posted March 22, 2008 at 14:08 in NCAA B Betting Trends

BetUS March Madness Tournament Betting Odds: Washington State -2.5, Total 140

In an interesting clash of styles, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (25-7 SU, 14-15 ATS) will meet up with the Cougars of Washington State (25-8 SU, 17-15 ATS) in the second round of the NCAA tournament's East Regional, a game which tips off at 6:40 PM ET on Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

At BetUS Sportsbook, Washington State is listed as a 2.5-point favorite, with a total of 140 points.

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

* ND has covered six of its last eight games

* ND has won four of its last five games SU

* ND has won 12 of its last 15 games SU

* ND has played 14 of its last 18 games OVER the total

* WSU has won eight of its last 11 games SU

* WSU has played six of its last nine games UNDER the total

Washington State had a hairy time with Winthrop in its NCAA opener, well, at least for 20 minutes. The Cougars were tied at the half but put on a monster display in the second half, out-scoring its opponent by a 42-11 margin, and holding Michael Jenkins to just two points, in running away with things. Of course, it should be considered that this year's edition of the Winthrop team was not as good as last year's contingent that upset Notre Dame.

Nonetheless, the Cougars can smother, yielding less than 42% shooting and limiting foes to 56.5 ppg, third lowest in the nation. And they benefited from a nearly flawless game from center Aron Baynes, who was nine-for-nine from the field.

All that having been said, Notre Dame presents a challenge for the Wazzou defense that it may not have seen very much, even in the ultra-competitive Pac-10 Conference. The Irish averages over 80 points a game and knows how to spread out a stop unit; Luke Harangody, the Big East player of the year who had 18 points and 14 rebounds against George Mason in the first round, will keep Baynes very, very busy. At the same time, Kyle McAlarney hits 45% of his three-pointers, Ryan Ayers and Rob Kurz can go inside or outside, while sure-handed Tory Jackson dishes it out with aplomb.

Let's also keep in mind that Notre Dame has surrendered less than 41% shooting themselves. And with Washington State's poor performance in hitting the offensive boards (just 6.6 per game), will the second shots come?

I like Notre Dame, which disappointed in last year's tourney, to overachieve a little in this one. Lay the points with the Irish, the 2.5-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: NOTRE DAME

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