The first round of the NCAA Tournament is in the books, and the second round begins today with eight games. Can Jordan Pope help lead No. 11 Texas to another upset victory? Will Keaton Wagler help No. 3 Illinois cruise past No. 11 VCU? And just how big of a day is Trevon Brazile going to have against No. 12 High Point?
Here are the best NCAA Tournament PrizePicks predictions for Saturday, March 21st.
Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>
The first round of the NCAA Tournament is in the books, and the second round begins today with eight games. Can Jordan Pope help lead No. 11 Texas to another upset victory? Will Keaton Wagler help No. 3 Illinois cruise past No. 11 VCU? And just how big of a day is Trevon Brazile going to have against No. 12 High Point?
Here are the best NCAA Tournament PrizePicks predictions for Saturday, March 21st.
Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>
Saturday’s Best NCAA Tournament Round 2 PrizePicks Predictions
Jordan Pope More Than 2.5 Made 3-Pointers
Jordan Pope is Texas's leading three-point shooter, knocking down 79 this season. He was 3-of-9 from deep in the first round against BYU, and he's now made at least three three-pointers in three of his last four games.
Gonzaga is allowing opponents to make just 30.5% of their three-point attempts per game, which ranks 24th in the country. But the Bulldogs are still giving up a lot of threes per game. Opponents are averaging 7.6 threes per game, which puts Gonzaga's three-point defense at 166th in the country.
Pope is shooting 36.9% from deep this season, and he's averaging 6.3 three-point attempts per game. This isn't a great matchup, but he's been shooting well, and the volume at which he shoots should put him over the top in a game with a projected total of 147.5 points.
Keaton Wagler More Than 5.5 Assists
Keaton Wagler's opening round performance was outstanding, scoring 18 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists. He now has 15 assists in his last two games.
VCU is allowing 12.9 assists per game, but a lot of that success had to do with their schedule. Against North Carolina, VCU allowed 18 assists, as Seth Trimble and Derek Dixon each recorded six.
Wagler is averaging 4.5 assists per game, which means he'll have to outperform his usual self in this game. But after the way that VCU's defense played in the first round, I have no problem taking a bit of a chance on a player who has been finding his teammates at a high rate. And if you're worried that his first opponent was only Penn, his last game before the tournament was Wisconsin, and he had eight assists in that game
Trevon Brazile More Than 14.5 Points
Arkansas and High Point have a listed total of 168.5 points, so I have to recommend at least one player in this game to hit their more than. I'm going with Trevon Brazile, a player who averages 13.4 points per game. He's the third-leading scorer on Arkansas, but I like this matchup for him.
Brazile is a massive presence for Arkansas down low, and he's scored at least 16 points in three consecutive games. Against Hawaii, he scored 19 despite going just 1-of-7 from deep. But this is a player who can knock down shots from the outside as well, as he made four of his five attempts from long range against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Championship.
In High Point's first game, the Panthers really struggled to slow down Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, two excellent guards on Wisconsin. But Austin Rapp, a 6-foot-10 forward, also scored 12 points, despite shooting just 4-of-9 from the field. Brazile is very similar to Rapp, except he's better. While Rapp averaged just 9.7 points per game, Brazile is averaging 13.4. Look for Brazile's size and ability to extend to really hurt High Point in this game.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
