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College Basketball

Sunday – Session 1

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
4 minute read
South Region (Columbus, OH)
No. 10 Iowa vs. No. 2 Tennessee (CBS, 12:10 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: Tennessee -8, 156

Betting Matchup

Iowa drew the No. 10 seed in the South Region after dropping its last four regular season games both straight-up and against the spread. The Hawkeyes lost to Michigan 74-53 as eight-point underdogs in their second game of the recent Big Ten Tournament. In a tough opening round matchup against a hot Cincinnati team, Iowa pulled off a stunning 79-72 upset as a 4 ½-point underdog. This was just the second time in the Hawkeyes’ last 11 games that they were able to cover the closing number. The total has gone OVER in five of their last eight games.

Facing an 18-5 deficit early in Friday’s game, credit veteran head coach Fran McCaffery for keeping his team focused on the task at hand. You can also credit forward Luka Garza and guard Joe Wieskamp for the upset after combining for 39 points.

The second seed in the South had its hands full in Friday’s opener against the Patriot League’s Colgate Red Raiders in a 77-70 victory as heavy 17 ½-point favorites. After losing to Auburn 84-64 in the SEC Tournament’s title game as a five-point favorite, Tennessee is 4-8 ATS over its last 12 games. The total went OVER 146 ½ points in Friday’s win and it has gone OVER in its last five contests. The Volunteers are 1-3 ATS in their last four games closing as favorites.

Forward Grant Williams has been Tennessee’s leading scorer all season long with 18.7 points per game, but guard Admiral Schofield led the way against Colgate with 19 points. Williams ended that game with just nine points and Schofield is the team’s second-leading scorer with 16.3 PPG.

Betting Trends

-- The Hawkeyes are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 neutral-site games and the total has stayed UNDER in their last five games against a SEC team.

-- The Volunteers have gone 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games against the Big Ten with the total going OVER in their last four games played at a neutral site.

-- The last time these two teams met was in the 2014 NCAA Tournament with Tennessee winning 78-65 as a two-point underdog. The total stayed UNDER 143 ½ points.

Midwest Region (Columbus, OH)
No. 9 Washington vs. No. 1 North Carolina (CBS, 2:40 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: North Carolina -11 ½, 146

Betting Matchup

Washington had been the class of the Pac-12 during the regular season at 15-3 SU in the standings, but a run to the tournament title was cut short in a 68-48 loss to Oregon as a two-point underdog in the conference championship game. Heading into this tournament, the Huskies had failed to cover in six of their previous seven games, but they beat up on Utah State 78-61 on Friday closing as 3 ½-point underdogs. Washington improved to 4-2 ATS in its last six games as an underdog.

The Huskies have a trio of players that averaged at least 12 points a game during the regular season led by guard Jaylen Nowell with 16.3 points. He put up 19 points on Friday while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. Noah Dickerson (12.4 PPG) led the way with 20 points.

Following a sluggish start, the Tar Heels looked sharp in the second half of their tournament opener as the top seed in the Midwest Region. They beat Iona 88-73, but came nowhere close to covering the hefty 24 ½-point closing spread. This was the first time North Carolina failed to cover in its last five games and it has now won nine of its last 10 games SU. The only loss was against the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament. The total has stayed UNDER in four of its last five contests.

North Carolina did outscore Iona by 20 points in the second half after falling behind 38-33 in the first 20 minutes of play. Cameron Johnson scored 23 points in that recent loss to Duke and he added 21 more points on Friday while shooting 53.8 percent from the field. The senior guard led the Tar Heels in scoring all year long with an average of 17.1 PPG.

Betting Trends

-- The Huskies have an 8-3 record ATS in their last 11 NCAA Tournament games and the total has gone OVER in five of their last six games against the ACC.

-- The Tar Heels are 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games in the NCAA Tournament with the total staying UNDER in 13 of their last 16 games played on Sunday.

-- In one previous meeting back in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, North Carolina beat Washington 86-83 as a four-point favorite with the total going OVER 159 points.

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