The final two pieces of the TBT quarterfinals puzzle are on the line Wednesday night. We are on to the regional championship games. Those two final pieces come from the West Virginia and Dayton Regions. Let’s take a look at who will be moving on to the quarterfinals in Dayton and my two TBT Championship Betting Picks!
TBT Championship Best Bets
West Virginia Region Final:
(1) Best Virginia -3.5 vs (2) Bucketneers
The West Virginia Regional Final features the top two seeded teams in the region. Both teams are back in the same exact round that they were eliminated just a year ago. Additionally, Best Virginia enters the regional final coming off a hard-fought 89-79 victory over the Herd That. Furthermore, Best Virginia dominated the 2nd and 3rd quarters again with their suffocating defense. As a result, it set up Best Virginia with opportunities to get easy points in transition.
Kevin Jones, John Flowers, and Jermaine Haley all led the way with 17 points a piece. Their opponent, the Bucketneers held off a late surge from War Ready. The Bucketneers dominated the first three-quarters of the semifinal matchup. Desonta Bradford and Jalen Riley led the way combining for 27 points.
Both teams shot the ball very well on Tuesday night so I expect some regression in the finals. The matchup in the paint will be a fun one to watch between Kevin Jones and Nick Ward. This one will be a rock fight with both teams having the TBT experience and depth to advance to Dayton. Furthermore, I like the guards of the Bucketneers to keep this one within a one-possession game as we come down to the Elam Ending. Nevertheless, I will take the Mountaineers alumni team to grind it out in typical West Virginia basketball fashion in front of their fans and advance to Dayton! I love this TBT Championship betting pick!
Pick: Bucketneers +3.5
Dayton Region Final:
(1) The Money Team -4.0 vs (3) Red Scare
The Dayton Regional Final features the favorite and the hometown team. The Money Team enters the championship game coming off an explosive 2nd half. They scored 49 points to pull away from the Men of Mackey. The Money Team was much more balanced offensively on Tuesday night behind Mitchell Creek (26 points) and Trevor Booker (21 points). Their workhorse, Jimmer Fredette still was able to get his with 21 points of his own on 5/11 shooting from 3. On the other side, the Red Scare grinded out a 62-56 semifinals win over the Golden Eagles. The Red Scare got off to a slow start in the 1st quarter falling behind 17-7. However, they rallied with big runs in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. They were led in scoring by Jordan Sibert, who poured in 19 points to lead the way.
This will be another home game for the Red Scare in their mission to get back to the Final Four in front of their home fans. The matchup everyone will have their eyes on in this one will be at the guard position of Fredette and Sibert. I look for the Red Scare to feed off the home crowd’s energy and give a championship effort on Wednesday night. However, in the end, I believe The Money Team has too much firepower for them. I like The Money Team to pull away behind all their different offensive weapons to advance to the quarterfinals in Dayton! I love this as my second TBT Championship betting pick!
