Courtside Players Club NCAAB 4-5 Units (3/21/25)

NCAAB

3 Picks (10 Units).

4:35PM EST: Maryland -10 (3 Units). Maryland is going to get too many possessions. Grand Canyon is 15th in Tempo and Maryland's continued to climb in that department as the season's gone on, up to 57th now. Grand Canyon is slightly better in rebound rate but that's against the 257th ranked Strength of Schedule. We fully expect Maryland to outrebound them. Maryland's 6th in defensive rating and Grand Canyon's 155th in offensive rating. The extra possessions from pace alone will help Maryland cover this number but turnovers are going to play a huge part. Grand Canyon is 316th in turnovers per game and Maryland's 30th in opponent turnovers per game. Maryland can cover this number even with an off shooting day.

7:35PM EST: Akron/Arizona 165.5 (3 Units) When given the chance Arizona will absolutely fly up and down the court. Arizona is 56th in Tempo and Akron's 16th so the pace is going to be there. Arizona is 12th in offensive rating and Akron's 155th in defensive rating. Akron is 166th in opponent 2-PT % and Arizona lives at the rim considering they're 247th in 3-PT %. Part of living at the rim is hammering the offensive glass and Arizona is 18th in offensive rebounding %. Akron is 106th in defensive rebound %. The up and down high flying affair is going to help Akron break down Arizona's defense and get open shooters. Arizona is 33rd in defensive rating but just 214th in opponent turnovers per possession. Akron moves the ball well, ranking 31st in assist/turnover ratio. They also shoot well, ranking 47th in 3-PT %. Like them to do enough to stay within striking distance so this game doesn't slow down.

9:45PM EST: Illinois -4 (4 Units).

Xavier's going to get hammered on the boards in this one. Illinois is 7th in rebound rate and 14th in offensive rebounding %. Xavier's 138th in rebound rate but they're 25th in defensive rebounding %. Playing in a weaker Big East Conference Xavier just hasn't seen many elite rebounding teams and when they have, they've been hammered on the glass. Even Texas outrebounded Xavier by 5 and snagged 8 offensive rebounds against them in the play-in game. Texas is one of the weakest rebounding teams in the SEC. Despite that Xavier shot their way past Texas but even with another elite 3-PT shooting performance we see them coming up short. Illinois can give possessions back with turnovers at times but Xavier's 148th in opponent turnovers per possession. They're 45th in defensive rating and defense just isn't their game.