In The Crosshairs Record: 60-52

3/16 Card:

Mississippi State +8 (1:00pm – ESPN)

Texas A&M +3.5 (3:30pm – ESPN)

Coleman Hawkins over 11.5 points (3:30pm – CBS)

Fairfield -2.5 (7:30pm – ESPNU)

UT Arlington +6.5 (11:30pm – ESPN2)

*** MASSIVE SHOTQUALITY MEMBERSHIP SAVINGS ALERT IN THE LINK BELOW**

https://x.com/ShotQualityBets/status/1766161348139098615?s=20

Mississippi State +8 : The defensive intensity has turned up this week in Nashville for the Bulldogs. I am not sure why that drifted away near the end of the season, but we all know that a Chris Jans led team must win the defensive battle to be successful. The Bulldogs have held LSU and Tennessee to 60 and 56 points over the last two days. They will need another effort like that today to keep this one close against a high-powered Auburn offensive attack.

ShotQuality shows that this may be a good matchup for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs split the season series with the Tigers and ShotQuality had both of those games being a one possession affair per the SQ score. The size and physicality of Mississippi State really caused trouble for Auburn on the glass in those matchups. The Bulldogs collected 14 offensive rebounds in each of these games. Auburn only collected 14 total through the two. That is a huge edge to the handicap today. Mississippi State will get enough second chance points to keep us within the number today. Give me the points.

Score Prediction: Auburn 73 – Mississippi State 68

Texas A&M +3.5 : Manny Obaseki. What a revolution this guy has been for Buzz Williams and the Aggies. Obaseki was a very highly touted recruit coming out of high school. It is shocking in this day and age that a player of this caliber would stick around for a few years at the same school without carving out a role on the team. This decision appears to be paying off heavily!

https://x.com/SEC/status/1767206333764325612?s=20

Obaseki entered this week in Nashville coming off of receiving a Co-SEC Player of the Week award. Since he was thrusted into heavy minutes against UGA on March 2^nd, Manny is averaging 16.6 ppg over the last 5 games. The Aggies are 5-0 in that time span. He brings another rim threat to the offense to compliment Boots Radford. This is also freeing up Wade Taylor (and we all saw what he did to Kentucky yesterday).

Florida has had no interest in defending this week. It has been ugly on that end of the court from them against UGA and Bama. It will come back to bite them today. I am riding the hot hand here and think that the Aggies can pull off another upset and firmly put their name in the field of 68. This bet is also Shot Quality approved with a predicted final of 80.5-79-.5 in Florida’s favor. This is my first Best Bet of the day. Gig’ Em.

Score Prediction: Texas A&M 78 – Florida 76

Coleman Hawkins over 11.5 points : We are getting a great number here on Hawkins due to his lack of production in his previous two games. Prior to this mini-rut, Hawkins had cleared 11.5 points in 8 out of 9 games. His volume of shots will return back to the norm today in my opinion. Especially with a total sitting in the mid 150s.

Hawkins terrorized Nebraska earlier this season in the only matchup of the season. He had a 20/7/5 stat line in an overtime win over the Cornhuskers. This was also one of Coleman’s favorite matchups a year ago. His 11.0ppg against Nebraska last year was above his season average of 9.9 ppg.

Brad Underwood also made some very encouraging comments about Hawkins in his postgame presser last night – “"Coleman was going in the game. If he didn’t make plays, he didn’t make plays but he’s made ‘em all year for us. That’s my guy.” I am trusting in Underwood’s comments, and I would suspect he will try to get Coleman involved early tonight. I like our chances to eclipse his season average today and that will easily cash the total set at the books. Feed the big man!

Score Prediction: Coleman Hawkins – 14 points

Fairfield -2.5 : I spoke very highly of the Stags in last night’s ShotQuality Live BetCast with Perri and Musa. This team was rejuvenated before this conference tournament run by the announcement of Chris Casey getting his interim tag removed and being appointed as the permanent head coach. The togetherness of this team is proving true with their late game heroics in the last two rounds.

This is the most talented team in the MAAC. The Stags can beat you with any of their 5 guards that play monster minutes. They also have Seton Hall/USF transfer, Alexis Yetna, healthy and racking up meaningful rebounds and blocks. This is the class of the league in my opinion, and I am confident laying this short number today to get to the big dance.

Score Prediction: Fairfield 67 – Saint Peter’s 62

UT Arlington +6.5 : I know everyone *wants* Grand Canyon to make the tournament. That does not mean they *will* make the tournament. I think that the money coming in on Grand Canyon at this number is just outrageous with how the Mavericks have been playing.

Grand Canyon swept this season series. However, it is important to note that Phillip Russell missed the first game. He was back for the 2^nd meeting in January, but that was before UT Arlington really got rolling after having him healthy. He is so crucial to the Mavericks’ success and I do think that it is important to note when looking back at these matchups. Russell had an 18 point / 10 assist performance last night and he is ready for this challenge against the Lopes.

The Mavericks are on a 10-1 SQ Score heater in their last 11 games. This includes winning 7 games in a row straight up. UT Arlington is an analytical darling to pull an upset in this scenario. Here are some of their Shot Quality ranks:

• 35^th – High Free Throw Rate

• 42^nd – Offensive Rebounding Percentage

• 49^th – High Frequency 3PT Shooting

• 65^th – Forcing Turnovers

I like UT Arlington to keep this one close today. They have a punchers chance at an upset. This is my 2^nd Best Bet.

Score Prediction: Grand Canyon 73 – UT Arlington 71

Best of luck! Let’s snipe!!!

About the Author:

With years of experience and a remarkable track record, Three Point Sniper has proven to be a formidable College Basketball handicapper. He is a member of the U.S.B.W.A, known for his deep knowledge of rosters, especially mid-majors, and for his ability to use ShotQualityBets data. He provides readers with insightful and comprehensive coverage, ensuring they stay ahead of the game. He maintains his own picks blog https://threepointsniper.com when not writing for SQB.

Three Point Sniper holds a College Basketball betting record of 1119-912 (55%) since 2020 and a stellar 171-123 on best bets, he will be bringing his best shots to the range with "In The Crosshairs" all season long.