CBB ODDS, CBB PREDICTIONS, CBB PREVIEWS
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2024
RICK BOWE CBB FREE PICKS
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Coach Rick Bowe rebounded with a big day yesterday. The Coach delivered two winning free picks and his daily Best Bet cashed another winner. With two more Elite Eight games on tap today, Coach Rick is looking for a repeat performance. Let’s get to today’s Quick Picks.
TENNESSEE vs. PURDUE (PUR -3, 147.5)
PURDUE -3
As good as Tennessee’s defense has been this year, they do not have an answer for Zach Edey. The Purdue big man is averaging 24.5 points per game this season on 62.3 percent shooting. In the tournament thus far, he has three double-doubles and has scored 30, 23, and 27 points. The Purdue offense runs through Edey. Since January, the Boilermakers have shot 42.6 percent from three-point range. They have three players in the nation’s Top 50 in 3-PT FG percentage.
These two teams played each other this season in Maui way back near the start of the season. It was a sloppy game with 78 free throw attempts and 26 turnovers. Purdue shot just 4-of-15 from three-point range and still won the game by four points. Today’s game should not be as sloppy as that first meeting.
What many fail to realize is that Purdue can play defense too. They are holding their postseason opponents to an Effective FG Percentage of 45.5. They are holding those same opponents to just 26.9 percent from three.
Tennessee and head coach Rick Barnes got the rare cover in their Sweet 16 win over Creighton. Barnes-coached teams are now 2-14 ATS since 2010 in games where they are not a double-digit favorite. I don’t trust Barnes and I believe Purdue’s offense will be too much for the Vols to handle.
NC STATE vs. DUKE (DUKE -7.5, 143)
UNDER 143
These two teams have played each other twice this season. They met in the regular season and Duke won by 15. In the ACC tournament, NC State pulled the upset on its way to the conference tournament title. What’s interesting is that both games ended with final scores that totaled 143 points.
There is a trip to the Final Four on the line here and that is going to lead to a slow and methodical pace in this game. Duke will be happy to control that pace. The Blue Devils rank 280th in the country in possessions per game. So far in the tournament, Duke has averaged 62 possessions per game. NC State is coming off a stellar defensive performance where they held Marquette to 4-of-31 shooting from behind the arc.
Duke has held all three of its tournament opponents to 55 points or less. Not surprisingly, two of the three games have gone Under the total. That makes it 11 of 14 going Under for Duke. The slow pace and the defense of both teams takes this total Under today.
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