Larry Ness

My 8* play is on Cincinnati at 3:15 ET.

Short and sweet with this pick. 31-2 Houston is the AAC's top seed and will try for a three-game sweep of second-seed Cincinnati  (27-6) this season when the teams meet in the American Athletic Conference Tournament final on Sunday in Memphis. Both clubs were tested in Saturday's semifinals as the No. 11 Cougars held on to defeat third-seeded Memphis 61-58, before the No. 24 Bearcats ousted sixth-seeded Wichita State 66-63.

Houston lost to Cincinnati 56-55 in the 2018 AAC Tournament final but has defeated the Bearcats 65-58 back on Feb 10 and won at Cincinnati 85-69 on March 10 to capture the conference's regular-season title. These teams aver VERY similar, Both have superior defenses, are led by prolific guards and have veteran leadership. The Cougars are allowing 61.0 PPG (8th), while holding opponents to 36.5% shooting (1st). Cincy allows a modest 62.4 PPG (12th). Cincy PG Jarron Cumberland (18.6 & 3.7) was named AAC player of the year, while many thought Houston guard Corey Davis Jr. (16.8) was going to win it.

Expect another game like last year's 56-55 Cincy win. Take the points!

Good luck...Larry

My 9* play is on Tennessee at 1:00 ET.

No. 8 Tennessee (29-4) overcame an eight-point deficit in the final 2:58 on Saturday to defeat No. 4 Kentucky 82-78 in one semifinal, while No. 22 Auburn (25-9) used its trademark three-point shooting and quick hands on defense to defeat Florida 65-62 in the other. The two SEC tournament survivors, 3-seed Tennessee and 5-seed Auburn, are both tired but Auburn will really be tested, playing its FOURTH game in four days. It’s been 34 years since Auburn won the SEC Tournament and six years longer since Tennessee accomplished the feat. One of those droughts will end.

Guard Brown (15.7) and Harper (15.4 & 5.8 APG) lead the way and Auburn's only other double-digit scorer is 6-6 forward Okeke (11.6 & 6.6). Auburn has made an SEC-record 381 three-pointers, including 13 against Florida. The Tigers have won six straight and eight of their last nine, including a March 9 home victory over Tennessee (84-80) that cost the Vols a first-place finish in the regular season.

The Vols have won five of their last six games, with the lone defeat coming at Auburn. 6-7 junior forward Grant Williams (19.2 & 7.5) was named SEC Player of the Year for the second straight season. Senior wing Admiral Schofield (16.6 & 62.) also earned first-team recognition and junior PG Jordan Bone (13.4) leads the SEC in assists with 6.2 per game. Guards Bowden (10.5) and Turner (10.0) make it five double digit scorers for the Vols, while the 6-11 Alexander (7.6 & 6.6) supports Williams up front.

Auburn is playing for the championship for the first time since 2000 and seeking its first tournament title since 1985.Meanwhile, Tennessee is playing in its second consecutive SEC Tournament title game but it hasn’t won the crown since 1979.Something's gotta give! Rick Barnes has "done it" at Providence, Clemson and Texas and now is poised to break through at Tennessee. His first two teams went 15-19 and 16-16 but lastarera's team went 26-9. At 29-4, this year's team could end the Vols' long SEC tourney drought, as well as give Barnes his third 30-win season (did it twice at Texas with Elite-8 teams). Expect Auburn to 'run out of gas' and for the team's three-point shots NOT to fall with regularity.

Good luck...Larry

My 8* PERFECT STORM is on the St. Louis Blues (5:05 EST).

Both teams played yesterday. The Blues were busy destroying the Penguins 5-1 in Pittsburgh. Vince Dunn had two goals in the commanding victory. 

Buffalo returns home off a 4-2 loss to Carolina. The Sabres are now out of playoff contention and have nothing to play for here after seven straight losses.

Facing this surging non-conference opponent that’s firing on all cylinders isn’t going to help either. I believe the home side will simply go through the motions today. 

St. Louis has everything to play for as it continues its push towards the playoffs. The Blues have won 20 of the last 23 between the clubs and I look for that string of excellence to continue on Sunday night.

Lay the price.

Good luck…Larry

My 8* play is on St Louis at 1:00 ET.

The Saint Louis Billikens and St. Bonaventure Bonnies will square off this Sunday afternoon at the Barclays Center in the for the A-10 tourney championship. The sixth--seeded Saint Louis Billikens (10-8) will be looking to punch their first ticket to the NCAA Tournament since 2014, after upsetting the second-seeded Davidson Wildcats, 67-44. The fourth-seeded St. Bonaventure Bonnies (12-6) come into the championship game playing some of their best basketball of the season and had no trouble reaching the finals after defeating the 8th-seeded Rhode Island Rams, 68-51 on Saturday.

St Louis was led by guard Javon Bess (15.4 & 6.6), who had 24 points and seven rebounds in the win over Davidson. St Louis shot 48.1% from the floor while holding Davidson to just 25.9% shooting. Bess is joined by fellow guards Isabell (13.9-4.3-4.7) and Goodwin (10.4-7.3-3.5) in double figures. A trio of frontcourt players combine for 24.2 PPG and 16.9 RPG.

St Bonaventure used a 13-0 run at the end of the 1st half to trail by just a 29-27 margin. The Bonnies were then able to pull away from the Rams in the 2nd half after a 14-0 run gave the Bonnies a 64-46 lead. Guard Kyle Lofton (14.7) led the way with 23 points. 6-5 SF Stockard (14.8 & 5.4) is St Bonny's leading scorer and has help up front from the 6-6 Griffith (10.7 & 6.0) and 6-10 freshman Osunniyi (7.6 & 6.6).

St Bonaventure may be 14-6 in A-10 play, while St Louis is 12-8 (includes tourney wins), but the Billikins are 22-12 on the season, compare to St Bonny's 18-15 mark. In fact, this is a very talented St Louis team which had solid wins against Seton Hall, Butler, & Oregon State in non-conference play. The Bonnies have over achieved this season, as it looked like they would be more in rebuilding mode after losing both Jaylen Adams (19.8 & 5.2 APG) & Matt Mobley (18.1 & 5.0) from last year's 26-8 NCAA team. The Bonnies defeated the Billikens by a 66-57 margin at home in early Ma Birch but the Billikens get their revenge in this one.

Good luck...Larry

My 10* Rivalry Rout is on Michigan at 3:30 ET.

Michigan is 10th in the latest AP poll but opened the Big Ten tourney as the No. 3 seed behind No. 3 Purdue and No. 6 Michigan St. Purdue lost its first tourney game to Minnesota, while Mich and Mich St have each won two straight to advance to Sunday's title game at the United Center in Chicago. Michigan now gets a third crack Michigan State, which owns wins of 77-70 and 75-63 over the Wolverines. The Spartans are positioned for a potential No. 1 NCAA tournament seed with a win Sunday and the stakes are high for the Wolverines, as well. A win would likely elevate them to a No. 2 seed and would also enable them to get the last word in a rivalry that is beginning to approach Duke-North Carolina in terms of national interest.

Michigan's 6-7 Ignas Brazdeikis (14.9 & 5.2) was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Guards Poole (12.8) and Matthews (12.3 & 5.0) join him in double digits. However, let's not forget PG Zavier Simpson (9.3-5.0-6.5), who earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors. In fact,  the junior PG scored 15 points and dished nine assists Saturday as Michigan routed Minnesota 76-49 for its 10th straight Big Ten tournament victory. That came less than 24 hours after a 10-point, 11-assist performance in a 74-53 blowout of Iowa. Throw in 7-1 center Teske (9.6 & 6.8) and John Beilein has a core that has Michigan on the cusp of a third straight Big Ten championship.

Michigan State never trailed in a 67-55 win over Wisconsin on Saturday, as the Spartans led 27-10 just over 12 minutes into the game. However, the win might have come with a price. PG Cassius Winston (19.0 & 7.5 APG) scored 21 points and dished out six assists but played the second half at less than 100 percent and limped off the floor when he was subbed out for good in the last minute (he's gritty but has a very bothersome ankle). Remember, MSU has already lost shooting gaurd Langfors d (15.0), who hasn't played in 2019. Up front, MSU is loaded with the 6-8 Ward (14.4 & 6.4), the 6-8 Tillman (9.5 & 7.0) and the 6-7 Goins (8.5 & 9.0)..

Great coaching matchup between Beilein and Izzo but I just HAVE to play Michigan in this "double-revenge" situation, as the Wolerines make it a 'lucky' 11th straight Big Ten tourney win.

Good luck...Larry.

My 9* Daytime Dominator is on the LA Lakers at 12:05 ET.

To say the least, LBJ's first year in LA has been a major disappointment. The Lakers are 31-38 and while they have yet to be officially ruled out of the postseason, it's just a matter of time. James (27.4-8.6-8.0) sat out Los Angeles' 111-97 setback at Detroit on Friday due to what the team referred to as "load management" connected to the groin injury that sidelined him for a month earlier this season. The Lakers were playing the second half of a back-to-back set, with James logging nearly 32 minutes in the club's 111-98 loss to Toronto on Thursday. It's also noteworthy that LBJ wasn't wasn't the only member of his team sitting out vs. the Pistons. Lonzo Ball (ankle), Tyson Chandler (neck), Brandon Ingram (right arm) and Lance Stephenson (toe) were also spectators as Los Angeles went on to lose for the SEVENTH time in eight games.

However, expect LBJ to play here in MSG vs the hapless Knicks, who are 13-56, including 6-26 at home. The Knicks are inching closer to locking up the worst record in the NBA, having lost EIGHT in a row, after capping an 0-3 road trip with a 109-83 loss at San Antonio on Friday (Knicks are now three games behind Phoenix in the league basement). New York has some physical issues of its own with PG Dennis Smith Jr. (14.6 PPG in 17 games with NY) missing the game in San Antonio with a back issue and forward Noah Vonleh leaving the contest due to an ankle injury. Center DeAndre Jordan came one assist shy of recording his first career triple-double for the Knicks vs the Spurs but while he's averaging 11.5 & 12.2 in his 13 games with New York, the Knicks have gone 1-12 in those games.

No reason to expect LBJ to NOT play here and the Lakers have to be in the mood to win a game once in awhile, especially against the sad-sack Knicks, who beat them at Staples Center 119-112 back on Jan 4..An important note with that one is that neither James nor Kuzma (18.^ & 5.7) played in that contest, while for the Knicks, Tim Hardaway Jr. (22 points) and Enes Kanter (16 & 15 off the bench) are both playing for other teams now.

Good luck...Larry

My 9* Eye-Opener is a 9* on Yale at 12:00 ET.

The 18-10 Harvard Crimson and the 21-7 Yale Bulldogs meet in the Ivy League championship game from the John J. Lee Amphitheater on Sunday afternoon. The two schools tied for first-place in the regular season (10-4) but Harvard has beaten Yale in both meetings this year, so comes in as the No. 1 seed. However, the game will be played on Yale's home floor ( John J. Lee Amphitheater), where the Bulldogs have gone 11-2.

Yale bested Princeton 83-77 in a semifinal game on Saturday, as leading scorer Miye Oni (17.6 & 6.4) led the Bulldogs with 23 points. Fellow guard Alex Copeland (13.4) had 16 points, as did forward Blake Reynolds (11.7 & 4.5). Yale has SEVEN players seeing 20 minutes or more this season, chipping in between 7.0 and 17.6 PPG.  The Bulldogs shoot 49.4% as a team (9th-best in the nation), while averaging 80.6 PPG (26th).

Harvard began the season without its two best players, forward Seth Towns (16.0 & 5.7 LY) and guard Bryce Aiken (14.1 LY). Towns hasn't played at all but Aiken has returned to play the team's last 15 games. Aiken led the Crimson with 19 points in Saturday's 68-65 win over Penn and that's no surprise. He's averaging 21.7 PPG, more than DOUBLE that of any other Harvard player. Harvard is averaging almost 10 points less per game than Yale, at 71.0 per.

As already noted, Harvard has won both regular season meetings, including Feb 23 at this venue by the score of 88-86. The Crimson score 1d7 points higher than their season's average in that game, making 50.9% from the floor, while getting to the FT line 27 times to Yale's 10 (outscored the Bulloigs 22-8 at the line). Think that will happen again? I sure don't.

Good luck...Larry