NCAA Postseason Tournament Watch: Teams to Trust and Avoid 

It certainly has been an exciting regular season, as it always is in NCAAB, but as we approach the end, I encourage you look ahead to some of the teams that I trust in the postseason, and some of the times I am cautioning you to avoid. 

Teams to Trust

Purdue: Boasting a 18-7-1 record ATS this season, Purdue is one of the most consistent teams that I’ve seen as far as sticking to their style of play in any situation. Featuring two star big men, AJ Hammonds and Isaac Haas, Purdue has been able to simply dominate the post in most of their Big Ten games this season. We expect this trend to continue throughout the rest of the regular season and conference tournament. We’ve seen the power of big men in Kentucky, and Purdue’s two 7-footers have been a picture of consistency this season. Trust this team to not only close out the season strong, but to make a splash in the conference and NCAA tournaments.

Iowa State: The Cyclones are still, in my opinion, one of the best teams to bet on in college basketball. They have scoring at every position on the floor, they can shoot the 3, they play solid defense, and they do not lose at home. Although they’ve had some missteps this season, they still have a solid 14-12 record ATS, and some of those losses can be attributed to inflated spreads earlier on in conference play. Now that the lines have evened out, it is the peak time to play Iowa State. As we progress into the postseason, the Cyclones look poised to potentially repeat their title from last season, and we believe that the experience of Georges Niang coupled with the potential of Naz Long and Jameel McKay will make them a dynamic force that will continue their impressive play and will allow them to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Teams to Avoid

West Virginia: This is a very tough team to read, and I think that alone makes them a team to avoid as we progress into conference tournaments and March Madness. West Virginia, led by Juwan Staten, the Mountaineers have managed to post a 15-12 record ATS this season in a very difficult Big 12 conference, but we believe that they simply do not have enough consistency to maintain any sort of run in a tournament. Bob Huggins is a great coach, but the press defense that makes West Virginia a challenging opponent simply does not play out very well in tournament play because of the effect of fatigue. Sure, they may win their first couple of games in the conference tournament, but I don’t expect a huge run out of them so I recommend that you avoid betting on them for the duration of the postseason.

Maryland: One of the surprises of this year, Maryland is sitting at a 24-5 record on the season, yet they’ve managed only a 10-15 record ATS. The main reason for this is that Maryland is one of the worst teams I’ve seen on the road. Even though their away record sits at 6-4, they have played a few abysmal games and have really struggled to score. Melo Trimble and Dez Wells are one of the better backcourts in the Big Ten, but inexperience often plagues freshman in the postseason, and Dez Wells simply cannot carry this team by himself. I caution you to avoid betting on this team ATS, as I expect them to be a one and done in the NCAA tournament.