Butler Vs Winthrop Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

The fourth-seeded Butler Bulldogs will look to avoid the big upset when they take on the 13th-seeded Winthrop Golden Eagles in their opening round South Region matchup on Thursday while getting back to playing the kind of basketball that had them nationally-ranked virtually all season long.

Now, let’s find out which March Madness championship hopeful is offering the most NCAA basketball vegas odds value in this affair.

In Depth Analysis On The Bulldogs Vs Golden Eagles Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

When: Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 1:30 PM ET
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
TV: TNT
Live Stream: NCAA Live
NCAAB Odds: Butler -11

The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles will square off on Thursday, March 16 at 1:30 PM ET, live from the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with this contest airing live on TNT.

Why Bet The Winthrop Golden Eagles at +11

The 13th-seeded Golden Eagles (3-4-1 ATS) come into their NCAA tourney opener on a nice roll, having won eight straight and nine of their last 10 games overall including their 76-59 Big South tournament win over Campbell in the conference title game on Mar. 5. Winthrop also holds the edge in scoring in this matchup as they average three more points per game than fourth-seeded Butler (17-12 ATS).

The Golden Eagles average a healthy 79.7 points per game (43rd) on 45.7 percent shooting from the field (104th) and 37.3 percent from beyond the arc (71st). Defensively, Winthrop gives up 70.2 points per contest (120th) on 40.5 percent shooting from the field (30th) and 31.0 percent from three-point distance (20th).

The Eagles also have a legitimate star in 5-7 senior point guard Keon Johnson (22.5 ppg), a player that drained over 40 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and over 86 percent from the free throw line.

Why Bet The Butler Bulldogs at -11

Butler will be looking to snap a modest two-game losing streak after losing their regular-season finale at home 70-64 to Seton Hall before scoring a season-low 57 points in a five-point loss to Xavier on Thursday in the first round of the Big East conference tournament. Still, the Bulldogs  are also the only team in the nation to beat defending champion and second-ranked Villanova twice this season and that alone tells me they can beat just about anyone. Butler shoots it well from the field, ranking 33rd nationally by draining a blistering 47.8 percent of their field goal attempts while also ranking 82nd in points allowed (68.4 ppg). 6-7 junior Kelan Martin (16.1 ppg) has averaged 19 points in his last six games on 51.3 percent shooting from the field.

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

While I have no doubt that the fourth-seeded Butler Bulldogs are going to win this matchup to advance to the next round, I’m going to urge you to go against the 56 percent of public bettors that like the Bulldogs to cover the spread as double-digit favorites.

I know Winthrop has just two players that averages double figures in scoring while three players average double figures for Butler, but I like the way the Golden Eagles have shown up this season against their more elite non-conference opponents. The Eagles hung with Florida State and Dayton to keep the final score close while beating Illinois and Saint Louis.

Butler has gone 2-6 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite between 7.0 and 12.5 points. The Bulldogs get the win, but not by a dozen points.

My final score prediction is Butler 71 Winthrop 65