The San Francisco Dons were once the mightiest team in the nation. Of course, that's when they had Bill Russell and KC Jones. But this season they showed some signs of being one of the best in the country. And they are part of what has been a banner year for the West Coast Conference. On Thursday night, they will step forward in the NCAA Tournament, as they take on the red-hot Murray State Racers in action that takes place at 9:40 PM ET at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Some BetAnySports customers may only be familiar with Gonzaga from the WCC. But this year the league sent three teams into the Big Dance - Saint Mary's also got in, as did San Francisco. We must say that the Dons, with a 24-9 record, did not rise to the occasion when it came to challenging the best in the WCC. They lost three times to Gonzaga and twice to Saint Mary's.
So they actually have something to prove.
According to online igaming platforms, they will try to do it against Murray State, whose slate was almost spotless. Matt McMahon's team (30-2) lost only to East Tennessee State and Auburn, rolling to the championship of the Ohio Valley Conference, in what is their last season in the league (they'll go to the Missouri Valley next year).
James Wiseman is the potential number one pick in the 2020 draft. He signed with Excel Sports, which means the end of his collegiate basketball career. The 7-foot-one-inch center is currently playing in Australia.
Other potential top picks in next year’s NBA draft are LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards. Earlier in December, Wiseman announced his plans to play in the NBA. He left Memphis to prepare for the next chapter of his life.
Wiseman made his decision to leave Memphis instead of completing his 12-game suspension given by the NCAA. He was guilty of accepting $11,500 from coach Penny Hardaway in 2017. Hardaway donated $1,000,000 to the school in 2008 that made him a university booster in perpetuity.
Selection Sunday has come and gone and now everyone knows which team will head against each other in the first round of the tournament. Some teams that have shown up on the roster were a given but others managed to squeeze in the tournament and basketball betting fans are eagerly waiting to see which team will have a Cinderella story.
Some sports handicapping expert believe that they would not be surprised from a historical perspective that any team from the Big 12 will make the Final Four and that at least three teams that are in the 12th seed will get at last one upset this year.
Kentucky will definitively make it pass round 1 and round 2 but then again, so will North Carolina so the big question is who will come out on top when they face each other in the Sweet 16.
This weekend, College basketball fans will be glued to their TV or at their favorite watering hole for the Final Four Weekend! The first matchup will be a battle of the no. 2 seeded teams as Oklahoma takes on Villanova at 6:09PM ET on TBS.
The second matchup will take place between the no. 1 Seeded team, North Carolina and the No. 10 seeded team Syracuse at 8:49PM ET on TBS.
According to the polls and sports betting experts, the North Carolina Tar Heels are the favorite team to win the whole tournament but since this is March Madness, anything is possible.