The Madness is in full effect, and we have seen our fair share of it already. In my last article, we were on Toledo who was winning by 17 points with 14 minutes left in the second half, only to go on and lose the game outright thus spoiling the Rockets’ chances of claiming the Mid Atlantic Conference crown. We are back at it Thursday with two more plays. March isn’t a time for the faint of heart, and we are in for a wild ride so let’s buckle up. Make sure you check out our picks on the side and total for the rest of tonight’s matchups.
Michigan Wolverines -12 to beat Michigan State Spartans (-105)
*Playable to -13
The Big Ten conference is coming to a close, but not before a clash of the two Michigan powerhouses. It has been a tale of two stories for these two teams. The Spartans are having a down year after a solid preseason presented high expectations, but they are still keeping their tournament hopes alive. On the other end, the Wolverines have been a great success story, after losing some of their talented players to transfers during the preseason. Michigan has emerged as a legitimate contender to cut down the final nets in April, considering former NBA player and Michigan alumnus Juwan Howard is in only his second year at the helm. The Wolverines are coming off their second, and worst, loss this season to Illinois by 23 points. I am predicting a strong bounce-back effort from the home team.
Michigan excels in all areas of the floor. They can beat you at the rim with Hunter Dickerson, and they can punish you deep with the combination of Isaiah Livers, Franz Wagner, Mike Smith, and Eil Brooks who are all shooting the three-ball better than 35 percent on the year. With this dynamic roster, the Wolverines offense should give the Spartans fits, and I don’t know who is going to be able to stop Dickinson inside. The last game against the Fighting Illini was the first time since January Dickenson was held under double-digit points, so look for the big man to get back on track against the Spartans.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Michigan State Spartans vs. Michigan Wolverines.
Dayton Flyers -2.5 to beat Rhode Island Rams (-105)
*Playable to -3.5
Credit: © Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
In the battle for the Atlantic 10 tournament, we have two teams who are pretty familiar with one another with this matchup being their third this year. The season series is split 1-1, and game three is going to be taking place on a neutral floor at the Siegel Center where VCU plays their home games. Dayton and Rhode Island met two short weeks ago, with the Rams edging out a tight 2 point victory over the Flyers in a double-overtime thriller. I have the edge going to the Flyers here , in a game where we should expect both teams best efforts.
The most recent game doesn’t tell the whole story. Dayton led comfortably the entire way until giving up a 31 to 13 run to Rhode Island to end the game. The Flyers are the much better shooting team, and they should be able to use their size to get inside and play inside out opening the floor for their shooters. I am predicting to see a focused Flyers team looking to avenge the last matchup against the Rams that was so catastrophically stolen from them.
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