Free College Basketball Pick
#2 West Virginia Mountaineers (29-6, 13-5 Big East) vs. #11 Washington Huskies (26-9, 11-7 Pac-10) Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, 3/25, 7:27 PM
The Big East has underachieved thus far in the NCAA tournament, while the Pac-10 had almost no expectations, yet is now represented in the Sweet 16. West Virginia will try to continue to represent the Big East well as it attempts to make it to the Elite 8. As a double digit seed, Washington has already done more than anyone thought, but they aren’t done yet.
The Huskies already beat one Big East team in this tournament. They upset Marquette 80-78 in the first round. Then they took out New Mexico last weekend, routing them 82-64. Washington is a team that underachieved all season long, but has started playing well just as the games got to be the most important. On their resume are losses to teams like Oregon, UCLA, and twice to USC. The only ranked opponent they played all year was Georgetown, and that was a loss too. The Huskies have clearly turned the corner though. Third seeded New Mexico simply couldn’t keep up with Washington. The Huskies shot 47% from three point range in the win. Quincy Pondexter led the team in scoring with 18 points, Isaiah Thomas had 15 points and seven assists, and Matthew Bryan-Amaning had 15 points and 9 rebounds.
With six of the eight Big East representatives unable to make it through the first weekend of the tournament, the only teams left are Syracuse and West Virginia. While the other teams underachieved, these two are the cream of the crop. Many argued West Virginia should have gotten a 1 seed instead of Duke. The Mountaineers have already won the Big East conference tournament, now they are looking to make it to the regional finals. They started the NCAAs off with a win over Morgan State, 77-50, and then beat Missouri 68-59. Da’Sean Butler leads the team with 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. He scored 28 in the win over Missouri.
West Virginia should have a lot of fans since the game is in Syracuse. A large cohort of Mountaineers fans made it up to Buffalo for the first two rounds, and now many Syracuse fans will be in attendance to cheer on a fellow Big East team. Washington has not made it to a regional final game since 1953. West Virginia last played, and lost, to Louisville in the regional final in 2005.The winner takes on either Kentucky or Cornell.
West Virginia is favored by 4.5 points. The total is listed at 140
West Virginia Betting Trends:
West Virginia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games |
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of West Virginia's last 5 games
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Washington Betting Trends:
Washington is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games |
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games |
Pick: Take West Virginia -4.5
Betting Trends by Bodog.com |
