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It all comes down to this. The emotions of Championship Week are unrivaled. Who doesn’t love the blood, sweat and buzzer beaters? Attempting to peg who will represent their league in the Big Dance, the Big Noise gives his conference tournament leans. Merry March Madness!
The pick — Bucknell to win Patriot League Tournament (+110, BetMGM)
What the Buck?
Picked by many publications and pundits in the preseason to finish middle of the pack in the Patriot League, the Bison have trampled any and all who defied them. Winners of six straight and nine of their last 10 games, they are puzzlingly not minus money to represent the conference in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Advantage, bettors.
Over the regular season’s final month, John Griffin’s group ranked a full 120 spots higher than the Patriot’s next-best team in Lafayette, according to BartTorvik’s BARTHAG. In the nine-game stretch, Bucknell finished top-10 nationally in effective field goal percentage offense, 2-point percentage offense (61.3%), 3-point percentage offense (41.8%) and defensive rebound percentage (21.1%).
[ Bracket Big Board: Brad Evans' latest NCAA Tournament projections ]
Statistically speaking, Lafayette, Lehigh and American are slightly better defensively, but surrendering a modest 1.027 points per possession in conference play, the Bison aren’t some free-flowing sieve.
Cohesive and connected, Bucknell plays like a team that’s No. 17 nationally in minutes continuity. However, the Bison must play more controlled. Since February 1, they’re No. 264 in the country in offensive turnover rate, coughing it up an uncomfortable 18.3% of the time.
As the No. 1 seed, Bucknell owns a supreme home-court advantage. All games in the Patriot League tourney are played on the floor of the higher seed.
Combine that edge with the presence of 7-foot center Noah Williamson (17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game) and the team’s buckets-getting effectiveness — especially on outside jacks (35.3 3PT%) — and the Bison are a sound investment at plus money.
Buck up!