posted March 20, 2008 at 17:39 in NCAA B Betting Trends

BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds: Davidson -2, Total 141

Two outstanding programs with dark horse hopes hook up in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday, as the Wildcats of Davidson (26-6 SU, 20-10 ATS) play relatively close to home against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (25-7 SU, 17-15 ATS) in first-round action that begins at 12:25 PM ET at the RBC Center in Raleigh.

At BetUS Sportsbook, Davidson is listed as a two-point favorite, with a total of 141 points.

Here are some of the NCAA college basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* DAV has covered eight of its last ten games
* DAV has won its last 22 games SU
* DAV has played seven of its last eight games UNDER the total
* GONZ has covered six of its last nine games
* GONZ has won eight of its last nine games SU
* GONZ has played three of its last four games OVER the total

Davidson has played some of the best teams in the country, including North Carolina, to which it lost by four points, Duke, which won by six, and UCLA, which scored a 12-point win in a game that was tight for quite a while. All those games were covers for Davidson, but now they're in a different role - that of a favorite in an NCAA March Madness tournament game.

Obviously there are lots of positives for this team. Stephen Curry, a 25-point per game scorer, hits 44% of his three-point attempts and 90% from the line, and will next be seen in an NBA uniform; Jason Richards led the nation is assists with eight per game, largely by feeding Curry. The Wildcats make nine three-pointers a game and don't turn the ball over very often (just 12.4 times a contest).

But there is not a lot of size, and that is where Davidson could get caught having to deal with some of the big people Gonzaga can throw at them, including Josh Heytvelt, who posts 10 points a game and five rebounds, and Austin Daye, who leads the team in blocks with 1.7 a game. Balance is the order of the day for the 'Zags, who have seven players averaging between 7.5 and 12.7 ppg, as well as seven players in the rotation shooting at least 48%.

Gonzaga plays a back-breaking non-conference schedule as well, with wins over Virginia Tech, U-Conn, St. Joe's, Western Kentucky and Georgia, and competitive losses to Washington State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Memphis. Lots of depth and experience for this club, which is used to playing in this tournament too.

We will take the points with the higher seed - Gonzaga, the two-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: GONZAGA

(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)

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