The gambling portion will, of course, be at the end. I am disappointed that we lodged a 1-2 evening yesterday simply because I had more faith in the Gators than the under. My faith was challenged on Saturday, but I hope it is rewarded this cloudy Sunday. This topic was teased correctly on the last episode of the flagship GENY show, available every Thursday on your podcast platform of choice. Anyways…
There is always going to be a double-edged sword with paying players at the collegiate level, and I think this year’s tournament illustrates one of the potential downsides to athletes getting theirs. With 2 number one seeds already on their way to next week’s Final Four, we have two matchups of 1 vs 2 seeds later today that I’m sure I’ll pick incorrectly as I have seemingly lost my handle, but I digress. This tournament seemed more paint-by-numbers to most people who only like college hoops this time of year because it was. The upsets were not prevalent, and Cinderella no-called, no-showed the dance. It’s not that complicated. In this era, teams aren’t going to be Cinderella anymore, and the days of the 10-11-12 seed making a run to the Elite 8 are probably gone altogether.
Instead of teams finding the glass slipper, I think in the NIL or pay-for-play era we are entrenched in is going to see individual players find the slipper, ball out as best they can and then enter the transfer portal to find their Prince Charming (read: traditional tourney team that ponies up the most cash). It’s sad in the aspect of we will never see a team seeded higher the the 1985 #8 seed Villanova Wildcats cut down the nets of the final game, but things change, regardless of whether or not it’s good for the sport or the players (or the media deals…) things will always change and we just have to roll with it. I do think it means that the tournament will see ratings change too, and possibly we’ll even see the entire format move from CBS to Viacom’s numerous cable networks and streaming because it’s just like everything else in contemporary society, a niche interest in a sporting event every March.
That was a nice call back, JJ.
Thanks JJ.
Before I move on to the picks for today in my slow march to death in San Antonio, I wanted to mention that I CALLED IT A WEEK AGO! In this age of stratification of tiers of things, the Maryland head coach has decided to trade up about half a tier and leave the Terps for the Wildcats. Kevin Willard moves into a pressure cooker, but at least he doesn’t have to be the guy after the guy since Neptune crashed out. Anyways, picks.
First the futures, Duke is even money to win. Hold it. The others you can ready my piece from yesterday for insight. Duke at +310 when they are world beaters feels good, doesn’t it?
We are sitting at 15-10 after yesterday’s 1-2 evening. Now, 66% is good, but the boat is leaking, and we’re now only 4 units up (HERE IN JJ’s GAMBLING CONDO, WE FACTOR IN THE JUICE!), so we’re making two plays today, and we’ll see what happens. I’m changing the format a little today because I’ll be honest it’s a tough day of games. It’s two 1 x 2 matchups with the two most vulnerable 1 seeds. The totals aren’t anything more than a coin flip, despite the total in Tennessee vs Houston being 124.5 (they both like defense like a lot).
Take Tennessee +2.5 to knock out the Cougars (and a future’s bet, so cash out if you believe). They are better battle-tested, and I think the +2.5 might not be necessary.
Take Auburn -4.5. I love Tom Izzo, but I don’t love his backcourt.
1 unit each. Have a Sunday!