Mullin and Hurley Meet in the First Four ... as OGs

Published on 20-Mar-2019 by Sportbet Staff

Basketball - NCAA Mens    NCAA Basketball Daily Stake

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Mullin and Hurley Meet in the First Four ... as OGs

Chris Mullin and Bobby Hurley only faced each other competitively once.

That's when Hurley had just finished his career at Duke and was part of a scrimmage squad to get the original Dream Team in tune to conquer the world.

But this time, in the Final Four ...

 

Bovada has the line set at Arizona State -3 with the total being 153 and the moneyline at Arizona State -155 and St John's +135.

Why you should bet on Arizona State ...

The Sun Devils had a decent Pac-12 Tournament, beating UCLA before falling in overtime to red-hot and eventual tournament champion Oregon. They're 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS loss and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss.

The emergence of San Diego State transfer Zylan Cheatham as a double-double threat has given this team an interior presence that it lacked last year, and he will be key against St. John’s. He'll be the best player in the paint in this game.

It's too bad they can't bring their fabled Curtain of Distraction to Dayton.

 

Why you should bet on St John's ...

All season long, Chris Mullins' squad has been excellent at protecting possession. The Red Storm averaged just 10.3 turnovers per game, which was the 14th-best rate in the nation. On the other end, they forced 15.4 turnovers per game, which ranks 23rd.

Dudes have a great three-point shooter in Mustapha Heron, but no one else on the
team has been better than average. Still, they're not afraid to bomb away; their top four scorers took
a combined 614 threes this season.

St. John’s will also have the best player on the court in Shamorie Ponds.

 

Instant analysis ...

Arizona State's 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS loss and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss.

Rebounding could be the key stat here. St John's is mediocre 72.1% of available defensive rebounds and only 19.6% of o-board chances, ranking them at 338th in the nation. The Sun Devils are the polar opposite, pulling down 76.5% of available defensive rebounds and 30.3% of o-boards. Both figures rank them in the top 20% in Division I.

The Johnnies are gonna have to shoot lights-out to cover. The pressure's on Ponds and Heron. Even then, it might not be enough.

ATS Pick: Arizona State -3

Bet at 5dimes

Result: Arizona State 74 St John's 65 ... Sun Devils cover

***

 

Well, to be accurate, read closely:

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Bet at 5dimes