortably into the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies had an impressive second half of the season that included home wins over Duke and North Carolina and a road win against Virginia, the Cavaliers' lone ACC defeat. Virginia Tech is experienced and savvy at getting solid shots in the half-court offense. Youth-laden Alabama made a nice SEC Tournament run to get a bid, but the Tide are slightly outclassed in this one.

Out in the ACC one of the more underrated teams this year was Virginia Tech. One can argue this team is less talented than last year’s VIrginia Tech side, but the Hokies play true team basketball. Look for the Hokies to snap a late-season slide that saw them lose three of four games. That’s created value against the momentum-building Tide.

The Hokies have covered nine of their last 13 games, and they should be bigger favorites over Alabama. In my simulations, Virginia Tech is covering 67 percent of the time. Lay the points.