Free March Madness Pick: Longhorns #11 vs. Bearcats #6
The Cincinnati Bearcats are a study in contrasts this year. After the brawl with Xavier they regrouped and played very good basketball, so good they surprised Syracuse in the Big East Tournament.
#6 Cincinnati Bearcats (24-10) vs #11 Texas Longhorns (20-13)
Friday March 16
East Region – Nashville, TN
12:15PM
Moneyline: No money line currently posted.
Spread: Cincinnati -2
O/U: 129.5
Cincinnati
Still this team can be limited, especially if they are not allowed to play the physical brand of basketball they are accustomed to and is accepted in the Big East. These guys are a real question mark heading into the Big Dance.
The key for Cincy is Yancy Gates. The senior forward is the most intimidating presence in all of college basketball and this year he has been more productive than ever before. Texas does not have anyone who can move him away from where he wants to go in the post and they should keep feeding him.
He has to play smart though, offensive fouls totally take him off his game. They need a post presence to balance what can be a sporadic perimeter offense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Texas
Texas must have pictures of someone on the Selection Committee members or else how would they be here. It was nice that they beat Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament but I didn’t think that would be enough to get them an invite. That was the only time all year they beat a ranked team and they were just .500 in the Big 12 regular season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
This team is solid but well below what we have seen from the Longhorns in the past.
The only chance the Longhorns have is if guard J’Covan Brown can go off. He is more than capable with four 30 or more point games this year but the Big 12 is not exactly known as the toughest league on defense.
He scores almost twice as many points as second leading scorer Sheldan McLellan and can carry the team for a game if center Clint Chapman and whoever else they throw at Gates can be effective.
Spread Pick: Texas +2
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Texas 67 – Cincinnati 64
