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Can you feel the madness? The NCAA Tournament is officially here! A tantalizing first-round matchup will be in the works when the ten-seeded Nevada Wolf Pack takes on the seven-seeded Dayton Flyers in Salt Lake City. Join us for our College Basketball odds series where our Nevada-Dayton prediction and pick will be revealed.
Reigning from a six-bid Mountain West Conference that saw the Wolf Pack finish second in the standings by season's end. Despite not living up to standards in the MW Conference Tournament where they went down in defeat to the Colorado State Rams in the Quarterfinals. Nevertheless, this is a talented group led by head coach Steve Alford. With a 26-7 record, it wouldn't be a shock to see Nevada survive and advance in the opening round of this tournament.
On the other side of things, the Flyers of the Atlantic-10 Conference are no slouches either. While Dayton didn't necessarily play their best basketball of the season leading up to the Big Dance with a 5-4 record since Feb. 13th, the Flyers should not be underestimated. Following a quarterfinals loss themselves to eventual winner Duquesne, there is no doubt that Dayton is out for blood.
Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
March Madness Odds: Nevada-Dayton Odds
Nevada: -1.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -118
Dayton: +1.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -102
Over: 136.5 (-110)
Under: 136.5 (-110)
How to Watch March Madness
Time: 4:30 ET/1:30 PT
TV: TBS
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why Nevada Will Cover The Spread/Win
Despite the Mountain West committee being slighted by the committee, Nevada is still a very good basketball team filled with the proper amount of talent and experience to go on a run. Overall, the Wolf Pack enters the Big Dance as a top-40 squad in offensive and defensive efficiency which will keep Dayton's hands full on both ends of the court. Nevada is led by fifth-year senior Jarrod Lucas who is the team's leading scorer with 17.8 points per game. At the surface level, Lucas is a do-it-all scorer from beyond the three-point line and is more than able to inflict some damage in the lane. Clearly, the former Oregon State product is definitely in the running to be the best player on the floor when these two teams tip-off which is obviously a big deal.
In addition, be on the lookout for Kenan Blackshear to be a matchup nightmare for Dayton's guards. Towering at 6'6″, Blackshear is technically listed as a guard but can play any position on the floor. Coming off of back-to-back games of at least 50% shooting, he may be in for another productive day at the office.
Another advantage that Nevada may have over Dayton is the fact that they get to the free-throw line at a regular rate. This could make them tough to handle during crunch time of this first-round bout.
Why Dayton Will Cover The Spread/Win
While Dayton may be licking their wounds entering the tournament, their starting five possesses a whole lot of talent. It all begins with DaRon Holmes who is the heart and soul of this team. On the season, Holmes averaged a whopping 20.2 points per game and is obviously one of the more dominant bigs in the nation.
Not to mention, Holmes is surrounded by a slew of shooters who are more than capable in hitting big-time shots from the perimeter. On paper, Dayton is a top-five shooting team in the nation from three and is difficult to stop once they get going. If Nevada spends too much time focusing on Holmes down low on the block, then they may find themselves in some trouble. Truly, it could be a lose-lose scenario.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, they are oftentimes pretty lousy defensively. Throughout the regular season, Dayton surrendered 66.3 points per game and has allowed at least 80 points scored in three of their last five contests total. Without a doubt, this could be a glaring issue for a Flyers squad clashing with a Wolf Pack team that is more than able to put points up on the board in a hurry. As long as Dayton finds ways to shore up defensively, then they'll be in pretty good shape.
Final Nevada-Dayton Prediction & Pick
Buckle up college basketball fans… it doesn't get much better than this! In one of sport's greatest spectacles that is the NCAA Tournament, get your bracket started off right by selecting Dayton to be too much to handle for Nevada. Take the Flyers to advance to the Round of 32!
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Final Nevada-Dayton Prediction & Pick: Dayton +1.5 (-110)
