Pittsburgh vs. Boston College – March Madness betting tips

It could not be closer in the first round of the ACC Tournament in NCAA March Madness with Pittsburgh looking to avenge their regular season loss to Boston College when the two face off for the right to play on.

The Panthers had far from a good season at 13-18 overall and only 3-15 in ACC play, but they do come into this conference game with a bit of momentum after winning their season finale. That result over Notre Dame snapped a 13-game losing streak in which they lost 66-57 at Boston College. Pittsburgh have a pretty good defense, but they are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the nation.

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The Eagles ended the season by losing three in a row and five of their last six games. They are 14-16 overall and 5-13 in ACC play and they were blown out in their last game. Their main issue is a defense that only ranked 211th in the nation in points allowed, while in their season finale the offense fell flat with a mere 47 points for the game.

The winner of this game will face Syracuse in the next round.

This season Pittsburgh are 14-15-2 ATS and have an Over/Under record of 14-17. Boston College are at 15-15 ATS with an Over/Under record of 15-15. The favorite is 4-0 ATS in the last four games between these teams.

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In their last game of the regular season Pitt snapped their 13-game losing streak with a 56-53 home win over Notre Dame. While the Panthers only shot 37.9% from the floor, their D held Notre Dame to 32.7% shooting. Trey McGowens came off the bench to lead the Panthers with 16 points and the other two players for the team in double figures were Jared Wilson-Frame and Xavier Johnson, who combined for 22 points, but only shot at 8/31 from the floor.

Johnson was the leading scorer on the season at 15.6 ppg with Wilson-Frame ranking second at 12.2 ppg. Johnson has only scored 10 points in each of his last two games and in his last three games he is only 7/29 from the floor.

In the loss to Boston College earlier this season Pittsburgh only shot 29% from the floor and Johnson and Wilson-frame combined for 20 points on 7/36 shooting.

Boston College were at home in their last game and were crushed by North Carolina State, losing 73-47. While they played pretty good defense and held NC to 39.7% shooting, they only shot a weak 26.7% from the floor and were outscored by 17 points in the first half. Ky Bowman was the only player for the Eagles in double figures with 14 points, but he was only 4/15 from the floor.

Bowman (19.2 ppg) leads four players averaging over 13 ppg and he has struggled with his shot in the last few games. Nik Popovic is averaging 14.2 ppg and he only had eight points in the loss to NC State. Popovic did not play in the game facing Pitt this season and Bowman only had 14 points on 4/16 shooting, but Boston College still won by nine points.

Pittsburgh Panthers betting trends

• 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games
• 5-0 ATS in their last five neutral site games
• Under record of 46-20 in their last 66 games

See the latest Pittsburgh Panthers odds at 888 Sport

Boston College Eagles betting trends

• 5-1 ATS in their last six neutral site games
• 1-5 ATS in their last six games following an ATS loss
• Under record of 7-3 in their last 10 games

Get the best odds for Boston College at Bet365

Panthers vs. Eagles betting predictions

While Pitt are coming off a rare ACC win and have covered the line in their last five games held at a neutral site, that trend will not continue. In a low-scoring game Boston College will get it done on defense and book a date with Syracuse in the next round.