Sunday's Elite Eight Tips
March 28, 2015
All four favorites won their regional semifinal matchup on Friday, more importantly they covered against the spread too. This Sweet 16 clean sweep sets up a pair of highly anticipated showdowns this Sunday afternoon in the Elite 8 Round. On the line is a trip to the Final Four from the right side of the bracket in this year’s men’s NCAA Tournament.
East Regional - No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Louisville (CBS, 2:20 p.m. ET)
Venue: Carrier Dome
Location: Syracuse, NY
Betting Odds: Michigan State -2 ½, Total 129
The Spartans came into this tournament as the most feared No. 7 seed in the field and they have held true to form with a three-game run to the Elite 8 both straight-up and against the spread. The biggest win came in the third round when they knocked-out No. 2 Virginia 60-54 as 4 ½-point underdogs. Michigan State advanced to the East Region final with Friday’s 62-58 victory against No. 3 Oklahoma as a sight one-point favorite. The total stayed UNDER in both of these games.
If Michigan State does go on to the Final Four you can almost guarantee that senior guard Travis Trice had another big game. Through his first three contests in this tournament he has scored 62 points while going 20-for-44 from the field including a 10-for-22 effort from three-point range. Michigan State is averaging 71.9 points per game and shooting 47.1 percent from the field. On the other end of the court it is allowing an average of 63 PPG.
Louisville’s run through the East Region includes a 66-53 upset of No. 5 Northern Iowa as a 2 ½-point underdog and Friday’s 75-65 victory over No. 8 NC State as a 2 ½-point favorite. The Cardinals are now 7-2 SU in their last nine contests and 3-2 ATS in their last five games. This followed a bit of a rough patch for bettors with Louisville going just 1-5 ATS in its previous six regular season games. It is 4-2 ATS in six games as an underdog this season.
The Cardinals’ success in this tournament has been fueled by the elevated play of sophomore guard Terry Rozier and junior forward Montrezl Harrell. In the three games, Rozier has posted 54 points, 22 rebounds and 16 assists to Harrell’s 46 points, 17 rebounds and six assists. Louisville is averaging 69.2 PPG this season and defensively it is holding teams to 59.4 PPG.
Betting Trends:
-- The Spartans have covered ATS in five of their last seven games against a team with a SU winning record and they are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a SU win. The total has stayed UNDER in four of their last five games in the NCAA Tournament.
-- The Cardinals have gone 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games against a Big Ten team and they are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 NCAA Tournament games. The total has gone OVER in eight of their last 12 games in this tournament.
-- These two last faced one another in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and Louisville came away with a 57-44 victory as a 5 ½-point underdog. The total stayed UNDER the closing 125-point line.
South Regional - No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 1 Duke (CBS, 5:05 p.m.)
Venue: NRG Stadium
Location: Houston, TX
Betting Odds: Duke -2 ½, Total 145
Gonzaga was penciled-in all the way to the Final Four on quite a few brackets before this tournament got underway and so far it remains on track with solid wins over No. 7 Iowa and No. 11 UCLA both SU and ATS. The Bulldogs have now gone a perfect 6-0 SU in their last six outings including a 4-1 mark ATS in their last five games. The total stayed UNDER the closing 144 ½-point line in this past Friday’s 74-62 win against the Bruins after going OVER in their previous five games.
Gonzaga got past UCLA shooting just 40. 3 percent from the field after leading the nation this season with a 52.4 field goal percentage. Junior forward Kyle Wiltjer has been a force during this three-game run with 55 points and 25 rebounds, but it was junior center Przemek Karnowski who came up big against the Bruins with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds. The Bulldogs are 10th in the nation in scoring with 79.1 PPG.
The top-seeded Blue Devils come into this region final with three-straight covers in this tournament. They covered a 22 ½-point spread in a 29-point victory over No. 16 Robert Morris and against No. 8 San Diego State they won by 19 points as nine-point favorites. This past Friday, Duke beat No. 5 Utah 63-57 as a 4 ½-point favorite to improve to 7-1 ATS in its last eight contests. The total has now stayed UNDER in seven of its last eight games.
The Blue Devils match-up well against Gonzaga on the scoreboard with an average of 80.6 PPG and they are ranked third in the nation shooting the ball with a field goal percentage of 50.2. Freshman center Jahlil Okafor posted a game-high 26 points in the 68-49 victory over San Diego State and freshman forward Justise Winslow came up big in Friday’s win with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Betting Trends:
-- The Bulldogs have gone 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games against an ACC team, but they are 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral-site games. The total has gone OVER in 20 of their last 27 games in the NCAA Tournament.
-- The Blue Devils have now covered ATS in five of their last seven NCAA Tournament games and they are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games following a SU win. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of their last nine games in the NCAA Tournament.
-- The last time these two teams played each other was in the 2009 regular season with Duke hammering the Bulldogs 76-41 as an 8 ½-point home favorite. The total in that game stayed UNDER the closing 153-point line.
March 28, 2015
All four favorites won their regional semifinal matchup on Friday, more importantly they covered against the spread too. This Sweet 16 clean sweep sets up a pair of highly anticipated showdowns this Sunday afternoon in the Elite 8 Round. On the line is a trip to the Final Four from the right side of the bracket in this year’s men’s NCAA Tournament.
East Regional - No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Louisville (CBS, 2:20 p.m. ET)
Venue: Carrier Dome
Location: Syracuse, NY
Betting Odds: Michigan State -2 ½, Total 129
The Spartans came into this tournament as the most feared No. 7 seed in the field and they have held true to form with a three-game run to the Elite 8 both straight-up and against the spread. The biggest win came in the third round when they knocked-out No. 2 Virginia 60-54 as 4 ½-point underdogs. Michigan State advanced to the East Region final with Friday’s 62-58 victory against No. 3 Oklahoma as a sight one-point favorite. The total stayed UNDER in both of these games.
If Michigan State does go on to the Final Four you can almost guarantee that senior guard Travis Trice had another big game. Through his first three contests in this tournament he has scored 62 points while going 20-for-44 from the field including a 10-for-22 effort from three-point range. Michigan State is averaging 71.9 points per game and shooting 47.1 percent from the field. On the other end of the court it is allowing an average of 63 PPG.
Louisville’s run through the East Region includes a 66-53 upset of No. 5 Northern Iowa as a 2 ½-point underdog and Friday’s 75-65 victory over No. 8 NC State as a 2 ½-point favorite. The Cardinals are now 7-2 SU in their last nine contests and 3-2 ATS in their last five games. This followed a bit of a rough patch for bettors with Louisville going just 1-5 ATS in its previous six regular season games. It is 4-2 ATS in six games as an underdog this season.
The Cardinals’ success in this tournament has been fueled by the elevated play of sophomore guard Terry Rozier and junior forward Montrezl Harrell. In the three games, Rozier has posted 54 points, 22 rebounds and 16 assists to Harrell’s 46 points, 17 rebounds and six assists. Louisville is averaging 69.2 PPG this season and defensively it is holding teams to 59.4 PPG.
Betting Trends:
-- The Spartans have covered ATS in five of their last seven games against a team with a SU winning record and they are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a SU win. The total has stayed UNDER in four of their last five games in the NCAA Tournament.
-- The Cardinals have gone 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games against a Big Ten team and they are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 NCAA Tournament games. The total has gone OVER in eight of their last 12 games in this tournament.
-- These two last faced one another in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and Louisville came away with a 57-44 victory as a 5 ½-point underdog. The total stayed UNDER the closing 125-point line.
South Regional - No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 1 Duke (CBS, 5:05 p.m.)
Venue: NRG Stadium
Location: Houston, TX
Betting Odds: Duke -2 ½, Total 145
Gonzaga was penciled-in all the way to the Final Four on quite a few brackets before this tournament got underway and so far it remains on track with solid wins over No. 7 Iowa and No. 11 UCLA both SU and ATS. The Bulldogs have now gone a perfect 6-0 SU in their last six outings including a 4-1 mark ATS in their last five games. The total stayed UNDER the closing 144 ½-point line in this past Friday’s 74-62 win against the Bruins after going OVER in their previous five games.
Gonzaga got past UCLA shooting just 40. 3 percent from the field after leading the nation this season with a 52.4 field goal percentage. Junior forward Kyle Wiltjer has been a force during this three-game run with 55 points and 25 rebounds, but it was junior center Przemek Karnowski who came up big against the Bruins with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds. The Bulldogs are 10th in the nation in scoring with 79.1 PPG.
The top-seeded Blue Devils come into this region final with three-straight covers in this tournament. They covered a 22 ½-point spread in a 29-point victory over No. 16 Robert Morris and against No. 8 San Diego State they won by 19 points as nine-point favorites. This past Friday, Duke beat No. 5 Utah 63-57 as a 4 ½-point favorite to improve to 7-1 ATS in its last eight contests. The total has now stayed UNDER in seven of its last eight games.
The Blue Devils match-up well against Gonzaga on the scoreboard with an average of 80.6 PPG and they are ranked third in the nation shooting the ball with a field goal percentage of 50.2. Freshman center Jahlil Okafor posted a game-high 26 points in the 68-49 victory over San Diego State and freshman forward Justise Winslow came up big in Friday’s win with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Betting Trends:
-- The Bulldogs have gone 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games against an ACC team, but they are 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral-site games. The total has gone OVER in 20 of their last 27 games in the NCAA Tournament.
-- The Blue Devils have now covered ATS in five of their last seven NCAA Tournament games and they are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games following a SU win. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of their last nine games in the NCAA Tournament.
-- The last time these two teams played each other was in the 2009 regular season with Duke hammering the Bulldogs 76-41 as an 8 ½-point home favorite. The total in that game stayed UNDER the closing 153-point line.
