What happens when two Cinderellas meet in the Big Dance? We’re about to find out on whom the glass slipper fits when no. 11 Dayton Flyers take on no. 10 Stanford Cardinals for a berth in the Elite 8.
[sc:MarchMadness ]No. 11 Dayton Flyers vs. No. 10 Stanford Cardinal Betting Preview
Where: FedExForum, Memphis
When: Friday, March 27, 7:15 PM ET
Line: Dayton Flyers (+3) at Stanford Cardinal (-3); total 133.5 – view lines here
Betting on the Dayton Flyers
[sc:finalfour240 ]This Cinderella isn’t a one trick pony. For the second game in a row, the 11th-seeded Dayton Flyers pulled off a massive upset as they shocked no. 3 Syracuse Orange in the third round, 55-53, to advance to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1984.
The Flyers have demonstrated repeatedly that ice flows in their veins. They defeated Ohio State by scoring five points in the last 30 seconds and exchanged punches with the Orange late in the game to come out on top, highlighted by Jordan Siebert’s triple with under a minute left.
Another key to the Flyers’ victory against Syracuse was three-point shooting, both offensively and defensively. The Flyers went 7-for-16 from beyond the arc and shut out the Orange’s hot-shooting guards, who went 0-10 from downtown.
Siebert, the Flyers’ top scorer (12.4 PPG), has yet to match his scoring average in the tournament. If he can pick up his scoring against Stanford, the Flyers will have a legitimate shot of making the Elite 8. Dayton has a 6-1 ATS record in its last seven games, including back-to-back covers in the NCAA Tournament.
Betting on the Stanford Cardinal
The no. 10 Stanford Cardinal were having none of Andrew Wiggins and company as they scored their second upset win in a row, toppping the no. 2 Kansas Jayhawks 60-57 in the third round.
The Cardinal relied on their defense to best Kansas, limiting the Jayhawks to their lowest scoring output since January. Stanford’s defense held 2014 NBA lottery pick Wiggins to just four points and held Kansas to just 32.8% shooting overall.
Stanford’s opponents were producing 67.9 PPG in the regular season, but the Madness edition of the Cardinal haven’t allowed either team they’ve faced to score more than 59. Cardinal have played to the under in four straight games.
In order to pull the plug on the Flyers, Stanford would need to continue to play tight defense, and recover their shooting touch from the outside. After swishing eight 3-pointers in the second round against New Mexico, the Cardinal missed every one of their nine 3-point shots against Kansas.
Prediction
As we’ve seen so far in the tournament, Dayton handles pressure well. During the regular season, the Flyers beat Gonzaga and St. Louis, and lost by just one point to Baylor. In the meantime, Baylor possesses an ability to shoot and protect the three that the Cardinal can’t step to. Dayton will win by at least seven points, easily erasing the 3-point spread as ‘dogs.
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