Look for Ducks to Dominate From Deep

The Seton Hall Pirates and Oregon Ducks would both love to make a major statement at the Battle 4 Atlantis as they tip off in Sportsbook-round action Wednesday in Nassau, Bahamas. The teams have just one loss between them through their first 10 games and have been sensational cover options with identical 4-1 ATS records coming in.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Ducks open as 3.5-point favorites; it’s the smallest spread Oregon has seen this season and marks just the second time that the Pirates have been an underdog (they covered at +5 vs Michigan State earlier this month).

Oregon News & Notes

The Ducks are off to a flying start to the 2019-20 season (pun very much intended), having already beaten the Houston Cougars and Memphis Tigers while winning their other three games by an average of 21.7 points. Their only non-cover so far came in their season-Sportsbook victory over Fresno State, when they rolled to a 71-57 triumph as 14.5-point favorites.

Oregon has done several things well to open the calendar, but its prowess at both ends beyond the arc has been one of the major catalysts. The Ducks rank eighth in the country as of Tuesday in three-point success rate at 42.7 percent, with guard Anthony Mathis (20-for-31) off to a red-hot start. Oregon also boasts the No. 4 defense in the nation from deep, limiting opponents to 20.5 percent shooting from three-point territory.

Seton Hall News & Notes

While the Pirates have that one loss on their resume, they can still hold their heads high after nearly pulling off an epic upset in a 76-73 loss to then-No. 3 Michigan State. That defeat – in which Seton Hall led by as many as five points late – is the lone blemish on an otherwise sensational start that has seen the Pirates win their other four games by an average of 26 points.

But while things have been mostly great so far, Seton Hall still has some things to work on if it hopes to make a splash in the Bahamas. For starters, it has allowed a whopping 25.4 free-throw attempts per game against Division I opponents, one of the worst rates in the country. It has also surrendered more than 10 offensive rebounds per outing, ranking 300th overall.

Betting Pick: Oregon -3.5

The three-point arc is where great teams dominate – and no other team in the nation is as good in that area of the court as the Ducks, who should use their strengths and capitalize on Seton Hall’s deficiencies to prevail.