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NC Asheville Bulldogs vs. Syracuse Orange East Region Free Pick + Gambling Preview

#1 Orange (31-2) vs #16 Bulldogs (24-9)

The Syracuse Orange are looking to validate a great season that earned them the top seed in the East Region.    

Thursday March 15
East Region – Pittsburgh, PA
3:10PM
Moneyline:
Spread:  Syracuse -17
O/U:  146

Matchup | Preview 

Syracuse

They might have stumbled in losing to Cincinnati in the Big East Tourney but a team with veterans on the floor and off should be ready to go when the lights come on.  Lets face it, a #1 seed has never lost to a #16 seed in the history of the tournament.

Records are made to be broken but I don’t think that will happen here.

There are some very good reasons to like the Syracuse Orange in this year’s tournament.  I love the experience they have in the backcourt with guards Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche, they get scoring from almost everyone they put on the floor; and even though they are not a lock-down defensive team their zone frustrates opponents.

The lone knock is a lack of pure star power but maybe the tournament is a coming out party for sophomore guard Dion Waiters. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

UNC Asheville

The Bulldogs from UNC Asheville won the Big South regular season and conference tournament to earn their bid into the Big Dance.  They were by far the class of the league winning the regular season by 4 games and were not really challenged in the tournament with an average margin of victory in the semis and finals of 20 points.

Unfortunately their reward was a date with the top seed in the East Region.

This time of year we always look for comparables so in looking at Asheville’s schedule I see a 16 point loss to North Carolina on the road the second game of the season.  This was a respectable showing given they flew cross country landing in NC at 5:00AM the morning of the game and were sloppy early.

The Bulldogs also played pretty well in a 10 point loss at Connecticut, outscoring the Huskies in the second half.  They have some shooters who will have to be on against that zone to keep them in touch with the Orange.

Spread Pick:  UNC Asheville +17
O/U Pick:  Under
Score Prediction:  Syracuse 74 – UNC Ashebille 55

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By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.