Back to the NCAA Tournament where the VCU Rams will take on the Tar Heels of North Carolina Thursday evening. The Tar Heels come in as the No. 6 seed with a season record of 24-8 while the No. 11 seed VCU Rams have a season record of 27-7 and they are the champions of the Atlantic 10. The Rams are averaging 81.6 points (41st in country) on 46 percent shooting from the field and 36.7 percent shooting from long range (35th in nation) per game. On the defensive side of the basketball, the Rams are allowing their opponents to 71.5 points per game. The Tar Heels come into this game averaging 79.8 points per game on forty-seven percent shooting from the field and thirty-four percent shooting from behind the arc this season. On the defensive end of the floor the Heels are allowing their opponents to average scoring 71.3 points per game. VCU was not dominating teams to start the season, but few teams are playing better basketball right now. VCU is one of the hottest teams in the nation right now having won sixteen of their last seventeen games, including their 70 to 62 win over Dayton to capture the Atlantic 10 title. They are on a current six-game winning streak and take on a UNC team who will be without their star player freshman Caleb Wilson who is out for the year. VCU is an elite three-point shooting team, and when they aren’t shooting threes, the Rams are very good at getting to the foul line. While UNC does not foul a lot, it does struggle to defend the arc. This will give the Rams a huge advantage if their treys are falling. It is also worth noting that VCU defeated Virginia Tech by eighteen and nearly defeated NC State, so the Rams have shown they can play with ACC teams. We must also note those games were way back in November; the Rams are a much-improved team since then. Our power numbers project a VCU win over UNC in tonight’s contest. Our TPR Index projects a point advantage of 2.93 points in favor of the Rams. The MM projects a point differential of -5.40 against the current line range. The Pace-Tempo Matrix has an offensive-defensive differential of 5.29 with a transitional average of 43.2 The SIM Matrix has the VCU Rams with a 73.99 percent advantage against the spread in this contest. Play ON CBB teams coming off a game in which they had four or more blocks and defended fewer than fifty-four field goal attempts versus an opponent with four or more days rest, 763-634 ATS (55%)(+$6,560). Play AGAINST NCAA Tournament teams that had over seventy percent of their wins come at home since 2006, 72-47 ATS (61%)(+$2,030). We are going to take the points as the wrong team is favored in this one. PREDICTION: 8* VCU RAMS 78 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS 75

We are back in South Beach once again where the Los Angeles Lakers are in town for their game against the host Heat on Thursday night. The Lake Show comes into this one playing the second game of a back-to-back after defeating the Rockets on Wednesday night in Houston. LA was behind in the fourth quarter of their game against the Rockets they needed a 35 to 24 performance in the final quarter to get the win. In that game Doncic and James combined for seventy points but they logged a ton of minutes to secure the victory. In fact, the Lakers’ starting five played at least thirty-three minutes with Reaves and Doncic logging thirty-eight minutes apiece in the win. The fatigue factor will be real in this one and how much do the Lakers want to have their stars logging minutes in a game that has no bearing on their standing in the Western Conference. The Heat do a great job of not allowing their opponents to dictate the pace of the game they also play at the fastest pace in the league. The last situation the Lakers want to be in is a fast-paced battle tonight after putting forth such a big effort to get the win in Houston. The TPR Index projects a point advantage of 8.43 points. The MM projects a point differential of 5.26 against the current line range. The Pace-Tempo Matrix has an offensive defensive differential of 4.99 with a transitional average of 43.9. The SIM Matrix has the Miami Heat with a 73.98 percent advantage against the spread in this contest. Play AGAINST NBA teams off a win in which they allowed more than 25 assists with a total over 200 and now face an opponent off a SU loss, 1461-1282 ATS (53%)(+$5,080) including 10-3 ATS L13! Play AGAINST NBA teams playing their second road game in two days, with a team that has covered the spread in at least their last five straight games, 86-58 ATS (60%)(+$2,220). We will lay the short number in South Beach as the Heat put the heat on the Lakers tonight and get a much-needed victory. PREDICTION: 8* MIAMI HEAT 119 LOS ANGELES LAKERS 111