College Basketball: Bracketbusters Will Make and Break Teams

The annual Bracketbusters series takes place this weekend and Al Dannity says there are several play-in games for at-large bids to watch out for.

Rams could do without another Shock(ers)
Everything looked so nice for the Virginia Commonwealth Rams before last Saturday. VCU owned a 12-2 record in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and had a marquee win over UCLA on their record. The win over the Bruins still looks good but consecutive home shellackings by Old Dominion and George Mason have put the Rams in danger of missing out on the dance.

They kick off the TV portion of Bracketbusters with a road date at Wichita. The Shockers look like a team that belongs in the dance. They lack the quality wins to be sure of getting there if they don’t win the Missouri Valley (MVC) tournament. This home game with the Rams presents a much better opportunity than their road date at Missouri State at the end of the regular season. I like the Shockers to make home advantage count and punch their ticket on Friday night.

Patriots can close the deal
After beating VCU last night, George Mason only need one more quality win to be certain of a place in the NCAA Tournament. College Baskteball betting fans won’t be overly impressed by the Patriots’ resume. A non-conference win at Duquesne is their standout victory. Most bettors and the committee will certainly be won over by the Patriots 12-game winning streak against a deep CAA.

Northern Iowa of the MVC await the Patriots on Saturday. The Panthers stole the show on the first weekend of March Madness as Ali Farokmanesh led UNI to a stunning upset of #1 seed Kansas. This year’s vintage isn’t on the same level. I like George Mason to take care of business with a big road win.

Aggies need to show they can do it on the road
A game between the #25 team in the AP poll and a team that is narrowly outside the poll shouldn’t have too much at stake at this stage in the season. In a normal season, both #25 Utah State and St Mary’s would be already sure of their spots in the tournament but this is no ordinary season.

The Gaels’ sole quality non-conference win came against Mississippi State, while the Aggies have no major scalps on their resume. Utah State’s loss at Idaho on Saturday means that they need to win here to lock up an at-large bid. The Gaels are in a less precarious position and they also have the stronger hand in this game. The Aggies have been torn apart on the road at quality opponents. Without Wild Bill and their student section to help, their chances of victory in the Jenny Craig Pavilion are slim at best.

Vikings can swipe Monarchs’ crown
Cleveland State of the Horizon League takes on Old Dominion, another CAA team in need of some help, on Sunday. The Vikings will be led by Norris Cole, a player with all the thundering might of Thor. On Saturday he had 41 points 20 rebounds and 9 assists in an 86-76 win over Youngstown State. I like Cole to come good again on Sunday and lead the Vikings to victory.