It is hard to believe some people think a 31-1 team shouldn’t be one of the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
It is even harder to imagine wanting to discard a compelling mid-major in favor of a mediocre power conference team that will be forgotten five minutes after its elimination.
Miami (Ohio) (+7.5) over Smu
Some saw Miami’s MAC Tournament loss to UMass as evidence that the last remaining undefeated team didn’t deserve to dance, but too few have accounted for the extra pressure attached to each game, contributing to three straight two-point wins before its first defeat.
The RedHawks can now play free, no longer saddled with the weight of a perfect season.
They will play with the near-unanimous support of a packed UD Arena, which is roughly an hour away from Miami’s campus.
They will play with the motivation to prove countless skeptics wrong.
They will be in the rare position of an underdog, having gone 4-0 in that role.
They will face a defense that ranks among the worst in the ACC.
Meanwhile, the RedHawks lead the nation in field goal percentage (52.4), while averaging over 90 points per game and committing fewer turnovers than all but four teams in the nation.
They are prepared for the pressure, having won eight of nine games decided by one possession and having gone four months before suffering their only loss.
Prairie View A&M (+6.5) over Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks have a special place in my heart.
It was 14 years ago that I sat courtside and watched the No. 15 seed, led by CJ McCollum, slay Duke on my first day covering the NCAA Tournament.
Now, Brett Reed’s team is back for the first time since then, but it’s too much of a leap to lay the points with one of the two worst teams in the dance.
Lehigh, which has eight Quad 4 losses and is 5-12 away from home, has committed a turnover on over 17 percent of its possessions this season (ranked 241st nationally), while Prairie View forces a turnover on nearly 19 percent of its defensive possessions (46th nationally).
Betting on College Basketball?
The Mountain Hawks’ defense excels by limiting 3-point looks, but the Panthers want to attack the paint, ranking 14th in the nation with nearly 26 free-throw attempts per game.
The SWAC champion cannot be overlooked, given the league’s representative has won a First Four game in three of the past four years.
This season: 0-0 (entering Tuesday)
2011-25 record: 403-371-12
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Howie Kussoy has long been the New York Post’s main handicapper in college basketball (since 2011) and college football (since 2013).
