Sunday, March 14, 2021 Virginia Commonwealth vs. St. Bonaventure (NCAAB) - 1:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -145 St. Bonaventure Rating: 8* Mike's CBB Conference Tournament Play Of The Day (WIN) Per status quo, we have a matchup between the #1 seeded St. Bonaventure Bonnies (15-4 SU) versus the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (19-6 SU) in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The 1st meeting in January saw the Bonnies win convincingly by a 70-54 count @ the Reilly Center in Olean, NY. The second showdown was a nail-biter where VCU held on for a 67-64 victory @ the Siegel Center in Richmond last month. However, this time around the Rams will not have Guard KeShawn Curry as he's out on personal leave until later March. Bonnies' HC Mark Schmidt has a junior-laden squad with a strong backcourt led by Kyle Lofton (14.2 PPG, team assists leader), Jared Holmes (13.8 PPG, hitting 42% on 3 PT. FG's) & Jalen Adaway (12.4 PPG, 53.1% on all FG's). On the flip side, Rams' HC Mike Rhoades relies heavily on Atlantic 10 Player Of The Year Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland (19.4 PPG, 85.6 FT%). I feel the coaching edge is on the Bonnies' side with Schmidt (13 years there & 19th overall) holding the X's & O's advantage with an extensive offensive playbook. The analytics point toward St. Bonaventure as well with a 6-0 ATS record in neutral site games, being winners of 5 of their last 6 SU & are 5-1 ATS versus winning teams. Solidifying our cause uncovers the Bonnies being a super 4-1 ATS on Sundays as well as 4-0 ATS versus teams with a winning percentage over .600. Virginia Commonwealth comes in just 2-5 ATS their last 7 neutral site games, 1-6 ATS off an ATS win & comes into this season having to replace the whole starting 5. This will be their 5th conference championship game in 7 years but have won the title just once. My bottom line says the New Yorkers are the right side having the better defense, being tougher on the boards, have all 5 starters back this season & are more well-disciplined than VCU. Let's punch one of the last tickets to the dance as we go UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio to play the ST. BONAVENTURE BONNIES as my CBB Conference Tournament Play Of The Day! Saturday, March 13, 2021 Morgan State vs. Norfolk State (NCAAB) - 1:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -130 Norfolk State Rating: 9* Mike's MEAC Conference Tournament Play Of The Day (WIN) Here's a matchup between 2 from the Northern bracket (15-7 SU Norfolk St.-Seed 2 & 14-7 SU Morgan St.-Seed 3) where I feel there is more than a few edges on our side. Spartans' HC Robert Jones has the MEAC experience (7th season) & rates the edge of the Bears' HC Kevin Broadus whose in his 2nd season @ the helm. I give a backcourt edge to Norfolk State with guards Devante Carter (15.6 PPG, 38.6 % from downtown, leads team in Rebounds), Joe Bryant, Jr. (11.3 PPG, tied for 3 Pt FG Made-32, 85% FT & Kashaun Hicks (7.9 PPG, 40% from beyond the arc, tied for 3 Pt FG Made-32). With the win here, the Spartans go back to the NCAA Tournament after upsetting Missouri in their last March Madness appearance 9 seasons ago. Oddly due to the pandemic, Morgan State (out of Baltimore) has met Norfolk State 4 times this season with them winning the 1st meeting 78-74 before losing the last 3 times out by 89-85, 74-69 & 68-65 counts. My bottom line looks @ momentum & some analytics. The Bears (just 7-6 SU in this tournament the last 7 seasons) come in with a 3-3 SU record their last 6. On the flip side, we have a Spartans' squad that holds a FG% edge, defensive edge, has won 6 of their last 7 SU & is an outstanding 3-0-1 ATS @ neutral sites. You just can't ignore Norfolk State (11-6 SU in this tournament the last 7 seasons) whose gone a lights-out 9-1 ATS versus winning teams of .600 or above AND playing in their backyard. Let's go to Scope Arena in Virginia to play the NORFOLK STATE SPARTANS as my MEAC Conference Tournament Play Of The Day! NOTES: My reason to hold out of CBB regular season plays has its merits. Delivering quality picks has always been my goal & NOT forcing action just to get paid. I chose to enter into the CBB season @ the end because of unbalanced schedules & the constant flux on rosters during the regular season. Striking while the iron is hot certainly fits @ the tale end of conference tournaments when involving teams in due or die situations. Having this come into play along with the supportive analytics gave me an excellent feel for CBB selective handicapping. Expect this style during all of March Madness as we enjoy a successful post-season. Both of my conference tournament reflect that with Norfolk State winning by 7 & St. Bonaventure by 9. If this style appeals to you, sign up @ the ridiculous price of $39.99 (3 weeks @ $13.33 per week) to receive ALL of my March Madness plays from March 19th thru April 5th. Thanks to all my loyal subscribers & followers that make this a professional & successful venture on both sides of the ledger. See you this Friday! Mike Handzelek's 2021 CBB Overall Record: 2-0 100%
 

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