The Dayton Flyers (25-7) and Arizona Wildcats (26-8) start off Saturday’s NCAA Tournament 2nd-round action. Tip-off from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City is slated for 12:45 p.m. ET (CBS). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s'lines around the Dayton vs. Arizona odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Dayton, the 7th seed in the West Region, rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat 10th-seeded Nevada 63-60 in the 1st round Thursday. UD trailed 56-39 with 7:15 to go in the 2nd half before going on a 24-4 run to close the game' and stun the Wolf Pack, who went ice-cold from the field down the stretch.
The Flyers hit 45.7% from the field, and 42.1% (8 of 19) from behind the 3-point line, while converting 13 of 15 free throws (86.7%). F DaRon Holmes scored 8 of his game-high 18 points during the final run. Dayton was a 1-point underdog and the Under (137) hit.
Arizona, the No. 2 seed, scorched 15th-seeded Long Beach State 85-65 Thursday — the Wildcats pushed as 20-point favorites and the Under (163) cashed. Despite the push, Arizona is a healthy 7-3-2 against the spread (ATS) in the past 12 games, while the Under has connected in 4 in a row, and 7 of the past 9 outings.