The second round of the NCAA Tournament gets underway on Sunday. With that, the first berths into the March Madness Sweet 16 will be handed out. Among the teams in action are Illinois, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Villanova, and underdogs Oral Roberts and North Texas.
Obviously the odds could not come out until well after first-round action ended on Friday, so there has not been a lot of time for movement. But let’s take a look at where some of the early money went to sway some numbers one way or the other.
Move for the underdog
North Texas +7 to +6 vs. Villanova
Oregon State +6 to +5 vs. Oklahoma State
Move for the under
Oklahoma State-Oregon State 142.5 to 141
Villanova opened as -7 favorite but is now giving only six points. The public was surely impressed with North Texas in its upset of South Region No. 4 seed Purdue, which went to overtime before the Mean Green triumphed 78-69. Meanwhile, Villanova had some trouble with Winthrop but pulled away late for a 73-63 victory. Bettors may still be scared by the fact that the Wildcats are without guard Collin Gillespie (torn MCL).
We think North Texas can cover the spread, in part because it should be able to keep this low scoring.
Villanova Wildcats vs. North Texas Mean Green preview and picks
This line has also moved down a point, with Oklahoma State at first giving six points to Oregon State and now giving only five. There are not many teams still remaining that are hotter than the Beavers. They won the Pac-12 Tournament from out of nowhere and then tipped off their Big Dance campaign with a 70-65 beatdown of Midwest Region No. 5 seed Tennessee. Oklahoma State scraped past No. 13 seed Liberty, but it wasn’t easy.
Can Oregon State become a true Cinderella story. Given that Oklahoma State is in similarly outstanding form and will have the best player on the floor in Cade Cunningham, we’re skeptical.
The total for this showdown opened at 142.5 but has since fallen to 141. We were on the over to begin with, so needless to say we advise backing this one to be a relatively high-scoring affair. Although Oregon State vs. Tennessee stayed under, all three of the Beavers’ Pac-12 Tournament games went over. Cunningham and company will push the pace and the Beavers will be happy to oblige.
Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Oregon State Beavers preview and picks
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