Last Updated on March 18, 2010 2:00 pm by drew
Butler-UTEP Pick
The first of the infamous 5 vs. 12 matchups takes place Thursday at 4:45PM ET when the Butler Bulldogs face the UTEP Miners in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
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This contest will take place in the West Regional with the game taking place in the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The Bulldogs are the No. 5 seed and the Miners are the No. 12 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made Butler 2.5-point favorites over UTEP on Thursday evening. The over/under has been set at 130.
Butler is making its 10th tournament appearance and fourth straight showing. The Bulldogs are 28-4 overall and finished a perfect 18-0 in the Horizon League. Butler averages 70.1 points per-game, which ranks 129th in the country, but the Bulldogs allow just 59.7 points per-game, which ranks 14th. Butler has four players that average double figures in scoring, led by Gordon Hayward, who scored 15.4 points per-game while also pulling down 8.5 rebounds. Shelvin Mack averages 13.9 points per-game while Matt Howard posts 12.3 points per-game while grabbing 5.4 rebounds.
UTEP is making its 17th tournament appearance and first showing since 2005. The Miners are 26-6 this season and 15-1 in Conference USA. The Miners lost in the tournament title game to Houston, but received and at-large bid. The Miners average 75.4 points per-game, which ranks 44th in the NCAA while giving up 63.9 points, which ranks 58th. The Miners are led by Randy Culpepper, who averages 18 points per-game while Derrick Caracter adds 13.8 points and 8 rebounds per-game. Jeremy Williams and Arnett Moultrie each score 10 points per-game as well.
Butler could be a dark horse for a Final Four appearance, but this is a dangerous matchup for the Bulldogs as the Miners are a solid team that dominated Conference USA, a formidable conference. Still, Butler should be bale to slow down UTEP defensively and win by a comfortable margin. We suggest a pick of the Bulldogs.
Our NCAA Tournament Free Pick for this matchup is: BUTLER -2.5 and OVER 130
March Madness Betting Trends
Texas El Paso is 16-1 SU in its last 17 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas El Paso’s last 6 games
Butler is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Butler’s last 5 games
March Madness Injury Report
BUTLER
No Injuries Reported
UTEP
[G/F] 01/03/2010 – Marcus Ruppel has left team ( Undisclosed )
March Madness Game Odds
Butler Bulldogs -2.5 Over 130
UTEP Miners +2.5 Under 130
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Posted: 3/18/10 2:00PM ET