NCAA Championship Game 2010 Pick – Duke vs Butler

It’s the game the college basketball world has been waiting for: Duke and Butler, for the 2010 NCAA Championship game. Who’ve you got in the betting odds?

NCAA Championship Game:

Duke Blue Devils (34-5 SU, 23-13-2 ATS) vs. Butler Bulldogs (33-4 SU, 17-20 ATS)

Monday, April 5: 9:21 p.m. CBS

NCAA Betting Odds: Duke -7

Here are some NCAA Betting Trends that may impact this game:

Duke: 5-0 ATS in their 5 NCAA Tournament games
Duke: 5-0 SU in their 5 NCAA Tournament games

Butler: 4-1 ATS in their 5 NCAA Tournament games
Butler: Total has gone UNDER in 4 of their 5 NCAA Tournament

Coming into this game, the prohibitive favorite is the Duke Blue Devils, and it’s understandable why. They have dominated this 2010 NCAA Tournament like few teams in recent memory. The Blue Devils most recent win was maybe their most impressive, as they cruised past the West Virginia Mountaineers 78-57 on Saturday night. In the game, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler each had 20+ points, and the Blue Devils hit 13 3-pointers in victory.

As for Butler, while their win on Saturday over Michigan State was not nearly as impressive, they did do what was needed to claim in the victory. Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack were the only Bulldogs to score in double figures, and Butler forced 16 turnovers, in a 52-50 victory over Michigan State.

What the key to this championship game on Monday night will be is simply, whether or not Butler can handle Duke on the glass. Duke has the biggest and most imposing frontline the Bulldogs will have seen all season, as they outrebounded the mighty West Virginia Mountaineers, and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in their Saturday victory as well. Big center Brian Zoubek led the Blue Devils with 10 rebounds, and Singler added nine as well.

But despite the size differential, expect Butler to be able to keep this one close in the betting odds. If you look at Butler’s NCAA Tournament games, you realize that they’ve beaten just about every team that you can in basketball along this crazy ride: They’ve defeated team’s that are guard oriented (Kansas State) and big down low (Michigan State). One’s who play zone (Syracuse) and man-to-man. Teams that want to play fast and slow. The one common denominator in all those games, is that Butler not only handled things, but won.

While it certainly won’t be easy for the Bulldogs, there is no reason to think that based upon what we’ve seen so far in this tournament, they can’t win this game straight up, or at least cover the betting odds. Because of it take Butler.

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Some may think they don’t belong in this game, but then again people said that about them when they played Syracuse. And Kansas State and Michigan State too. They will again on Monday night as well.

Few had Butler winning the 2010 NCAA Basketball Championship when this tournament started, but that’s exactly what they’ll do, pull the shocking upset. Take them in Monday night’s championship betting odds.

Aaron’s Pick: Butler +7