Jason Ence's March Madness upset picks for the Sweet 16 see St. John's sending Duke home from the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
Find out why Jason Ence sees St. John's sending Duke home from the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday night.The second weekend of the NCAA Tournament is upon us, and an exciting opening weekend saw a No. 1 seed bite the dust, while another one narrowly escaped an historic first-round exit.
While there may only be one double-digit seed remaining, there’s still plenty of opportunity for a surprise result and an underdog victory.have faced off twice this season, with the home team coming away victorious each time. The Cornhuskers had one of their worst offensive outputs of the entire season in Iowa's 57-52 win in Iowa City. Oddly enough, they locked down Iowa’s interior offense and held the Hawkeyes to their second worst points-per-possession of the entire season in Lincoln. But the Hawkeyes dominated the glass, holding Nebraska to just two offensive boards with a +14 advantage overall, and forced a turnover on one of every five trips.Vanderbilt nearly pulled off the victory over the Cornhuskers in a game where Nebraska had just five offensive rebounds from 23 missed shots. They also forced a turnover on nearly 19% of Nebraska’s possessions. It’s how the Hawkeyes beat the Gators. They limited Florida to nearly 11 fewer possessions than average, controlled the glass, and forced 11 turnovers. Nebraska doesn’t get to the line often, which limits the ability to get easy points against an Iowa team that plays extremely slow. If the Huskers don’t get second-chance opportunities and cough up the ball like they did against Vanderbilt, their tournament run will come to an end. Bet against Rick Pitino in the Sweet 16 at your own peril. There’s a reason the man has gone 12-1 in his career to open the second weekend of the tournament — and that lone defeat came against a Kentucky team his Louisville squad had already faced in 2014.’s biggest weakness this season was shooting from beyond the arc. While shooting just 32.8% in the opening two games isn’t anything special, the Red Storm hit double-digit treys in both games. They’d done that just six times all season. More importantly, they’ve held six of their last eight opponents below 0.96 points per possession. They do a great job limiting drive-and-kick opportunities, one of theThe Blue Devils have been one of the worst teams in the tournament at taking care of the basketball and hitting outside shots. Much of Duke’s offensive output has come via second-chance opportunities, something St. John’s can limit. Duke needed a second-half comeback to escape the first round. Their blowout win over TCU was a seven-point game with 10 minutes to go. This team is vulnerable, and Cameron Boozer hasn’t looked the same of late. Pitino’s had multiple days to gameplan, and it’ll once again pay off as they knock off the No. 1 overall seed.: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links. Jason has been hooked on football since watching Real Madrid and Manchester United in the 2003 Champions League, and has been betting on the sport for nearly 15 years. He has given soccer gambling and fantasy advice for nearly a decade, writing for sites including Rotowire, SB Nation, and The TwinSpires Edge.Illinois vs Houston Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today's March Madness GameIowa vs Nebraska Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today's March Madness GameIf you choose to make use of any information on this website including online sports betting services from any websites that may be featured on this website, we strongly recommend that you carefully check your local laws before doing so.It is your sole responsibility to understand your local laws and observe them strictly.Covers does not provide any advice or guidance as to the legality of online sports betting or other online gambling activities within your jurisdiction and you are responsible for complying with laws that are applicable to you in your relevant locality.Covers disclaims all liability associated with your use of this website and use of any information contained on it.As a condition of using this website, you agree to hold the owner of this website harmless from any claims arising from your use of any services on any third party website that may be featured by Covers.
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