Ole Miss vs. BYU Betting Line – NCAA Tournament First Round

Carrie Stroup here with your Ole Miss vs. BYU betting line for the NCAA Tournament First Round. OLE MISS REBELS (20-12) vs. BYU COUGARS (25-9) NCAA Tournament – First Round Sportsbook.ag Line: BYU -3, Total: 157 Ole Miss and BYU will be looking to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament when the teams meet Tuesday. Ole Miss stumbled its way into the tournament, losing 60-58 as a 4-point favorite against South Carolina in the SEC tournament. The Rebels lost four of their last five games heading into this game. They’ve now covered in just one of their past six games as well. BYU lost for the first time in nine games when it lost 91-75 as an 8-point underdog against Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference championship. The Cougars covered in seven of the eight games they won before losing both SU and ATS to Gonzaga. The team has scored 75+ points in eight of its past nine games and that type of offense is going to be really tough to keep up with for a Rebels team that scored over 75 points in just three of their past 10 games. This will be the first time these teams have ever played one another. Ole Miss is 9-2 ATS when playing as an underdog this season, while BYU is 204-153 ATS when playing as a favorite since 1997. Gs Anson Winder (Knee) and Skyler Halford (Leg) are listed as questionable for the Cougars, who are already without F Nate Austin (Hamstring), G Jordan Chatman (Ankle) and F Jamal Aytes (Ankle) for the season. The Rebels aren’t dealing with any injuries heading into the tournament. Ole Miss had a very good offensive team this season, averaging 72.6 PPG (52nd in NCAA) on 42.6% shooting (223rd in NCAA). The team took a lot of ill-advised shots, but was able to put up points when it needed to. On the other end, the Rebels gave up 67.5 PPG (200th in NCAA) and will have to be ready to defend an explosive Cougars offense. This is a deep Rebels squad but in order for the team to win, G Stefan Moody (16.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.8 SPG) must play well. Moody is a trigger-happy guard that can fall in love with his outside jumper (35% 3PT). He is an excellent on-ball defender and can really force a ton of turnovers, but he must be disciplined on offense. If he is forcing up too many shots then he will not help his team in this one. G Jarvis Summers (12.4 PPG, 4.6 APG) is a very smart player in this backcourt. Summers knows how to get to the basket to finish at the rim or draw fouls (5.2 FTA per game, 76% FT), but he is also a willing passer. He’ll need to set his teammates up for some open buckets in this one. G Ladarius White (11.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG) is another very productive player for this team. White is a lights-out shooter (41% 3PT) and can shoot his team into games or right out of them. He’ll need to catch fire in this game against a BYU team that is surely going to put up a ton of points on Tuesday. Fs M.J. Rhett (6.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG) and Dwight Coleby (5.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG) are going to be counted on to bang inside for this team. These two are some of the only rotation players with size for the Rebels. They combined for just 12 rebounds when the team got bounced by South Carolina in the SEC tournament and they must be more imposing on the glass Tuesday. BYU ran one of the most potent offenses in college basketball, averaging 83.6 PPG (2nd in NCAA) on 46.7% shooting (46th in NCAA). The team knows how to pass the ball (16.8 APG, 5th in NCAA) and also hits the glass aggressively (38.5 RPG, 15th in NCAA). Defensively is where this team has had its issues, allowing 72.6 PPG (315th in NCAA). That is a product of the pace the Cougars prefer to play at though. G Tyler Haws (21.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.0 SPG) is going to be a player the Rebels will have their attention on. Haws is one of the best scorers in college basketball and has the ability to score if his defender loses focus for less than a second. He is a tremendous three-point shooter (36% 3PT) and also gets himself to the free throw line often (6.9 FTA per game, 88% FT). While Haws is one of the best scorers in the nation, G Kyle Collinsworth (14.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.8 SPG) is one of the most versatile players in college basketball. There is nothing that Collinsworth is not capable of doing on the court and the guard posted six triple-doubles this season. He can score in a number of ways and is also just an excellent passer and rebounder. G Chase Fischer (12.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.0 APG) is a dangerous player in this backcourt. Fischer can really shoot the three-ball (41% 3PT) and will not hesitate to let it fly on Tuesday. G Skyler Halford (8.7 PPG) is another lethal outside shooter (48% 3PT) for this team. He is questionable for this game, but would see a major increase in minutes if G Anson Winder (13.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.4 SPG) were unable to suit up. If that is the case then this team shouldn’t skip a beat offensively. Halford’s ability to shoot the three will make sure the Rebels don’t key in on Haws or Collinsworth too much. If both are unable to play then some of the team’s other bench players will need to step it up offensively. - Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter