College Basketball Betting Preview: Siena Saints vs. Butler Bulldogs
 Siena Saints (22-5, 14-10-1 ATS) |
 |
 Butler Bulldogs (24-4, 11-17 ATS) |
ESPN’s BracketBusters continue with a huge day of intra-conference action for the mid-majors, and there may not be a college basketball betting battle more important than the duel between the Siena Saints and the Butler Bulldogs. For Butler, this game is all about trying to earn some respect on national television. The Bulldogs feel as though they should perhaps be on the #3 or #4 line in the NCAA Tournament, and a win over another potential tourney team in a stand-alone nationally televised game would go a long way in accomplishing that. As for Siena, this is a team that has won three NCAA Tournament games in the L/3 seasons, but a loss on Saturday and a failure in the MAAC Tournament could leave the Saints in the NIT this year.
The one thing that the Saints certainly have on their side is experience. F Alex Franklin, G Edwin Ubiles, F Ryan Rossiter, and G Ronald Moore make a lethal four-pack for HC Fran McCaffery. Moore is the top assist man in the nation at 7.7 per game, and even though he is only shooting 32% for the season, there is no doubting his value. Free throw shooting has been a bit problem for Siena in ’09-’10, and that could be its undoing at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Saints are only shooting 66.8% as a team from the charity stripe.
The Bulldogs love to slow the game down and try to produce offense off of their defense. The ‘D’ is averaging allowing just 60.5 points per game, and has conceded less than 60 in four straight. Butler is doing a great job of taking care of the basketball as well, as it is turning the ball over just 12.1 times per contest. F Gordon Hayward will be asked to have a big game to beat the Saints on Saturday. He is leading the team in both scoring (15.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.4 boards per game).
The Bulldogs are only 5-13 ATS in their L/18 home games, but they haven’t been beaten outright there in their L/14. This is the battle that the Saints have been looking forward to for years, but barring a huge effort from one of their superstars, it’s hard to see how they’re going to figure out how to escape Butler with an outright win. A spread this high is hard to ignore, though.
Selection: Siena Saints
The Saints went a solid 6-4 ATS in non-conference play this year, and they’ll look to improve on that NCAA basketball betting mark on Saturday morning. You can find them right now at +7.5 at Diamond Sportsbook!
Related Sports Betting Articles
