2009 Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Picks: Midwest Region, March 20
At CBBPlace.com, we have been doing College Basketball Picks Against the Spread all season. There are five of us from CBBPlace who also write on B/R: Ryan, Mitch, Dave, Shaun, and Steve.
There is a very good chance that if you have been following college basketball this season, even just casually, you have read something by one of us.
With that in mind, we have decided to do our first ever collaboration article.
We are all going to do quick picks against the spread for the NCAA Tournament. They will be posted in a series of articles broken out by the date of the game and region of the tournament.
We have posted well over 1,000 Free Picks Against the Spread this season and have amassed more than 500,000 hits since the site went up at the end of January.
The bottom line is hopefully we know a little something about the teams involved in these games!
NCAA TournamentโMidwest Region
Friday, March 20
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Robert Morris
9:50 PM EST
| ย | Record | Conf | ATS | PF | PA |
| No. 2 Michigan St. | 26-6 | 15-3 | 16-11-1 | 71.9 | 62.9 |
| No. 15 Robert Morris | 24-10 | 15-3 | 2-2 | 70.7 | 65.0 |
| ย | FG% | D. FG% | 3P% | D. 3P% | FT% | RPG | SPG | APG | TPG | BPG |
| No. 2 Michigan St. | 45.5 | 41.4 | 35.3 | 32.0 | 68.6 | 42.1 | 6.4 | 15.9 | 14.0 | 2.8 |
| No. 15 Robert Morris | 47.6 | 42.5 | 39.7 | 36.7 | 70.7 | 36.3 | 8.6 | 15.3 | 15.4 | 3.4 |
Line: Michigan State -16.5
Mitch: Michigan State -16.5โWho's this Bob Morris guy?
Dave: Michigan State -16.5โMust rebound after not winning Big Ten tourney. Final Four in home state.
Ryan: Michigan State -16.5โThe NEC champions don't stand a chance against the Big Ten champs.
Shaun: Michigan State -16.5โFinally healthy at the right time, Sparty rolls.
No. 3 Kansas vs. No. 14 North Dakota State
12:30 PM EST
| ย | Record | Conf | ATS | PF | PA |
| No. 3 Kansas | 25-7 | 14-2 | 17-10 | 77.1 | 65.8 |
| No. 14 North Dakota St. | 26-6 | 16-2 | 4-2 | 80-8 | 68.6 |
| ย | FG% | D. FG% | 3P% | D. 3P% | FT% | RPG | SPG | APG | TPG | BPG |
| No. 3 Kansas | 47.9 | 38.8 | 38.0 | 33.5 | 72.8 | 41.7 | 6.9 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 4.3 |
| No. 14 North Dakota St. | 48.9 | 44.9 | 41.2 | 36.2 | 73.8 | 38.4 | 7.1 | 14.9 | 11.3 | 3.3 |
Line: Kansas -10.5
Mitch: ND State +10.5โOne win and done for the Jayhawks, just like the points.
Dave: Kansas -10.5โJayhawks are fuming about not playing in KC. Rally cry for their crimson and blue.
Ryan: Kansas -10.5โThe Jayhawks bounce back after bowing out of the Big 12 tourney early.
Shaun: Kansas -10.5โBill Self will have this young team ready and Kansas will not take ND State lightly.
No. 4 Wake Forest vs. No. 13 Cleveland State
9:40 PM EST
| ย | Record | Conf | ATS | PF | PA |
| No. 4 Wake Forest | 24-6 | 11-5 | 15-10 | 81.4 | 70.3 |
| No. 13 Cleveland St. | 25-10 | 12-6 | 19-12 | 66.1 | 58.9 |
| ย | FG% | D. FG% | 3P% | D. 3P% | FT% | RPG | SPG | APG | TPG | BPG |
| No. 4 Wake Forest | 48.9 | 39.6 | 31.8 | 30.2 | 71.2 | 43.9 | 8.5 | 13.2 | 15.8 | 5.4 |
| No. 13 Cleveland St. | 43.2 | 40.6 | 31.7 | 32.3 | 70.0 | 37.4 | 8.7 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 3.3 |
Line: Wake Forest -8.5
Mitch: Cleveland St +8.5โI like the points.
Dave: Wake Forest -8.5โDeacons have won four of their last five in a better league.
Ryan: Wake Forest -8.5โWake is bouncing back from an embarrassing end of Jan/beginning of Feb. Look for Jeff Teague to shine in the spotlight once again.
Shaun: Wake Forest -8.5โWake could get a scare here, but they should still be able to win by double-digits.
No. 5 Utah vs. No. 12 Arizona
7:10 PM EST
| ย | Record | Conf | ATS | PF | PA |
| No. 5 Utah | 24-9 | 12-4 | 18-13 | 71.2 | 64.0 |
| No. 12 Arizona | 19-13 | 9-9 | 17-15 | 72.2 | 68.4 |
| ย | FG% | D. FG% | 3P% | D. 3P% | FT% | RPG | SPG | APG | TPG | BPG |
| No. 5 Utah | 47.6 | 40.1 | 37.6 | 35.9 | 78.2 | 37.4 | 5.0 | 13.4 | 13.6 | 4.9 |
| No. 12 Arizona | 47.5 | 43.6 | 39.5 | 35.5 | 73.4 | 36.6 | 6.0 | 14.4 | 12.6 | 3.1 |
Line: Arizona -1.0
Mitch: Utah +1.0โArizona doesn't deserve to be in.
Dave: Arizona -1.0โUtes are not the best team in their state.
Ryan: Arizona -1.0โLook out for the 5/12 upset! Both are quality teams, and it's a shame that they have to face off in the first round.
Shaun: Utah +1.0โUtah is the better team and will beat the underachieving Wildcats.
No. 6 West Virginia vs. No. 11 Dayton
3:00 PM EST
| ย | Record | Conf | ATS | PF | PA |
| No. 6 West Virginia | 23-11 | 10-8 | 16-14 | 72.4 | 61.6 |
| No. 11 Dayton | 26-7 | 11-5 | 12-14 | 67.5 | 61.5 |
| ย | FG% | D. FG% | 3P% | D. 3P% | FT% | RPG | SPG | APG | TPG | BPG |
| No. 6 West Virginia | 43.0 | 41.9 | 33.1 | 30.0 | 69.6 | 42.0 | 6.8 | 15.3 | 12.0 | 4.6 |
| No. 11 Dayton | 42.8 | 39.6 | 33.1 | 31.7 | 64.5 | 41.0 | 6.3 | 14.1 | 13.8 | 3.5 |
Line: West Virginia -8.0
Mitch: WVU -8.0โDayton let me down this week.
Dave: Dayton +8.0โLike the record and the early wins against tourney teams.
Ryan: WVU -8.0โDayton was strong early in the season, but WVU has been tested against the strong Big East. The Mountaineers bounce back from their semifinal OT loss to Syracuse.
Shaun: Dayton +8.0โI like WVU to win the game, but Dayton will keep this close.
No. 7 Boston College vs. No. 10 USC
7:20 PM EST
| ย | Record | Conf | ATS | PF | PA |
| No. 7 BC | 22-11 | 9-7 | 13-14-1 | 74.9 | 70.5 |
| No. 10 USC | 21-12 | 9-9 | 15-13 | 68.4 | 63.5 |
| ย | FG% | D. FG% | 3P% | D. 3P% | FT% | RPG | SPG | APG | TPG | BPG |
| No. 7 BC | 44.6 | 42.3 | 33.7 | 32.7 | 73.4 | 40.5 | 6.2 | 14.8 | 13.4 | 4.4 |
| No. 10 USC | 47.4 | 40.6 | 32.9 | 33.7 | 66.6 | 39.1 | 6.3 | 12.4 | 14.0 | 4.7 |
Line: BC -3.0
Mitch: USC +3.0โJust hot right now.
Dave: BC -3.0โMore prepared.
Ryan: USC +3.0โThe Trojans take their momentum from the PAC-10 Tourney into the first round, and get the 7/10 upset.
Shaun: BC -3.0โUSC's on a roll, but they haven't shown they can beat a quality opponent yet, and BC is a quality team.
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Siena
9:40 PM EST
| ย | Record | Conf | ATS | PF | PA |
| No. 8 Ohio State | 22-9 | 10-8 | 17-11 | 66.9 | 61.5 |
| No. 9 Siena | 26-7 | 16-2 | 14-16 | 77.7 | 70.0 |
| ย | FG% | D. FG% | 3P% | D. 3P% | FT% | RPG | SPG | APG | TPG | BPG |
| No. 8 Ohio State | 48.6 | 41.2 | 37.8 | 35.3 | 69.9 | 33.3 | 5.9 | 13.4 | 13.1 | 5.3 |
| No. 9 Siena | 47.3 | 43.6 | 33.5 | 33.8 | 66.2 | 39.5 | 8.8 | 15.3 | 13.1 | 4.7 |
Line: Ohio State -3.0
Mitch: Siena +3.0โGive me the points.
Dave: OSU -3.0โSiena got a few chances to beat the big programs early, but didn't.
Ryan: OSU -3.0โThe home-court advantage will be in full effect as Hang on Sloopy echoes off the walls.
Shaun: Siena +3.0โIf this wasn't a home game for OSU, I'd be more confident with this pick, but Siena should at least keep this within a bucket.
If you enjoyed these picks, please take a look at CBBPlace.com where we will be picking every March Madness game!
Please take a look at our other NCAA Tournament First Round Picks:
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