Butler Bulldogs vs. Florida Gators

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Florida(-3)
Game Total Line: (131)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

The Southeast Region finals features a matchup between the No.8 seed Butler Bulldogs and the No.2 seed Florida Gators with a trip to the Final Four of this year’s NCAA Men’s Tournament on the line. Saturday’s tip-off from the Superdome in New Orleans is set for 4:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

No. 8 seed Butler has staged another improbable run through the NCAA Tournament with three wins to put it one victory away from a second straight appearance in the Final Four. The Bulldogs advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 71-70 thriller over No.1 seed Pittsburgh as an eight-point underdog. This followed a last second 60-58 win over No.9 seed Old Dominion as a one-point underdog in their first game. Butler punched its ticket to the Elite Eight with a solid 61-54 victory over No.4 seed Wisconsin on Thursday night as a 4 ½-point underdog.

Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack continue to lead the way for the Bulldogs with one outstanding performance after another. Howard scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win over the Badgers after scoring a total of 31 points in the first two games. Mack put up 13 points against Wisconsin after torching the Panthers for 30 points last Saturday.

Florida entered this tournament as the No.2 seed and immediately established itself as one of the teams to beat in the Southeast Region with a 79-51 romp over No.15 seed UC Santa Barbara as a 12 ½-point favorite and a 73-65 win over No.7 seed UCLA as a 5 ½-point favorite. The Gators faced No.3 seed BYU in the Sweet 16 and just like last year’s matchup in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the game was decided in overtime. This time around Florida stepped things up with an 83-74 win over the Cougars as a 2 ½-point favorite.

The Gators’ big two so far have been Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton. Walker has averaged 18.3 points a game in this tournament including 21 against the Bruins after averaging 14.8 points in the regular season. Boynton scored a combined 25 points in the first two games but came up big against the Cougars with 17 points including 12 from three-point range. Florida has averaged 78.3 points a game after averaging 71.5 points in the regular season.

Butler is 4-1 against the spread in its last five games on the road and 5-0 ATS in its last five games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of its last four games.

Florida is 2-1-1 ATS in its last four road games and 7-1 ATS in its last eight games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in nine of its last 10 games.

Against the Spread Game Pick

Given Butler’s tenacity and will to win, this one should come down to the wire and remain a one or two point game until the end making the Bulldogs a solid play at +3. Another strong play could be the ‘over’ as these teams should be able to push the total over 131.
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