Game Time: 6:50 PM  ET, Friday, March 18th, 2022

Venue: Viejes arena, San Diego, California

Where to Watch:  TRU TV …… Find Tru TV on your dial because there will be a dozen games on there this year.  

 

DraftKings Sportsbook:  Pick em’

Caesars:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Pirates -0.5; O/U 129

FanDuel: Spread:  Pirates -0.5; O/U 129.5

TCU: 20 -12 on the season,  #9 Seed NCAA Tournament

Seton Hall: 21-10 on the season, #8 Seed NCAA Tournament

March Madness is upon us… It is apparent when the Sportsbooks throw their hand up and give us a pick em’ bet or a 0.5 spread.  This means the winner of the game will be the winner of the bet!  But who is going to win?  We have the #8 Seton Hall Pirates versus the #9 TCU Horned Frogs.  They are so even that you might feel daunted by the challenge of picking correctly… but don’t worry.  The numbers will tell you what to do.  March Madness is great because we don’t always know… and it doesn’t always work out…. But the most likely outcome is apparent when we break down the numbers. The point of the season for morons is filling out a “bracket”... the point of the season for bettors is winning 7 of 10 games and betting on every game.  

The TCU Horned Frogs have only won 4 of their last 10 games.  They however went 6-3-1 ATS.  They took bad losses to Iowa State, Baylor, Texas, West Virginia, and kansas.  TCU made it to the tournament but they have been burned by everyone else they may see there. However this is a team that learns from previous games… They lost twice to the Texas Longhorns in the regular season before beating them in the conference first round.  TCU’s leading scorer 6’2 guard Mike Miles is plucky to say the least… Mike gets 15.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and 4.0 apg.  He is all over the floor.  The second year player has been in charge the entire time he has been at TCU. Mike’s help comes from 6’4 guard Damion Baugh and 6’7 forward Emanuel Miller.  The triumvirate is the best that TCU has to offer and they are pretty good. 

The Seton Hall Pirates are one of those old ESPN focuses.  You would not really know who they were unless ESPN hadn’t had limited coverage of basketball through the 80’s and early 90’s.  They are still of course relevant… but not in the way they were when the world’s spotlight was on them.  The Pirates have won 7 of their last ten games.  During that stretch the Pirates have gone 4-6 ATS.  Seton Hall’s strength is scoring the basketball.  Leading scorer 6’6 guard Jared Rhoden puts up 16.2 ppg.. He also nabs 6.9 rebounds.  He is a quality player on the offensive end.. On defense he needs help.  The Pirates show a clear weakness in AST/TO ratio.  6’6 guard Kadary Richmond leads the team in rebounds at 3.8 per game… that is not a joke.  The front line is a rebounding TEAM. Everyone gets a few and eventually they are 17th in the nation. 7’2 Center Ike Obiagu has no offensive game.  He is little on that end.  His skill of course is the 3 blocks per game he gets on the other end.  Personally I believe Ike gets way too many minutes per game (20) just because of his size.  If the team invested in letting the forwards try on defense while scoring more on offense… you would have a better team.

Al McMordie was 0-2 in the NBA yesterday, and is 78-52 his last 130. Big Al was 28-19-1 in the Conference Tourneys, and was 4-0-1 in last year's NIT. Here, pick up Big Al's Tuesday NIT Tourney Winner out of a super 18-2 ATS angle. Pick it up right now, and HIT IT HARD! Don't miss out! Get Big Al’s pick!!  It's available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. Also don’t miss Monday’s picks!!  All your NCAA basketball needs for the entire college basketball season!  All your needs in any sport for that matter!   

TCU is 20-12 on the season, but 18-11-3 ATS.  They have logged 14 Overs, 16 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are 4-2 on neutral courts.

Seton Hall is 21-10 on the season, but 14-16 ATS.  They have notched 10 Overs and 20 Unders.  They are 2-2 on neutral courts.

TCU is 249th in scoring with 68.4 ppg, 26th in rebounds with 35.7 per game. And 233rd with AST/TO ratio with 1.0.  They excel on defense with a ranking of 50th while holding opponents to 64.8 ppg.

Seton Hall is 102nd in scoring with 74.2 ppg, 17th in rebounds with 36.5 per game, and 293rd in AST/To ratio with 0.9.  They are pretty good at defense with a ranking of 113th while holding opponents to 66.9 ppg.

Our prediction for Friday, March 18th is… Seton Hall 72 - TCU 66

Seton Hall will take down TCU.  It’s not a random feeling, but what the numbers say about the two teams strength of schedule throughout the season.  TCU ducks hard play outside of their conference and immediate rivalries ( which pay the bills).  Seton Hall had a tougher schedule to get their 21 wins.  

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NCAAB Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com.  Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month.  And if you enjoyed this Horned Frogs/Pirates preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions. And come back for the NBA, NFL, Big Games, college basketball picks, and any current betting odds or betting insights.

 

TCU is 3-13 ATS after a game of giving up 5 or less rebounds, the last 3 seasons.

TCU is 15-9 when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Seton Hall is 15-9 ATS versus good rebounding teams the last 3 seasons.

Seton Hall is 20-7 ART after scoring 60 points or less 2 games in a row since 1997.

TCU: Guard Maxwell Evans (undisclosed) Out since December

Seton Hall: G Jahari Long (lower body) Out indefinitely ** G Ryan Conway (ill) Out

TCU: Mike Miles, Emanuel Miller, Eddie Lampkin Jr, Charles O’Bannon Jr, Damion Baugh

Seton Hall: Kadary Richmond, Tray Jackson, Jared Rhoden, Ike Obiagu, Myles Cale

TCU

Points: Mike Myles 15

Assists: Damion Baugh 4.4

Rebounds: Emanuel Miller 6.3

Steals: Damion Baugh 1.3

Blocks: Emanuel Miller 0.8

Seton Hall

Points: Jared Rhodan 15.9

Assists: Kadary Richmond 4.1

Rebounds: Alexis Yetna 7.8

Steals: Kadary Richmond 1.6

Blocks: Ike Obiagu 3.3

TCU: Jaime Dixon

Seton Hall: Kevin Williard