The first round of the NCAA tournament takes place tonight and we will see the Boise State Broncos take on the LaSalle Explorers. The game is scheduled for a 9:10 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on TruTv. Currently the Odds for the game have Boise State favored by 2 points while the total sits at 139.
Analysis: The Broncos, who were the first team in the country to post multiple victories over ranked opponents, received an at-large bid following their fifth-place finish in the Mountain West. Boise State won five of six entering its conference tournament, but lost in the quarterfinals to San Diego State after defeating the Aztecs five days earlier. The Broncos are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008 and sixth time in program history. Anthony Drmic (17.3 points) and Derrick Marks (16.3) make up one of the top-scoring guard duos in the country. While Drmic is the team’s leading scorer, Marks is the team’s best playmaker and leads the team in assists (3.9) as well as steals (1.8). Boise State is unlikely to be intimidated by the stage after winning at Creighton – behind a career-high 35 points from Marks – and losing by four at Michigan State during its non-conference schedule. Marks leads Boise State with 13 blocked shots.
La Salle won seven of eight before losing at Saint Louis to close out the regular season and against Butler in the Atlantic-10 tournament quarterfinals. The Explorers trailed by as many as a dozen to Butler due to being outshot 49.1 to 40 percent. La Salle was outscored 32-23 during the second half. Three Explorers tallied double figures including reserve junior guard Tyrone Garland with 17 points. The Explorers received their first NCAA Tournament invite since 1992 and regularly start four guards, although five average at least 23.8 minutes. Ramon Galloway, a South Carolina transfer, leads La Salle in scoring, assists and steals. Sam Mills is 17-of-33 beyond the arc over his last nine games and often draws the opponent’s best perimeter player. However, the Explorers could be without 6-11 sophomore center Steve Zack, who is listed as day-to-day with a foot injury. Zack’s potential absence looms large against a Boise State team that lacks any significant size in its frontcourt.
Pick: I like the over in this one. Both of these teams play at a medium pace, but both of these teams have been very efficient at the offensive end of the floor. Lasalle comes in ranked 43rd in the nation in offensive efficiency and they score 72.4 ppg overall, including 73.6 pg in their last 7 games. Their last 5 games have averaged 142.2 ppg, while 6 of their last 10 games overall have put up at least 140 points on the board. Boise state comes in with the 30th ranked offense in terms of efficiency. The Broncos score 71.1 pg and are one of the better 3pt shooting teams in the nation hitting 38.1% of heir long range shots. Both teams are in the top 84 in defensive efficiency, but still Lasalle allows 66.9 ppg on the road, while Boise State allows 68.3 ppg away from home. Should be a hard fought good game, but their is no tomorrow for these teams so we should get a foul fest at the end both teams are in the top 42 in the nation in FT%. I look for this one to eclipse 145 points..
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