Boston College (26-7)
-7 1/2, o/u 134
vs. Pacific (24-7), 12:40 p.m. Eastern
by Ultimatecapper.com Staff
The Boston College Eagles, fresh off a run to through the ACC tournament, travel cross-country to take on the troublesome Tigers of Pacific in an NCAA first-round match-up in Salt Lake City.
Boston College, which arguably deserved better than a four seed, went 11-5 in the ACC this season (after starting 0-3), to finish in third place. The Eagles then got to the conference tournament title game, where they fell to Duke 78-76 as five-point underdogs Sunday.
Pacific, the 13 seed, won both the Big West Conference regular season and tournament titles. The Tigers have won six games in a row after beating Long Beach State Saturday 78-70 as seven-point favorites in the conference title game.
Pacific has qualified for the NCAA tournament three seasons in a row now. Two years ago the Tigers beat Providence in the first round, and last year they surprised Pitt in an opening-round upset.
BC is 16-12 against the spread this season, 10-12 ats as favorites. Pacific is a profitable 16-9 against the number this season, 2-3 ats as underdogs.
Four of the Eagles' seven losses have come by two points this season, two of those to Duke.
The Tigers ranked first in the Big West in both field goal offense (49%) and FG defense (40%). Boston College also shoots 49% from the floor on the season, but just 67% from the free-throw line. Pacific University shoots 75% from the charity stripe.
The Eagles started the same lineup, consisting of two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore, every game this season. The Tigers start three seniors and two juniors.
Boston College has outrebounded its last nine opponents.
Pacific's leading scorer and rebounder, forward Christian Maraker (17 points, nine rebounds per game) has had the flu this week, but will probably play Thursday.
In the Sagarin PREDICTOR ratings at usatoday.com, Boston College is ranked 20th at 85.7, Pacific 68th at 81.1. In the latest RPI at NCAAsports.com, BC is ranked 22nd, Pacific 88th.
In Sagarin's conference rankings, the ACC is rated third out of 31 Division 1 conferences, the Big West 19th.
The over is 17-10 in BC games this season, 11-15 in Pacific games.
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The Ultimatecapper Pick: Boston College should dominate this team and walk away with an easy double digit win.
