Welcome back to another edition of Snagged Sports, where we ✨snag✨ all the best stories in sports and serve them up on a screen near you. In today's edition, breaking down some contenders with March basketball approaching, LIV has their teams, and A-Rod is writing a book, maybe. Let's get into it.

🏀 Marching Close to Madness 🏀 

The best tournament of the year is almost here, and things are heating up for what is going to be one heck of a race to the NCAA Championship game. To get ready for this much anticipated occasion, we're going to break down what teams to look out for and who we think has a chance to win it all.

Kansas

The Jayhawks are looking to become the first repeat champions since Florida did it back in '06-'07. As one of the blue bloods in college basketball, Kansas has a knack for recruiting top end talent year in and year out. This year, hometown hero Gradey Dick is looking to lead his team to the back to title game.

You can make a case that Kansas has the best record in the hardest conference in basketball, sitting currently at 23-5. With weapons all around the court, there aren't many teams who match up man-to-man with this team. Don't be surprised if you look up in late March and see these Jayhawks in the Final Four.

Houston

The Cougars have been consistent all year long, and as of yesterday, reclaimed their rights to the #1 team in the AP Poll.

Marcus Sasser is putting up 17 points a night with a team that loves to play complementary basketball. They aren't the best free throw shooting team which could haunt them in the tournament, but these guys know what it takes to make a run in the NCAA tournament.

Purdue

Many people regard Purdue center Zach Edey as one of, if not THE, best player in college basketball. He averages a double double nightly with 23 points and 13 rebounds, and he's good enough to carry his team deep into the tournament. But, after starting the season off going 21-1, the Boilermakers have gone 2-3 in their last 5 games.

It's all about which team can get hot at the right time, and if this squad can get back to their December - January form, they have a real shot at winning it all.

Saint Mary's

This is a bit of a wildcard pick, but in a conference historically dominated by Gonzaga, Saint Mary's has proven that they are the team to watch coming out of the WCC.

The Gael's backcourt in Aiden Mahaney and Logan Johnson carry a majority of the scoring load while the big men hold down the post and crash the boards. This team is a guard heavy team which means they must hit their shots in order to win in a shootout, but with the right region and tournament matchups, this team has a shot to surprise a lot of people.

You May Not Have Seen THIS 👀

For the record, Snagged Sports is a pro PGA Tour newsletter, but that doesn't mean the LIV Tour doesn't have its place in the golf world.

Yesterday, the rosters for each of LIV's 12 teams were announced in what will be the tour's first full season of play. Notable names such as Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau headline their teams as each look to bring home the bacon this season. Best of luck gentlemen.

🤍 Wholesome Content 🤍

In a soccer match happening across the pond, Bayer Leverkusen player Jeremie Frimpong kicked a ball into the stands out of frustration. Unfortunately for him, the ball smacked a little kid square in the face. He could've disregarded it and gone back to the action on the pitch, but instead, he went to console the crying fan. Give it a watch:

💰 The Cover Corner 💰

About last night: The Boston under was a great pick and I have to admit that I’m proud of it. It was the smart pick, and I’m a smart man. Props to me.

Calling the Minnesota vs. Illinois a back door cover seems like a stupid thing, but 83 points in the second half hurt my soul. I was having a date night and saw that there was 64 points in the first half and almost did a front flip. Seeing those number slowly climb just kept hurting me more and more. Pain, all I feel is pain. Let's move into today's picks so we can start to recover.

🏀 CBB: Michigan State -2.5 vs Indiana

Straight up, this is a system play. Indiana is bad on the road ATS (2-7-1) and Michigan State is solid at home ATS (9-7). If you don’t like the points then take the ML. January, February, Izzo.. now is the time to back Sparty.

🏒 NHL: Vancouver @ Nashville O 6.5

Look, I'm a simple guy, so we're going with another system play here. Vancouver is 20-5 in away overs this year. Nashville is 6-4 on overs in their last 10. I believe enough in the Canucks to get to 7 here. If you needed any more of a nudge, just remember, life is too short to bet the under

As per usual, do what you must with this valuable information.

🐣 Tweet of the Day 🐣

So technically, it's an Instagram story, but it still plays. Retired Yankees' legend Alex Rodriguez looks to be all cozied up preparing some ideas for a new book.

However, this pic couldn't be more awkward if it tried. The thought of a guy with A-Rod's stature posing like this in his backyard with just the title of 'Book' at the top of some blank pages and then going through and actually posting it should be make-believe, yet here we are. But hey, if he really does write some of ideas down, those pages could go for some money!

🔥 Hot Takes Tuesday 🔥

It's Tuesday which means it's time to fire off some spicy takes!

Disclaimer: All takes subject to change. I cannot and will not hold myself responsible for this later on down the line if these turn out to be incorrect.

🐅 Tiger wins in 2023. He didn't have the best showing in this past weekend's tournament, but he did make the cut in his first 72 hole tournament since The Open in 2022. His swing looks great, his mental is obviously still there, so it's just up to his stamina and body to hold him together to reach that coveted 83rd win.

💰 QB market gets ruined. Daniel Jones wants a reported $45 million dollars and Lamar Jackson wants a fully guaranteed contract. The NFL, unlike other sports, cannot get away with paying a single player a significant amount of the franchise's money. This free agent class of quarterbacks is looking to capitalize off Mahomes' recent success with the contract he has, but let's face it, no one is like Patrick Mahomes. "QB gets paid" may not be a good thing for the future.

Quick Hits 🥊

• Jim Bob Cooter (yes that is a real name) was hired by the Indianapolis Colts to take over as their new OC.

• Russell Westbrook stays in LA, plans to sign with the Clippers.

• NCAA toying with idea of rule changes to shorten football games.

• Madden 24 will reportedly be a make or break game for the 35 year old video game franchise.

• Bruins continue to look like the best team in hockey defeating the Senators 3-1.

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