College basketball tournament predictions, picks, odds Friday: St. Johns vs. Marquette, Duke vs. North Carolina
I’ll never forget where I was when Ray Allen hit his off-balance leaner over Allen Iverson (the den of my childhood home), when Kemba Walker hit his step-back jumper against Pitt (a JFK Airport bar, having just explained to my new girlfriend — the future Mrs.Hoops — that I’d be writing a new college basketball gambling column on our first vacation together) or when Sterling Gibbs stunned top-seeded Villanova with no time left (working courtside). I can safely say I’ll also always remember where I was when Xavier’s Ryan Conwell banked in a buzzer-beater just inside half-court for the backdoor cover Thursday.The roar inside the Garden made it clear I’m not alone. The Golden Eagles have stood toe-to-toe with the Big East champs — losing by six, before the heartbreak of last week’s overtime buzzer-beater — but the Red Storm still have another gear, as they displayed in their blowout win over Butler.
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As poor as St.John’s perimeter shooting has been this season, it should only improve upon the 8-of-39 performances in the two wins over Marquette, while maintaining its dominance on the offensive glass.Shaka Smart can’t prepare his team for the Garden crowd, 40 minutes from watching the Red Storm advance to their first Big East Tournament title game in 25 years. The Badgers haven’t won back-to-back games in nearly a month — thanks to the inconsistent shooting of their only double-digit scorers (John Tonje, John Blackwell) — and lost their lone matchup against the Bruins despite hitting 15 of 30 3s against a top-15 defense.UCLA’s Mick Cronin has lost his opening conference tournament game just once since 2016 while winning two conference championships and making three other title game appearances in that span. Neither side has beaten its rival three times in a single season since 2002.
It would hav...