Just as expected, numbers one and two seeds Ohio State and Memphis will tangle in today’s NCAA Tournament South Regional final in San Antonio’s Alamodome with the spoils of a final four berth in Atlanta at stake. The teams have combined winning streaks of 45 games. Ohio State has won its last 20 games while the Tigers have not lost in 25 outings. Oddsmakers have installed the Buckeyes a slight favorite with a -2.5-point chalk with a 134-point total. The game tips off at 4:40 p.m. ET.
If the Tigers can pull of an upset today they will stave off critics who have complained of Memphis’ weak strength of schedule and their watered down league, C-USA. The Buckeyes played a schedule dotted with teams currently ranked in the top-five going 2-3 in those games straight up and against the spread. Memphis, ranked No. 5 in both major polls (AP, USA Today/ESPN), will be the sixth top-five matchup the Buckeyes have faced.
Two of Ohio States top five matchups from the regular season, North Carolina and Florida, went on to be No. 1 seeds in the Big Dance. The other three matchups came against Wisconsin, splitting home and home wins in the Big-10 round-robin and defeating the Badgers in the conference tournament. The Buckeyes went 2-1 both SU and ATS in the trio of games against the Badgers. The OVER cashed on the total in three of the five matchups the Buckeyes played. The total has also gone OVER in the three NCAA tournament games the Buckeyes played while the team went 1-2 ATS in those games, covering (-20.5) against Central Connecticut State but falling short against Xavier (-8.0) and Tennessee (-5.0).
The Buckeyes are led by Mike Conley Jr. and super freshman Greg Oden. Conley is the second Buckeye to record at least 350 point, 150 assists, 100 rebounds and 50 steals in the same season. To date, Conley has 387 points, 224 assists, 122 rebounds and 81 steals. Oden has 99 blocks on the season. With one more rejection, he will become the second Buckeye all-time and first freshman to block 100 shots in a season.
Memphis is hungry to prove that it’s one of the nation’s elite basketball programs. Sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts, senior Jeremy Hunt and freshman point guard Willie Kemp lead an athletic group that is anchored by a pair of 6’9” goliaths, junior Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier. Memphis’ weakness this year has been at the line, shooting only 61 per cent from the charity stripe.
The Tigers, while winning 30 games SU this season aren’t as solid ATS getting a no-cover in 16 games. The Tigers have covered two-of-three games they played in the NCAA Tournament with the UNDER cashing on the total in all three.
Point-Spreads.com pick: Memphis + 2.5
