Sweet 16 Betting Picks: BYU Cougars vs. Florida Gators
Thursday, March 24, 2011
By Gordon P. Quinn
The Brigham Young Cougars from the Mountain West conference will face the Florida Gators from the SEC conference in an NCAA Tournament fourth round college basketball game tonight at 7:27 PM ET from the Superdome in New Orleans Louisiana.
The Gators have opened as 3-point favorites on Sportsbook.com’s but now Live NCAA Las Vegas Odds.
Florida's strength in the frontcourt comes from having three versatile big men, each of whom plays a different role for the team. Chandler Parsons is a versatile inside/outside player who has a knack for scoring off offensive rebounds. Alex Tyus is a warrior, who guards the other team's best option and rebounds as well as anyone his size in America. And Vernon Macklin is able to clean up other people's garbage and provide a 5th scoring option when defenders key on the other Florida starters.
At one point this season, BYU got a lot of production from its big men, but after the honor code suspension, things changed. The Cougars are now basically playing with Noah Hartsock, a group of reserves and four guards. Florida's edge in this game will be large in the interior and expect Billy Donovan to exploit it.
At this point, America all knows about the stardom of BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. No matter how hyped he is, Fredette finds a way to go to another level, as seen in his 34 point performance versus Gonzaga. But we also saw against the Zags that Jackson Emery can be a weapon and he plays sneaky good defense. Emery will need to step up against a solid backcourt with Kenny Boynton and the resurgent Erving Walker, who has stepped up his play in recent weeks. BYU has the edge due to Jimmer, but the margin may not be as wide as some would assume.
These two teams played a classic game last season in the NCAA tournament, in which BYU was victorious in double overtime. That was the game that basically launched Jimmer into superstardom, but it is also a game that has stuck with this Florida team since last year. Both teams will know each other well and there will be very little edge for either team coming from anything except the players on the court.
Florida is the better team and has played extremely well this tournament. The Gators' win over UCLA was extremely impressive and they have learned to win over the last few weeks with a number of different players leading the way. BYU has a lot of firepower in the backcourt, but Chandler Parsons gives the Gators the edge.
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The Pick: Florida Gators
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alex tyus - brigham young cougars - chandler parsons - erving walker - florida gators - jackson emery - jimmer fredette - kenny boynton - ncaa tournament - noah hartsock
