The Holy Cross Crusaders have what might be the story of the NCAA Tournament to tell. They were just 10-19 coming into the Patriot League Tournament, and they went just 5-13 in the regular season in conference play. However, they ran the table the hard way, winning four legitimate road games, three of which came as at least nine-point underdogs to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Can they get to the main bracket?
The Southern Jaguars are all that stands in their way.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Southern Jaguars -3
Holy Cross Crusaders +3
HOW THE SOUTHERN JAGUARS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Let's not forget that this Southern team did go on the road in the beginning of the season and beat Mississippi State. Sure, the Bulldogs aren't quite as good as some of these other NCAA Tournament teams, but that victory and the one over Wyoming came against some legit conference foes.
Basically all of the scoring from this team comes from the five starters. Adrian Rodgers, Trelun Banks and Christopher Hyder are basically never going to leave the court in this game, and they're going to be the keys to covering this spread.
Southern presses the heck out of the basketball. Hyder himself averages 2.4 steals per game, but he's only a part of a defense which averaged 7.5 thefts a night. Hyder and Adrian Rodgers are the two senior leaders on this team, and the Jags will need them to play well to have a shot at taking out the Crusaders.
HOW THE HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Maybe we should've seen this run coming for Holy Cross. All too often, this time of year, it's experience which is rewarded beyond anything else, and the Crusaders have six upperclassmen in their rotation of eight men.
Malachi Alexander doesn't have the best stats in the world, as he's averaging just 12.0 points per game, but go back and look at what he was able to do in the Patriot League Tournament. The junior came up big, averaging 20.8 points and 7.5 boards per game to lead his team.
Alexander is a lanky 6-foot-7, and though he doesn't really help the cause on defense all that much, he's the one man who we think can bring this team out from its suspect 65.3 points per game average.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
It's been a really nice run for Holy Cross, but we think it's going to come to an end here in Dayton.
Southern's defense has been quite good all NCAAB season, holding teams to just 41.5 percent shooting from the field. Though we know the Jaguars won't stand a chance against Oregon on Friday, that won't matter all that much to them. They'll just be happy to get on a plane for one more game.
Keep a particularly close eye on Hyder. He's not necessarily a fantastic scorer, but he's got a little bit of Denzel Valentine in him in that he can play a huge role in a game that he isn't even scoring in. He'll be the X-Factor that helps get the Jags to the main portion of the bracket.
Southern 68, Holy Cross 61
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