You never want to lose games, but the Cavaliers mini downward spiral in the middle of February just might have been the saving grace the team needed to snag itself a higher seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. In being tabbed the No. 6 seed, it now gets to take on a Pittsburgh Panthers squad many would anoint the easiest opponent to face in the second round of the ACC tournament. They also get to play them unrested after just destroying them in Charlottesville this past weekend.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, March 8, 2017, at 9 p.m. ET at the Barclays Center. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on Wednesday’s college basketball schedule.
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Entering the tourney, PITT had amassed a grand total of one win in its previous seven games. That win coming against Florida State which has been a different animal on the road all season. The losses were incurred against Virginia, Georgia Tech, UNC, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. Certainly a tough schedule no doubt, but the Cavs are hardly pushovers. The Panthers have been a solid bet on the true road where they’re 6-4 against the spread and tallied some impressive wins, but there’s just so much to dislike about this team.
The Wahoos invade Brooklyn winners of three straight both straight up and against the spread. Beating NC State and PITT is nothing to beat your chest about, but that domination of UNC in Charlottesville certainly let it be known that Tony Bennett’s squad is back to playing the type of ball that’s seen the program be so successful the last handful of seasons. UVA was one of the best bets the ACC had to offer this year in going 17-11 against the spread, and it was its best on the road where it covered eight of 12 games. It’s 2-0 on neutral courts with wins over Providence and Iowa.
Matchup to Watch
This is a bad matchup from a defensive standpoint for the Panthers with Michael Young and his mates conceding 53 percent of points scored against them from within the arc. Virginia just so happens to rank No. 51 in the country in points scored from 2 pointers, and though it only knocked down 43.5 percent of its shots in Saturday’s second meeting, Virginia still went on to win the game by 25 points. UVA beat up on the Panthers last Saturday from long range. PITT is sure to adjust. That means the interior is going to be wide open. Not good for Panthers backers.
Key Stat
9.6 – Only the Michigan Wolverines turn the ball over less than the Virginia Cavaliers. That proved to be a terrible omen for the Panthers last week, and it likely will once again here tonight in the team’s third meeting of the season. PITT forces just under 10 turnovers per game. Their defense was only able to force London Perrantes and company into 7 turnovers last weekend, and only six in the first meeting. Limited possessions against an unforgiving defense like Virginia’s is a recipe for disaster. Especially with how careless Pittsburgh was against Georgia Tech turning it over 13 times.
Free College Basketball ATS Pick
It’s going to take a blistering shooting effort from the Panthers to pull the upset in this one, and I just don’t foresee that occurring as locked in Virginia’s defense currently is. Since giving up 65 points in back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Duke, the Cavs have given up 54 to Miami in a game that went to overtime, 55 at NC State, 43 to the Tar Heels powerful offense, and then 42 versus these same Panthers just last Saturday.
Pittsburgh just had all kinds of trouble scoring points on the No. 8 ranked adjusted efficiency defense of Georgia Tech, and now has to deal with the No. 1 ranked team in the Cavaliers. On top of that, they’ll have to go at the Wahoos unrested. That’s simply just not fair. The margin likely won’t be as massive as it was last Saturday, but it will still be enough to see Virginia cover and move on to battle Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.
College Basketball Odds: Virginia 72, Pittsburgh 59
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