Cleveland State Butler Betting – Horizon League Power Shift Could Be In Evidence
Before Sports Gambling fans turn their attention to other sports betting events this week, we have a Wednesday NCAA game of the day pick for you. It’s time for our weekly basketball picks for online ncaa hoops betting action.
The Butler Bulldogs have ruled the Horizon League with uncommon consistency over the past several seasons, but now, their place atop the conference is threatened by Cleveland State.
NCAA football betting: Cleveland State Vikings @ Butler Bulldogs
Online Betting Odds: Butler -6
Total: 132.5
Click here to check out our Indepth CBB ATS Stats —>
Why To Bet On Cleveland State
It’s becoming harder and harder to doubt the ascendancy of the Cleveland State Vikings under coach Gary Waters. The same program that thumped Wake Forest by double digits in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament is 15-1 so far this season, 4-0 in the Horizon League. Cleveland State scores 73 points per game and has won its four conference clashes by an average of 17.75 points. In only one of those four games did the Vikings win by a margin under 10 points (by eight over Wisconsin-Green Bay).
This is a team that’s thriving, confident, and long on energy. Moreover, it has a history with Butler that’s very encouraging.
Butler has won the regular-season Horizon League championship the last several seasons (since 2007, to be specific), but in 2009, Cleveland State was able to go into Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler’s home gymnasium, and stun the Bulldogs to win the 2009 Horizon League Tournament and punch a ticket to the Big Dance.
Cleveland State won’t back down against Butler; this team plays an up-tempo style, but don’t let that make you think that CSU won’t scrap and claw each and every step of the way. The Vikings will make Butler earn each and every small advantage this Friday evening in Indianapolis.
What also has to be said about this tilt is that Butler is not playing at the level it expects to showcase each and every time on the court. The Bulldogs are clearly lacking the presence of departed star Gordon Hayward, who is now collecting an NBA paycheck with the Utah Jazz. Butler misses Hayward’s defensive length and his all-around offensive game. Butler’s defense, the backbone of the team, got shredded this past Monday by Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Bulldogs allowed Milwaukee to hit 55 percent of its shots in a 76-52 loss.
That level of defense from Butler will lead to another blowout loss, even on the Bulldogs’ home floor.
Why To Bet On Butler
The Bulldogs, for all their woes at 10-5, are still going to be hosting this game. Moreover, they certainly know that their season is on the line. This sets up as the kind of game in which the team with the inferior record and the recent downward trend is still a better bet than the 15-1 team that’s unbeaten in its conference. Butler is a proud team, and it still has most of the nucleus of last year’s club.
As long as big man Matt Howard can stay out of foul trouble – a chronic and persistent problem throughout his career – Butler should own the real estate within five feet of the rim.
As long as Howard remains on the floor as a central factor, the Bulldogs have a better-than-even-money chance of controlling the glass and limiting Cleveland State to one shot per possession. The urgency associated with this game should enable Butler to play the kind of defense it expects to play. Emotions and intangibles are very good reasons to take Butler.
How The Game Will Play Out
Butler will indeed play lights-out defense. The Bulldogs, who have looked distracted and confused for considerable portions of this season, will find a way to summon forth a vintage defensive effort and lock down a worthy opponent in the process.
Cleveland State might very well win when these teams play in Cleveland later in the season, but in Indianapolis, Butler is the wise choice.
Cleveland State Butler Betting Pick: Butler
Go back to school and be a player – at Bodog.
Poolside Rants hails from beautiful Bozeman Montana by way of Toronto, Canada. (Blame his wife for the move). He’s a Dallas Cowboys football honk. But please….don’t hold that against him. The man knows his sports and has uncanny knowledge when it comes to picking games.
