No. 12 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 5 Creighton in West Region action. I don't take too much from the Bluejays imploding in the Big East Tournament final vs. Georgetown, but I do like the Gauchos to at least cover here now that Ajare Sanni has been cleared to play from an ankle injury. The Big West Sixth Man of the Year rolled his ankle in the Big West Tournament final vs. UC Irvine. The guard is third on the team in scoring at 11.2 ppg and is the team's second-best three-point shooter. I have Creighton in the Sweet 16, but only because that little pod is so unpredictable with Virginia's COVID issues. My least confident Sweet 16 pick by far.

This is a lot of points to give UCSB and JaQuori McLaughlin, a 6-4, 190-pound guard who averages 16.2 points and 5.2 assists while shooting over 40 percent from deep. The Gauchos went 22-4 and face a Creighton team that dropped three of its last six, including a 25-point beatdown in the Big East final. Grab the points.