Cinderella Oral Roberts (15) takes on Arkansas (3) in a Sweet Sixteen battle that promises to entertain. The Razorbacks have a great young guard in Moody but the Golden Eagles star Abams should be able to control tempo enough to keep this one close. I like Oral Roberts ATS at +11.
How did Oral Roberts finish the regular season in 4th place in the Summit League? How did their young star guard end up at Oral Roberts and what magic is coach Paul Mills using through the first 2 rounds of the NCAA? After Oral Roberts blew-up everybody’s bracket beating Ohio State in round 1, the Golden Eagles shocked even further when they bested Florida 81-78 in round 2. Meanwhile, coach Eric Musselman and the Arkansas Razorbacks, although a higher seed at 3, were equally surprising in my opinion, beating Texas Tech (6) and their nasty pac-line defense with their own young stud guard Moses Moody. The Golden Eagles probably have 2 future NBA players on their roster in sophomore guard Abams, who led the nation in scoring with 24.4 ppg and junior forward Obanor 18.4 ppg 9.5 rpg. Abams will be the key to Oral Roberts Saturday as he will be able to control tempo and get shots he likes against the Razorbacks. 888Sport has them as an 11 point underdog which is very tempting especially if Abams can control the pace. If you are daring, playing Oral Roberts moneyline is +410 could be a great bet. The Razorbacks big tourney surprise has been senior forward 6’8” Justin Smith who used his big body and is averaging 24.5 ppg in the tourney so far. Freshman star guard 6’6” Moody is their leader scoring 17.1 ppg for the Razorbacks. He has the size, the athleticism and the leadership that should lead Arkansas to a win but not by 11 points. I look for this guard showdown between Abams and Moody to keep this one closer than the 888sport 11 and I like Oral Roberts ATS. And as I see these guards controlling the game and looking for good shots for their teams, I love the under with SugarHouse over/under 159.5
Oral Roberts +11. The slipper will fall of of the Golden Eagles foot and the Razorbacks will win this but Abams play will keep it close.
