Sunday - Session 1
March 21, 2015
The rest of the field for this season’s Sweet 16 Round of the men’s NCAA Tournament will be set this Sunday with a total of eight games on the slate. The first two contests of the day offer some interesting matchups between teams that have aspirations of a much deeper run in this year’s Big Dance.
East Regional - No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Virginia (CBS, 12:10 p.m.)
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena
Location: Charlotte, NC
Betting Odds: Virginia -5, Total 116 ½
The Spartans outpaced No. 10 Georgia 70-63 in Friday’s tournament opener as six-point favorites to improve to 5-1 straight-up in their last six games while going an even 3-3 against the spread. The total has gone OVER in seven of their last eight contests. Michigan State had four players score in double-figures in that win and it shot 45.6 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range.
Virginia struggled a bit against No. 15 Belmont to its first tournament game, but in the end the Cavaliers came away with a 79-67 victory. They failed to cover as 16 ½-point favorites to fall to a costly 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 games. The total has gone OVER four of their last six contests. A pair of junior guard’s helped pace this win with Malcolm Brogdon posting a team-high 22 points and Justin Anderson coming off the bench to score 15 points and pull-down five rebounds.
Betting Trends:
-- The Spartans are just 1-4-1 ATS in their last six NCAA Tournament games and the total has gone OVER in four of their last six nonconference games.
-- The Cavaliers are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games following a SU win and the total has gone OVER in four of their last five games played outside their conference.
-- These two met in last year’s NCAA Tournament with Michigan State squeezing-out a 61-59 victory as a 2 ½-point underdog. The total stayed UNDER the closing 128 ½-point line.
South Regional - No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 1 Duke (CBS, 2:40 p.m.)
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena
Location: Charlotte, NC
Betting Odds: Duke -10 ½, Total 130 ½
San Diego State cruised to a 76-64 victory against No. 9 St. John’s in this past Friday’s South Regional opener as a four-point favorite. It is now 5-1 SU in its last six games, but ATS it has actually failed to cover in five of its last eight contests. The total went OVER the closing 122 ½-point line against the Red Storm after staying UNDER in six of the Aztecs’ previous eight games. Four different players scored at least 10 points in Friday’s win and San Diego State hit nine of its 22 shots from three-point range.
The South’s top seeded Blue Devils made short work of No. 16 Robert Morris in Friday’s tournament opener while covering a hefty 22 ½-point spread. It was Duke’s 13th SU victory in its last 14 games and it has covered ATS in five of its last six contests. Freshman Center Jahlil Okafor (21 points) and senior guard Quinn Cook (22 points) led the way for a Blue Devils’ team that shot 63 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from beyond the arc in Friday’s romp.
Betting Trends:
-- The Aztecs are 7-2 ATS in their last nine neutral-site games and the total has gone OVER in four of their last five NCAA Tournament games.
-- The Blue Devils are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a SU win and the total has stayed UNDER in five of their last seven games in the NCAA Tournament.
-- These two last played one another in 2001 with Duke rolling to a 92-79 victory, but it did not cover as heavy 27 ½-point favorites. The total went OVER a closing line of 159.
March 21, 2015
The rest of the field for this season’s Sweet 16 Round of the men’s NCAA Tournament will be set this Sunday with a total of eight games on the slate. The first two contests of the day offer some interesting matchups between teams that have aspirations of a much deeper run in this year’s Big Dance.
East Regional - No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Virginia (CBS, 12:10 p.m.)
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena
Location: Charlotte, NC
Betting Odds: Virginia -5, Total 116 ½
The Spartans outpaced No. 10 Georgia 70-63 in Friday’s tournament opener as six-point favorites to improve to 5-1 straight-up in their last six games while going an even 3-3 against the spread. The total has gone OVER in seven of their last eight contests. Michigan State had four players score in double-figures in that win and it shot 45.6 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range.
Virginia struggled a bit against No. 15 Belmont to its first tournament game, but in the end the Cavaliers came away with a 79-67 victory. They failed to cover as 16 ½-point favorites to fall to a costly 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 games. The total has gone OVER four of their last six contests. A pair of junior guard’s helped pace this win with Malcolm Brogdon posting a team-high 22 points and Justin Anderson coming off the bench to score 15 points and pull-down five rebounds.
Betting Trends:
-- The Spartans are just 1-4-1 ATS in their last six NCAA Tournament games and the total has gone OVER in four of their last six nonconference games.
-- The Cavaliers are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games following a SU win and the total has gone OVER in four of their last five games played outside their conference.
-- These two met in last year’s NCAA Tournament with Michigan State squeezing-out a 61-59 victory as a 2 ½-point underdog. The total stayed UNDER the closing 128 ½-point line.
South Regional - No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 1 Duke (CBS, 2:40 p.m.)
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena
Location: Charlotte, NC
Betting Odds: Duke -10 ½, Total 130 ½
San Diego State cruised to a 76-64 victory against No. 9 St. John’s in this past Friday’s South Regional opener as a four-point favorite. It is now 5-1 SU in its last six games, but ATS it has actually failed to cover in five of its last eight contests. The total went OVER the closing 122 ½-point line against the Red Storm after staying UNDER in six of the Aztecs’ previous eight games. Four different players scored at least 10 points in Friday’s win and San Diego State hit nine of its 22 shots from three-point range.
The South’s top seeded Blue Devils made short work of No. 16 Robert Morris in Friday’s tournament opener while covering a hefty 22 ½-point spread. It was Duke’s 13th SU victory in its last 14 games and it has covered ATS in five of its last six contests. Freshman Center Jahlil Okafor (21 points) and senior guard Quinn Cook (22 points) led the way for a Blue Devils’ team that shot 63 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from beyond the arc in Friday’s romp.
Betting Trends:
-- The Aztecs are 7-2 ATS in their last nine neutral-site games and the total has gone OVER in four of their last five NCAA Tournament games.
-- The Blue Devils are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a SU win and the total has stayed UNDER in five of their last seven games in the NCAA Tournament.
-- These two last played one another in 2001 with Duke rolling to a 92-79 victory, but it did not cover as heavy 27 ½-point favorites. The total went OVER a closing line of 159.
