Today we’re excited to watch college basketball’s biggest stars in action.
That’s after hearing from, but not seeing, an NBA player last night.
Clark vs. Bueckers
What Happened: The Final Four is finally here, with the women’s NCAA Tournament narrowing to just two teams left after tonight.
NC State versus South Carolina tips off first, followed by the UConn-Iowa matchup every basketball fan has been waiting for all week.
Why It Matters: How much of a believer are you in NC State’s insane month of basketball?
The men’s team is playing the role of Cinderella, while the women’s team tries to avoid becoming a pumpkin itself at midnight. Standing in its way is South Carolina, an 11.5-point favorite. The Wolfpack have covered in three straight games, while the Gamecocks are 1-3 ATS this tournament, with a big number to live up to.
Oddsmakers like UConn and Iowa to be separated by one Caitlin Clark half-court bomb, with her Hawkeyes the 2.5-point favorite. Paige Bueckers is an absolute star for the Huskies, but when Clark goes supernova like she did against LSU, Iowa is tough to take down.
How We’re Feeling Today
Mortified. Absolutely and completely mortified.
So you are Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason and you decide to taunt your opponent for the night, the Warriors, by wearing a t-shirt that mocks them. Hey, for a team that employs Draymond Green, all’s fair, right?
The issue? Eason doesn’t even get a chance to back up his trolling. He checked into the game for as long as you did!
Look, the official position of Full Card Sweep is more smack talk, always. But you gotta at least get the chance to back it up. Tari Eason, as a famous philosopher once said: “Know your role and shut your mouth.”
The Look Ahead
Mike Conley POINTS + ASSISTS – Conley, in his 17th NBA season, is still getting the job done for the best team in the West. He carries a 19.5 line into tonight; that’s a mark he’s surpassed in three straight games. We’ve seen Conley drop 20+ points a couple times in the last few weeks and he’s posted seven straight games with 5+ assists.
Vasilije Micic POINTS + ASSISTS – Micic’s scoring outbursts have slowed since a run of 20-point games in mid-March, but his assist totals have increased recently. The Charlotte guard has dished out double-digit assists in two of his last four games, with every game’s point total hitting 10. With a line of 17.5, Micic’s balanced game should make this work.
Mika Zibanejad SOG – We made Zibanejad’s SOG an Official Play on Wednesday (2.5) and it hit, so we’re eying the Rangers center again tonight. His line remains at 2.5, and he’s produced 3+ SOG in six of his last seven. It helps that tonight’s opponent, the Red Wings, surrender the sixth-most shots per game in the NHL.
