Hey money is money Holmes. I don't really get why the SportsLine Projection Model has Portland winning this game. The Pilots are solid but 6-8 away and this is an event in Cedar City, Utah. Sometimes home court is overrated. It is not here. The Thunderbirds were the second-best team in the Big Sky. Portland was .500 in the WCC (granted a better conference) and hasn't played in a week due to the craziness of the The Basketball Classic, which I'm not sure why exists. I'm actually curious now what action this does opposite the two Elite Eight games. Can't bet in Utah (or do much of anything).

This is about as strong a play as my model sees. My model says Portland covers almost 80 percent of the time and actually wins by seven, and it makes sense. The Pilots play in the much tougher West Coast Conference and are 20-11 against-the-spread this season. Southern Utah plays in the Big Sky and is 13-19 against-the-spread. I love Portland.