(795) SACRED HEART at (796) BRYANT
FREE PICK: (795) SACRED HEART +5.5
Bryant University is kind of an old stomping grounds for me. Located in Smithfield, Rhode Island, I spent quite a bit of time on that campus back in the 1970’s. No, I was never a student there. But I had a substantial number of, uh, clients that attended Bryant back when I was on the other side of the betting window. So Bryant was a regular Tuesday stop for me back in that time frame.
Bryant was also where I found out first hand just how hard an NFL QB can throw a football. I used to enjoy going to Patriots training camp, which was located at Bryant for about a quarter century starting sometime in the mid-70’s. I was on the sidelines this one time and a young QB named Steve Grogan was playing catch with one of his teammates. Man oh man, did this guy ever have a cannon. I’m maybe 20-30 feet away tops and every time the ball went by me, you could actually hear the whoosh as it ripped by. I have no idea how anyone actually could catch those footballs. Me, forget it, I’d have just ducked.
Anyway, enough with the reminiscing. The NEC tournament is wide open. The regular season champ, St. Francis (NY) comes in mired in a terrible shooting slump, going an astonishing 13/83 on threes over their final four games. Almost anyone can win this eight-team free for all, including the two squaring off in Smithfield this evening.
Sacred Heart won both regular season meetings, including a big comeback that produced an OT win in the second clash between the two teams. The double revenge motive is contributing to the line being higher than I believe it should be tonight. That old adage about how tough it is for one team to beat another three straight times in one season is kind of a myth. Let’s just say that if you blind bet every double revenger, I wouldn’t be planning a trip to the nearest Mercedes dealer.
Bryant does have a couple of advantages tonight. They’re at home and the crowd should be revved up for some tournament action. Plus, the visitors are just awful at the free throw line while Bryant is the best charity stripe team in the league.
Nevertheless, Sacred Heart knows they can beat this team as they’ve already done so twice this season. I also really do believe this will be a dog oriented tournament where anyone can beat anyone. My math actually favors the Pioneers on a neutral court, and while being the host warrants Bryant laying a little bit, I can’t justify the Bulldogs laying this much lumber in what looms as a close game. I’ll be looking to take my chances with Sacred Heart plus the points tonight.
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Only 2 losses my last 12 CBB picks. I've got two 2* best bets in Wednesday's colleges - at a DISCOUNT!