Tempo is going to end up being the most important factor for live bettors in the Sweet 16 duel in the Midwest Region between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Iowa State Cyclones.
NCAA Tournament Odds at BookMaker.eu
Iowa State Cyclones +5
Virginia Cavaliers –5
Over/Under 141
HOW THEY GOT HERE
We're not as interested in the first game that either of these teams played for live betting purposes and are far more interested in what the two teams ended up doing on Saturday in the Round of 32. Both teams romped in their first games against teams which played into their strengths. Iona tried to run with Iowa State, while Hampton attempted to slow down Virginia. Neither team was anywhere near successful.
However, in the second round, both teams had to step out of their comfort zones just a bit. Virginia was forced to play a bit of a run and gun game against Butler, while Iowa State was really forced to slow down against Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Cyclones were forced to play in a half-court game against one of the best defensive teams in the ranks of the mid-majors. The end result was an incredibly efficient game for ISU. The team shot 11-of-21 from beyond the arc and 56.6 percent from the field, and it felt like it didn't take a bad shot the whole game from the floor. The Cyclones also only turned the ball over four times, and that's why the Trojans weren't able to make any headway in live betting like they did in the opening round against Purdue.
Virginia meanwhile, finally found its strength on offense against Butler after a poor first half. The ball started working in the paint to Anthony Gill, and he and Mike Tobey really took advantage of an undersized Butler team. The Cavaliers scored on 20 of their first 21 possessions of the second half en route to a 54-point half, one of their best outputs of the season.
KEY MATCHUP
The only reason Butler really hung around with Virginia was due to the fact that it got some great timely three-point shooting from Andrew Chrabascz in the first half. Once Malcolm Brogdon matched up with him on the defensive end of the floor though, there was nothing the Bulldogs could really do.
Live bettors need to watch the duel between Brogdon and Monte Morris carefully. Say what you want about Georges Niang being the do-it-all player on this roster, but Morris is the man who really makes this offense go. His stats are modest with just 28 points and 14 assists in two tourney games, but he often makes the pass before the pass to lead to a score, and he was the best player on the court as we saw it against UALR on Saturday.
If Brogdon is able to shut down Morris in this game and let Gill and Tobey bang with Niang in the post, live bettors will find a great spot to back the Cavaliers against the Cyclones.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Live bettors need to be aware that this is a really unusually high total for a Virginia game, and it's this way due to the rash of overs we saw in the first two rounds of the dance. In fact, the Cavaliers only played one game all season long with a total in the 140s or higher, that being a total of 150 against Oakland back in December. The Hoos won the game 71-58 and easily kept the game under the number.
On the contrary, this is the lowest total for an Iowa State game all NCAAB season long, though Saturday's win over Arkansas-Little Rock did feature a total of just 143.5. The game stayed under by 4.5 points.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The Iowa State Cyclones and Virginia Cavaliers will square off Friday, March 25, 2016, at 7:10 p.m. ET at the United Center. This Sweet 16 matchup will be televised live on CBS.
