Sweet 16 East Region Preview
The top four seeds all made it into the Sweet 16 in the East Region, as none of the big seeds suffered an early upset. That leaves college basketball betting fans with a 4 versus a 1 in Xavier versus Pittsburgh, and a 3 versus a 2 in Villanova versus Duke.
(click here for your printable March Madness bracket)
The Xavier Musketeers will advance to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row if they can somehow upset Pittsburgh. The Musketeers started the tournament with an easy 77-59 victory over Portland State as a 10.5-point favorite on the college basketball odds. C.J. Anderson netted a team-high 14 points in the win, while Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond, and Dante Jackson all pitched in with 13 points apiece.
In the Round of 32 Xavier’s defense stepped up in a 60-49 win over Wisconsin. The Musketeers limited the Badgers to 25 percent shooting in the second half to easily pick up the win and cover the 2.5-point spread. Raymond led Xavier with 15 points, 12 of which came in the second half.
The Panthers didn’t begin the tournament the way a No. 1 seed should, as they had trouble with East Tennessee State. Don’t judge that game solely by its 72-62 final score, because the Panthers clung to a slim two-point lead with just over four minutes to go. Thanks to a stalwart effort from DeJuan Blair with 27 points and 11 rebounds the Panthers pulled ahead and dispatched the Buccaneers, but failed to cover the 20.5-point spread.
Pittsburgh should have got at least some of their confidence back in the second round with an 84-76 win over Oklahoma State as an 8.5-point favorite. Sam Young poured in 32 points in the win, while Levance Fields added 13 points and nine assists.
The last time the Musketeers and Panthers met up was way back in 1998. Pittsburgh won 94-76 as a 7-point road underdog, and in Thursday’s game they are a 7-point favorite.
The Villanova Wildcats are lucky to be in the Sweet 16 after nearly blowing it against American in the opening round. The Wildcats trailed by as much as 14 points in the second half before a 19-2 run allowed them to take the lead and never look back. Villanova went on to win 80-67, but were unable to cover the 15.5-point spread. Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham each netted 25 points to avoid what would have been a huge upset.
The Wildcats performed much better in the second round against what should have been a much tougher opponent in UCLA. Villanova shut down the Bruins in an 89-69 win as 2.5-point favorites. Cunningham delivered a team-high 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and Reggie Redding added 13 points, six boards, and seven assists.
Duke has made it past the second round of the tournament for the first time since 2006. The Blue Devils looked good in their tournament opener, an 86-62 win over Binghamton as a 23.5-point favorite. Six different Blue Devils scored in double figures, led by Jon Scheyer with 15 points.
In the second round Duke delivered again versus Texas in a 74-69 win as a 7.5-point favorite. Gerald Henderson dropped 24 points on the Longhorns, and Kyle Singler added 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Blue Devils hold the edge on Villanova with a 3-0 mark against them. They last met up in 2000 when Duke won 98-85 as a 19-point home favorite. The Blue Devils are a slim 2-point favorite in Thursday night’s game.
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