BEST LINES:  Pinnacle -3½ -103 BET 365 -4-110 SportsInteraction -4 -110 5DIMES -4 -105

Posted at 1:00 PM EST & updated at 5:40 PM EST

6:00 PM. Xavier has played themselves into the at-large conversation after five straight wins over Creighton, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova and St. John's. If we were solely in the business of breaking down these games to predict a winner, the case for the Musketeers is a strong one. They have been ripping off victories and are seemingly playing at their season peak, but rarely is it that easy. From a 'buy low, sell' high perspective, Xavier is trading at its highest price in weeks. That the Musketeers are still a pooch today should say something about that, but what the market sees is a red hot school taking back a price against one that is struggling.

If the Musketeers are surging towards the finish line, then the Bulldogs just might be backtracking after losing three in a row and four of their last five. The most recent of those was an embarrassing 75-54 beatdown from 'Nova, a team that Xavier just beat by double-digits the Sunday before last. That lopsided result to a recent 'like' opponent is also not likely to entice the betting public to back Butler here. However, the Bulldogs had arguably their worst shooting day of the season hitting just 5-of-26 from beyond the arc and they only went to the foul line for five shots. We understand that the Bulldogs look like a weak favorite here, but we are not in the business of prognosticating winners. If we rip this ticket up, so be it, but we trust the oddsmakers got this one right when they made Butler the chalk and Xavier so damn appealing in the early start of the day. We expect this line may come down before tip-off, so we would suggest waiting to pull the trigger until around dinner time. We’ll update this at 5:30 PM EST to make it an official play and to get the best price.

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