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March Madness 2021: Best bets for Friday’s Round of 64 action

By Matt Melton

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Zion Williamson #1, Cam Reddish #2, Tre Jones #3, RJ Barrett #5 and Javin DeLaurier #12 of the Duke Blue Devils take the court prior to the game against the North Dakota State Bison during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Zion Williamson #1, Cam Reddish #2, Tre Jones #3, RJ Barrett #5 and Javin DeLaurier #12 of the Duke Blue Devils take the court prior to the game against the North Dakota State Bison during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Tournament Mac McClung Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
NCAA Tournament Mac McClung Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Texas Tech To Cover -4.5

One of the sneaky good games of Friday’s Round of 64 action will be 6-seed Texas Tech vs 11-seed Utah State.

The Red Raiders dropped their previous two games before the NCAA Tournament, but have all the pieces needed to make a deep run. Texas Tech averages 73 PPG, and has a defense that only allows 63.4 PPG to opponents this season. That however isn’t why I feel so confident about the Red Raiders here.

March Madness is however a place where the star players can carry their teams, and the Red Raiders have guys capable of doing that. While Utah State does have the 8th best defense in the country, Texas Tech has a few guys that can give the Aggies’ problems, in particular star guard Mac McClung. McClung is averaging 15.7 PPG on 42.3% shooting and has the ability to get to the line and knock down free-throws shooting 80% on the year.

While Utah State is a sneaky good team, Texas Tech should have no problem here. Look for the Red Raiders to win by 7-10 points, and easily cover the 4.5 point spread.

Strengths/weaknesses of top 16 teams. dark. Next

A few other “Best Bets” for Friday’s Round of 64 action include Florida vs Virginia Tech to Hit the Over of 135, North Carolina to Cover -1.5, Villanova vs Winthrop to Hit the Over of 143, and Houston vs Cleveland State to Hit the Over of 135.

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