Mich St +5.5, lost by 1 needed the points
Mich + 4, won outright by 18 (Indiana)
Rider + 7, won outright by 3 (trailed by 17 at halftime!!)
Furman +2, won by 25
Pittsburgh +9 got destroyed, never in it, lost by 27
Missouri State +8, beat Loyola by 10, and it wasn’t even that close!
Tulane +7, lost by 2, points mattered there
Michigan State +3, beat Wisconsin by 12 wire to wire
Scrolling down to more wins and losses seems like the points don’t come into play too often, they either get killed or win SU. But it does happen time to time, so I play it safe and take the points. And tracking the game it’s a lot less stressful having that cushion.
Of the 7 wins recently, 2 needed the points and 5 won straight up, and 4 of the dogs whipped them to boot.
Also, with the late FT fiascos, I will usually buy up 1/2 point when it’s a 1/2, making it to round number. Instead of AF +7.5, I’ll take AF +8 (-120), because I don’t want those last FTs or shot at the buzzer to beat me by a hook. That’s just me.