NCAA Basketball 10 Best Bets for 2022 NCAA Tournament First Round
By Greg Waddell
Murray State -1.5 vs. San Francisco
Two fun mid-majors, the committee did us dirty here pairing them together. Give me Murray St. to come out on top – simply because they showed the ability to survive in the win column time and time again in the regular season while San Francisco went 0-6 in their six games against KenPom top 30 opponents.
Murray St. won 20 straight to end the season, finished 4-1 against top 100 opponents on the year including wins against Memphis, Chattanooga, and Belmont. Even though Todd Golden is the frontrunner for the “Brad Stevens Award for Handsome Up and Coming Coach that America Falls in Love With”, I like the Racers to cement themselves as the best mid-major in the country.
Loyola Chicago -1 vs. Ohio State
Loyola Chicago needed to do some work in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament after finishing the regular season in 4th place in the league, but they got the job done in dominant fashion. The Ramblers have four super seniors who chose to come back and play an extra year for new Head Coach Drew Valentine, and this is their chance to win in March. Loyola went 5-2 on a neutral floor this season, and the only two losses came by single digits to Michigan St. and Auburn.
Meanwhile, Ohio St. has been limping to the finish line (a consistent trend under Chris Holtmann). The Buckeyes lost 4 of their last 5 games to end the season, getting bounced by Penn St. in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Both teams play slow tempos, Ohio St.’s defense is just 131st in the country (KP) – the Ramblers will be comfortable in this matchup and should pull away.