Clemson had every chance to close that one out for us Tuesday, but we (I) take a push. There were better numbers this morning and I regret not waiting, but clearly nobody should have lost that bet. I regret not adding Wisconsin, but we're seeing things just fine. We've got another one coming Wednesday.
Villanova/Butler: Two teams you don't typically want to fade, but someone will win. Butler lost to 'Nova twice last season in relatively close games. In 2015 they lost twice to 'Nova as well. I have to come down on the side of the Bulldogs. If Villanova has any soft spot it's interior defense, and the strength of Butler's defense is the perimeter. It's just that simple. Well, not really - any team that's beaten Villanova has been the grinder type of team that can play some defense. Last year, UVA, Xavier, and Providence. You're not going to just out-shoot them. Butler probably won't even try.
L'ville/Notre Dame: Betting against the Irish at home is just something I don't do very often. They did beat the Cardinals in South Bend last year. A team that doesn't turn the ball over (#2 in the nation), shoots 84% from the line, and is as experienced as the Irish are - is always hard to bet against. It's L'ville's first true road game, and last season of their six conference losses, five of them were on the road. No big surprise, just reiterating how hard it can be to back road teams. But, L'ville has a significant length advantage and is defending the perimeter even better this season (which is where ND's offense plays). Quite likely a last possession game so give me the home team.
NC State/V-Tech: The Wolfpack still have yet to beat a good team, so until they do I can't bet that they will. Add to that the intra-state game with the Tar Heels this weekend, and it's a bad sign for them IMO. We were large on V-Tech over Duke last week and I see no reason not to back them here. NC State is awful young and can easily be dragged into an up-tempo game, which also might be good for an "over" if anyone wants to use that one - I did the work.