Clay Travis Has Your Elite 8 Picks, And He's Feeling Good About A 4-0 Finish
I’m still walking on air after Tennessee’s win over Creighton last night.
With the outright SEC championship and an Elite 8 appearance, the Vols have already locked in the greatest season in Tennessee men’s basketball history and they still have a shot at much more.
Plus, the blood bank guarantee hit so that didn’t hurt either.
And how about Alabama and Tennessee both in the Elite 8, so much for the SEC being a disaster in the tourney.
Now we’re on to the Final Four gambling picks.
And I’m rolling towards 4-0.
As always, get rich, kids and respect the picks.
Boston - Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins reacts after a slam dunk over Iowa State in the second half. Illinois defeats Iowa State, 72-69, in the NCAA East Regional Sweet Sixteen game at TD Garden on March 28. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Illinois +8.5 vs UConn
I know, I know.
UConn wins every tourney game by 30. But surely, surely, they have to get a challenge at some point, right?
Illinois can score with the best of them, boasting the second best offense in college basketball. The problem is, so can UConn, which has the best offense in college basketball. And UConn’s defense is way better.
But I’m rolling the dice here and taking the underdog to cover in game one on Saturday.
LOS ANGELES - Mark Sears of the Alabama Crimson Tide shoots against Cormac Ryan of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Crypto.com Arena on March 28 in Los Angeles, California. The Alabama Crimson Tide won, 89-87. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Alabama vs Clemson, the over 164
Just when you thought the Alabama-Clemson rivalry was over, it’s back…in basketball.
One of these teams is taking its first ever Final Four trip.
And I think it will be the Crimson Tide.
But the number is out to Tide -3.5 so I’m going to take what has been a safer bet all year and bet on the over hitting in a Bama game.
I still question the Bama defense. The Tide rank 102 in defense and Clemson hung 85 on them in Tuscaloosa back in November.
Which is why the over’s the play.
DETROIT - Zach Edey of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against Graham Ike of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 29. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Tennessee +3.5 vs Purdue
There are two keys I see to this game — how does Zach Edey get officiated? If the refs call every touch against him and let him get away with murder, Purdue is going to probably win big and Tennessee will foul out two or three big men. If the refs let them play and call fouls evenly on all the big men, I think we’ve got an even game.
Second key, can Tennessee hit its threes? Purdue will hit 7 or 8, you can count on that. What will Tennessee do? Against Texas the Vols were 3-25 from three, against Creighton the Vols were 11-24. The shot quality was nearly identical. If the Vols hit double digits on made threes, they probably win. If they hit low single digits, they probably lose.
Purdue won back in November by 4, but Zakai Zeigler played only 28 minutes and was still on a minute count coming off his torn ACL. He has played all 40 minutes against Texas and Creighton. Barring foul trouble, he’ll go 40 against Purdue too.
I think this game comes down to the final minute and I also think whichever team wins will be in the title game, probably against UConn.
Give me the Vols plus the points.
DALLAS - Duke Blue Devils players walk onto the court after a timeout against the Houston Cougars during the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at American Airlines Center on March 29. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Duke vs NC State, the under 142.5
The teams met twice, splitting both games, and hitting 143 on the total both times.
That’s the total again.
I’m taking the under here.
The two teams know each other well and it will be a grinding game with lots of tough shots forced.
As tempting as NC State is to take plus the points, Duke is playing at a really high level and, remarkably for a Duke team, is still under the radar and exceeding expectations so far in the tourney. This feels like a Blue Devils team that is playing free and without pressure, just like NC State.
The under’s the play.
….
There you have it, boys and girls, we’re going 4-0 in the Elite 8 games.
And if the Vols can get the win, I’m headed to Phoenix for the Final Four in person.
Either way, it’s been an awesome ride this year.
But it sure would be nice to notch that first ever Final Four trip.