Are Favorites in Peril in East Regional?

Most of the NCAA Tournament has progressed along as expected. The East region is one of two brackets that have seen all four top seeds march to the round of Sweet 16, as predicted. The top two seeds, Pittsburgh and Duke, have seen more trepidation than expected, making them potential upset victims as we head into the next round of action.

Pittsburgh (30-4, 17-11 ATS) is particular has looked inept. The earlier passion, has given way to indifference for better than 30 minutes in each contest thus far in the tournament. They have shown an inability to rise up defensively, allowing opponents to do what they do best. In the East Tennessee State non-cover, Pitt allowed them to play at their pace and the Buccaneers took 20 more shots than Panthers, giving them chances to stay in the game. In the win over Oklahoma State, they did a poor job of defending the perimeter against the Cowboys long-range shooting and gave up far too many unimpeded trips to the bucket.

Maybe the gravity of the situation will finally hit Pittsburgh, who is 11-4 ATS versus teams outscoring their opponents by eight points a game this season. One aspect in the Panthers favor is Xavier plays more traditional style instead of helter-skelter. The Musketeers (27-7, 19-12-1 ATS) are now an established Top 20 program and are in the Sweet 16 for the third time in five seasons. Under coach Sean Miller, Xavier plays smart basketball and is 12-3 ATS after four straight games committing 14 or less turnovers.

Xavier is a seven-point underdog at Bookmaker.com, with a total of 138.5 and is 10-2 ATS in a neutral court game where the total is 135 to 139.5. Jason Love is off a pair of ineffective outings and has to produce against the beefy Pittsburgh front line.

Guard Jermaine Dixon has to help out his teammates more than 1-7 effort thus far. Fortunately, Levance Fields has been hitting shots or Pitt would have no outside game. Four seeds are meager 4-13 in this round, but are nearly 50-50 wager at 8-9 ATS.

Duke (30-6, 16-17-2 ATS) players deserve a lot of credit, finding ways to win games. The Blue Devils have won 10 of last 11 and though they might not be the apple of the bettor’s eye with 5-5-1 ATS mark, you have to admire their courage in challenging situations. Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler have been players that bring moisture to Dick Vitale’s eyes; however can a team really advance to Elite Eight with almost no inside presence, even with 16-6 ATS record off a no-cover where the team won straight up as a favorite?

Villanova (28-7, 17-14 ATS) presents different demands on Duke. The Wildcats thrive when Scottie Reynolds is sharp, however they are dominate when he and Dante Cunningham are working together. Cunningham is the team's main man on the inside, both scoring and on the boards and where Coach K finds an answer to stop him will ultimately be the deciding factor. Villanova has been glass-eaters in the tournament and are 14-4 ATS after two games outrebounding opponents by 10 or more.

Duke is favored by two-points, with 148 total and they are 6-16 ATS in a neutral court game where the total is 145 to 149.5. Villanova has shown a proclivity to play with high scoring teams and is 9-2 ATS versus clubs scoring 77 or points a game this season. Found this little nugget, ACC teams are 12-2 UNDER in the Sweet 16.