How to Bet on Butler vs Virginia March Madness Spread

Posted by Joe Solari on Friday,March 18, 2016 5:34, EDT in

We are barely a week into the NCAA Tournament, but March Madness is already living up to its wild expectation, with the NCAA Tournament odds being littered with upsets. Don’t say we didn’t warn you, though, as our NFL Articles and News section has more than enough evidence about the teams we expected to deliver upsets in the college basketball lines.

But worry not so much about the upsets, even if your brackets are already messed; we still have a long way to go and a number of your favorites are still alive in the Tourney, including the Butler Bulldogs and the Virginia Cavaliers, who will be going against each other this Saturday in a mouthwatering encounter. Get your NCAAB picks right with this Butler vs. Virginia clash using the succinct game preview prepared for you below.

How to Bet on Butler vs Virginia March Madness Spread

What: Butler Bulldogs (22-10) at Virginia Cavaliers (27-7)
When: Saturday, March 19
Start: 7:10 PM ET
Where: Raleigh, North Carolina
Stadium: PNC Arena
Spread: Virginia -7.5
Moneyline: Virginia -313
Game Total: 132
Watch: TBS
Stream: TBS Sports
Radio: Butler at Virginia

Why Bet on Virginia

If you want to talk about Virginia, you first have to talk about how their mean defense that is allowing just 59.7 PPG (second-best scoring defense in the country) and has been bullying all kinds of opponents, sometimes not even breaking a sweat in the process. And to make matters worse for the Bulldogs, the Cavs are pretty good too, led by ACC player of the year Malcolm Brogdon and a potential future NBA talent in London Perrantes. On their own, these two guards should be more than capable of posting big scores against the #117-rated Butler defense in the country, as per KenPom. Add the fact that Virginia is solidly 27-7 SU and 18-14-0 ATS this season, we don’t need to convince you that the Cavs are worthy favorites in this Round of 32 matchup.

Why Bet on Butler

You don’t have to look twice at Butler’s season record–22-10 SU, 17-14-1 ATS—to notice that they are one of the best teams in the tournament. This is a team that has won four of its last five games, including Thursday’s 71-61 win over Texas Tech in the Midwest Region first round games to book an appointment with the top-seeded Cavaliers. The Bulldogs will, however, have their work cut out for them, as they will be facing one of the premier defenses in the nation, so without cutting down on turnovers and shooting the ball better than they’ve done recently, it will be difficult for them to win Saturday’s contest.

Expert NCAAB Picks and Predictions

Butler has made its mark in an admirable way so far, but I just don’t see Butler superstar Kris Dunn and his fellow Bulldogs finding enough good looks to cause an upset, leave alone delivering a scaring bite to the all-rounded Cavs. Take Virginia for a rather comfy double-digit win and don’t look back.

Virginia Cavaliers 71, Butler Bulldogs 59