T.M. Selection: Indiana.

I like Indiana to cover the spread against Saint Mary's in this game on Thursday. Indiana has looked really good in their games lately and I think they can come away with a win in this 1st round with the run they have been on lately. They ended their regular season with 2 close losses by less than 3 points on both occasions and they played against good teams in those games too, Purdue and Rutgers. They looked really good in the Big Ten tournament too and went on a run upsetting 2 teams and almost a 3rd when they blew a late lead to Iowa and lost by 3, Iowa went on to win the Big 10 title. I think they have been building up a lot of momentum in their games lately and I think it will spill over into this game too since they had to even play in the first four games and came out with an 8 point win over Wyoming to earn their bid. Indiana has not only been hot lately but they have stayed warmed up with all of these games they have had to play, their most recent game being on Tuesday. Saint Mary's hasn't played in over a week now and their most recent game was a loss to Gonzaga, who they had just beaten in their final game of the regular season, and they lost to Gonzaga in the WCC finals by 10+ points. I think the long layoff is going to play against them in this game against a hot Indiana team and I expect Indiana to upset them in this game and make it to the next round. Saint Mary's hasn't performed well in neutral venue games this year and they haven't played well in tournament games over the past few years either. Indiana has a very good history this year and over the past few years in tournament games on at neutral venues though. I think Indiana has a major advantage in this game with all of the different factors coming together. I expect Indiana to win this game so I like them to cover the spread here.

T.M. Prediction: 71-67 Indiana.