Frank LorenzoThe opening game of the 2014 March Madness second round features the Dayton Flyers, 11th seed in the South region, taking on the Ohio State Buckeyes, 6th seed, at the First Niagara Center, in Buffalo New York, this Thursday at 12:15 PM ET.
Dayton is 23-10 in the season, but last Friday lost to St. Joseph’s in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
“I didn’t even hear (the announcement),” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “I just got swallowed up by the players.”
The Flyers are 3-6 against Ohio State; they met for the last time in 2008 as the Buckeyes covered a 7.5 point spread as favorites.
“I didn’t expect it,” Dayton junior Jordan Sibertsaid about playing his former school, “but now it’s what I want.”
Ohio State lost the Big Ten semifinals against Michigan, and they enter this game as six point favorites in the March Madness betting spread.
“I have learned if you do this long enough, paths tend to intertwine,” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. “Small things win you games, and small things lose you games,” he added.
Consider the betting trends for this game say the Buckeyes are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games, 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following an ATS loss, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games, and 0-6 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games as a favorite.
The Flyers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning straight record, and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
