The Vegas bookies project the gambler, who picked 5 1/2-point favorite Duke, should win.
The AI platform 4C Predictions, which picked Houston, says that’s why its smarter than them.
The bottom line: both pro gambler Sean Perry and the 4C’s AI program have done very well over the first 60 games of the tournament. Perry has missed only 13 picks. AI has missed only 10. They both picked all the Final Four teams correctly.
Alan Levy, who runs the 4C site, says ChatGPT — who else? — says getting 50 of 60 correct places AI in the 95th percentile of all humans “which has gone beyond even what we expected at the start.”
The leaders in some of the multimillion-person bracket pools on ESPN, Yahoo and CBS are getting 55 or 56 picks right.
Both pickers chose Auburn to win in Saturday’s other semifinal. Though AI has gotten more right, it could still lose because the picks become worth more points as the tournament progresses.
The tournament has largely been a bust for people who love upsets — good news for both these brackets, which largely stayed away from picking them. Both had Memphis and St. John’s winning multiple games. Memphis fell to Colorado State in the first round and St. John’s was gone after the second.
Levy said he is still analyzing Perry’s offer to increase the bet to $10 million.
“My prediction?” Levy wrote in an email. “You’ll be joining me and the 4C team in all the celebrations” after Saturday’s game.
The University of South Florida baseball team (19-11, 7-2 AAC) starts a four-game road stand with a series against the Rice Owls (7-28, 1-8 AAC) in Houston, Texas this Friday through Sunday. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
South Florida is looking to continue its best conference start in 10 years. If the Bulls sweep, they will match the best conference start since 2012. If the Bulls win the series against Rice, it would be the first time they have won the first four conference series since 2012 under head coach Lelo Prado.
Setting The Stage: The Bulls are coming off a midweek loss to the Stetson Hatters on Tuesday. Lance Trippel extended his hit streak to a season-high nine games. Rafael Betancourt and Marcus Brodil produced a multi-hit game. For Betancourt, it was his eighth. Brodil has produced a team-leading 15 multi-hit performances.
LHP Corey Braun and 1B Sebastian Greico were named to this week’s American Athletic Conference Honor Roll. Braun pitched his second-longest outing in game one on Friday against the Memphis Tigers. He went 8.0 innings, allowed one run, and struck out six batters. Greico started in all four games last week, batting .556 at the plate and hitting three home runs.
Series History: The Bulls and Owls have met four times, with Rice taking all four meetings. South Florida and Rice last met in Houston on February 23, 2002. The Owls won 6-2.
Note-A-Bull:
In conference play, LHP Corey Braun and RHP Jack Nedrow have struck out 10+ batters. Braun leads with 19, while Nedrow follows with 13.
OF Marcus Brodil has reached base in a team-leading 12 straight games. He started the season with a 14-game reached base streak, which still stands as the longest of any Bull this season.
1B Sebastian Greico and INF Bradke Lohry have reached base in 10 straight games. It is the highest this season for both.
In conference play, the Bulls are outscoring opponents 68-44. South Florida scored most of its runs in the ninth inning, 14, and the second most was 13 in the first inning.
INF Matt Rose has produced a hit in five of his last seven games. Three of the five games have been a multi-hit performance.
Hannahs at the Helm: Mitch Hannahs was named South Florida’s eighth head coach in program history on June 8, 2024, after compiling 355 wins over 11 seasons at Indiana State. The 2023 ABCA NCAA DI Midwest Region Coach of the Year guided the Sycamores to six conference titles and five NCAA Regionals, guiding ISU to a spot in the 2023 NCAA Super Regional. He takes over a USF team that went 26-29 last year and features 24 new players.
60th Year of USF Baseball: The South Florida Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and will enter its 60th campaign in 2025. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF has won 11 conference titles – five tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro, and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro, and 1 C-USA). Bulls baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, and 19 Bulls have earned Freshman All-America accolades.
Tickets: Tickets to watch Bulls baseball at the USF Baseball Stadium may be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or clicking HERE.
Follow us: To stay up-to-date on the latest USF Baseball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero (5) looks for a shot against Memphis Grizzlies’ Santi Aldama (7) during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
There’s 15 games on Friday. There’s 15 more on Sunday.
And there’s a whole lot of things left for those last 30 games of the NBA regular season to decide.
Among them: 15 of the 20 postseason seeds (Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Boston, Houston and Orlando are locked into their spots), along with three of the four initial play-in tournament matchups.
Of the 15 games on Friday’s schedule, 12 will have at least some level of postseason implications. And it’s possible that as many as 12 of the 15 games on Sunday’s schedule will affect the final standings as well.
There’s 15 games on Friday. There’s 15 more on Sunday.
And there’s a whole lot of things left for those last 30 games of the NBA regular season to decide.
Among them: 15 of the 20 postseason seeds (Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Boston, Houston and Orlando are locked into their spots), along with three of the four initial play-in tournament matchups.
Of the 15 games on Friday’s schedule, 12 will have at least some level of postseason implications. And it’s possible that as many as 12 of the 15 games on Sunday’s schedule will affect the final standings as well.
What we know so far
—Houston and Boston will find out their first-round opponents on Tuesday.
—Oklahoma City and Cleveland will find out their first-round opponents on April 18 and start their series on April 20.
—Orlando will play host to a play-in game on Tuesday.
—Sacramento will play Dallas in a play-in elimination game on Wednesday.
—The Los Angeles Lakers, New York, Indiana, Milwaukee, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Houston, Cleveland and Boston know they are in the playoffs.
—Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Sacramento and Dallas are play-in bound.
—Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State, Memphis and Minnesota are vying for three playoff spots in the West. The two teams that don’t get those guaranteed spots are headed to the play-in tournament.
—Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, New Orleans, Utah, Toronto, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Washington are eliminated and will see their seasons end Sunday.
Seeding update
This is who can still finish where in the NBA seeding chase going into the postseason:
—East No. 1: Cleveland
—East No. 2: Boston
—East No. 3: New York (likely) or Indiana
—East No. 4: Indiana (likely) or New York
—East No. 5: Milwaukee (likely) or Detroit
—East No. 6: Detroit (likely) or Milwaukee
—East No. 7: Orlando
—East No. 8: Atlanta (likely), Chicago or Miami
—East No. 9: Chicago (likely), Atlanta or Miami
—East No. 10: Miami (likely), Chicago or Atlanta
—West No. 1: Oklahoma City
—West No. 2: Houston
—West No. 3: L.A. Lakers (likely), the L.A. Clippers or Denver
—West No. 4-8: Good luck. For now, the order is the L.A. Clippers, Denver, Golden State in playoff spots, with Memphis and Minnesota going to the 7 vs. 8 play-in game. All those seeds can change on Friday.
—West No. 9: Sacramento (likely) or Dallas
—West No. 10: Dallas (likely) or Sacramento
Friday’s games
Milwaukee at Detroit: Bucks can clinch No. 5 in the East.
Orlando at Indiana: Pacers can clinch No. 4 in the East.
Atlanta at Philadelphia: Hawks looking to seal up No. 8 in the East and get two chances at playoffs if necessary.
Cleveland at New York: Knicks can clinch No. 3 in the East.
Washington at Chicago: Bulls can clinch no worse than home-court for 9-10 East play-in game.
Miami at New Orleans: Heat need two wins and help to escape East’s No. 10 spot.
Toronto at Dallas: Mavericks need two wins and help to escape the West’s No. 10 spot.
Brooklyn at Minnesota: Wolves need win to escape play-in range.
Memphis at Denver: Grizzlies trying to avoid play-in, Nuggets trying to clinch home-court for Round 1.
Golden State at Portland: Warriors know a 2-0 finish might be required to clinch playoff berth.
L.A. Clippers at Sacramento: Clippers fighting for home-court, Kings fighting to host 9-10 play-in game.
Houston at L.A. Lakers: LeBron James and the Lakers could have the No. 3 seed wrapped when everything ends Friday.
Charlotte at Boston, Oklahoma City at Utah, San Antonio at Phoenix: No playoff implications.
National TV schedule
Friday has Milwaukee-Detroit and Houston-L.A. Lakers on NBA TV, and Sunday has the Milwaukee-Detroit and L.A. Clippers-Golden State games on ESPN.
Betting odds
Oklahoma City (+175) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by Boston (+220) and Cleveland (+550), then Golden State and the Lakers (both +1200) and Denver (+2200). Nobody else has odds shorter than 30-1.
Key dates
Friday — All 30 NBA teams play.
Saturday — No games.
Sunday — All 30 NBA teams play, end of regular season. All games start at either 1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
April 15 — The No. 7 and No. 8 finishers in both conferences play to start the play-in tournament. One of those games will be at Orlando. Winners are the No. 7 seed for the playoffs; losers will host play-in elimination games on April 18.
April 16 — The No. 9 and No. 10 finishers in both conferences play; one of those games will be Sacramento vs. Dallas. Winners move on to April 18; losers are finished for the season.
April 18 — The April 15 game losers play host to the April 16 game winners. Winners are the No. 8 seed for the playoffs; losers are finished for the season.
April 19 — NBA playoffs begin.
Numbers watch
—The NBA record for total 3-pointers made in a season fell on Sunday. Boston also has broken the NBA’s single-season records for 3-pointers made and attempted by a team.
—For the first time, the NBA has three players with 300 3-pointers in a season. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards has 312, Detroit’s Malik Beasley has 305 and Golden State’s Stephen Curry has 302. There have been 10 instances of a player making 300 3s in a season. Curry has six. Edwards, Beasley, James Harden and Klay Thompson each have one.
—There have been four instances of teammates each having 250 3-pointers in a season: Curry and Thompson did it four times when they were the Warriors’ “Splash Brothers.” Boston could have three players reach that number this season: Derrick White is already there with 262, Jayson Tatum has 247 and Payton Pritchard has 246.
—The Thunder are on the brink of setting an NBA record for point differential. They’re winning by an average of 12.6 points per game; the record is 12.3 by the 1971-72 Lakers. Oklahoma City has outscored teams by 993 points so far; three teams — the 1971-72 Lakers (1,007), the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (1,005) and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (1,004) are the only teams to enjoy a 1,000-point differential over a full season.
—Denver’s Nikola Jokic needs only four more assists (assuming he’s going to play in both of the Nuggets’ final two games) to wrap up averaging a triple-double for the season. He’s at 29.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game with two contests remaining. If he plays in both games, he needs a total of 73 points to make it a 30-point triple-double for the season.
Stat leader races
Not much of a race for the scoring, rebound and assist titles. They’re locked up.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder will be the scoring champion, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis will win the rebounding title and Atlanta’s Trae Young will win the assist title.
Stat of the day
If road teams go 17-13 in the season’s final 30 games, this season will tie for the best winning percentage for away teams in NBA history. The current record of a leaguewide .457 road winning percentage was set last season.
South Florida women’s basketball Head Coach Jose Fernandez announced the signing of incoming transfer Stefanie Ingram. She heads north from Florida Atlantic where she was a star for the Owls.
STEFANIE INGRAM SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Earned AAC Weekly Honorable Mention (Feb. 3).
Led the Florida Atlantic in assists (160), assists per game (5.0), and steals (42).
Ranked second for the Owls in 3-pointers made (36) and 3-point percentage (.353).
Ranked third on FAU in points (302), points per game (9.4), field goals made (119), and field goal percentage (.395).
Ranked fourth on Florida Atlantic in rebounds (123) and fifth in rebounds per game (3.8).
Tied for most games with 10-plus assists in the AAC (2).
Finished the season third in the AAC in assists (160) and assists per game (5.0), and 4th in assist/turnover ratio (1.74).
Scored double figures 15 times, including a career-high 25 points vs. Rice (Feb. 1).
First career double-double: 15 points, 10 assists vs. Charlotte (Jan. 22).
Career-best 13 assists vs. Georgia Southern (Dec. 18).
Coach Fernandez on Ingram: “Stefanie (Ingram) is a pass-first point guard who can also score and get downhill. Her ability to find open teammates is exceptional. She’s a huge addition to our backcourt and brings experience and playmaking we’re excited about.”
2025-26 SEASON TICKETS Bulls fans, it’s time to lock in your seats for another exciting season of USF Basketball! The 2025-26 season promises competitive matchups and unforgettable moments at the Yuengling Center. Buy your season tickets here.
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