I was greeted with this text yesterday morning:
As I suspected, the cliche holds: “Money talks and bullshit walks!” Mid-majors can no longer compete for the best players against the richer schools. This year’s Sweet 16 is evidence of another cliche: “The rich get richer!”
Always great to hear from The Godfather, Brent Musburger.
I hope we can make those rich (in knowledge, at least) even richer today.
Steve Makinen has posted his estimated scores for the Sweet 16 pairings, which result in estimated lines and totals on the VSiN.com matchup pages. They are based on his power ratings, also updated on VSiN.com.
Let’s look at how Steve’s numbers (SM) compare to the Circa lines as of Monday night:
Thursday
>No. 6 BYU (+5.5/175.5) (SM: +4.8/175.5) vs. No. 2 Alabama (7:09 p.m. ET). Preview
>No. 4 Maryland (+6.5/156.5) (SM: +5.5/153.6) vs. No. 1 Florida (7:39 p.m. ET). Preview
>No. 1 Duke (-9.5/153.5) (SM: -9.2/155.3) vs. No. 4 Arizona (9:39 p.m. ET). Preview
>No. 3 Texas Tech (-5.5/147) (SM: -4.4/144.8) vs. No. 10 Arkansas (10:09 p.m. ET). Preview
Friday
>No. 6 Michigan State (-2.5/144.5) (SM: -3.1/143.1) vs. No. 2 Mississippi (7:09 p.m. ET). Preview
>No. 2 Tennessee (-4.5/145.5) (SM: -4.3/144.2) vs. No. 3 Kentucky (7:39 p.m. ET). Preview
>No. 1 Auburn (-8.5/152.5) (SM: -7.7/150.6) vs. No. 5 Michigan (9:39 p.m. ET). Preview
>No. 1 Houston (-8.5/132.5) (SM: -7.4/131.7) vs. No. 4 Purdue (10:09 p.m. ET). Preview
The differences in the Maryland-Florida and the Texas Tech-Arkansas Totals stand out.
Greg Peterson has his Sweet 16 handicapped lines up for comparison, too.
Josh Appelbaum analyzes the early line movement in his Sharp Report.
VSiN March Bracket Challenge update: If you are registered, you can enter your Sweet 16 picks starting at 1 p.m. ET today. The deadline is: 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. >>Standings.
In case you were wondering, contestants are a collective 38,713-43,731-1,383 (47%)
Quick Hits
Women’s NCAA Tournament: USC star Juju Watkins was carried off the court with a knee injury early in a second-round victory over Mississippi. ESPN reported that Watkins has a torn ACL in her right knee and will be out for the rest of the tournament.
NBA: Zach Cohen will have his plays later this morning.
NHL: Jonathan Davis will have his Best Bets later, too.
Tennis: Zach has posted his plays for today’s action at the Miami Open.
MLB: The season opens Thursday. Adam Burke previews every team with his prediction on the season win total.
This is The VSiN Daily newsletter for Tuesday, March 25. Sign up for this free email and get picks and insights delivered to your in-box every morning.
