Arizona State vs Texas Gambling Lines
The 10th-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils and the seventh-seeded Texas Longhorns will tip off in Midwest Region play in the late game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee. [ad-4468020]
2014 NCAA Tournament Free Picks
Midwest Region – 2nd Round
10 Arizona State Sun Devils (21-11) at 7 Texas Longhorns (23-10)
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2014
Time: 9:40 PM ET
Venue: BMO Harris Bradley Center
City: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
O/U Odds: 142.5
Spread: Texas -1.5
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Matchup Stats | ATS Insider Preview
Both teams earned at-large bids, Texas doing so on the back of an 11-7 Big 12 record, while Arizona State went 10-8 in the Pac-12.
The Longhorns are headed to the Big Dance for the 15th time under head coach Rick Barnes. Barnes was named the Big 12 coach of the year this season after not missing a beat with a roster that endured a lot of turnover in the offseason.
The Longhorns missed the tournament a year ago, and haven’t picked up a win in the Big Dance since 2011. The team’s 11-7 record in the always tough Big 12 was a far cry from its 12-3 non-conference record, though the team was able to make it to the semifinal round of the Big 12 tournament before getting bounced by Baylor.
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As for Arizona State, they are headed to the tournament for the first time since 2009, even though they lost their final three games leading up to Selection Sunday.
The Sun Devils will arrive in Milwaukee having lost five of their last seven games. The team’s upset of Arizona surely was a major factor in punching the team’s ticket.
Any opponent the Sun Devils are to face will have to account for standout guard Jahii Carson, who leads the team in scoring with 18.6 points per game, and assists, with 4.5 points per game, all while playing 35.3 minutes per game, which is also most on the team.
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Carson has scored 20 or more points 12 times this season. The Sun Devils also feature the nation’s top shot blocker in Jordan Bachynski, who sent back a whopping 4.1 shots per game this season.
The leading scorer for Texas was Jonathan Holmes, who paced the team with just 13.0 points per game, though he is one of four players to score in double-digits on a per-game basis for the Longhorns, and he also averages 7.2 rebounds per game for a Longhorns squad that ranks fourth in the nation in rebounding.
Center Cameron Ridley led the team with 8.1 rebounds per game, while also scoring 11.2 points per game.
Both players shot above 50 percent this season.
Both teams can surely score the basketball, but the Longhorns get their scoring from a more diverse group of players, while the Sun Devils rely too heavily on Carson.
An upset certainly isn’t out of the question in this matchup.
The Longhorns are 5-2 ATS in their last seven neutral site games, while the Sun Devils are 5-16 ATS in their last 21 neutral site games.
The play: Texas -1.5
