Crimson vs Wildcats East Region Spread/Handicapping
Despite Belmont being a perennial Cinderella pick, the Arizona Wildcats had little trouble dispatching them in their opening round game.
#6 Arizona Wildcats (26-7) vs #14 Harvard Crimson (20-9)
Saturday March 23
Energy Solutions Arena – Salt Lake CIty, UT
6:10PM
Moneyline: Arizona -550, Harvard +445 at WagerWeb
Spread: Arizona -10
O/U: 132.5
ATS Matchup Stats | Gambling Insight!
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Arizona
The Wildcats were just too big inside, an advantage that I expect they will exploit again on Saturday against Harvard who pulled the most stunning upset of the first day (I know) of the tournament.
Odds are Arizona will put them in their place.
The Wildcats had a very efficient shooting performance against Belmont. They made 57% of their shots including 53% of their three point attempts. They received especially strong production from freshman center Kaleb Tarczewski. He was perfect from the floor on his way to a 12 point, 8 rebound performance.
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It tied his season high and he should find it easy to get the shots he wants in the paint against Harvard.
The Wildcats get to be the beneficiary’s of the Crimson’s upset of New Mexico. It looks like they are going to get a chance in cruise into the Sweet Sixteen and should beat Harvard by double the posted number.
I think there is great value on the Wildcats, under other circumstances this number would likely be much greater.
Harvard
Some more recent Harvard teams are probably better than this one but here they are in the round of 32 with a chance to go to the Sweet Sixteen if they can conquer Arizona. [ad-6571516]
The Ivy champs compete hard and are a very good three point shooting team which enables them to compete better than their talent and athleticism should enable them to.
Still Thursday’s upset of New Mexico was their biggest win of the season.
Their win against the Lobos was all about shooting. Harvard was hot and New Mexico was not. The Crimson, led by Wesley Saunders’ 18 points, shot better than 52% for the game, while making 44% of their triples. If they can keep that up they will force Arizona to play well.
They will need what little reliable size they have to step forward and play well. Great shooting can neutralize the rebounding edge the Wildcats have though.
One thing to like about Harvard is that they play well away from home.
They are 9-4-1 ATS on the road this season and beat New Mexico as 10 point underdogs.
They are staring at the same number in this game but it is a much more difficult task ahead of them. Their run is likely to end on Saturday.
Spread Pick: Arizona -10.5
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Arizona 76 – Harvard 60
