Thursday NCAA Sweet 16 Play of the Day

Butler

Butler getting 4.5 tonight from Wisconsin is like an early Christmas present.

For one thing, Butler doesn't lose basketball games, and hasn't in a while.  Also, can Wisconsin blow this team out?  No way.

A surprising trend that I love is that Butler is 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 vs. Big Ten teams.  Take into consideration that the Badgers are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 neutral site games.

Take Butler and the 4.5 tonight, for a bonus take Buter and the money line, there is a good chance they will win the game.

Check back later today for my picks on the other three games tonight.

Here are the predictions for today's other games:

Take UCONN -1 vs. San Diego St.

Take Florida -3 vs. BYU

and

take Duke -8.5 vs. Arizona

Sunday's NCAA Play of the Day: Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish

Notre Dame should be punching its ticket today for the Sweet 16 as they take on Florida State today.

Notre Dame has experience, they play hard and shoot well.  The are giving 5 today to the Seminoles and they will cover that.

Trends to consider:

The Fighting Irish are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games as a favorite of 0.5-6.5 and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games as a favorite.

I like the coaching job Mike Brey has done this season at ND and I look for strong games from Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis.  Take the Irish to cover.

Saturday's NCAA Tournament Play of the Day

Butler

They're back.....

Tiny Butler, who just kept winning last year in the NCAA Tournament is back at it again.

Well, I don't know if they can pull off the upset and beat top seeded Pittsburgh, I do know they can and will cover with the 7.5 points they are getting today.

The Butler Bulldogs are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog and 11-1 in their last 12 games on a neutral site.

Pitt is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite and Butler matches up well with them.

It's not even close to being the same Butler team as last year, but they are well coached and have enough experience to take Pittsburgh to the wire.

Take Butler and the 7.5.

Friday's NCAA Tournament Play of the Day

The Arizona Wildcats

Arizona takes on an underrated Oakland squad.

The problem here is Arizona has much more than Memphis has.

Arizona is favored by 6 and that's a good line.  The difference here is Arizona's defense.  The Wildcats only give up about 67 points a game against good competition and they will hold Memphis to about that.

Arizona has a good starting five led by Derrick Williams.  After that it's a balanced attack that will pull away from Memphis.

Take Ariz. and give the 6.

Thursday NCAA Tournament Play of the Day

The Louisville Cardinals

The University of Louisville takes on Morehead St. in a first round NCAA Tournament game on Thursday.

What a missmatch here.  I'm surprised the line is only Louisville -9.5.

With both teams hailing from Kentucky, they actually have played four times in the past seven years.  Louisville has never won by fewer than 20 points. 

To add insult to injury and make my point even stronger, Louisville is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.

Go with Rick Pittino, Preston Knowles and the Cardinals if you want a big win on Thursday.