The following games will be played Friday in Buffalo.
No. 15 Morgan State Bears vs. No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers (-17.5, 138.5)
West Virginia looked tough in winning the Big East Tournament.
The Mountaineers (27-6, 13-19 ATS) are physical, talented and can throw different defensive looks at opponents on a possession-by-possession basis. They are 5-7 ATS as a double-digit favourite.
The Bears (27-9) have been overmatched by big-conference competition this season, losing to Louisville by 11, Minnesota by 30 and Baylor by 16. They own two wins over Coppin State by 20 and 13.
West Virginia beat Coppin State by 26 and Louisville by three.
Morgan State prefers to push the pace, but that can lead to sloppy play. The Bears allow 70 points, turn the ball over 13.5 times and commit more than 21 fouls per game.
Their roster is pretty similar to last year, when the Bears were blown out by Oklahoma in the opening round of the tournament.
Prediction: West Virginia 83, Morgan State 65
No. 7 Clemson Tigers vs. No. 10 Missouri Tigers (+1.5, 137.5)
It’s a tough matchup to handicap between two talented, but inconsistent teams.
Missouri (22-10) is banged-up. Starting forward John Safford tore his ACL in late February. The Tigers are 1-3 and 0-4 ATS since losing Safford.
Safford’s replacement, sophomore forward Laurance Bowers, has two torn ligaments in his wrist, but has decided to delay surgery until after the tournament and is expected to play against Clemson.
Like Missouri, Clemson (21-10) pushes the pace. But it can lead to needless turnovers (14.8 per game).
Common opponents include Texas A&M and Illinois. Missouri lost by three to A&M and hammered Illinois by 13. Clemson lost by nine at home to A&M and by two at home to Illinois.
Prediction: Clemson 76, Missouri 70
The following games will be played Friday in Jacksonville.
No. 5 Temple Owls vs. No. 12 Cornell Big Red (+3.5, 118.5)
A trendy upset pick, Cornell (27-4, 16-10 ATS) lost by only five as 20-point dog at Kansas in early January. The Big Red own wins over St. John’s, Alabama, UMass and St. Joseph’s.
Kansas ran Temple off the floor in an 82-54 win in January. But Cornell has neither the size nor the athletes that the Jayhawks do.
However, the Big Red can shoot the ball. They’re the tournament’s top 3-point shooting team, making more than nine per game. If they get hot, the Owls don’t have the offensive firepower (64.9 ppg.) to keep up.
Temple (29-5, 21-12 ATS) has the best 3-point defence in the field, though, and has held its last seven opponents to under 60 points. That’s pretty impressive
Look for the Owls to extend their zone defence, press out on the 3-point line and force Cornell to drive the basketball. Syracuse’s zone forced the Big Red to shoot 13 for 37 from the 3-point line in a 15-point win over Cornell in December.
Prediction: Cornell 60, Temple 58
No. 12 Wofford Terriers vs. No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers (-9.5. 115.5)
Wofford lost to Illinois by 14 and Michigan State by 12 during non-conference play. That’s a pretty good gauge of how the Terriers will stack up with the Badgers, who play the same Big Ten style of ball as the Illini and Spartans.
Expect Wisconsin to be physical with the much smaller Terriers. There won’t be any easy baskets against the Badgers’ fourth-ranked defence that allows just 56.2 points per game.
The Terriers (26-8) have had their struggles at the free throw line, shooting just 67.2 percent as a team.
Prediction: Wisconsin 68, Wofford 56.