No preamble for the bracket breakdown for Sunday's games. Let's just get to it with Geoff Kulesa, who runs wunderdogsports.com, and Tom Federico of TeamRankings.com.
Wunderdog.com Picks -- Southwest
1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini
Spread: Kansas minus-8
"Straight up, this one is obvious. Since 1985 in 1 vs. 9 matchups the 1-seed is 52-4 straight up with an average winning margin of 14.1 points per game. The Morris twins are such a tough matchup for opponents. Their Achilles heels is their free throw shooting; if it comes down to these guys on the line that could make the difference with a cover. The other risk is they are young. If Kansas brings their best game and their youth doesn't blow up for them, they should win and cover this."
Wunderdog ATS pick: Kansas
Wunderdog straight-up pick: Kansas
To get the rest of the Vegas experts' picks for every one of Sunday's third-round NCAA tournament games, you must be an ESPN Insider.
- Editor in Chief of ESPN The Magazine
- Writes "Behind The Bets" blog on sports gambling
- Authored seven books, including "The Odds"
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Chad Millman
Chad Millman, Editor in Chief of ESPN The Magazine, joined The Mag as an associate editor in 1998. A year later he left to write "The Odds" -- about a trio of Vegas bookmakers and wiseguys -- and to find riches working for an Internet company. He made tens of dollars on "The Odds," the web biz tanked and he returned to The Mag. He also worked at Sports Illustrated and wrote some other books, including "Iceman" with Chuck Liddell, "Invincible" with Vince Papale, "Pickup Artists" with Lars Anderson, and "The Detonators." His most recent books are the national bestseller "The Ones Who Hit the Hardest," about the blood feud between the 70s Steelers and Cowboys, written with Shawn Coyne, and the New York Times bestseller "They Call Me Baba Booey", with Gary Dell'Abate.
Millman's daily blog explores the culture of sports gambling; on Mondays and Fridays in the fall, he investigates trends in point spreads related to professional football.
E-mail Chad: Chad.X.Millman@espn.com
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