The second-seeded Arizona Wildcats look to extend their Round-of-32 winning streak when they take on the No. 7 seed Dayton Flyers in a West Region matchup of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Arizona (26-8) has won seven straight second-round games since suffering an 82-78 loss against Villanova in 2006. The Wildcats began this year's Tournament with an 85-65 triumph over Long Beach State on Thursday. Dayton (25-7) recorded its first victory in "The Big Dance" since 2015 by rallying to defeat Nevada 63-60 in the opening round.
Tip-off at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. ET. The Wildcats are 9-point favorites in the latest Arizona vs. Dayton odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 149.
Before making any Dayton vs. Arizona picks or NCAA Tournament predictions, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)
The model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament on a 148-106 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,700 for $100 players. It also has a strong 29-19 (+810) record on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following it has seen HUGE returns!
The model knows Arizona saw all five starters reach double figures in points against Long Beach State, with sophomore guard Kylan Boswell leading the way with 20 points. Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love also came up with a strong performance, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Senior center Oumar Ballo registered his 18th double-double of 2023-24 and 13th in 14 games with 11 points and 13 boards, while the Wildcats made 13 3-pointers to set the school record for most in an NCAA Tournament contest.
But the model also has taken into account that Dayton trailed Nevada by 17 points with 7:39 remaining in the second half on Thursday but scored 17 unanswered points and finished on a 24-4 run to record its first Tournament win since beating Providence nine years ago. The Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year, junior forward DaRon Holmes II scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed nine boards, while junior guard Koby Brea was key to the Flyers' 42.1% success rate from 3-point range. Brea went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc en route to 15 points and increased his Division I-leading 3-point shooting percentage to 49.7%.
For Saturday, the model has set its sights on the 2024 NCAA Tournament and Arizona vs. Dayton. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in well over 60% of simulations. You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.
Who wins Arizona vs. Dayton? And which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Dayton vs. Arizona spread you should be all over Saturday, all from the model on a 148-106 roll on college basketball picks!
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