Tweet
Friday's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 betting preview: Midwest Region
Games to be played at CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.
(5) Clemson Tigers vs (1) Kansas Jayhawks (-5, 142.5)
Clemson was picked to finish 13th out of 15 teams in the preseason ACC poll and lost their second-leading scorer Donte Grantham to a season-ending knee injury in January, but the 5th-seeded Tigers find themselves two wins from the Final Four. Clemson, making its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1997, takes on top-seeded Kansas on Friday night in the Midwest Region semifinal at Omaha, Neb.
“I think we’re excited that we went to the Sweet 16, and we don’t do that here at Clemson very often, but why not more?” Tigers coach Brad Brownell told The State. “And that’s what we’re thinking about. … I want to do what we can to get ready and try to beat one of the best teams in the country, one of the best programs in the country.” Clemson rolled to an 84-53 victory over Auburn in the second round while allowing 25.8 percent shooting from the field and will have to raise its game defensively against the Jayhawks, who boast five players averaging at least 12 points. Big 12 champion Kansas rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat Pennsylvania in the first round and outlasted Seton Hall 83-79 in the second to reach the Sweet 16 for the ninth time in the last 12 years. “They are so well-coached and sound,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self told reporters of Clemson. “Playing in the ACC they’ve played against some unbelievable teams all year long. This will be a difficult game, a game that will require us to play a lot better than we did this past weekend.”
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, CBS
LINE HISTORY: Kansas opened the betting week as 4-point favorites and heading into game day they have been bet up to -5. The total hit betting boards at 143 and has dropped slightly to 142.5.
BETTING STATS:
ABOUT CLEMSON: Senior guard Gabe DeVoe became the first Tiger to score at least 20 in consecutive NCAA Tournament games since Elden Campbell in 1989 by recording 22 in both contests on 18-of-28 shooting. Junior guard Marcquise Reed leads the team in scoring (15.9) and is second in assists (3.4) while DeVoe (14.2 points) has drained a team-best 83 from 3-point range. Junior point guard Shelton Mitchell (12.3 points, team-high 3.7 assists) scored 23 in the first round against New Mexico State and junior forward Elijah Thomas (10.9 points, 8.1 rebounds) had a double-double versus Auburn.
ABOUT KANSAS: Sophomore center Udoka Azubuike, who missed the Big 12 Tournament with a knee injury, is expected to be back in the starting lineup Friday after recording 10 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes against Seton Hall. Senior guard Devonte’ Graham, the Big 12 Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring (17.4) and assists (7.5) but must rebound from a 1-for-7 shooting effort in the second round. Sophomore guard Malik Newman, who averaged 24 points in the Big 12 Tournament, scored 28 on 8-of-14 shooting (4-of-8 from 3-point range) against Seton Hall to raise his season mark to 13.4.
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Tigers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.
* Jayhawks are 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Under is 5-1 in Tigers' last 6 non-conference games.
* Over is 6-2-1 in Jayhawks' last 9 overall.
CONSENSUS: Consensus data is showing 63 percent of bettors taking the favorites from Kansas, while 64 percent of totals wagers are on the Over.
(11) Syracuse Orange vs (2) Duke Blue Devils (-11.5, 133.5)
Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone has flustered opponents during this NCAA Tournament just like it seems to whenever Syracuse makes the Big Dance, but it has been Mike Krzyzewski's use of the same defense that has made Duke equally stingy. The two winningest coaches in Division I college basketball history will attempt to outwit one another yet again Friday in Omaha, Neb., as the No. 2 seed Duke meets the 11th-seeded Orange in a Sweet 16 matchup.
Krzyzewski (1,099-337) made the move to the zone as his team's primary defense 11 games ago, and the Blue Devils, who surrendered 72.8 points per game over their first 24 games, have allowed an average of 61.7 points since. Duke's defensive renaissance may been best illustrated five games after the switch as the Blue Devils held Syracuse to 31.5 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers in a 60-44 victory on Feb. 24. While Duke has won its first two NCAA Tournament games by an average of 23.5 points, the Orange has claimed their three victories - by a total of 11 points - by riding a defense that has kept each of its opponents at least 25 points below their season scoring average. Syracuse, where Boeheim has posted a 925–367 record (minus 101 vacated victories), pulled off the biggest upset of its run Sunday, forcing Michigan State to miss its final 13 shots en route to a 55-53 win.
TV: 9:37 p.m. ET, CBS
LINE HISTORY: Duke opened as big 11.5-point favorites and that number has been steady heading into game day. The total hit betting boards at 133.5 and has also yet to move.
BETTING STATS:
ABOUT SYRACUSE: Tyus Battle (1,403), Frank Howard (1,383) and Oshae Brissett (1,371) rank first, second and fourth, respectively in Division I in total minutes and are responsible for 73.2 percent of the team's offensive production this season. Battle (team-high 19.3 points) is the highest-scoring sophomore in Orange history with 693 points and has played all 40 minutes in 14 of the last 17 games, but he is shooting only 27.4 percent from the field over his last four outings. Brissett (14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds) needs 11 more points to move into fourth place on the school's freshman scoring list and has accounted for 31.6 percent of the team's points over the last four contests.
ABOUT DUKE: ACC Player of the Year Marvin Bagley III (21.2 points, 11.3 rebounds) has tallied 22 points in each of the first two rounds, and he is shooting 67.4 percent from the floor since he returned against the Orange following a four-game absence. Fellow freshman forward Wendell Carter Jr. (13.6, 9.2) produced the last of his 15 double-doubles this season with 16 points and 10 boards last month versus Syracuse and was the only other player beside Bagley (19) to score more than 10 points in the contest. Following a month-long stretch in which he failed to reach double figures six times in 10 outings, senior guard Grayson Allen (15.6 points) is averaging 18.5 points over his last 11 games.
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Orange are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 NCAA Tournament games.
* Blue Devils are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
* Under is 6-0 in Orange's last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Under is 7-1 in Blue Devils' last 8 vs. Atlantic Coast.
CONSENSUS: Consensus data is showing 67 percent of bettors taking the underdogs from Syracuse, while 51 percent of totals wagers are on the Over.
Games to be played at CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.
(5) Clemson Tigers vs (1) Kansas Jayhawks (-5, 142.5)
Clemson was picked to finish 13th out of 15 teams in the preseason ACC poll and lost their second-leading scorer Donte Grantham to a season-ending knee injury in January, but the 5th-seeded Tigers find themselves two wins from the Final Four. Clemson, making its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1997, takes on top-seeded Kansas on Friday night in the Midwest Region semifinal at Omaha, Neb.
“I think we’re excited that we went to the Sweet 16, and we don’t do that here at Clemson very often, but why not more?” Tigers coach Brad Brownell told The State. “And that’s what we’re thinking about. … I want to do what we can to get ready and try to beat one of the best teams in the country, one of the best programs in the country.” Clemson rolled to an 84-53 victory over Auburn in the second round while allowing 25.8 percent shooting from the field and will have to raise its game defensively against the Jayhawks, who boast five players averaging at least 12 points. Big 12 champion Kansas rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat Pennsylvania in the first round and outlasted Seton Hall 83-79 in the second to reach the Sweet 16 for the ninth time in the last 12 years. “They are so well-coached and sound,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self told reporters of Clemson. “Playing in the ACC they’ve played against some unbelievable teams all year long. This will be a difficult game, a game that will require us to play a lot better than we did this past weekend.”
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, CBS
LINE HISTORY: Kansas opened the betting week as 4-point favorites and heading into game day they have been bet up to -5. The total hit betting boards at 143 and has dropped slightly to 142.5.
BETTING STATS:
ABOUT CLEMSON: Senior guard Gabe DeVoe became the first Tiger to score at least 20 in consecutive NCAA Tournament games since Elden Campbell in 1989 by recording 22 in both contests on 18-of-28 shooting. Junior guard Marcquise Reed leads the team in scoring (15.9) and is second in assists (3.4) while DeVoe (14.2 points) has drained a team-best 83 from 3-point range. Junior point guard Shelton Mitchell (12.3 points, team-high 3.7 assists) scored 23 in the first round against New Mexico State and junior forward Elijah Thomas (10.9 points, 8.1 rebounds) had a double-double versus Auburn.
ABOUT KANSAS: Sophomore center Udoka Azubuike, who missed the Big 12 Tournament with a knee injury, is expected to be back in the starting lineup Friday after recording 10 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes against Seton Hall. Senior guard Devonte’ Graham, the Big 12 Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring (17.4) and assists (7.5) but must rebound from a 1-for-7 shooting effort in the second round. Sophomore guard Malik Newman, who averaged 24 points in the Big 12 Tournament, scored 28 on 8-of-14 shooting (4-of-8 from 3-point range) against Seton Hall to raise his season mark to 13.4.
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Tigers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.
* Jayhawks are 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Under is 5-1 in Tigers' last 6 non-conference games.
* Over is 6-2-1 in Jayhawks' last 9 overall.
CONSENSUS: Consensus data is showing 63 percent of bettors taking the favorites from Kansas, while 64 percent of totals wagers are on the Over.
(11) Syracuse Orange vs (2) Duke Blue Devils (-11.5, 133.5)
Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone has flustered opponents during this NCAA Tournament just like it seems to whenever Syracuse makes the Big Dance, but it has been Mike Krzyzewski's use of the same defense that has made Duke equally stingy. The two winningest coaches in Division I college basketball history will attempt to outwit one another yet again Friday in Omaha, Neb., as the No. 2 seed Duke meets the 11th-seeded Orange in a Sweet 16 matchup.
Krzyzewski (1,099-337) made the move to the zone as his team's primary defense 11 games ago, and the Blue Devils, who surrendered 72.8 points per game over their first 24 games, have allowed an average of 61.7 points since. Duke's defensive renaissance may been best illustrated five games after the switch as the Blue Devils held Syracuse to 31.5 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers in a 60-44 victory on Feb. 24. While Duke has won its first two NCAA Tournament games by an average of 23.5 points, the Orange has claimed their three victories - by a total of 11 points - by riding a defense that has kept each of its opponents at least 25 points below their season scoring average. Syracuse, where Boeheim has posted a 925–367 record (minus 101 vacated victories), pulled off the biggest upset of its run Sunday, forcing Michigan State to miss its final 13 shots en route to a 55-53 win.
TV: 9:37 p.m. ET, CBS
LINE HISTORY: Duke opened as big 11.5-point favorites and that number has been steady heading into game day. The total hit betting boards at 133.5 and has also yet to move.
BETTING STATS:
ABOUT SYRACUSE: Tyus Battle (1,403), Frank Howard (1,383) and Oshae Brissett (1,371) rank first, second and fourth, respectively in Division I in total minutes and are responsible for 73.2 percent of the team's offensive production this season. Battle (team-high 19.3 points) is the highest-scoring sophomore in Orange history with 693 points and has played all 40 minutes in 14 of the last 17 games, but he is shooting only 27.4 percent from the field over his last four outings. Brissett (14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds) needs 11 more points to move into fourth place on the school's freshman scoring list and has accounted for 31.6 percent of the team's points over the last four contests.
ABOUT DUKE: ACC Player of the Year Marvin Bagley III (21.2 points, 11.3 rebounds) has tallied 22 points in each of the first two rounds, and he is shooting 67.4 percent from the floor since he returned against the Orange following a four-game absence. Fellow freshman forward Wendell Carter Jr. (13.6, 9.2) produced the last of his 15 double-doubles this season with 16 points and 10 boards last month versus Syracuse and was the only other player beside Bagley (19) to score more than 10 points in the contest. Following a month-long stretch in which he failed to reach double figures six times in 10 outings, senior guard Grayson Allen (15.6 points) is averaging 18.5 points over his last 11 games.
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Orange are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 NCAA Tournament games.
* Blue Devils are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
* Under is 6-0 in Orange's last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Under is 7-1 in Blue Devils' last 8 vs. Atlantic Coast.
CONSENSUS: Consensus data is showing 67 percent of bettors taking the underdogs from Syracuse, while 51 percent of totals wagers are on the Over.
Comment