Posted on
3/27/2008 1:10:57 PM
NCAA March Madness Basketball Betting – Washington State vs. North Carolina
By Eric Williams
The Washington State Cougars, (26-8 SU, 18-15 ATS, 16-16 O/U), and North Carolina Tar Heels, (34-2 SU, 22-11- ATS, 21-11-1 O/U), will put their polar-opposite, but highly successful, styles of play to the test in their east regional semifinal matchup tonight.
The fourth-seeded Cougars have gone an impressive 26-8 in the BetUS.com Sportsbook this season, tying last year’s squad for the most wins in school history.
Washington State comes into this contest off consecutive victories over No. 13 Winthrop, winning their first-round matchup 71-40 on Thursday before following that up with a 61-41 second-round victory over No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday. The Cougars have used their often-overpowering defense to smother opponents this season, allowing just 40.5 points per game in their two NCAA Tournament contests.
Seniors Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver lead the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 and 12.2 points per game respectively. Both players are averaging an identical 14.5 points per game in the tournament but it is the Cougars defense which gets the job done, as they allowed a miniscule 56.1 points per game, ranking second in the nation in scoring defense.
The top-seeded Tar Heels, one of the most featured teams in the BetUS.com Locker Room this season, have recorded an outstanding 34-2 record this season, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference in the regular season before taking the tournament championship as well.
The Tar Heels have averaged a whopping 89.9 points per game this season, ranking second in the nation and have put up 110.5 points per game in their two tournament wins over No. 16 Mount St. Mary's (113-74) and No. 9 Arkansas (108-77).
Four players are averaging double-figure scoring for the Tar Heels this season, led by All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough who put up 22.8 points per game while also pulling down 10.2 rebounds per game.
Wayne Ellington, (16.8 ppg), Ty Lawson, (12.9 ppg) and Danny Green, (11.3 ppg), round out Carolina’s formidable quartet of scorers.
The Tar Heels have won 13 consecutive games coming into this contest and covered the spread in both tournament games while the Cougars are 7-3 in their last ten games while covering the spread in six of ten.
The Cougars are averaging 67.0 points per game on 48.0 percent shooting while the Tar Heels are allowing 72.9 points per game defensively on 42.4 percent shooting.
Here is a look at tonight’s key trends followed by my analysis and NCAAB Betting Picks.
The Cougars are 5-0 ATS in their last five Thursday games.
The Cougars are 5-1 ATS in their last six games as an underdog of 7.0-12.5.
The Tar Heels are 7-1 ATS in their last eight vs. Pacific-Ten.
The Tar Heels are 5-1 ATS in their last six after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
The Under is 5-0 in Cougars last five games after allowing less than 50 points in their previous game.
The Over is 4-0-1 in Tar Heels last five games following a ATS win.
Analysis: I like the Tar Heels to undoubtedly win this game but the Cougars are going to try slow down the pace of this game to a near crawl. While accomplishing the feat of slowing down the Tar Heels is an extremely tough task, something tells me the Cougars are going to find a way to keep it fairly close while covering this spread.
NCAAB Free Picks: Washington State +9½ Points/Under 142½ Total Points
07:25 PM EST NCAAB Odds
Washington St +9½ -110
North Carolina -9½ -110
Over 142½ -110
Under 142½ -110
NCAA Tournament- East regional semifinals @ Bobcat Arena, Charlotte,NC
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