March Madness Round 2: One Tall, One Small, One Bell of the Ball

Well, the March Madness is underway, and in my own personal undocumented/fictional bracket I'm 1-0 SU/ATS backing the NC State Wolfpack in their upset of Xavier last night. Unfortunately, I missed the early game, so we'll call that a draw. In fact, let's call yesterday a wash and boycott tonight's match-ups because somehow a 13-19 Cal Poly team is dancing with a 19-16 Texas Southern (is that even a real school?) while a 23-9 Larry Brown-led SMU Mustang teams is sashaying as a #3 seed in the NIT.


               "Ridiculous."

We know, Larry. And we couldn't agree more. That being said, we gave up the points and parlayed the Under tonight, so thank you for motivating your Mustangs with the unjustifiable shunning. P.S. A.I. says, "Hi."

In lieu of participating in the mockery that is Round 1 of the NCAA tournament, we begin our ATS Journey Through the Tourney with our first edition of One Tall, One Small, One Bell of the Ball. Every day of the tournament, Marco and will be picking an ATS favorite, an ATS dog, and Cinderella team which can either be a dog or a lower-seeded money line winner. Let's get right to it.

The Tall: 

#2 Michigan Wolverines (-15) over the #15 Wofford Terriers

With an abundance of favorites to choose from, we're going to roll with a very big dog against - both figuratively and literally - a very small dog. This game just comes down to size and athleticism. According to my lines, I have Michigan favored by 20 on neutral court. The lights will be too bright for Wofford as Michigan begins it's journey back towards the Final Four.

The Small: 

#11Dayton Flyers (+6.5) over #6 Ohio State Buckeyes

Both the Flyers and the Buckeyes have been up and down this year. The line seems pretty accurate, which means this game is going to come down to performance. Although we trust OSU's defense, their offense has been anemic at times, which leads us to believe that Dayton will hang tough. While OSU is a horrible 3-7 ATS away from home this year on neutral courts, Dayton comes into this match-up having won 10-12 SU and are a staggering 9-2 ATS on the road against non-conference opponents since last season. The Flyers might not raise the victory flag, but they'll raise the blood pressure of Buckeye fans across the nation.

The Bell of the Ball

#12 North Carolina State Wolfpack (+3.5) over #5 St. Louis Billikens

In case you're wondering, The Billiken was a charm doll created by an American art teacher and illustrator, Florence Pretz who is said to have seen the mysterious figure in a dream. Similarly, the St. Louis squad will only see the third round of this tournament in theirs. We love the momentum that comes with shaking off the nerves and winning that play-in game. Don't be surprised if we back Tennessee tomorrow, but for now we'll take the points with the Wolfpack even though we anticipate the SU victory. St. Louis has been horrible this year going 10-19 ATS, while NCST comes in on a six game ATS win streak.

Who are your Talls, Smalls, and Bells of the Ball?

Vinny and Marco