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The NCAA Tournament is the single greatest betting event perennially. With the thrills, chills and heavy favorite spills, the Madness always delivers. What Final Four wager has the attention of The Gaming Juice’s Brad Evans?
No. 1 Florida (34-4) vs. No. 1 Auburn (32-5)
Date: Saturday, April 5
Time: 6:09 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
The pick — SGP: Alex Condon 6+ rebounds, 2+ assists (+106, DraftKings)
The pride of Perth is a huntsman spider in human form. He’s long, lanky and — for the arachnophobes in attendance — undeniably hair-raising.
The 6-foot-11 sophomore's activity around the rim and the efforts of Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu are why Florida has squeezed a second chance on an absurd 41.7% of its possessions in the last 10 games. A menace in myriad ways, Condon is a big reason why the Gators are back in the Final Four for the first time since 2014.
The only time Condon crossed paths with Auburn in the regular season — a contest in which Florida invaded Neville Arena and grabbed a 90-81 victory — the Gators centerpiece hauled in 10 boards. He also dished out four assists.
Admittedly, two games pitting identical opponents during a single season are rarely the same. Injuries occur. Teams evolve. New scoring sources arise.
However, in recent weeks, the Tigers have shown a visible flaw.
Even with Johni Broome and his suction-cup hands snatching missed shots, Auburn ranks an unattractive No. 203 in defensive rebounding percentage since late February. As Michigan’s Vlad Goldin and Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler proved, the Tigers are beatable on the glass. Unless the injury imp bites, Condon is sure to crash the boards for what’s needed.
As it pertains to Condon’s assists, even two may seem like a steep climb. On the season, Bruce Pearl’s bunch are No. 8 nationally in assists-to-field-goals made defense, according to KenPom. Still, Condon’s often unmitigated pursuits on the offensive glass explain why this should cash.
Dozens of times this season, he has corralled an initial miss and immediately rifled a pass to an open man along the perimeter who promptly buried an open jumper. Dime collected.
In what should be a fairly high-possession affair, Condon spins another spectacular line.