Xavier vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh (-1) Point Spread Picks

Pittsburgh (25-8, 13-13 ATS) entered March Madness after a loss to Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament, but rebounded strongly with an 89-66 thrashing of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in round one. The Panthers easily covered the 9.5-point spread, but they've struggled against college basketball odds lately; Pitt is just 3-3 in its last six games against the spread.

Leading-scorer Ashton Gibbs had a tough day at the office, scoring just seven points on 1-7 shooting. His lacklustre effort wasn't enough to sink the Panthers, though, as just about everyone else stepped up. Jermaine Dixon led the way with 17 points, five rebounds and five steals. Six different players scored in double-figures for Pittsburgh, none more impressive than Gilbert Brown; Brown scored 17 points off the bench in just 19 minutes of action. The Panthers were also great on defense, limiting Oakland to just 33.3 percent shooting on the night.

Xavier (25-8, 21-10 ATS) got the job done against a scrappy Minnesota squad, winning 65-54. The Musketeers improved to 9-1 in their last 10 games straight up. Xavier has also been very sharp against NCAA basketball odds, with a solid 7-3 record against the spread in its last 10 games. Xavier has covered four of its past five outings, including the win over the Golden Gophers.

Jordan Crawford played the role of hero for Xavier. He scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half, while also hauling in six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Perhaps most impressively, Crawford buried five three-pointers-none more crucial than a late bomb that put the game away. The sophomore guard was the only player to score in double figures for the Musketeers, though Jamel McClean had a huge night doing the dirty work. Though he scored just seven points, he hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds.

Pittsburgh and Xavier met last season. The Panthers earned a 60-55 victory, though the Musketeers covered the 6.5-point spread. The total went under. Xavier went over the total against Minny, the first time in four games it's done so. Pittsburgh went over against Oakland and has split the last six games on the total. Bodog has the total set at 136.

---

Game Prediction

Take Pittsburgh