With the NCAA Tournament returning to motion Thursday, BJ Cunningham of The Action Network is right here to share his two greatest bets (video above).
The first contest Cunningham is concentrating on is Villanova vs. Michigan, which enters as four-and-a-half-point underdogs. But, Cunningham is selecting to focus on beneath 135.5 factors as a substitute.
“Villanova and Michigan are both in the bottom-60 in terms of adjusted tempo,” Cunningham explains.
Plus, Cunningham believes Villanova’s protection may have a bonus within the half-court, particularly in Michigan’s go-to offensive technique: post-up play. The Wildcats are a top-70 staff nationally in defending the publish and solely allowed eight factors on 14 post-ups to Ohio State.
On the flip-side, Villanova takes loads of contested three-pointers on the offensive finish, whereas Michigan is fourth nationally in open three-point charge allowed. Considering each these defensive benefit, Cunningham believes this sport will show a low-scoring one.
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As for his second guess of the night time, Cunningham is trying to Texas Tech-Duke, the place he’s selecting to again the Red Raiders.
“Duke loves to get out in transition…but they really struggle defending in transition,” Cunningham explains. “Texas Tech, even though they don’t spend a ton of time in transition, they’re actually the third-most efficient team in the country when they’re there.”

Cunningham additionally cites Duke’s defensive struggles as purpose sufficient to get behind Texas Tech. The Blue Devils rank outdoors the top-300 in turnover share and are 217th in defensive rebounding share. Meanwhile, Texas Tech is a top-40 offensive rebounding staff nationally.
Given all these benefits for Texas Tech, Cunningham believes it’s an excellent guess to achieve the regional closing.