Can Belmont Bruins set pressure on Virginia Cavaliers? | IXGAMES
It wouldn’t be March Madness without a major upset in the Round of 64, and this year, people are looking at the No. 15 Belmont Bruins to get the job done. It’s a tall order. As we go to press, the Bruins are 16.5-point underdogs for Friday’s matchup (3:10 PM ET, truTV) against the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers. But even if Belmont comes up short, the Wahoos could have trouble covering this giant spread. Belmont has yet to actually win a tournament game in six attempts under head coach Rick Byrd, and that 1-5 ATS record isn’t very promising. However, back in 2008, the Bruins were 20-point underdogs against No. 2 Duke, and they lost by the slimmest of margins, 71-70. This year’s Bruins (22-10 SU, 12-16-1 ATS) have won six straight SU and ATS, including upsets over Eastern Kentucky (–1.5) and Murray State (–6) to take down the Ohio Valley Conference title. The Cavaliers (29-3 SU, 17-13 ATS) dropped two of their last three SU and ATS, both as favorites, and junior guard Justin Anderson (24.2 PER) has struggled since undergoing an appendectomy two weeks ago. Anderson is Virginia’s top perimeter threat at 46.9% from downtown.