Higher seeds intent on moving to Sweet 16

The final three contests of Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament have variety. A top seed takes on a hot team from a poor-mouthed conference, a three-seed is expected to be tested by a squad with ample tourney experience and fourth seed is listed underdog, not playing with all its weaponry. This trio of wagering options will fill the Sweet 16 dance card.

ACC power on parade

Duke tied for the ACC regular season title and walked away with conference tournament and faces California of the much maligned Pac-10. Funny thing about the left-coasters, both teams that made it to the NCAA’s moved on to second round, proving at least at the top, this league was not too bad. The Blue Devils cover the six-point spread at DiamondSportsbook.com if they establish inside presence against the Bears with Kyle Singler, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas doing the dirty work, freeing up the perimeter shooters to score. Expect the Blue Devils to work inside out and they are 6-0 ATS after two straight games attempting 10 or more free throws than opponent.

California’s best shot to pull the upset is staying glued to outside shooters from Duke and beat them down the floor in transition. If Jerome Randle can keep the Bears at high octane level to wear down the bigger Duke players, they’ll be able to take best shot since they are 10-2 ATS when the total is 140 to 149.5 this season. (Posted total is 143.5)

Pittsburgh against the X-Men

The Panthers and Xavier matchup opened with the Musketeers as a one-point favorite, moved to a Pick and now is a single digit underdog. Pittsburgh moves Salt Lake City if they can remain consistent. All season the Panthers have had players running hot and cold. That means Ashton Gibbs, Gilbert Brown, Gary McGhee, Travon Woodall and Dante Taylor all have to play within themselves and not try and be heroes. Pitt is 10-3 ATS versus very good teams outscoring their opponents by eight or points game this season.

The oddsmakers are telling us Xavier is very close to playing the way they want with total of 135.5. The Musketeers are 22-3 and 18-6 ATS, when they score 70 or more points and are very potent offensively averaging 79.6 points per contest.

Xavier will have to shoot better than 34.3 percent from the field like they did against Minnesota or they will be in real trouble, as three seeds are 8-1 SU against six seeds in this round.

Purdue could be predicament

The Boilermakers clearly haven't been the same without Robbie Hummel and will have to depend on defense to hold off Texas A&M. The Boilermakers will have to play sensational defense like they did against Siena (32.9 percent) and try and avoid long periods of not scoring. Junior guard E'Twaun Moore and center JaJuan Johnson will probably have to total 40 or more points and have at least two others score around 10 points each. Purdue is 15-26 ATS after playing three straight games as favorite over the last two seasons.

Texas A&M can defend as they proved against Utah State, holding the Aggies to 53 points, compared to average of 73 PPG. Donald Sloan is the inspirational leader and facilitator of the offense and center Bryan Davis is a rugged inside player. Coach Mark Turgeon has done a masterful job in blending the veterans with his youngsters, especially with the loss of Derrick Roland back in December to compound fracture. The Aggies are two-point favorites and 14-2 ATS when the line is +3 to -3.