Despite its recent struggles, Butler should garner an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, but the Bulldogs don?t want to play with fire by losing to UMass, which must win to have any hopes of a bid. The Minutemen opened as 1-point favorites on WagerWeb.com. Check our current lines.
Butler has lost two straight, falling 84-52 at VCU on Saturday. VCU forced 14 first-half turnovers and turned them into 24 points on their way to a 45-21 lead. For the game, the Bulldogs tied their season high was 23 turnovers, leading to 34 points for VCU. The Bulldogs (22-7, 9-5) arrived averaging 13 turnovers per game. Roosevelt Jones scored 14 points and Khyle Marshall had 13 for Butler. Prior to Saturday?s 32-point loss, Butler had not lost a conference game by 30 or more points since the 1985-86 season.
UMass has won two straight. It won 77-72 at Xavier on Saturday. Terrell Vinson and Freddie Riley combined to hit 10 3-pointers in the win. Vinson scored 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including four from deep, while Riley tallied 18 points, all from 3-point range. Trey Davis came off the bench to score 12 for UMass (18-9, 8-6 Atlantic 10 Conference), which shot a season-high 52 percent (13 of 25) from beyond the arc. Over the past four games, UMass has shot 37-for-84 (.440) from long range, making at least seven in each while averaging 9.3 treys per game. The squad has posted a season-high in each of its past two games, shooting 50 percent against Dayton and 52 at Xavier.
This game that will help determine if either team can lock-up one of the top four spots in the Atlantic 10 standings, thus ensuring a first-round bye in next week?s league tournament. UMass is currently in sixth place and a game back of fourth and two back of third with two contests left. Butler is one game ahead of UMass tied with Temple for fourth place. Thursday?s game will be the first ever between the Minutemen and Bulldogs and it might be the last for a while with Butler leaving the A-10 after just one season for the new Big East.
WagerWeb.com trends: Bulldogs are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall. Bulldogs are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. Atlantic 10. Bulldogs are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Bulldogs are 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. Minutemen are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games. Minutemen are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. win. Minutemen are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
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