Sweet Sixteen Odds: No 8 Butler Bulldogs vs. No 4 Wisconsin Badgers
Thursday, March 24, 2011
By Gordon P. Quinn
No. 8 Butler Bulldogs (25-9) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers (25-8)
The Butler Bulldogs from the Horizon League conference will face the Wisconsin Badgers from the Big Ten conference in a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament college basketball betting game at 9:57PM ET in the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Wisconsin Badgers have opened as 4½-point favorites on Sportsbook.com’s but now Live NCAA Las Vegas Odds.
Both frontcourts are stories of players who are vastly underrated and significantly more effective than anyone would perceive them to be. Butler's Matt Howard has become a postseason legend, with his performances last year in the run to the championship game and his buzzer beater to beat Old Dominion. All he does is winning and his ability to score in sneaky ways makes him an extremely entertaining college basketball player.
There may be no more solid contributor in college basketball that is lesser known than Wisconsin's Jon Leuer. He is sprightly around the basket, can step out and hit a shot and gets key baskets when the Badgers need them most. The frontcourt matchup between these two players may be the most entertaining of any in the Sweet 16.
Butler has an explosive scoring guard in Shelvin Mack, who, when he is not making poor decisions at the end of games, has been a very effective performer for the Bulldogs over the last two seasons. As his play improved over the course of the year, Butler's play was better as well. However the edge goes to Wisconsin, thanks to the great Jordan Taylor. There are very few players left in the tournament who can be counted on to make big time plays on a more consistent clip than Taylor. If Wisconsin is to win and end Butler's streak of close victories, it will be because Taylor makes enough big shots down the stretch to get the win.
Normally in a situation like this, the biggest obstacle for the mid-major in the Sweet 16 is overcoming the "wow" factor for having gone this far. Not in this game. Butler has played in as many important games as any team in the country and they are actually the more experienced team. Wisconsin must keep the pace at its regular level and not let Brad Stevens up the tempo as he would like to do. If the game is played below 60, Wisconsin has the edge. If it gets significantly higher than that, Butler becomes the heavy favourite.
Wisconsin has the overall edge thanks to the play of Jordan Taylor. His ability to create his own shot gives the Badgers better options down the stretch in what will surely be a close game. This Butler team isn't as good as the one that went to the title game last season, but it has been blessed with matchups that give them chances to win. This game is no different. Wisconsin does have the overall edge, but it is slight.
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The Pick: Butler Bulldogs.
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butler bulldogs - college basketball betting - jon leuer - jordan taylor - matt howard - ncaa tournament - shelvin mack - superdome - sweet 16 - wisconsin badgers