Ohio State vs. Illinois
No. 3 ranked Illinois takes on No. 9 Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. Illinois is 22-6, finishing 16-4 during the Big Ten season, second overall. Illinois finished out the regular season with four straight victories and has continued that momentum into the tournament, defeating Rutgers on Friday, 90-68, the beating Iowa on Saturday, 82-71.
The Fighting Illini are shooting machines, hitting 50.1% of their field goal attempts, sixth overall, and 37.9% of three-point attempts, 24th in the nation. They are also 10th in rebounding at 40.3 boards per game. It has been the two-headed monster of Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn that are leading the way. Dosunmu is averaging 20.9 ppg and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Kofi being Kofi.
26 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block against the No. 5 team in the country. #Illini | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/MNjqQB0VSB
— Illinois Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 13, 2021
Ohio State is 21-8, 12-8 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have come alive during the conference tournament. They had lost their final four games of the regular season, but opened the tournament with a 79-75 victory over Minnesota on Thursday, then beat Purdue on Friday, 87-78. They defeated the top team in the conference on Saturday, Michigan, 68-67.
Ohio State is shooting 46.1% from the field, 70th in the country, and they are 68th from behind the arc, hitting 36.0% of their attempts. E.J. Liddell is just a beast, averaging 16.0 ppg and 6.5 rebounds per contest. Duane Washington is averaging 15.3 ppg.
College Basketball Pick – Illinois by 4.
LSU vs. Alabama
No. 6 ranked Alabama battles LSU in the SEC championship game. The Crimson Tide are 23-6 overall, 16-2 in the SEC. They won the regular season title. Alabama closed out the regular season with three straight victories and have rolled in their first two conference games. The Crimson Tide blew out Mississippi State on Friday, 85-48, then defeated Tennessee on Saturday, 73-68.
Alabama is shooting 43.3% from the field and 35.5% from three-point range. They are 15th in rebounding overall at 40.1 per game. Jalen Shackelford is the leading scorer at 14.4 ppg. John Petty, Jr. is second in scoring (12.8) and rebounding (5.1). Herbert Jones leads the Crimson Tide in rebounding (6.1) and assists (3.1).
JAHVON QUINERLY 👀
19 PTS (8/13 FG) & this nasty move during @AlabamaMBB win!pic.twitter.com/VtJvaaOka3— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 13, 2021
LSU is 18-8, 11-6 in the SEC. They finished in third during the regular season. The Tigers won their last two games of the regular season, then defeated Mississippi to begin the tournament, 76-73. They defeated No. 8 ranked Arkansas on Saturday, 78-71.
The Tigers are 50th in the country, hitting 46.8% of their shots, and are shooting 34.5% from three-point range. LSU is 52nd in rebounds at 38.1 per game. Cameron Thomas is the team leading in scoring, averaging 23.1 ppg. Trendon Watford is second in scoring (16.2), assists (3.2) and rebounding (7.4).
College Basketball Pick – Alabama by 2.
Cincinnati vs. Houston
No. 7 ranked Houston will take on Cincinnati in the finals of the American Athletic Conference. Houston is 23-3, 14-3 in the AAC. They finished second during the regular season. The Cougars won their final five regular season games and opened the tournament with a decisive 77-52 victory over Tulane. They defeated Memphis on Saturday, 76-74.
Houston is shooting 43.9% from the field and 35.8% from three-point range, 79th overall. They are averaging 41.4 rebounds per game, 5th in the country. Quentin Grimes is the leading scorer at 17.9 ppg. He is second in rebounding at 6.2 per game. Justin Gorham is having a monster season on the glass, averaging 9.4 boards per game.
You can breathe now. 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐆𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍!
Houston is headed to the @American_MBB Championship Game on Sunday against Cincinnati! #ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/pR8rR3Z3Fr
— Houston Men’s Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) March 14, 2021
Cincinnati is 12-10, 8-6 in the AAC. The Bearcats opened the tournament with a 74-71 victory over SMU on Friday, then shocked the Shockers on Saturday, defeating Wichita State, 60-59.
Cincinnati is shooting 43.2% from the field and 31.6% from three-point range. They are led by Keith Williams, averaging 15.0 ppg. David DeJesus is third in scoring (10.6), second in rebounds (5.1) and first in assists (4.6) per game. Jeremiah Davenport is also averaging in double digits, scoring 11.6 points per game.
College Basketball Pick – Houston by 14
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