Ricky Dimon
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Good morning, Pickswise Nation. The NCAA Tournament moves into the second round on Saturday. That means we aren’t far away from recognizing the first entrants in the Sweet 16. The weekend is also tipping off with plenty of NBA, NHL and soccer action. It’s another big day in the world of sports, so let’s get right to it and make your next bet better with Wise n’ Shine!
About Last Night
#16 Fairleigh Dickinson takes down #1 Purdue
History has been made for a second time in the NCAA Tournament. Five years after UMBC became the first #16 seed to beat a #1 (Virginia), Fairleigh Dickinson stunned Purdue 63-58 on Friday evening. Next up for FDU is Florida Atlantic, which beat Memphis at the buzzer.
Pickswise team produces 2 NBA first-basket winners
The Pickswise NBA experts had 2 winners out of their 3 first-basket picks on Saturday. Joel Embiid (+280) got the ball rolling in Philadelphia’s victory over Charlotte, while Jonas Valanciunas cashed at +600 for New Orleans at the beginning of a 114-112 loss to Houston.
Overs cash left and right in the NHL
It was a good day to back high scoring on the ice. All 4 games featured at least 7 goals, and 3 of the 4 ended in exactly 5-2 scorelines. The other saw Anaheim defeat Columbus 7-4.
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Today’s Slate
Will the slipper fit for a Cinderella?
The first Sweet 16 tickets will be punched on Saturday. Underdogs Princeton and Furman are among the teams hoping to advance, as they have respective dates with Missouri and San Diego State in the South Region. We have college basketball predictions for every NCAA Tournament game.
Warriors road trip continues in Memphis
The Warriors are absolutely atrocious on the road and now they have to play the second leg of a back-to-back situation in Memphis after visiting Atlanta on Friday. Today’s NBA lineup also features the Nuggets, Knicks, Clippers, 76ers and Celtics. Read today’s NBA picks.
A huge 13-game schedule in the NHL
Just about every team in the NHL will be taking the ice on Saturday. The smorgasbord of riches begins with Colorado visiting Detroit at 1:00 pm ET on the NHL Network and it is also highlighted by an 8:00 pm ET showdown on ABC between Pittsburgh and the Rangers. Check out all of our hockey coverage on the NHL page.
Best Bet of the Day
NCAAB: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Texas Longhorns Over 139
9:40 pm ET, CBS
Both Texas and Penn State are extremely efficient on the offensive end of the floor. Per KenPom, they rank 13th and 16th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency. Not only have they been playing sound offensive basketball all season long, but they also are both coming off impressive first-round performances in which they shot at least 48% from the field and at least 56% from 3-point range. Jalen Pickett of Penn State and Marcus Carr of Texas are among the best scorers in their respective conferences, so we could see a classic head-to-head contest between 2 elite bucket-getters. A total of 139 is too low of a number. Read our full Penn State vs Texas predictions.
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Must-read
Head over to our March Madness hub for all our NCAA Tournament picks, parlays and analysis, including our comprehensive team guide, Day 3 millionaire parlay and Saturday mega parlay.
Away from the college hardwood, you should also peruse our Saturday soccer parlay — including games from the EPL and FA Cup – in addition to previews for every EPL contest among our soccer picks.
Read all of our great sports analysis as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.
Stat of the Day
Alabama ranks 5th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted tempo metric and has a top-60 transition rate according to Synergy. Maryland ranks in just the 15th percentile in transition defense. Additionally, the Crimson Tide are 29th in the country in offensive rebounding rate and the Terrapins rank 143rd in defensive rebounding.
Quote of the Day
“We’ll have that moment for the rest of our lives, (but we can’t) hold on to it too long where we can’t focus on the next task ahead and miss out on the next opportunity.”
— Furman guard Mike Bothwell following his team’s first-round upset of Virginia ahead of Saturday’s matchup with San Diego State
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