FEB 15 - Quartet Of Cinderella Picks For March Madness

Quartet Of Cinderella Picks For March Madness

Written by on February 16, 2017

If you’re a college basketball betting lines buff that is looking for value-packed teams that will enter that annual March Madness championship tournament as something of an ‘under the radar’ Cinderella team that has the potential to make a deep tourney run, then look no further! Thanks to the expert analysis that you’re about to get on my top four ‘Cinderella’ national championship title hopefuls, you could cash in big once March Madness gets underway. Now, let’s get started.

Quartet Of Cinderella Picks For March Madness

 
 

No. 17 Florida State

The Florida State Seminoles (21-5 SU, 14-9-1 ATS) are my top ‘Cinderella’ pick to upset a lot of people once March Madness gets underway. Florida State is ranked a stellar 16th in scoring (84.3 ppg) while limiting the opposition to 71.1 points per game defensively (151st). Not only have the Noles recorded  bunch of fantastic wins this season over nationally-ranked opponents like Florida, Virginia, Duke, Notre Dame and Louisville, but more importantly, Florida State has a bunch of athletic players that can all put the ball in the hole when necessary, making them very difficult to defend. Florida State’s top four scorers all shoot at least 45.0 percent from the field and two of those players shoot at least 52.0 percent from the field. Florida State ranks an impressive 14th nationally in field goal shooting percentage (48.9) and is the nation’s second tallest team with an average height of 79.2 inches. Maybe it’s me, but I say, Florida State has the look of team that can beat anyone in the country on any given day.

No. 15 Florida

Florida (21-5 SU, 15-9 ATS) may not have the same amount of quality wins as their in-state counterparts that I just wrote about, but the Gators do have a solid offense that averages 80.4 points per game to rank 41st nationally and an equally solid defense that ranks 51st nationally by limiting the opposition to 66.4 points per contest. While the Gators don’t have a superstar they can lean on in the clutch, they do have good balance with three double-digit scorers and six more players that all average between 6.0 and 8.0 points per game. If I do have one area of concern, it’s that Florida has struggled to beat their more elite opponents this season while suffering losses against Gonzaga, Duke and Florida State. Still, Florida’s emphatic 88-66 thumping of Kentucky back on February 4 leads me to believe the Gators will be a great Cinderella pick come March Madness.

No. 20 Creighton

The Creighton Bluejays (21-5 SU, 16-8 ATS) have beaten nationally-ranked Wisconsin and Xavier and have recorded some other impressive wins over solid teams like Butler and Providence and I believe they’re going to be dangerous once March Madness gets underway because of the way they shoot the ball. Creighton is ranked 14th nationally in scoring (85.0 ppg) and has four double-digit scorers on their roster. The Bluejays rank second nationally in field goal shooting percentage (52.1%) and an equally impressive ninth in three-point shooting (41.1%).

No. 25 Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish (20-7 ATS, 13-7-1 ATS) have recorded some quality wins over a handful of legitimate national title contenders like Louisville, Virginia Tech and Florida State and that tells me that Mike Brey’s ballclub will be a tough out and a dangerous opponent once March Madness begins. Notre Dame can score the ball with the best teams in the country as they put up 79.4 points per game (52nd) while limiting the opposition to a respectable 69.6 points per game defensively (109th). The Irish also have a true superstar (16.9 ppg. 10.7 rpg, 1.7 pg, 1.1 spg, 1.5 bpg) in do-it-all junior forward Bonzie Colson that can take over games when the situation calls for it.