Jason's Picks (12 Live)
Are the Wolverines really back? Or was the weekend their last hurrah? ...
Home/road trends might be a big deal in this one ...
Is one of these teams seeded improperly? ...
I see one of these teams getting at least to the sweet 16 ...
A revved up offense vs a broken defense has me feelin' a certain kinda way ...
Riding the better shooting team and the one that excels most defending the long ball ...
These two have a lot in common in the pace and shot attempt department...
Jason's Past Picks
BYU is playing its best ball, they get contributions from a bunch of kids who have legit size and as well as VCU does on both ends of the court, that's going to be an issue here. BYU is a top team in rebound %, they will win second-chance shots and they are shooting 37% from 3. VCU's D slips a bit on road/neutral settings. BYU scoring 80/G in tough conference, beat Iowa State twice including at Amez and AZ down stretch. BYU 8-2 ATS last 10. And playing in altitude is the norm for BYU; travel a factor for VCU here. BYU has Sweet 16+ potential for me in this draw. Like the way they grab offensive boards.
Boilers cannot get going away from home. Should have lost to USC with Trojans on short rest in Big 10 tourney. If they get cute and shoot three ball a ton they will lose. Just 6-11 ATS away from home - covered 6 straight mostly vs dregs of Big 10 in Jan/early Feb - and back to old ways since. High Point has a top 25 KenPom offense that can be methodical. HP shoot 50% from field and had top FG% D in Big South and defend the three ball quite well. Boilers have covered just 2 of last 8 games. Seem to be fading. No home court advantage here like in Big 10 tourney. Talent alone won't carry them here.
The Bulls are quietly playing very solid basketball and have the run-and-gun offense cranked up again. Chicago is 7-5 in its last 12 games, ranking 9th in the NBA at119 points/game in that span. They are 3rd in pace during that stretch, attempting 94 shots per game, and the Suns' D is still pretty broken. PHX is allowing 118/G in the last 12, 21st in NBA. The Bulls dropped 117 on the Suns in Chicago. Bulls are over this total in 8 of their last 12 games and scored 114 in two of the other games.