Tweet
Sunday's NCAA Tournament second round betting preview: East Region
(10) Butler Bulldogs vs (2) Purdue Boilermakers (-3.5, 144)
Game to be played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Big Ten champion Purdue appeared to suffered a key injury in its 74-48 first round NCAA Tournament victory over Cal State Fullerton when 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas suffered a fractured right elbow while fighting for a rebound in the second half. But Haas, who will need surgery to fix the injury, took part in some drills during Saturday's practice and may play in Sunday's Round of 32 contest with Butler at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit if the NCAA approves a special elbow brace he's been fitted with.
Haas, who had nine points and 10 rebounds before suffering the injury, is the second leading scorer for the Boilermakers (14.9) and also averages 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. The finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award which goes to the nation's top college center had 15 points and three rebounds in just 16 foul-plagued minutes in a 82-67 victory over the Bulldogs in a Dec. 16 meeting in the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis, so his loss would be a big one for Purdue which is the No. 2 seed in the East Regional. "He's trying to convince me, but it is what it is," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "I don't see him playing. His future is more important." No. 10 seed Butler, which is trying for its fourth Sweet Sixteen appearance in nine years, opened the tournament with a 79-62 victory over Arkansas.
TV: 12:10 ET, CBS
LINE HISTORY: Purdue opened as 3.5-point favorites and the line has yet to move off that opening number . The total hit betting boards at 144.5 and was bet down a full point to 143.5 until rebounding slightly to 144 on Sunday morning.
BETTING STATS:
ABOUT BUTLER: The Bulldogs are 15-3 when outrebounding an opponent and finished with a 45-25 edge on the boards over the Razorbacks in Friday's first round victory. Senior forward Kelan Martin went over 2,000 career points in the victory and the all-Big East pick finished with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Kamar Baldwin also had a big game, finishing with 24 points, his seventh 20-point game of his career and sixth this season.
ABOUT PURDUE: The Boilermakers held Butler, which averages 8.3 3-pointers per game, to just one 3-pointer in the first 28 minutes in their December victory while building a 26-point lead. Sophomore guard Carsen Edwards, who leads the team in scoring (18.4), had a team-high 18 points in the first meeting with the Bulldogs while senior forward Vincent Edwards, who is third on the team in scoring (14.5), finished with 15 points, including 4-of-5 3-pointers. Senior guard Dakota Mathias is also averaging in double figures (12.3) and has connected on 92-of-199 3-pointers (46.2 percent).
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Bulldogs are 21-5-2 ATS in their last 28 NCAA Tournament games.
* Boilermakers are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win.
* Over is 5-1 in Bulldogs last 6 non-conference games.
* Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
CONSENSUS: Consensus data is showing 61 percent of bettors taking the favorites from Purdue, while 64 percent of totals wagers are on the Over.
(13) Marshall Thundering Herd vs (5) West Virginia Mountaineers (-12.5, 159.5)
Game to be played at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California.
There is no love lost between Marshall and West Virginia and the in-state rivals present perhaps the most tantalizing second-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament when they meet Sunday in the East Region at San Diego. The 13th-seeded Thundering Herd won their first-ever tournament game with an 81-75 upset of Wichita State on Friday, presenting them with a chance to meet a hated foe, although the initial reaction was to downplay the bitterness.
"Hell, I’m still celebrating this one. You’re off on the other one?" Marshall coach Dan D'Antoni told the media when asked of a matchup with the Mountaineers. "I have no idea. ... Let's enjoy this a little bit and we'll get ready for West Virginia and I really don’t have to worry. These are all gym rats. They're going to be ready to go when it's time to go." The two schools - separated by about 200 miles - played every year from 1977 through 2015 before the Mountaineers elected to end the annual clash in a somewhat contentious decision. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who shot back at D'Antoni in 2014 when the latter suggested that the Mountaineers were planning to back out of the series because they were afraid, initially dodged questions about the renewal of the rivalry after his fifth-seeded team defeated Murray State 85-68 in the first round. "Can I say one thing?" he said later in the press conference. "I've got great respect for Danny and what he's done. He took over. They were down and I've got great respect for him since he's become the coach. ... This is not a Hatfields and McCoys thing. We have great relationships [between the] staffs."
TV: 9:40 p.m., TBS
LINE HISTORY: West Virginia opened as 11.5-point favorites and have been bet up a full point to 12.5 as of Saturday night. The total hit betting boards as low as 159.5 and has yet to move off the opening number.
BETTING STATS:
ABOUT MARSHALL: Jon Elmore, who led Conference USA in scoring this season, scored 27 points in the win over Wichita State and has at least 22 in 12 of his last 14 games. Ajdin Penava, the league's Defensive Player of the Year, chipped in 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with three blocks as the Thundering Herd picked up their first postseason victory since the 1967 NIT, when D'Antoni was on the team. "I told them the beginning goal is to win the NCAA Tournament," D'Antoni said. "Wherever we get in the car driving down the road to that championship, when it stops we'll all get off and we'll be happy because we like who is in the car. We like the journey we're on. We're looking forward to the next leg, and I have confidence in these guys that they'll give you a real good ballgame and got a great chance to win."
ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA: Senior Jevon Carter was a force in Friday's win with 21 points, eight assists, six steals and five rebounds while stifling Murray State star Jonathan Stark, and the Mountaineers' defensive stalwart will be a handful for Elmore. "I would be shocked if he didn't play that way," Huggins said of Carter's performance. "He plays that way all the time. He plays that way in open gym. But he's always done that." Freshman Teddy Allen produced his first double-digit scoring effort in a nine-game span with 16 points, while Sagaba Konate contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for West Virginia, which is seeking a Sweet 16 berth for the third time in four years.
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Thundering Herd are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win.
* Over is 14-6 in Thundering Herd last 20 non-conference games.
* Over is 6-1 in Mountaineers last 7 overall.
CONSENSUS: Consensus data is showing 69 percent of bettors taking the underdogs from Marshall, while 53 percent of totals wagers are on the Under.
(10) Butler Bulldogs vs (2) Purdue Boilermakers (-3.5, 144)
Game to be played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Big Ten champion Purdue appeared to suffered a key injury in its 74-48 first round NCAA Tournament victory over Cal State Fullerton when 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas suffered a fractured right elbow while fighting for a rebound in the second half. But Haas, who will need surgery to fix the injury, took part in some drills during Saturday's practice and may play in Sunday's Round of 32 contest with Butler at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit if the NCAA approves a special elbow brace he's been fitted with.
Haas, who had nine points and 10 rebounds before suffering the injury, is the second leading scorer for the Boilermakers (14.9) and also averages 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. The finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award which goes to the nation's top college center had 15 points and three rebounds in just 16 foul-plagued minutes in a 82-67 victory over the Bulldogs in a Dec. 16 meeting in the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis, so his loss would be a big one for Purdue which is the No. 2 seed in the East Regional. "He's trying to convince me, but it is what it is," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "I don't see him playing. His future is more important." No. 10 seed Butler, which is trying for its fourth Sweet Sixteen appearance in nine years, opened the tournament with a 79-62 victory over Arkansas.
TV: 12:10 ET, CBS
LINE HISTORY: Purdue opened as 3.5-point favorites and the line has yet to move off that opening number . The total hit betting boards at 144.5 and was bet down a full point to 143.5 until rebounding slightly to 144 on Sunday morning.
BETTING STATS:
ABOUT BUTLER: The Bulldogs are 15-3 when outrebounding an opponent and finished with a 45-25 edge on the boards over the Razorbacks in Friday's first round victory. Senior forward Kelan Martin went over 2,000 career points in the victory and the all-Big East pick finished with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Kamar Baldwin also had a big game, finishing with 24 points, his seventh 20-point game of his career and sixth this season.
ABOUT PURDUE: The Boilermakers held Butler, which averages 8.3 3-pointers per game, to just one 3-pointer in the first 28 minutes in their December victory while building a 26-point lead. Sophomore guard Carsen Edwards, who leads the team in scoring (18.4), had a team-high 18 points in the first meeting with the Bulldogs while senior forward Vincent Edwards, who is third on the team in scoring (14.5), finished with 15 points, including 4-of-5 3-pointers. Senior guard Dakota Mathias is also averaging in double figures (12.3) and has connected on 92-of-199 3-pointers (46.2 percent).
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Bulldogs are 21-5-2 ATS in their last 28 NCAA Tournament games.
* Boilermakers are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win.
* Over is 5-1 in Bulldogs last 6 non-conference games.
* Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
CONSENSUS: Consensus data is showing 61 percent of bettors taking the favorites from Purdue, while 64 percent of totals wagers are on the Over.
(13) Marshall Thundering Herd vs (5) West Virginia Mountaineers (-12.5, 159.5)
Game to be played at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California.
There is no love lost between Marshall and West Virginia and the in-state rivals present perhaps the most tantalizing second-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament when they meet Sunday in the East Region at San Diego. The 13th-seeded Thundering Herd won their first-ever tournament game with an 81-75 upset of Wichita State on Friday, presenting them with a chance to meet a hated foe, although the initial reaction was to downplay the bitterness.
"Hell, I’m still celebrating this one. You’re off on the other one?" Marshall coach Dan D'Antoni told the media when asked of a matchup with the Mountaineers. "I have no idea. ... Let's enjoy this a little bit and we'll get ready for West Virginia and I really don’t have to worry. These are all gym rats. They're going to be ready to go when it's time to go." The two schools - separated by about 200 miles - played every year from 1977 through 2015 before the Mountaineers elected to end the annual clash in a somewhat contentious decision. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who shot back at D'Antoni in 2014 when the latter suggested that the Mountaineers were planning to back out of the series because they were afraid, initially dodged questions about the renewal of the rivalry after his fifth-seeded team defeated Murray State 85-68 in the first round. "Can I say one thing?" he said later in the press conference. "I've got great respect for Danny and what he's done. He took over. They were down and I've got great respect for him since he's become the coach. ... This is not a Hatfields and McCoys thing. We have great relationships [between the] staffs."
TV: 9:40 p.m., TBS
LINE HISTORY: West Virginia opened as 11.5-point favorites and have been bet up a full point to 12.5 as of Saturday night. The total hit betting boards as low as 159.5 and has yet to move off the opening number.
BETTING STATS:
ABOUT MARSHALL: Jon Elmore, who led Conference USA in scoring this season, scored 27 points in the win over Wichita State and has at least 22 in 12 of his last 14 games. Ajdin Penava, the league's Defensive Player of the Year, chipped in 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with three blocks as the Thundering Herd picked up their first postseason victory since the 1967 NIT, when D'Antoni was on the team. "I told them the beginning goal is to win the NCAA Tournament," D'Antoni said. "Wherever we get in the car driving down the road to that championship, when it stops we'll all get off and we'll be happy because we like who is in the car. We like the journey we're on. We're looking forward to the next leg, and I have confidence in these guys that they'll give you a real good ballgame and got a great chance to win."
ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA: Senior Jevon Carter was a force in Friday's win with 21 points, eight assists, six steals and five rebounds while stifling Murray State star Jonathan Stark, and the Mountaineers' defensive stalwart will be a handful for Elmore. "I would be shocked if he didn't play that way," Huggins said of Carter's performance. "He plays that way all the time. He plays that way in open gym. But he's always done that." Freshman Teddy Allen produced his first double-digit scoring effort in a nine-game span with 16 points, while Sagaba Konate contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for West Virginia, which is seeking a Sweet 16 berth for the third time in four years.
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Thundering Herd are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win.
* Over is 14-6 in Thundering Herd last 20 non-conference games.
* Over is 6-1 in Mountaineers last 7 overall.
CONSENSUS: Consensus data is showing 69 percent of bettors taking the underdogs from Marshall, while 53 percent of totals wagers are on the Under.
Comment