NCAA Tournament Southeast Region Third Round
#1 Pittsburgh Panthers vs #8 Butler Bulldogs
Verizon Center, Washington, DC
Saturday, March 19, 2011, 7:10 pm Eastern, TV: TBS
Opening Line: Pitt -8
Current Line: Pitt -8
Opening Total: 128 1/2
Current Total 128
Money Line: Pitt -350 / Butler +290
Butler is no stranger to wearing Cinderella’s slipper having advanced all the way to the national championship and coming within an eyelash of beating Duke in that game. Now the #8 seed Butler take on the #1 seed Pittsburgh Panthers with a trip to the Sweet 16 in New Orleans next week on the line. Pittsburgh is 28-5 overall and won the Big East regular season title with a 15-3 record. The Panthers went 4-3 in their last 7 games. They beat UNC-Asheville 74-51 in the second round of the tournament to advance to this game. Asheville actually pulled within 6 points with 15 minutes to go before Pitt pulled away for the 23 point win. Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs led all scorers with 26 points in the win against the Bulldogs. Butler has won 10 straight games, and finished in a three way tie for Horizon League title with Cleveland St and Milwaukee. Butler was 24-9 overall and 13-5 in conference. Butler beat Old Dominion 60-58 on a late tip-in from forward Matt Howard. Howard and guard Shelvin Mack both scored 15 points for the Bulldogs. The winner of this game will play the winner of Kansas St and Wisconsin in the regional semifinals.
Butler leads the overall series against Pitt 7-5 but they haven’t played since 1946. Butler is 1-3 against tournament teams this season with losses to Louisville, Duke, and Butler and a win over Florida St. Pitt is 10-5 against tournament teams. Butler is 15-5 ATS as an underdog the last 3 seasons. Butler is 6-0 ATS in both neutral court and tournament games this season. Butler is 8-2 ATS in non-conference games this season. Butler is 14-5 ATS versus teams with winning records this season.
Butler has no significant injuries right now. Butler is led by the dynamic duo of forward Matt Howard and guard Shelvin Mack. One of the two leads the Bulldogs in every statistical category. Howard is averaging 16.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals a game and 0.7 blocks a game. Mack averages 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.8 steals a game. Both are shooting more than 34% from 3 point range, and over 78% from the free throw line. Butler is outscoring opponents 72-65 on the season. The Bulldogs are shooting 44.5% from the field and 35.8% from 3-point range. Bulldog opponents are shooting 42.7% from the field. Butler shoots 73.1% from the free throw line. Butler averages 34.8 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +3.4. Butler averages 12.5 assists and 11.2 turnovers a game. They force 12.8 turnovers a game on defense. Butler averages 6.1 steals and 1.6 blocks a game.
Pitt forward Talib Zanna is out for at least another week with a thumb injury. He only plays 11 minutes a game and scores less than 4 points a game. Pittsburgh is led by guard Ashton Gibbs who averages 17 points a game, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists a game. He leads the team in scoring and shoots 48.8% from 3-point range and 88.9% from the free throw line. Guard Brad Wanamaker averages 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.5 steals a game. He leads the team in assists and steals. Forward Gilbert Brown averages 10.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists a game. Forward Nasir Robinson averages 9.1 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists a game. Center Gary McGhee leads the team in rebounds with 7.7 a game and blocks with 1.3 a game. Pitt is outscoring opponents 74-61 on the season. They are shooting 47.3% from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range. Panther opponents are shooting 39.5% from the field. The Panthers make 67.1% of their free throws. Pitt averages 40.2 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +10.8. The Panthers average 17.4 assists and 11.7 turnovers a game. They force 11.3 turnovers a game on defense. Pitt averages 4.8 steals and 3.4 blocks a game.
Though everyone besides hardcore Pitt fans will be rooting for Butler is this game, Pitt just has way too much for Butler. The Bulldogs will hang around for a while but Pitt will move on to the Sweet 16 f or the 6th time in the last 10 years.
Our college basketball handicappers are red hot in the tournament. Don’t miss out on any more winners from now until the Championship game next month.
