In college basketball pick' em Thursday, the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen gets going. This is when the rubber really hits the road, as we're paring down to the Elite Eight in the next two days, and then we'll have a Final Four set after the weekend games. The NCAA Tournament goes quickly.
College Basketball PrizePicks Picks & Strategy
If you're unfamiliar with how to play, you must simply choose at least two players from any sport and pick more or less based on their projected statistics to win. We'll obviously be exclusively selecting college hoops players, but you can mix and match from various other sports. You can also go with a flex play, meaning you still can have a winning night even if you have one losing selection. Or, you can go big and choose the power play, which pays out higher. However, you must hit all ends to win. Let's get started.
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Oscar Cluff, C, Purdue 
Cluff has been a beast in the NCAA Tournament, at least in terms of blocked shots and cleaning the glass.
Against Queens (NC) in the first round, he posted nine points with 11 rebounds and four blocks, and he added a steal in 22 minutes. That's a lot of damage in a limited amount of time. In a bigger challenge against a team with better size, he went for eight points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes against Miami in the second round. More importantly, for us, we posted two more blocked shots. He has managed to remain relatively clean, in terms of personal fouls, averaging just 2.0 PF through the first two NCAA Tournament games.
This is kind of a layup, as he simply needs one block to get us across the finish line. PrizePicks lists this play as a "goblin", which loves green, as they're easier to win, but come with lower payout multipliers. That's OK. We'll take it. Moving on.
CBB PrizePicks Selection: Oscar Cluff, More 0.5 Blocked Shots
Brayden Burries, G, Arizona 
Burries and the Wildcats have to be licking their chops at the prospects of facing the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Sweet Sixteen. The Razorbacks like to run, and while they score plenty, they also allow plenty.
Arkansas has coughed up 80.0 points per game (PPG), which is 312th in the nation, and it's defensive field-goal percentage (45.4 percent), ranks 256th. If the Hogs do anything well defensively, it's guarding the perimeter, as teams hit just 31.5 percent from behind the arc, a respectable 57th.
Since an ugly 0-for-7 shooting night against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament semifinal, Burries has gotten on track with three straight games of 16+ points, and he is averaging 17.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 2.0 APG in the NCAA Tournament, while hitting seven three-pointers in the two games. His production should be even higher against the leaky Arkansas defense.
CBB PrizePicks Selection: Brayden Burries, More 25.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts
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Kingston Flemings, G, Houston 
The Houston Cougars have won each of their first two NCAA Tournament by 31 points, so a matchup against Illinois will be a major uptick in defensive challenge.
The Fighting Illini allow just 69.0 PPG (43rd), with a 41.0 defensive field-goal percentage (32nd) and 31.7 defensive three-pointer percentage (64th). Flemings, especially, will notice the defensive pressure immediately, after running roughshod over Idaho in the first round. Even against a power-conference foe in Texas A&M, Flemings struggled a bit, going 4-of-10 from the field, managing just nine points in 31 minutes.
Flemings has single-digit point totals in each of his past two games against power-conference foes, and Illinois should be able to keep him down. If you're a regular reader, you know I don't often like to cheer against players, but we'll go low on his projections.
CBB PrizePicks Selection: Kingston Flemings, Less 17.5 Points
Thursday's College Basketball PrizePicks Picks
Here's a recap of my best college basketball selections for Thursday:
- Oscar Cluff, Purdue, More 0.5 Blocked Shots
- Brayden Burries, Arizona, More 25.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts
- Kingston Flemings, Houston, Less 17.5 Points
For additional recommendations for PrizePicks and other similar sites, check out our College Basketball Picks page.
For more fantasy college hoops content, be sure to check out features like our college basketball injury report, college basketball depth charts and latest college basketball news.
