In bars all across the United States on Saturday, patrons will be doing two things: drinking green beer to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and watching the start of the second round of March Madness. It is going to be tough to top the action that went down on opening day, but if we have learned anything about the college basketball tournament over the years it’s that it has the ability to excite and surprise us on any given day. The two teams we are talking about in this piece are in the Midwest Region, and while both of them won their first game, only one can come in as the NCAA Basketball betting favorite for this one.
The Duke Blue Devils, who are once again among the favorites to win it all, never looked in any kind of trouble against Iona, while the Rhode Island Rams needed overtime to take care of Trae Young and the Oklahoma Sooners. Both those games went just about as expected, but will we see the favorite come through again in this round or can the Rams spring the upset at the 2018 March Madness odds?
Things are going to get tougher for Duke as this tournament progresses, but the offense that they are bringing to the table on any given night is one that any team they face is going to have a tough time shutting down. Allen gets a lot of the press, but Marvin Bagley III is also a beast, averaging over 21 PPG this season. It was Bagley who was the top scorer for Duke in round 1.
Game Info & NCAA Basketball Betting Pick: Rams vs. Blue Devils
Rams to Round 2! @RhodyMBB speaks after its overtime victory. #MarchMadness https://t.co/gFxFMIcBGc
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) 15 de marzo de 2018
- When: Saturday, March 17 at 2:40 PM EST
- Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh
- TV: CBS
- Radio: TuneIn
- Live Stream: MM Live
- NCAA Basketball Betting Odds: Duke Blue Devils -9.5 (Over/Under at 149.5 points)
Team Records
- All: Rhode Island Rams 26-7 / Duke Blue Devils 27-7
- Home: Rhode Island Rams 18-3 / Duke Blue Devils 19-2
- Away: Rhode Island Rams 8-4 / Duke Blue Devils 8-5
- ATS: Rhode Island Rams 16-15 / Duke Blue Devils 21-11
- Over/Under: Rhode Island Rams 16-15 / Duke Blue Devils 17-15
2018 March Madness Betting Preview & Prediction: Butler vs. Arkansas
Recent Head to Head (Last 2 Games)
- Record: Duke Blue Devils lead 2-0
- Score: Rhode Island Rams 72.00 / Duke Blue Devils 78.50
- Field Goal Percentage: Rhode Island Rams 48.21 / Duke Blue Devils 45.22
- Rebounds: Rhode Island Rams 31.00 / Duke Blue Devils 29.50
- 3 Point Shots: Rhode Island Rams 13-25 / Duke Blue Devils 10-38
- Steals: Rhode Island Rams 3.50 / Duke Blue Devils 5.00
Why bet on the Rhode Island Rams?
There were a lot of people who had the #7 seeded Rhode Island Rams losing to #10 Oklahoma in the opening round, and there were several times in that game where the upset prediction looked to be a good one. That was the early game that I focused on yesterday afternoon and it was an incredibly fun one to take in, as the lead seemed to change every 2 or 3 minutes. In the end, OT was required, and it was the Rams who got the job done with an 83-78 win. While they weren’t able to keep Trae Young (28 points) in check, the Rams offense did enough to win, spreading out the scoring in the same way that they have done all season long. They are probably going to need more of the same against a high-powered Duke offense that has several guys who can do some serious damage.Team Statistics
Offense- Total Score: 76.39
- Field Goal Percentage: 45.70
- Three-Point Percentage: 35.18
- Free Throw Percentage: 70.34
- Total Rebounds: 34.55
- Total Score: 68.21
- Field Goal Percentage: 44.94
- Three-Point Percentage: 32.58
- Free Throw Percentage: 73.15
- Total Rebounds: 34.42
Why bet on the Duke Blue Devils?
The Duke Blue Devils had their opening round game against Iona in the bag at half-time, with Grayson Allen hitting a 3-pointer at the half to put an exclamation point on an impressive 53-39 showing. It was the Duke starters who accounted for all 53 points in the opening half, but they got a little bit of rest in the second, as Duke used their bench guys to cruise to an 89-67 win that was as comfortable as the final score suggests.
Things are going to get tougher for Duke as this tournament progresses, but the offense that they are bringing to the table on any given night is one that any team they face is going to have a tough time shutting down. Allen gets a lot of the press, but Marvin Bagley III is also a beast, averaging over 21 PPG this season. It was Bagley who was the top scorer for Duke in round 1.
Team Statistics
Offense- Total Score: 84.82
- Field Goal Percentage: 49.46
- Three-Point Percentage: 38.01
- Free Throw Percentage: 70.60
- Total Rebounds: 41.79
- Total Score: 69.53
- Field Goal Percentage: 40.21
- Three-Point Percentage: 31.76
- Free Throw Percentage: 73.80
- Total Rebounds: 32.62
Latest NCAA Basketball Betting Trends
- The total has gone UNDER in five of Rhode Island’s last six games.
- Rhode Island is 4-0 ATS in its last four games
- Duke is 8-1 SU and 7-2 ATS in its last nine games
- The total has gone UNDER in eight of Duke’s last nine games against teams with winning records
