The NCAA Tournament has been whittled down to eight teams left standing, and many of the pre-tournament favorites are still in the hunt. While much of the elite eight focus will be on which teams advance to the Final Four, the savvy bettors won’t be exclusively worried about the outcome of the games.
The scoring totals have been set for Saturday’s Elite Eight matchups, and both games have totals that should get plenty of action. Check below for more information on whether these games will go “over” or “under” the scoring total in NCAA men’s basketball gambling.
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NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Betting
Odds Analysis
The first game set for Saturday features the No. 3 seed Purdue Boilermakers against the No. 1 seed Virginia Cavaliers. This is a clash of styles, as Purdue has been lighting up the scoreboard with its three-point shooting thus far in the tournament, while Virginia boasts one of the stingiest defenses in the country.
While the Boilermakers may try to push the pace, the Cavaliers have shown the ability to slow things down even against elite competition. Purdue was draining a bunch of shots from downtown in its Sweet Sixteen win over Tennessee, but Virginia is going to make sure it sticks close to the shooters in this one. Purdue does not have a ton of great penetrating guards, which means Virginia won’t have to collapse a lot defensively. If the Boilermakers’ shots are consistently contested, they won’t score at nearly the clip they did in the previous rounds. That’s the why the oddsmakers have pegged this scoring total at only 126 points.
The other game also features a great defense in the Texas Tech Red Raiders. They put the handcuffs on Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen, not even allowing 50 points in the contest. However, the degree of difficulty gets much tougher in this one, as Texas Tech prepares to face off against a Gonzaga Bulldogs team which averaged almost 90 points per game in the regular season.
Gonzaga has everything needed in an offense, with good shooters, good penetrators and big men able to work the ball in the post. Texas Tech, though, has seen a lot of good teams in the Big 12 this season and was able to stifle many of them. The oddsmakers split the difference in making this scoring total at 137 points.
Free NCAA Basketball ATS Picks
The Texas Tech-Gonzaga total looks pretty accurate, as the points could go either way on that one depending on the finish. The action to take is on the game between Virginia and Purdue. Some might consider the “over” because of Purdue’s shooting, but Virginia is masterful at getting opponents to play at its speed.
This won’t be the most exciting game in the world, but while casual fans may not like that, it will be lucrative for bettors who go with the “under” in this matchup. That is one of the best bets among all of the choices in NCAA men’s basketball Elite Eight wagering.
NCAA Basketball Pick: Virginia-Purdue to go “under” 126 points
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