Butler Bulldogs vs. Virginia Cavaliers Betting Odds, March Madness Pick

With a victory/cover to open the NCAA tournament, Butler continued its amazing recent run of tournament luck, improving to 13-4 straight up and 14-2-1 against the spread over its previous 17 March Madness games. The Bulldogs hope to add another bone to their collection when they tackle the Virginia Cavaliers in a second-round bout Saturday evening in Raleigh.

Point spread: The Cavaliers opened as 7.5-point favorites; the total was 132, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

March Madness pick, via Odds Shark computer: 72.9-62.6 Cavaliers

Why pick Butler to cover the spread

The ninth-seeded Bulldogs reached Saturday's second round by topping the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Thursday 71-61, covering to cash as four-point chalk. That game was tied at 48-48 with about eight minutes to go before Butler took the lead for good on a pair of Kelan Martin three-pointers then hung on from there.

On the day, the Bulldogs shot 49 percent from the field, hit 9-of-17 from beyond the arc and outrebounded the Red Raiders 34-28. Butler is now 4-1 SU over its last five games and 9-2 ATS over its last 11.

For the season, with four guys averaging in double figures, the Bulldogs are shooting 47 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three-point land, while averaging 80 points per game. And teams that shoot like that are mighty dangerous as dogs.

Why pick Virginia to cover the spread

The top seed in the Midwest advanced to Saturday by blowing out the Hampton Pirates on Thursday 81-45, easily covering as a 23-point favorite. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 19-point advantage at the half, then poured it on from there, enabling them to later clear the bench. For the day Virginia shot 55 percent from the floor, including 12-of-25 from long range, while limiting the Pirates to just 30 percent field-goal shooting.

So the Cavs are now 6-1 both SU and ATS over their last seven games. On the season Virginia ranks in the top 10 in the country in both field-goal shooting (49 percent) and three-point shooting (41 percent), while ranking second in defensive stinginess, allowing just 59 points per game.

Smart betting pick

Everybody loves underdog Butler, but defense usually rules the day in the NCAA tournament, and Virginia gets the checkmark in that department. Take the Cavs for the cash on the college basketball betting lines on Saturday.

March Madness betting trends

Virginia is 6-1 SU and ATS in its last seven games.

The total has gone over in five of Butler's last seven games.

Butler is 5-1 ATS in its last six games against teams with winning records.

Butler is 13-2 ATS in its last 15 March Madness games dating back to 2010.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, and all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app for iOS or Android.