Big East, SEC, Big 10 Conference Tournament Previews
The guys (@GamblingPodcast) talk Big East, SEC and Big 10 in their latest college basketball conference tournament previews. The college basketball conference tournament picks are picking up steam as we get to previewing the bigger teams.
As we move to the bigger conferences, we see a discrepancy between who starts their tournaments much earlier than others. This creates an aspect of rest for March Madness for the teams who start earlier.
Big East Conference Tournament Picks
UConn, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Xavier are teams who can have a strong crowd impact based off location and school size. This conference features a number of teams with a lot of experience and makes it tough to make a formidable favorite choice to win the tournament. Providence at 15-1 could be good but they have a tough first round matchup in UConn. The recent play of Villanova though has made them strong contenders and attractive plays for the tournament.
Butler/St. Johns: St. Johns -6
St. Johns is the technical home team here but a 3 pm game should not bring in much of a crowd regardless. St. Johns is also the number one team in the country in tempo but they are very inefficient. 6 points seems like too much and Butler should definitely cover.
DePaul/Seton Hall: Seton Hall -8
The last time these teams played the game was very close. Although, DePaul was 3-17 in conference but lost some close games to good conference teams. Though in the two times they played, DePaul struggled from the field. Seton Hall also does not score the ball well.
Villanova/Georgetown: Villanova -11
Villanova is red hot since the return of Justin Moore and has truly been pouring it on. Georgetown has been scrappy this year but shouldn’t be able to overcome Nova.
Providence/UConn: UConn -7
These teams split in the regular season, but Providence has been cold as of late. UConn seems to be the better team as of late but you cannot count out the good offense of Providence.
SEC Conference Tournament Picks
There are a lot of big-time longshots in this conference from LSU and South Carolina, and they should stay this way. Mississippi State seems to be like a solid play to win the tournament when you consider their good play and seemingly easy path in the tournament. Kentucky has won 5 of their last 6 and seems to be hot at the right time to win a tournament they always get up for.
Ole Miss/South Carolina: Ole Miss -5
Ole Miss is 17-4 against the spread. South Carolina does host the best player between the two teams though in DJ Jackson
LSU/Georgia: Georgia -1
LSU is a more talented team Georgia has lost 5 in a row. However, Georgia’s last win was against LSU.
Mississippi State/Florida: Mississippi State
Florida is missing Castleton and Miss State has a top 10 defense in the country in points allowed. Mississippi state also struggles to shoot the ball though.
Arkansas/Auburn:
Arkansas is the better team and is getting healthy and finding their stride at the right time. Auburn has some frisk to them though and won’t be a pushover.
Big 10 Conference Tournament Picks
This conference hosts a whopping 12 teams over .500, which is very impressive. Purdue is the one seed and touts the conference player of the year in Zach Edey. Penn State also has shown they are a legitimate threat to the conference title as well at a nice price of 25-1. Nebraska will also be a legit long shot as they have gotten hot, and Michigan State is a team you always have to consider once it is tournament time.
Ohio State/Wisconsin
Both teams are not very impressive but Ohio State seems to have the better team as the season winds down.
Nebraska/Minnesota: Nebraska -7
Minnesota has won one game since January 16th, which was against Rutgers.
Rutgers/Michigan: Michigan -1
Michigan tends to choke and probably should not be favored in this one.
Penn State/Illinois: Illinois -2
Penn State is elite from behind the line and could hope to get hot during the tournament. Illinois has proven though that they can shut down Penn State.
Bets:
Big East Locks
Kramer: Seton Hall
Sean: Villanova -11
Colby: Villanova -11
SEC Locks
Kramer: Mississippi State -1
Sean: Mississippi State -1
Colby: Mississippi State -1
Big 10 Locks
Kramer: Illinois
Sean: Penn State +2
Colby: Michigan -1
Dogs
Kramer: South Carolina ML
Sean: Providence ML
Colby: DePaul ML
Podcast Transcription
