Don’t look now folks, but we are gaining some traction late in this tournament.

Betting these spreads is not easy, but we have put together two straight 5-3 days (after 3 straight 4-4 days). It was really just the first round of the tournament that hurt us.

Our overall record is now 32-41, and there are only 3 games left. So we’re going to have to rely on player props to get us back to .500 (along with the usual spread and totals bets for those 3 games as well).

Stay tuned for my picks as the end of the week approaches! The final 4 games won’t be happening until Saturday so there is lots of time.

All four #1 seeds remain in the tourney btw. Very weird. It has only happened one other time. I’m personally not a huge fan of it because I like at least one Cinderella story per tourney, but the good news is that the games should all be great, regardless of outcome. All four of these teams are amazing in their own right. Will anyone be able to stop Duke? It seems unlikely at this point, but Houston is gonna give it their best shot! Defense wins championships right?

NIL and the transfer portal have kind’ve killed upsets in this tourney because the best programs in NCAA make it so top-heavy. Players don’t stay all 4 years to build a program anymore at smaller schools, because as soon as they have a breakout year, they get offered a bunch of NIL money from a big name and then they transfer for the money and to increase their chances of getting drafted. I would do it too, it’s no fault of the players. It’s something the NCAA needs to look at if they don’t like how things are going. But they likely don’t care because more people watch if the big schools make deep runs.

So that will be something to keep in mind when selecting our brackets next year. I really don’t think there are going to be many crazy upsets past the second round in the coming years until something changes. It’s a little sad because it makes the brackets slightly more boring, but maybe it gives people a better chance at a perfect bracket one of these years.

Anyway, that is all for now. Stay safe out there folks, and I will post my picks on Saturday morning for the elite 8!

-E