Arizona versus Louisville March Madness College Basketball Betting Preview

Published on March 26, 2009 by admin · No Comments

Friday

Time: 7PM ET TV: CBS

The Louisville Cardinals was sent out a 9-point favorite by LVSC and the number currently sits at 9. The game has seen movement on the total as the over under sits at 139 ½ after opening at 136. Louisville is the largest favorite in the Sweet 16. The Arizona Wildcats qualified as an at large 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament and was the last team in. The Wildcats enjoyed double-digit victories over Utah and Cleveland St in their first two games. The key to the Wildcats 13 point victory over Utah was the foul trouble for the 7’2” Ute center Luke Nevill who was limited to only 27 minutes. Nevill most likely would have seen 37-39 minutes in the Arizona game. Then the Wildcats were fortunate to face Cleveland St who came off an upset win over Wake Forest, which made it easier for the Wildcats to make the sweet 16. Louisville is a better defensive team allowing 39.4% shooting and ranking 20th in the nation. A sign of the outstanding depth of the Louisville Cardinals is the fact they only allow an average of 31.2 points in the second half ranking them 7th in the country. Louisville survived a scare against Siena in a very quick turnaround for Louisville. Louisville will have 4 days to get prepared for the Wildcats. Louisville has shot for a high percentage in the Tournament hitting on 58% against Morehead St and 49% against Siena. Arizona does not go very deep and Louisville will pressure the Wildcats and force them to work. Louisville forces an average of 16 turnovers a game and the Arizona Wildcats will need to take care of the basketball. Edgar Sosa off the bench would start for any other team and the Cardinals are fortunate to have a 6th man who has starters quality. Halftime bettors may look to play on Louisville in the second half if the Cardinals are behind or if its close at halftime.

The Wagerline consensus has 53.6% of the bettors on Louisville -9

The Wagerline consensus has 65% of the bettors playing over 136

Trend: Arizona is 4-1 ATS in their past 5 NCAA Tournament underdog roles