Irish and Cougars to Progress in March Madness

The wait is finally over and Al Dannity is ready to make his calls on the opening day of March Madness

Murray State to shock Commodores
The efficient #13 seed Racers (+140) will live up to their name early and run out to an early lead against an over-rated  #4 seed Vanderbilt (-165) team. Vandy will come back into this game but I fancy Murray State when this turns into a slugfest in the second half. The Racers have Sweet Sixteen potential because they play the kind of ball that keeps them in the hunt late in the game. With a field-goal percentage over just over 50 percent this is a team which plays better as a unit than the talent it has assembled on the field. By contrast Vandy enters this game having made hard work of the back-end of its schedule and haven’t shown the form to convince me they can stop a charging underdog.

Notre Dame to silence doubters
The sexy pick for an upset in round one is for #11 seed Old Dominion (+135) to beat #6 seed Notre Dame (-115). If you believe everything ESPN’s analysts tell you when making College Basketball betting picks then you’ll be out of pocket quickly as their reasoning seems to be that Notre Dame is on too much of a hot streak to avoid an upset. That makes no sense from where I’m standing especially when the Fighting Irish have adapted their offense so that it no longer lives or dies by Luke Harangody. The Monarchs are a good rebounding team but they don’t have the same kind of scoring threats that Notre Dame possess. The Irish will turn this into a shootout and in that scenario only one team can win this fight.

Cougars can maul Gators
Hi Florida. Bye Florida. The #10 seed Gators (+205) were one of, if not the, last teams in to this year’s tournament and they could be the first out depending on how the three early games go. There is just nothing to like about Florida in this game. They have a vastly inferior offense and nothing like the bench #7 seed BYU (-255) possess. This Cougars team could well go to the Elite Eight if they hit top form but they won’t need to be anywhere near that to manhandle Florida. BYU to win and win big.

Easy start for Villanova
Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to its current size a #15 seed has beaten a #2 seed just 4 times in 100 attempts. Despite the hopes of the Robert Morris’ (+2000) players, this year will not see a fifth team join the club. Villanova (-7,000) is about as weak as a #2 seed can be entering the tournament but despite a late-season slide, the Wildcats have far too much firepower to worry about the Colonials. For all it’s ills Villanova still possess a team that scores over 82 points a game and has 11 players averaging over 10 minutes a game. That’s the kind of rotation that even the best mid-major will have trouble with.

For all the NCAA Basketball betting lines as March Madness gets underway check out Sports Interaction’s online sports book.