Oregon vs. Louisville Point Spread has Cardinals as -10.5 Favorite
Carrie Stroup here with your Oregon vs. Louisville point spread courtesy of Sportsbook.com, where you can claim your FREE $100 bet here.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Louisville -10.5 & 130
Top overall seed Louisville is a heavy favorite to reach the Elite Eight going up against 12th-seeded Oregon in the Sweet 16 on Friday night in Indianapolis.
There is no hotter team in college basketball than Louisville, which has won 12 consecutive games SU and nine straight ATS, covering six double-digit spreads during this span. The Cardinals creamed both of their NCAA Tournament opponents thus far, beating North Carolina A&T 79-48 in the Round of 64 and easily covering a 10-point spread in the Round of 32 with an 82-56 win against Colorado State. Oregon, meanwhile, was widely regarded as under-seeded and has done its best to prove that true, most recently upsetting No. 4 seed Saint Louis 74-57 in the Round of 32. The Ducks are 5-0 SU and 4-0-1 ATS in their five postseason games this season. Ultimately this will be Louisville’s toughest test yet in the Big Dance, especially the way Oregon has outrebounded its opponents in its first two NCAA Tournament games, an average margin of +11.5 RPG. But Louisville has arguably the best defense in the nation, allowing just 57.6 PPG on 39.1% FG this season. These teams played a home-in-home in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, with the Ducks winning both games handily, 88-65 and 90-63.
The Oregon offense has six players scoring at least eight points per game, but none scoring more than E.J. Singler’s 11.6 PPG. The senior forward is also averaging 4.9 RPG and bounced back from an eight-point performance in the tourney opener to go 4-of-6 from the field against the Billikens for 14 points. He did turn it over eight times in that game, however, something he must be cautious of against Louisville, which forces 18.9 turnovers per game, the second most in Division-I. As a team, Oregon averages a whopping 15.1 turnovers per game. Starring in the tournament for the Ducks has been freshman guard Damyean Dotson (11.3 PPG), who has combined for 40 points on 14-of-26 shooting from the field. He was especially good against Saint Louis, going for 23 points and hitting 5-of-6 three-pointers. Senior F Carlos Emory (11.1 PPG) is the team’s third double-digit scorer and also played well in Saturday's win, scoring 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Overall, Oregon made 8-of-11 three-pointers in that contest. Helping give them so many opportunities was PF Arsalan Kazemi (9.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG), who pulled in 16 rebounds to go along with eight points. That came after a monstrous 11-point, 17-rebound performance in the Round of 64 against fifth-seeded Oklahoma State. Kazemi will be key for the Ducks, battling Louisville C Gorgui Dieng on the boards.
As has been the case all season, the only player to really score for the Cardinals in their two NCAA Tournament games thus far has been Russ Smith (18.4 PPG). The junior guard scored 23 points in just 25 minutes in the opening game then went off for 27 in the Round of 32. More impressive, though, has been his defense. Averaging 2.2 SPG, he has pulled in 10 swipes already this Big Dance, joining PG Peyton Siva (9.9 PPG, 5.9 APG, 2.3 SPG) to form a nasty defensive duo in the backcourt. Siva has six steals so far in the Tournament. Their full-court pressure took Colorado State out of the game on Saturday and it will be interesting to see if head coach Rick Pitino goes the same way against these turnover-prone Ducks. On the inside, their key defender is Dieng (10.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG), who stands at 6-foot-11 and blocks 2.4 shots per game. He is 9-for-9 from the field in this tournament, totaling 20 points between the two contests, though he has pulled in just 10 rebounds. He will need to be big, going against a talented rebounder in Kazemi who might not be as tall, but is as feisty as they come. Six-foot-6 F Chane Behanan (9.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG) has been quiet in the NCAA Tournament with a total of 13 points and four rebounds, but has at least been efficient, going 5-of-8 from the field.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
