Butler Bulldogs vs Virginia Cavaliers NCAA Tournament Betting Preview & Odds
NCAA Tournament 2nd round action on Saturday and we will see the Butler Bulldogs take on the Virginia Cavaliers at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. TBS will carry this game, which has a start time of 7:10 pm EST.
Current betting odds for this game have the have the Cavaliers listed as 7.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 130.5.
The Butler Bulldogs have had another solid season as they are now 22-10 on the year and they moved ion in the tournament with a 71-61 win over Texas Tech as 3.5 point favorites. The Bulldogs continue to be moneymakers in the tournament as they are now 13-2 ATS in their last 15 tournament games and they are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games vs ACC teams, but the Bulldogs have also gone just 6-7-1 ATS vs tournament teams this year and we note that #9 seed off a SU win are just 8-17 ATS as dogs in this round of the tournament. The Bulldogs have 6 players that average at least 6.2 ppg and are led by Kellen Dunham, who averages 16.5 ppg and led the Bulldogs with 23 points vs the Red Raiders. 2nd is Kelan Martin at 16.0 ppg, while leading the team in rebounding at 6.8 rpg. Roosevelt Jones (13.7 ppg) and Andrew Chrabascz (10.2 ppg) also average in double figures for the Bulldogs. This has been a strong offensive team this year as they come in ranked 24th in scoring, putting up 80.3 ppg, while also ranking 48th in shooting overall, 17th from long range and 51st at the charity stripe. On defense they are very average as they come in ranked 151st in points allowed, giving up 70.8 ppg, while also ranking 156th in defensive FG% overall, and 150th in 3-point defense. Butler comes in at 140th in the nation in rebounding, while they commit just 10.4 turnovers per game (22nd) and force 13.2 turnovers per game (117th).
The Cavaliers had a solid season, but they did surprise many by grabbing a #1 seed over Michigan State. Well the Spartans are now out and the Cavs have moved on to the next round thanks to an 81-45 pasting of Hampton. The Cavs were never challenged in the game and they are now 9-4 ATS vs tournament teams this year and they are also 6-1 ATS their last seven games vs a winning team, but let’s also note that ACC teams are just 5-17 ATS as favorites of less than nine points in this round and the Cavs are just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games vs the Big East. The Cavs will be trying to avoid the same fate as last year when they were knocked out in this round by Michigan State. The Cavs have just 4 players that average more than 4.6 ppg and are led by Malcolm Brogdon, who averages 18.5 ppg, but he did have just 11 points vs Hampton. Anthony Gill led the team with 19 points vs Hampton and he is 2nd on the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg, while leading them in rebounding at 6.1 rpg. London Perrantes hits 48.3% from long range and rounds out the double digit scorers on the team at 11.0 ppg. The Cavaliers are not a good offensive team as they rank 240th in scoring, putting up just 70.7 ppg, but they are a good shooting team as they rank 11th in shooting overall 10th from long range and 19th at the charity stripe. The offense doesn’t need to be that good when you have a defense that ranks 2nd in points allowed (59.2 ppg), 88th defensive FG% overall and 163rd in 3-point defense. Virginia is 319th in the nation in rebounding, while they commit just 9.2 turnovers per game (4th) and force 11.9 turnovers per game (231st).
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