No. 12 seed among handicappers’ NCAA Tournament best bets

Drake guard Tucker DeVries (12) responds after scoring a 3-point basket against Bradley during the 2nd half of the championship game in the Missouri Valley Conference NCAA basketball tournament Sunday, March 5, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz).
I like the Drake. How could you not like the Drake?

While those lines were uttered by Elaine and Jerry about their buddy, Scott Drake, in an episode of the timeless comedy "Seinfeld," handicapper Doug Fitz feels the same way about Drake over Miami in the preliminary of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Fitz, who went a sizzling 51-31-3 ATS (62.2 percent) in the last five Review-Journal Madness Challenge contests, made Drake his best choice in the round of 64.

The Bulldogs, who based upon point spreads are the most likely No. 12 seed to prevail, are 2½½ -point underdogs to the Hurricanes at the South Point.

" Drake power-rates three points better than Miami by my numbers," said Fitz, a retired policeman who provides all of his plays complimentary of charge at Systemplays.com. "Drake is 7-0 straight-up and 5-1-1 ATS (against the spread) in neutral-site video games. Miami is 2-2 straight-up and 1-3 ATS in neutral-site video games. I anticipate the less popular Bulldogs to win outright.".

West Virginia (-2 ).

Barstool Sports handicapper Kelly Stewart has actually been even hotter than Fitz in the RJ Challenge, going 53-31-1 ATS (63.1 percent) while winning 2 of the last 5 contests.

Her best choice is No. 9 seed West Virginia (-2) over No. 8 seed Maryland.

" The Mountaineers have a few edges in this spot, beginning with their offense," said Stewart (@kellyinvegas, @barstoolsports). "While their defense isn't up to par with years past, they will take advantage of Maryland's bad 3-point shooting. Coaching nod goes to Bob Huggins over Kevin Willard.

" Icing on the cake for me, the Terps have actually lost 9 straight as an underdog.".

Princeton (+14 ).

The Gold Sheet editor Bruce Marshall and I connected for first in last year's contest after going 11-6 ATS and striking both of our best choices.

His best bet is Princeton (+14) over Arizona.

" This is not your father's Princeton, as the new-look Tigers run like they haven't considering that the Bill Bradley days," Marshall said. "Expect Princeton to trigger excessive pressure for the Arizona bigs on the defensive end.

" Ivy League teams have actually not been getting ashamed in recent Big Dances.".

Illinois (+2 ).

Pro sports bettor Paul Stone backed Illinois over Arkansas shortly after the lines were published Sunday night, and fellow RJ contestant Chip Chirimbes made Illinois his best bet.

" The Fighting Illini have been a major disappointment this season," stated Chirimbes (VegasInsider.com). "But they will atone here.".

Utah State (-1½½). Oddsmakers made No. 10 seed Utah State a preferred over No. 7 seed Missouri. Westgate SuperBook vice president of risk Ed Salmons likes the Aggies to cover the slight 1½½ -point spread in Thursday morning's game in Sacramento, California.

" I think they're a better group than Missouri, and the game's on the West Coast," he said. "It's an excellent spot for Utah State.".

Kansas (-21½½).

Wizardraceandsports.com handicapper "Dr. Alan" Dumond made the safeguarding national champ Jayhawks his best option over Howard.

" Kansas is coming off an awkward 20-point blowout loss to Texas in the Big 12 championship game video game," he stated. "The Jayhawks will be extremely motivated to get that bad taste out of their mouths and to apologize for their bad play. Having coach Bill Self back on the bench will even more inspire Kansas.

" Last year in the preliminary, Kansas functioned with a persuading 27-point win over Texas Southern. I expect to see a repeat efficiency versus Howard.".

Gonzaga, 16-1.

Dumond made Gonzaga, the No. 3 seed in the West Region, his finest worth bet to win the nationwide title at 16-1 (at BetMGM). In the last five NCAA Tournaments, the Zags have actually reached the title video game two times, the Elite Eight once and the Sweet 16 twice.

" This could be the year that coach Mark Few finally gets his team to break through and win the long-awaited national championship for Gonzaga," he said. "The Bulldogs have 4 important qualities that I offer excellent weight to in my March Madness handicapping.

" They have an experienced winning coach, a knowledgeable senior team leader with Drew Timme, experience on the huge stage, and they arrive with favorable momentum as they won the West Coast Conference competition and are on a nine-game winning streak.".

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.