Jim Feist

NCAA tournament 2nd round action from Tulsa, OK has Ohio State taking on Houston. Ohio State won its round one game over Iowa State, 62-59, covering the line as a 5-point dog. The game also went under the 140 posted total. The Buckeyes had a rare cover in the NCAA, their first in their last nine attempts. Houston lost in the conference tourney to Cincinnati, but opened NCAA play with a first round win over Georgia State, 84-55, covering the 12 1/2 point favorite line. The game also went under the total. Ohio State is not a good offensive team with, ranking 157th in offensive efficiency while Houston ranks 28th. Defensively, both teams are good, but Houston is really good, ranked 5th in defense efficiency. Ohio State is ranked 64th in defense efficiency. This game looks to line up as an UNDER with two decent defensive teams. Take the UNDER.

NCAA tournament 2nd round action from Tulsa, OK has Ohio State taking on Houston. Ohio State won its round one game over Iowa State, 62-59, covering the line as a 5-point dog. The game also went under the 140 posted total. The Buckeyes had a rare cover in the NCAA, their first in their last nine attempts. Houston lost in the conference tourney to Cincinnati, but opened NCAA play with a first round win over Georgia State, 84-55, covering the 12 1/2 point favorite line. The game also went under the total. Ohio State is not a good offensive team with, ranking 157th in offensive efficiency while Houston ranks 28th. Defensively, both teams are good, but Houston is really good, ranked 5th in defense efficiency. Ohio State is ranked 64th in defense efficiency. Houston is the much better team both defense and offensively. I like the Cougars to cover this one today.

NCAA Tournament 2nd round action today from Columbia, SC has Oklahoma taking on Virginia. Oklahoma lost in the first round of the Big 12 tourney, but did win in the NCAA first round, beating Mississippi 95-72. IT was just the fourth cover for the Sonners in their last 13 NCAA tournament games. They are also 1-4 ATS in their last five games after a straight-up win. The Cavaliers got a scare in round one, trailing at the half to Gardner Webb. Virginia rallied big in the second half and almost covered the 21.5-point line before finally winning 71-56. The Cavs do well after an ATS loss, going 14-4 ATS their last 18 times. They are also 6-2 ATS their last eight non-conference games. Virginia is a top seed and while they looked bad in the first half in round one, I don't expect this to happen here tonight. I'm taking Virginia.

NCAA 2nd Round action on Sunday from San Jose, CA has Liberty taking on Virginia Tech. The Liberty Flames won 28 games so far, but that is by virtue of being in the Atlantic Sun conference. Still, they opened with a slight upset of favorite Mississippi State in round one, 80-76. Even with the cover, the Flames are still 3-9 ATS their last 12 on a neutral court. Virginia Tech comes out of the battle tested ACC conference where they have to play the likes of Duke, North Carolina and Virginia. The Hokies beat St Louis in round one, 66-52, covering the 10-point spread. The Hokies are now 6-1 ATS in their last seven neutral site games and 20-8 ATS their last 28 non-conference games. Liberty just way out of its class here today playing this tough ACC squad. I'm taking Virginia Tech today.     

NIT Tournament 2nd round action here on Sunday has Wichita State playing at Clemson. Wichita State won their opening round game at Furman, 76-70, covering as a 5-point dog. It was the fourth cover in a row for the Shockers. The Shockers are also 7-1 ATS in their last eight road games and 5-0-1 ATS against an opponent with a win percent above 60%. Clemson just got past Wright State in their opening NIT game, beating them by 75-69 as a 12-point favorite. It was the second straight failed cover for the Tigers. The Tigers are also 4-10 ATS in their last 14 non-conference games. I like the Shockers here on Sunday. Play Wichita State.

2nd Round NIT action here on Sunday has Xavier playing at Texas. Xavier won its opening NIT game over Toledo, 78-64 as a 6-point favorite. It was the fourth straight cover for the Musketeers and their ninth in their last 10 games. Xavier has done well against the Big 12 also, going 7-3-1 ATS their last 11 vs the conference. Texas won its opening round game over South Dakota State, 79-73 as a 7.5-point favorite. The Longhorns have now failed to cover any of their last four games. They are also 2-5 ATS in their last seven against the Big East. I'll be taking the visitor here on Sunday. Play Xavier.