Day 1 of the Sweet 16 absolutely delivered, with the two top seeds in the West going down with eerily similar poor performances for Caleb Love and RJ Davis. Meanwhile, UConn continued their dominance to rack up yet another double-digit blowout, while Illinois outlasted Big 12 champion Iowa State behind yet another incredible performance from Terrence Shannon Jr. to set up what should be a dynamite Elite 8 matchup.
This article is about Friday's matchups, though, and I'm looking to cash back-to-back write-ups with today's slate. We’re looking for Kam Jones to stay hot, Braden Smith to continue his role as a facilitator and for Tennessee All-American Dalton Knecht to bounce back. If all picks hit, this entry will pay you out 6.5X your normal wager; let's stay hot and enjoy another great night of college hoops.
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Day 1 of the Sweet 16 absolutely delivered, with the two top seeds in the West going down with eerily similar poor performances for Caleb Love and RJ Davis. Meanwhile, UConn continued their dominance to rack up yet another double-digit blowout, while Illinois outlasted Big 12 champion Iowa State behind yet another incredible performance from Terrence Shannon Jr. to set up what should be a dynamite Elite 8 matchup.
This article is about Friday's matchups, though, and I'm looking to cash back-to-back write-ups with today's slate. We’re looking for Kam Jones to stay hot, Braden Smith to continue his role as a facilitator and for Tennessee All-American Dalton Knecht to bounce back. If all picks hit, this entry will pay you out 6.5X your normal wager; let's stay hot and enjoy another great night of college hoops.
2024 NCAA Tournament Picks Challenge: Win a Lifetime BettingPros Subscription! >>
2024 NCAA Tournament PrizePicks Predictions
I'm going right back to the well with Kam Jones to go over his 2.5 three-pointers made prop with my first play of this PrizePicks slate. Jones continued his proficiency from deep in Marquette's narrow Round of 32 win against Colorado, going 4/10 from three-point range and cashing his over prop in the first half. He has hit this mark in seven of his last 11 games and has seen his volume tick up in the NCAA tournament, putting up 10 attempts in each of their first two games.
Despite NC State's game plan to deny and faceguard Oakland sharpshooter Jack Gohlke, he still knocked down six threes on 17 attempts during their matchup. The Golden Eagles have a much more dynamic and multi-faceted offense than Oakland, meaning the Wolfpack will not be able to pay Jones nearly the same attention they gave Gohlke.
These two teams play at an extremely similar pace, both ranking in the top half of the country in possessions per game. This game represents the second-highest total on the board Friday at 151. Jones should continue to fire away from deep and have more than enough opportunities to knock down at least a trio of threes.
I was going back and forth between Braden Smith and Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard for this assists prop, settling on the Purdue guard for a few different reasons. First, Gonzaga's defense ranks nearly 30 spots lower on KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency than that of Purdue, so the Boilermakers should have an easier time scoring on Gonzaga's defense than the other way around. Second, Zach Edey has really improved on his ability to score quickly after post feeds, avoiding putting the ball on the floor and drawing double teams, which raises the possibility of an assist after feeding the big man.
Finally, we saw Braden Smith tweak his knee in Purdue's first game in the Big Ten tournament and he has been looking to facilitate more than score. As a result of this, his shooting percentages have dropped. He’s cleared this number in three of his four games since that game (likely would've been 4/4 but he only played 22 minutes in their blowout win over Utah State and finished the game with six) and in seven of his last 11 games overall. There is a definite correlation between his injury scare and his offensive deference - his assist opportunities should be plentiful against this Gonzaga defense that ranks outside the top 40. This game figures to be close throughout, so there should be no scare of Smith getting pulled early. I love him to clear this prop with ease and potentially even reach double-digit assists.
*If you want to play it safe and go over 20.5 that's fine but I see no reason to not add the extra juice with just one more made bucket.
Dalton Knecht and the Vols survived a meltdown against Texas amid a horrendous night offensively, as Tennessee shot 33.8% from the field and just 12% from deep. Knecht played a large part in those struggles, as he went 5/18 from the floor and 1/8 from three. Despite those horrible shooting numbers, he still scored 18 points against a pretty tough Texas defense ranked 30th in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency.
In this matchup, they're up against a Creighton team that plays a drop-style defense, which should open up mid-range jumpers for Knecht and the Vols. You have to go back to the middle of February to find back-to-back games where Knecht didn't score 22+ points. Before that, you have to go back to the beginning of January. Knecht also does a good job of getting to the line and knocking down his free throws, shooting 76.8% on nearly six attempts per game.
The Vols need Knecht to play up to his All-American potential to advance past this tough Creighton team. Knecht has answered the bell every time he's had a poor performance. He should clear this number with ease to cash this PrizePicks entry in the nightcap.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Friday:
