The No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils resume play in the East Region with a Round of 32 matchup against the No. 9 seed TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday afternoon.
Naismith College Player of the Year hopeful Cameron Boozer led a shorthanded Duke in points (22) and rebounds (13) in a nail-biting First Round win, but my Cameron Boozer player props are bullish on the big man’s assist prop today.
Read on for my Boozer-centric March Madness picks, and check out Jason Logan's TCU vs. Duke predictions for more on this game on March 21.
Cameron Boozer best bet vs TCU: Over 4.5 assists (-155)
For the Duke Blue Devils to avoid another offensive slowdown like it experienced in the first half against Siena, when it trailed 43-32, it’ll need to get more paint touches and kickouts to shooters.
That all starts with Cameron Boozer, who leads the Blue Devils with a 26% assist rate and averaged 5.6 assists over the final five games before the NCAA Tournament. With point guard Caleb Foster still absent, the onus falls on Boozer to generate looks.
TCU forces extra passes defensively, opening lanes for assists to open up. The Horned Frogs rank 330th in assists allowed per game (15.9).
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Cameron Boozer same-game parlay
The main storyline for Duke in this tournament is the fact that two starters, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II, have injury concerns. Head coach Jon Scheyer said that he’s hopeful Ngongba can return on Saturday, but it’s unclear if he’ll be close to 100%.
Duke needs Boozer to step up regardless, especially without Foster and his 2.8 assists per game.
Isaiah Evans is left as the clear-cut number No. 2 option in the offense, and he correlates well with Boozer’s assist prop. Evans is a dead-eye shooter who isn’t shy about letting it fly, averaging 8.6 3-point attempts (and 3.3 makes) across his last 11 games.
Boozer fulfills his usual role on the glass, where he’s averaged 11.3 rebounds over his last 11 contests.
Not intended for use in MA.
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