Before we dive into Champ Week coverage, two VSiN contests are worth highlighting.
🏀 VSiN March Mania Contest
We’ll again run VSiN’s March Mania Contest, featuring ATS or total picks from Round 1 through the national championship.
It’s free to enter, and registration will open later this week.
The contest is presented by ProphetX and EdgeBoost.
💰 $1 Million High Stakes Survivor Madness
We’re also introducing a new contest: The $1 Million High Stakes Survivor Madness.
The format:
- 10 picks from Round 1 through the championship game
- If your team wins, you advance
- You cannot use the same team twice
- Fee: $1,000 per entry
- Guaranteed $1 million prize for ultimate survivor(s)
Dan Strauss, VSiN’s marketing director and a contest aficionado, has been preaching the virtues of the survivor format for the tournament for years.
You’re analyzing so many games, so many scenarios . . . I promise you, you really don’t know how great it is until you give it a go. It’s INCONCEIVABLE.
👉 Learn more about the $1 million survivor contest
Champ Week Spreads Across the Board
Three more NCAA Tournament automatic bids will be decided, while eight conference tournaments — including the Big East and SEC — begin play.
By the end of the night, more than half of conferences will have tournament games underway as the race to fill the NCAA Tournament’s 31 automatic bids accelerates.
🎟️ NCAA Bids on the Line Wednesday
Southland Championship
McNeese (-1.5) vs. Stephen F. Austin — 5 ET (ESPN2)
Patriot League Championship
Boston U (-1.5) vs. Lehigh — 7 ET (CBS Sports Network)
Big Sky Championship
Montana (-1.5) vs. Idaho — 11:30 ET (ESPN2)
🏆 Tuesday Championships
Horizon League: Wright State (1 seed / +200)
CAA: Hofstra (3 seed / +195)
MAAC: Siena (3 seed / +330)
West Coast Conference: Gonzaga (1 seed / -210)
Total automatic bids claimed: 12 of 31
📅 Tournaments Starting Wednesday
Atlantic 10 (Pittsburgh) → Preview
SEC (Nashville) → Preview
Big East (New York) → Preview
American (Birmingham) → Preview
Mountain West (Las Vegas) → Preview
Big West (Henderson, Nev.) → Preview
WAC (Las Vegas) → Preview
MEAC (Norfolk) → Preview
👉 Visit VSiN’s Conference Tournament Hub
💰 More Betting Insight for Wednesday
VSiN’s experts weigh in with their tournament picks.
👉 Read Greg Peterson‘s Best Bets
Later this morning: Adam Burke will post his top plays, and Josh Appelbaum will break down the money movement.
👉More picks on our college basketball page
Zach Cohen’s NBA Report
Bam Adebayo goes for 83 points
I’d have a hard time believing Bam scored 83 points over the course of a week. But the three-time All-Star absolutely torched the Wizards on Tuesday. He went 20 for 43 from the floor, 7 for 22 from deep, and a preposterous 36 for 43 from the charity stripe.
Granted, Miami was force-feeding him the rock while up by 28 points and continued doing it until the final buzzer. But this was still a historic performance, with Bam surpassing Kobe Bryant’s 81-point outing and settling in right behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game.
Bam’s point total for the evening was 25.5, so that was a nice stress-free win for Over bettors. And unless I was fooled by an AI betting slip, FanDuel seemingly offered Bam to score 74+ at 80-1 odds at halftime.
Tyrese Maxey to be re-evaluated in three weeks
Philadelphia has long been considered a sleeper to win the Eastern Conference, as the “if” of Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George playing together — with an improved supporting cast — is still extremely appealing. However, Maxey will miss at least three weeks with a finger injury that didn’t seem very serious a couple of days ago.
With Embiid still nursing injuries and George suspended for another two weeks, Philadelphia is likely going to be competing in the Play-In Tournament. The Sixers are also going to have to work hard to hold down the No. 7 or No. 8 spot, as the Hawks and Hornets are playing good basketball.
Wednesday night
There’s a lot of crap on the card for Wednesday, but Cavaliers-Magic, Rockets-Nuggets, and Timberwolves-Clippers should be good. The Clippers didn’t play on Tuesday and the Timberwolves had to play the Lakers at 11 pm ET. Without knowing what the injury reports will look like, that seems like a nice spot for Los Angeles.
The trade that wasn’t
The Ravens backed out of a blockbuster trade for Maxx Crosby after medical concerns surfaced during his physical, voiding a deal that would have sent two first-round picks to the Raiders.
Crosby recently underwent meniscus surgery on his knee, and the Ravens ultimately decided not to assume the injury risk.
The canceled trade leaves Crosby’s future uncertain and forces both teams to rethink their offseason plans. The Raiders already spent $280 million on free agents.
