2023 NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 PrizePicks Player Predictions (Friday)

The second weekend of the NCAA Tournament got started on Thursday, and the first Sweet 16 matchups did not disappoint. Three out of the four games left fans captivated, including an OT thriller at Madison Square Garden to begin the night and a double-digit comeback to cap it off. I've gone through the PrizePicks board for Friday to find some value legs.

Also, take a look at our other best bets for Friday:

2023 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 PrizePicks Player Predictions

Here are three sides to parlay together and help get your weekend started off hot.

Brandon Miller Under 17.5 Points

While Miller had an incredible regular season, he had an extremely inefficient start to this tournament. He had 0 points in their opening-round game on 0-5 shooting, and it took him 17 shots to put up 19 points against Maryland. San Diego State boasts Kenpom's 6th-ranked defense in terms of efficiency, defending the 3PT shot at a top-10 rate and ranking 25^th in points allowed per game. The Aztecs also prefer to slow the game down, ranking 260^th in the country in possessions per game. I think that Miller's recent inefficiency, combined with San Diego State's pace of play and the prowess of their defense, will combine to keep him under this point total.

Ryan Nembhard Over 3 Assists

I think Nembhard's 30-point offensive explosion is giving us a discount on this line, as Nembhard averages close to 5 dimes on the year. They needed his scoring on Sunday to keep distance against the potent Baylor offense, but I don't envision that kind of volume and production to be necessary for a game against this Princeton team as a nearly 10-point favorite. The Bluejays have a decided talent and athleticism advantage over the Tigers, which should lead to easy looks inside for Kalkbrenner and 3PT opportunities for their shooters. Look for Nembhard to take on the role of a facilitator in this one to find the matchup advantages that Creighton will have throughout the entirety of the game.

Sir'Jabari Rice Over 13.5 Points

Rice has hit this mark in 5 of his last 7 games and narrowly missed it in their previous game against a slow-paced Penn State squad. This game should be much more conducive for scoring, as Xavier is the 34^th fastest-paced team in the country and has an absolutely horrendous defense, ranking below 280^th in college basketball in points allowed per game and 3PT% allowed. I expect for this to be a very high-paced game, affording plenty of opportunities for Rice to get his shots up and go over this number.

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