The NCAA Sweet 16 round commences from Los Angeles this Thursday, featuring a clash in the West Region between the 6th seeded Clemson Tigers and the 2nd seeded Arizona Wildcats. These teams haven’t faced off since 2012, where the Wildcats emerged victorious by a 12-point margin.
Clemson enters the matchup with a 23-11 record for the season, representing the Atlantic Coast Conference. They secured victories against the New Mexico Lobos in the first round and caused an upset against the Baylor Bears in the second round. Over their last 10 games, Clemson has maintained a 6-4 record.
On the other hand, the Arizona Wildcats, after clinching the Pac-12 regular season title, suffered a setback in the conference tournament against Oregon. With an overall record of 27-8, they have won seven of their last 10 games.
In terms of odds, the Arizona Wildcats are favored by -6.5 points over Clemson for this game. The total points expected from both teams are set at 151.5.
Wildcats Want to Get to Phoenix for Final Four
For the Arizona Wildcats, they started their season with eight straight wins, including a notable win over Michigan State on Thanksgiving Day and a triumph against Wisconsin. Their first defeat occurred on December 16th against Purdue, followed by another loss just before Christmas to Florida Atlantic.
Arizona has showcased a potent offensive ability, averaging 87.6 points per game, ranking them third in all of college basketball. They are very good from beyond the arc, with a three-point shooting percentage exceeding 37%, and demonstrate strong rebounding, averaging 39.3 rebounds per game.
In their win over Dayton, Caleb Love led the scoring effort with 19 points and 5 assists, supported by Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson, who each contributed 13 points.
Leading the charge for Arizona is Caleb Love, with an impressive scoring average of over 18 points per game. Also, the Wildcats have three other players averaging double digits in scoring: Umar Bello at 12.9 points, Larsson just below at 12.8 points, and Keshad Johnson at 11.7 points per game.
Tigers Looking to Become Elite
In the NCAA Tournament, the Clemson Tigers have been averaging 74.5 points per game while allowing 60 points. During the regular season, they maintained a scoring average of 77.2 points per game. Clemson stands out as one of the premier free-throw shooting teams in college basketball, boasting an impressive conversion rate of nearly 80% from the charity stripe.
PJ Hall has emerged as the top scorer for the Tigers this season, averaging 18.5 points per game. He is part of a trio of key contributors, alongside Joe Girard with 15.3 points and Chase Hunter with 12.7 points per game. Notably, in their victory against Baylor, Hunter notched 20 points while Girard contributed 13.
Clemson kicked off the regular season with an impressive nine straight wins. However, their unbeaten streak came to an end on December 16th with a road loss against Memphis.
As ACC play commenced, the Tigers faced a challenging stretch, dropping their first three games of January to Miami, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech. Currently, Clemson holds a 3-3 record for the month of March.
Tigers Cover, Wildcats Win
We like the Clemson Tigers to give the Arizona Wildcats all they can handle in this game. But, just like much of the tournament, the top seed advances. Clemson is going to make this a one possession game late, but Arizona will hold on.
We will go with a final score of 80-75 Arizona. Our final bet for this game is the Clemson Tigers +6.5 over the Arizona Wildcats in College Basketball on Thursday!
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