The Lede: Mountaineers and Wildcats Advance

Don’t have time to read through 1,000 words, but need some informed betting tips? Here’s a quick rundown on today’s biggest sports story, and how it impacts the way you should bet. Miss yesterday’s? See it here.

Mt Saint Mary’s and Kansas State Advance from First Four

The Mount Saint Mary’s Mountaineers and New Orleans Privateers opened the March Madness tournament in the first of two games last night. Thanks to big games from Junior Robinson (23 points) and Miles Wilson (17 points and 11 rebounds), the Mountaineers won in “thrilling” fashion (67-66), and now get the honor of being embarrassed by no. 1 Villanova.

Do not be fooled by any stat that you can find from this game that may lead you to think the NEC Tournament champs have any chance in the first round. Yes, the Mountaineers shot 52.6-percent from behind the arc, and 53.2-percent from the field; but this was a product of their competition. Mt Saint Mary’s also turned the ball over 16 times, shot 53.8-percent from the charity stripe, and allowed New Orleans to grab ten offensive rebounds. The Privateers just played that bad. Villanova will hammer Mt Saint Mary’s by 30-plus.

In the second matchup of the First Four, Kansas State stayed hot, defeating Wake Forest 95-88. Now this was a pretty decent game of basketball. The Wildcats were efficient on offense, controlled the glass, and kept one of the better three-point shooting teams in the NCAA in check.

Unlike the Mountaineers, the Wildcats are actually going to be worth watching in the first round. Bruce Weber’s squad made some noise in the Big 12 conference tournament, beating Baylor before falling to West Virginia 51-50. Kansas State is a dangerous team, which will now move on to face no. 6 Cincinnati. The Bearcats are known for their defense, but the athleticism of Wesley Iwundu and DJ Johnson could be too much for Cincinnati to handle. Give me the Wildcats to continue rolling.