Basketball Plays of the Day for March 8: Free NCAA Basketball Picks (Archive)
The Wagner Seahawks will take on the Bryant Bulldogs for the NEC Championship. This is a matchup between the two teams that were expected to play in this game. Nothing has changed in this Tournament.
Wagner Seahawks vs. Bryant Bulldogs
Tuesday, March 8, 2022 – 7:00 pm EST at Chace Athletic Center
Bulldogs
Bryant has been a bit overrated lately. The offense averages over 78.2 points per game this season but continues to shoot at a poor rate. The Bulldogs have an effective field goal percentage of 49.6 percent while shooting just 30.5 percent from three on the season. And Bryant loves to take threes, so shooting at 30.5 percent is just not going to cut it, especially with a lot of volume.
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From inside, Bryant is shooting 52.6 percent from the field and knocking down 73.4% of foul shots. However, the offense is getting its shot blocked 12.8 percent of the time and giving up steals 10 percent of the time. Bryant can get a bit crazy on the offensive end and gives up 18.8 percent turnovers per game.
Seahawks
Meanwhile, Wagner is holding opponents to a 47.9 percent effective field goal percentage while teams are hitting just 29.5 percent from three and 50.3 percent from inside the arc. The Seahawks have also done a solid job limiting offensive rebounds, holding teams to 26.8 percent offensive rebounds.
Wagner is an aggressive team and will foul at a high rate. The college basketball odds have them as dogs. Bryant should get to the line at an above-average rate, however, Wagner gets to the line at a reasonable rate too.
Matchup
Bryant won't foul very much, basically due to not playing great defense. On the glass, Bryant is allowing teams to earn 31.5 percent offensive rebounds and Bryant only earns 16.3 percent turnovers. The Bulldogs aren't active on the defensive end but will defend on shots.
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Opponents have only hit 32.7 percent from three and 47.2 percent from inside the arc against Bryant this season. Wager, meanwhile, is shooting just 29.2 percent from three but 53.5 percent from inside the arc. The Seahawks are not a three-point shooting team and know this. They'd rather score inside the arc and score at a very high percentage inside the arc this season.
Wagner should absolutely dominate the offensive glass and earn second chances. The Seahawks will also be able to limit turnovers, as Wagner allows fewer than 18 percent turnovers per game.
Prediction
The Seahawks have a higher effective field goal percentage offensively and should be able to win the turnover battle and rebounding battle and while Wagner might not get to the line as much, remember, it's only because Bryant isn't active on the defensive end and gives up easy buckets along with second chances and limited turnovers.
I'm taking Wagner at +4.5 - but if you want to get a bit risky, you can absolutely look at Wagner on the ML as an NCAAB pick. That's all up to you. But I always play it safe and will take the +4.5.
NCAAB Pick: Wagner +4.5 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.