Arizona vs Louisville: NCAA Tournament Odds & Predictions
Written March 26, 2009 by Jay Horne
The NCAA Tournament’s overall number 1 seed the Louisville Cardinals were surprisingly tested in round two against Siena. The Cardinals pulled out the victory over the surging Saints 79-72. Louisville now will face another unlikely contender when they play the Arizona Wildcats and attempt to make the Elite Eight for the second year in a row. Arizona was the team so heavily criticized before the NCAA Tournament even began for being selected to the big show. The Wildcats were scrutinized by the media as the vast majority of the nation felt they were undeserving for a tournament bid. However, Arizona has responded well silencing their doubters so far with two straight wins and earning a spot in the sweet sixteen. Arizona will now get a chance to prove to the nation that they belong when they take on number 1 seeded Louisville. Louisville is a 9 point favorite against Arizona with the OVER/UNDER set for 139 points.
The Louisville Cardinals have been the hottest team in the nation throughout the second half of the season. Louisville was victim of a few upsets earlier this year and many people may have written off the Cardinals. However, Louisville played extremely well in conference play and has not put together a 12 game winning streak they will ride in on in their meeting with Arizona. The Cardinals won the Big East regular season and tournament championships in result of their emerging excellence. Although you may not hear defense talked about overwhelmingly in college basketball, the Cardinals have the best defensively sound team left in the tournament. Louisville has held opponents to only 61.7 points per game this season in the high scoring favored conference of the Big East. Louisville will try to shut down a solid Arizona team this Friday and continue their title quest. Earl Clark leads the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game this season for the Cardinals. Forwards Terrence Williams and Samardo Samuels have also been excellent inside the paint and will have to be effective against the talented big men that rule the paint for Arizona.
The Wildcats were standing at a measly 19-13 record at the end of the season and most people assumed they would not make the tournament. However, the selection committee shook up the college basketball nation by selecting the Wildcats which started a media frenzy. Arizona has responded as best they can by upsetting Utah in the first round and backing that up with a solid 71-57 win over Cleveland State. The Wildcats could be only one game away from becoming the 2009 Cinderella story as Miss Cinderella has been known to appear in March. Arizona will take their 12th seeded ranking to face a tough Louisville team that is playing well, but they may have a lot of support carrying the underdog role. The Wildcats have shot the ball well knocking down 48% as a team from the floor this season aided by some big names on the offensive side of the court. Arizona is led by the play of two superb forwards by the name of Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger. Hill has absolutely been terrific this season averaging 18.4 points and 11 rebounds that regularly puts him into double-double figures. Hill’s ability to be effective inside the paint both on offense and defense will be a big component to the Wildcats success. Chase Budinger is the other major threat on offense at the forward position. Budinger is also averaging 18 points per game this season while adding 6 boards as well. These two talented standouts could be the difference that decides if Cinderella is truly not just a figment of our imagination in 2009.
Betting Trends: Arizona is 11-4 ATS and 10-5 SU in their last 15 games. The Wildcats have also been pretty consistent in the over category reaching that total in 11 of the last 15 games as well. Louisville is 16-7 ATS in their last 23 games while sporting a 5-0 SU mark in their last 5 games. The Cardinals defense has resulted in them reaching the under total in 4 of their last 6 games.
Jay’s Pick - Arizona keeps it within the points. Take Arizona +9
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3 Responses to “Arizona vs Louisville: NCAA Tournament Odds & Predictions”
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The Cats are in the Sweet Sixteen off wins against an overrated Utah team and a 13 seed. They dont go deep enough to beat Louisville.
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I agree lville is going to crush u of.a bye 20
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Louisville was my pick to win it all and I backed it up with a 4 unit wager on them to win their region and a two unit play on Louisville (+600) to win it all. Arizona will not be the team to impede the Cardinal’s path to victory. Getting to the final four will be a breeze and though I thought they might have some problems with UCONN, I don’t think Mizzou will come close to what they did to Memphis yesterday. In case it went unnoticed, I called the Mizzou upset yesterday and cashed not only the full game but added to it with a play on Mizzou (+7.5) to the Over (77.5) as well in the second half. Damn, this is fun…….
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