Free College Basketball NCAA Tournament Pick
#1 Duke Blue Devils (32-5, 13-3 ACC) vs. #3 Baylor Bears (28-7, 11-5 Big 12) Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX, 3/28, 5:05 PM
In what is probably the tournament’s weakest bracket, Duke has rolled, and Baylor finally took care of one of the Cinderella stories of this tournament. Now these two will fight it out to see who gets to play for the right to go to the Final 4.
Until the Sweet 16, Baylor had played in some relatively close games. The Bears beat Sam Houston State by nine points and Old Dominion by eight. Then in the Sweet 16, against a Saint Mary’s team that had already beaten Richmond and Villanova, they won easily by 23 points, 72-49. The Bears had a 29 point lead going into halftime. LaceDarius Dunn had a game high 23 points for Baylor and Tweety Carter chipped in 14. The Bears were too much for the Gaels, and now they are in the Elite 8 for the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams.
Duke lucked out in this tournament. The South region is the least competitive in the tournament. There were some eyebrows raised when Duke was given the third number 1 seed over Syracuse, who received the fourth 1 seed. Syracuse had a better regular season record and played in a tougher conference. Duke got a better draw than top overall seed Kansas, who had to deal with teams in their bracket like Ohio State, Georgetown, and Michigan State. While Villanova had a good season, they fell apart at the end of the season, and Purdue lost its best player in its last few games as well. But Duke has won the games that is was supposed to. The Blue Devils beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, California, and now Purdue. In a game that would have been much different if Robbie Hummel were healthy, Duke, led by Kyle Singler’s 24 points and Brian Zoubek’s 14 rebounds, Duke won 70-57. For the first time since 2004, Duke is back to the Elite 8.
Baylor will try to knock off another 1 seed, and show that despite being picked to finish tenth in the Big 12 this year, they are for real. Duke, on the other hand, has been away from the Final 4 since 2004 when they lost to Connecticut. The winner of this game takes on the winner of Kentucky and West Virginia.
Duke is currently favored by 5 points. The total is listed at 138.
Baylor Betting Trends:
Baylor is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games |
Baylor is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games |
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Baylor's last 7 games |
Duke Betting Trends:
Duke is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games |
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Duke's last 7 games |
Pick: Take Duke -5
Betting trends by Bodog.com |
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