Louisville West Virginia Betting – Mountaineers Send Seniors Out On High Note
Online betting players will tell you that Senior Day is one of the more emotional days on the college hoops schedule, and it usually pays to go with the home team in that game. That will be the case on Saturday in Morgantown, where West Virginia will host Louisville, and the veterans will close out their careers with a victory.
- What: NCAA Basketball Betting
- >When: Saturday, March 5th, 12:00 PM ET
- Where: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV
- Pick: West Virginia Mountaineers
Why Bet On Louisville (23-7, 12-5 Big East)
The No.11 Cardinals have won four in a row heading into their regular-season finale, they’ve won three of these games comfortably, and the last game was an overtime victory over Pitt. Louisville is sixth in the nation in assists, and they’re also sixth in steals, so the Cardinals can be a handful on the perimeter. The guard trio of senior Preston Knowles (14.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists), junior Kyle Kuric (10.4 points, 3.7 rebounds)and sophomore Peyton Siva (10.2 points, 5.0 assists) have all stepped up to the plate to carry the Cardinals at one point or another, but their recent run has been fueled by defense, and Siva begins that with his pressure at the point. The Cardinals are 38th in field-goal defense and 43rd in three-point defense, so Louisville will make you work for your points.
But it isn’t all good for the Cardinals, who haven’t gotten much production as of late from junior forward Terrence Jennings (9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds), and they’ll need more with sophomore Rakeem Buckles (6.8 points) out with a torn ACL. This hurts their rebounding as the Cardinals are 157th in rebounding margin, and even though Louisville has been getting by, this could bite them down the line. Another thing that could come back to haunt them is their poor free-throw shooting (253rd). Yes, they’ve been making them lately, but inconsistency will always win in the most important times.
Why Bet On West Virginia (19-10, 10-7 Big East)
The Mountaineers may not be as talented as the other teams in the Big East, but you would struggle to find a team more physical and tough than West Virginia, possibly in the nation. West Virginia is 58th in field-goal defense, third in three-point defense, and 89th in rebound margin, and you’re always going to be in for a fight when you play the Mountaineers, especially when you go to the Coliseum. Senior guard Casey Mitchell (14.4 points, 3.0 rebounds) missed the first meeting between the two, a 55-54 loss at Louisville on January 26th, but he is now coming off the bench behind junior Darryl “Truck” Bryant (10.9 points, 3.0 assists) and senior Joe Mazzulla (7.2 points, 4.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds), who both bring something to the table. Junior Kevin Jones (12.7 points, 7.1 rebounds) and senior John Flowers (9.5 points, 6.4 rebounds) are the inside players for the Mountaineers, but senior forward Cam Thoroughman (2.4 points, 3.6 rebounds) has been getting some big minutes lately as well. The Mountaineers could be peaking at the right time, and the Cardinals are going to face a battle on Senior Day at the Coliseum.
West Virginia doesn’t want to get in a shootout with anyone, coming in 143rd in points scored, and they shoot just 43.1% from the field, which is good for 205th in the country. This makes it imperative that the Mountaineers play defense the way that they do, because outside of Mitchell, they don’t have a lot of natural scorers. They’re 197th in the nation from beyond the arc, which means you don’t really have to defend the Mountaineers on the perimeter.
How The Game Will Play Out
NCAA basketball betting odds will likely favor the Mountaineers at the Coliseum, where they are 14-3 SU and 7-7 ATS, while the Cardinals are 5-4 ATS away from home. West Virginia is 2-1 SU in three meetings at the Coliseum against the Cardinals, but 0-3 ATS. But we’re taking them to avenge a 62-59 Senior Day loss against the Cardinals from two years ago, and you can expect Mitchell, Mazzulla, Flowers and Thoroughman to all play a big role in their final home games at West Virginia. The first game was a defensive slugfest and we expect the same in this game, but with a different result as it is just too much to ask to bet against West Virginia at home on Senior Day. Take the Mountaineers in your sports betting picks.
Louisville West Virginia Betting Pick: West Virginia Mountaineers
