[fondybadger]

#8 UNLV vs Kent State #9 -1.5
It should be a competitive game throughout. I give the edge to Kent State because they've shown they can play and beat better competition on a consistent basis.

In non-conference Kent St. beat Illinois State by 6 on a neutral court, blew out Saint Louis by 41, won at UNC-Greensboro by 7, won against George Mason by 18, and handled Cleveland State by 15. They also lost to Xavier by 13 in a game that was much closer than the final score and were handled rather easily at UNC by 29. In their Bracket Buster game they went to St. Marys and won by 8 points which was no small feat.

UNLV seemed to play better before kind of tailing off throughout the season. In early February they looked like a lock for the NCAA tournament. Then they started to play lackadaisical, especially away from home and against teams they should have blown out. UNLV lost to Ville' by 20 and Zona' by 3 at home, lost by 3 at UCSB and beat Minnesota by 17. UNLV's last four games away from home they've gone 1-3 and lost by an average of 11 points.

OTHER NOTES:
Kent St. 12-4 ATS versus teams with winning records (14-3 SU)
Kent St. 10-2 ATS versus teams that allow less than 64 pts/game (11-1 SU)
Kent St. 9-1 SU in their last 10
UNLV 8-2 SU in their last 10
UNLV 8-2 ATS in non-conference games (10-3 SU)
UNLV 16-7 SU when playing a team with a winning record (15-7 ATS)
Both teams a shade over .500 away from home ATS

Kent matches up well with UNLV and should take control down the stretch.
WAGER: $200 Kent State -1.5


#8 Indiana -2 vs. #9 Arkansas
Most of the stats in this game favor Indiana. Why am I against them? Lack of motivation. They have a lame duck coach. An inexperienced G in Eric Gordon. A PF who is probably regretting coming back and a roster full of players questioning where the program will be next season. Indiana has played horrible down the stretch and aren't playing like they really care anymore. If they get behind early they don't have any consistent outside shooters accept for Bassett.

Arkansas has played well down the stretch to get the at large bid. I feel they're a bit more hungry to keep playing and they have nothing to lose. Arkansas can go 8 or 9 guys deep that will put up solid numbers across the board. Something that Indiana really can't do. Love the experience in Arkansas backcourt giving Gordon a fit and they have the size inside that can knock DJ White around.

Look for DJ White to get his points, but Gordon to be shut down. Arkansas will come hungry for the victory and pull away down the stretch to win by double digits.
PLAY: $200 Arkansas +2