Xavier Vs Arizona Betting Pick, Prediction & TV Info

Posted by Eric Williams on Tuesday,March 21, 2017 2:40, EDT in

The 11th-seeded Xavier Musketeers have had a roller-coaster campaign while battling injuries and narrowly making the tourney field as one of the final bubble entrants. The second-seeded Arizona Wildcats have been a nationally-ranked title contender all season long, but they’re going to take on a Musketeers squad that is playing their best basketball of the season at just the right time. With the Musketeers poised to give the favored Wildcats a stiff test when they square off in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, let’s find out if Xavier can pull off the upset to reach the Elite Eight and check on the updated college basketball odds here.

A Closer Look At The Xavier Musketeers Vs Arizona Wildcats Betting Pick, Prediction & TV Info

When: Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 10:00 PM ET
Where: SAP Center, San Jose, California
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBS Sports Network
NCAAB Odds: Arizona -7 / Total: 144.5

 

 

Why Bet The Xavier Musketeers Odds at +7

There are several good reasons to back the Musketeers (23-13 SU, 17-18 ATS) in this contest starting with the fact that the Musketeers have some nice momentum going by winning five of their last six games including an 11-point win over Maryland in their opener and a shocking 91-66 smackdown of Florida State in their second round matchup on Saturday to easily cover the spread as a 7-point underdog. Gifted point guard Trevon Bluiette scored a game high 29 points in the win over the Seminoles while Kaiser Gates added 14 points in the win. The Musketeers are also the better rebounding team in this matchup and hold the edge in bench scoring as well.

Why Bet The Arizona Wildcats Odds at -7

The Wildcats (32-4 SU, 19-14 ATS) smacked North Dakota silly in their opener but struggled to put away St. Mary’s in their 69-60 second round win on Saturday despite covering the spread as 4.5-point favorites. Seven-foot center Lauri Markkanen scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down eleven rebounds while Allonzo Trier added 14 points and six boards in the win. Arizona has some momentum going by winning six straight and nine of their last 10 games overall.

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

While Arizona is the better statistical team at both ends of the floor, Xavier looked like they could beat any team in the tournament in their stunning smackdown over Florida State the last time out and I believe they’re going to give the Wildcats all they can handle and then some. Arizona has gone 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight NCAA Tournament games as a favorite and just 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine NCAA Tournament games overall.

Conversely, Xavier has gone 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall, 14-2-1 ATS in their last 17 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog and a bankroll-boosting 17-4 ATS in their last 21 neutral site games. I smell an upset brewing people and so does a whopping 61 percent of the betting public!

My final score prediction is Xavier 77 Arizona 74