I go to Law School at American and I've seen them play a few times, including the semis and finals of the Patriot League tournament - they are a legitimately good team. A lot of people down here thought they would be a 13 seed or even possibly a 12 seed because of their tournament experience last year, the fact that they returned all their starters, and that they have the second longest win streak in the country. Garrison Carr is one of the best shooters I've ever seen, and I grew up watching a Big East that had guys like Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, Troy Murphy, etc. If Carr was 3 inches taller, he'd be able to star in the Big East. Heck, even as is he'd probably be the best player on St. John's right now.
I didn't pick AU to beat Nova b/c a) I didn't think Nova would be dumb enough to try to win a shootout considering how much they could dominate down low, and b) I figured if AU loses, I might as well increase my odds of winning some money. I hope they can hold onto this lead now.