🏀 UCLA -2 -105 ....  I'm backing UCLA both on the spread and money line.  They are 27-7 despite Johnny Juzang missing 5 games, Cody Riley 10, Tyger Campbell 3, and so on.  Now Jaime Jaquez (14.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg) has an ankle

 injury, but he's still gonna try and go.  Even though Jaquez is one of their top 3 players, they do have strong guard depth in Peyton Watson and Jaylen Clark.

UCLA  plays big on the perimeter with only one player under 6'5".  They play great defense ranking 14th in adjusted efficiency with solid ranking in every defensive category.  They balance that out with the 12th ranked offense(adj eff).  The Heels are very good in their own right but stand well behind UCLA ranking 19th on offense and 43rd defensively in adjusted efficiency.  Maybe the Bruins continue building off their dominant 2H vs Saint Mary's (27 points allowed) and cool off the red-hot UNC offense(80+ points in 5 of L7 with over 90 in 2 NCAA tourney games.  They were however held near 60 in back-to-backs vs VT & UVA just 2 weeks ago.  I think we'll see something similar to that.  UCLA 70-66 with the under also in play.

🏀 ST PETER'S +13 -105 ... The Cinderella story continues today after 2 excellent games where the upset 2 top teams in UK and Murray St.  The Peacocks played great in both games and have depth enough to always keep fresh legs on the floor.  They will face a stiff challenge tonight with the Boiler big men in Edey & Williams plus their overall athleticism from the rest of the team.  Peacocks 9-0 SU/ATS in L9. Boilermakers 2-10 ATS in L12.  PUR is only 3-7 SU(1-9 ATS)on the year when scoring under 70 points(27-0 when scoring >= 70.  So if the Peacock defense gets another strong performance...they may just move on, but at least St Pete will put up another fight and they keep it within the number.  PUD 71-62

🏀 Providence +7½ -105 ...  Agbaji and Braun are big scorers, going for nearly 34 ppg combined, but the Friars also have good defensive role-players who match up well in Al Durham and Justin Minaya.  They're outstanding at stopping dribble penetration.  PROV thrives as a DOG -- 8-1 ATS this season with lone ATS loss as a dog by one point (they were +4 vs Nova and lost 89-84).  KU is a strong, but not a dominant team.  When laying more than five vs NCAA Tournament teams this season, they're 1-7 ATS. This one should play very close to the end. 72-68 with slight lean-to under

🏀 Iowa State / Miami UNDER 133 -105

🏀 MIAMI -3 -104 ... I'm surprised seeing the Cyclones still alive in the second weekend.  They played two defensive-oriented teams, but now they face the offensively oriented Canes who are on a solid 5-1 SU/ATS run with the only loss at Duke.  KenPom gives a slight edge to ISU but honestly, I don't see it that way.  The extra rest does nothing but help MIA, whose starters see the lion's share of minutes.  They are very efficient offensively ranking 22nd in FG% and 6th in turnover %.  ISU is 4th defensively at forcing turnovers... which will prove key in determining the flow at that end.  At the other end, I don't see the Cyclones with the resources to exploit the significant MIA weakness on defense.  MIA eFG% ranks 298th but ISU's only 207th in offensive eFG%.  The Canes may make up a little as they do a decent job forcing turnovers 20.4% of the time(59th) while the Cyclones rank 294th in protecting the ball.  Honestly, one of the least appealing games in my eyes this round, but MIA should have enough offense to cover this small number.

Leans:

🔦 UNC / UCLA OVER 141½