Larry's Picks (1 Live)
Alperen Sengun has a great matchup in Chicago, as the Bulls lack rim protectors who can stop him. He scored 23 points in the earlier meeting with the Bulls. Chicago also plays at the fourth-fastest pace and has allowed 124.5 points per game over its last seven outings. Sengun did not clear this prop line in four of his last five games, but this is a terrific matchup.
The Pacers own the fifth-worst defensive rating and give up the second-most rebounds per game (56.2). Paolo Banchero has faced Indiana twice this season, putting up 29 points and 10 rebounds and then 28 and 12. Indiana's Ivica Zubac is out for the season, and the Pacers started Pascal Siakam at center last time out.
The Red Raiders own wins over Duke, Arizona and Houston. Even though they remain without JT Toppin, they have enough to get by an Alabama team missing Aden Holloway. Texas Tech excels in transition defense, which will be key in this matchup. The Red Raiders rank third nationally in 3-point shooting percentage and have hit 42.9 percent over their past three games. They've also been just as good of a 3-point shooting team away from home.
St. Joseph’s is 6-2 SU in its last eight road games. The Hawks are excellent on the boards and at defending the 3-point line. They just held Colorado State to 7 of 30 from beyond the arc. Cal is coming off an impressive home win but has had some deflating home performances this season. This should be a very tight game, so grab the points.
Utah State executed down the stretch to beat Villanova, but this is a totally different challenge. Arizona's size will make it tough for the Aggies to do what they usually do, score in the paint. The Wildcats barely broke a sweat against LIU and will demonstrate why they're the second favorite to win it all. The only postseason game Arizona hasn't covered came in the Big 12 semis, when the Wildcats won a virtual road game 82-80 over Iowa State as 2.5-point favorites.
Wizards guard Bub Carrington has played 33-plus minutes in three straight games, scoring 59 total points. Those games came against OKC and Detroit (twice). On Feb. 3, Carrington scored 14 points in 25 minutes versus New York. Look for the Knicks to win in a blowout but Carrington to score at least 11 points Sunday night.
Apologies for the late post, but I jumped on the Rebels despite Tulsa’s 14-2 home record. Tulsa might not be at full strength, and we’ve seen a Josh Pastner team make a magical postseason run before. UNLV owns some impressive road wins and should keep this close.
Deni Avdija has just 15 assists over the past three games. But the way the Nuggets defend Avdija makes him more likely to have a big game as a distributor. That's exactly what happened on Feb. 20 when Avdija had 13 assists in 30 minutes vs. Denver. We have a total of 238.5, indicating a lot of points will be scored. Back Avdija to go Over on assists.
Jalen Green is coming off two down games, but this is a tremendous matchup at home vs. Milwaukee. When Green faced the Bucks in Milwaukee on March 10, he scored 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting. The Suns have a couple key absences Saturday night, so Green should get plenty of opportunities to duplicate that performance.
The Cornhuskers aren't satisfied with their first-ever NCAA Tournament win. They own the nation's No. 7 defense, per KenPom, and match up well with Vanderbilt. I see this as a pick-'em, so I took the points with Nebraska.
UConn has covered just three of its last 14 games when laying nine or more points. The Paladins have the size to contend with the Huskies, and a slow pace is expected with the total set at 136.5. Look for Furman coach Bob Richey, whose team upset a No. 4 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, to craft a gameplan to keep this respectable.
Toronto’s Immanuel Quickley put up 22 points and four assists in his earlier matchup with Denver this season. And he didn’t shoot well. This should be a high-scoring, competitive game. Look for Quickley to play about 35 minutes and clear this prop total.
Clemson lost starting forward Carter Welling (10.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg) to a torn ACL in the ACC Tournament. The 6-10 junior led the team in rebounding and blocks (0.8). The Tigers will still be a very tough out thanks to a balanced attack and their great defense, but I like Iowa coach Ben McCollum to do what he did last year with Drake: win a first-round game and seriously threaten a run to the Sweet 16. Look for senior guard Bennett Stirtz (20.0 ppg, 4.5 apg) to play all 40 minutes in an Iowa win.
Akron is a dynamic offensive team that should be competitive here, given Texas Tech’s injury situation. The Red Raiders come in on a three-game skid. Christian Anderson says he’s close to 100 percent. That should be enough to get the win but not the cover.