Washington vs West Virginia Picks – Mountaineers Defense Will Stop Huskies Offense
The Washington Huskies are one of the hottest teams right now. They haven’t lost since February 18th and have scored 79 or more in seven of their last nine. Unfortunately, though, they will hit the wall against a team that online betting cappers know is one of the best defensively. West Virginia is as tough as it gets and they are also winners of seven straight. They’ll extend that by one on Thursday.
- What: NCAA Basketball Betting
- When: Thursday, March 25th – 7:27 PM ET
- Where: Carrier Dome – Syracuse, NY
- Key Stat: Washington is 3-8 ATS against good defensive teams allowing less than 65 points per game
The Washington-West Virginia Storyline
The Washington Huskies are a No. 11 seed in the Sweet Sixteen, but nobody is talking about them as a Cinderella. The Huskies have a veteran team that fell short of expectations last year, but is surpassing them this year. They Huskies squeaked by Marquette in the opening round and the crushed New Mexico. This will be their toughest matchup yet.
West Virginia is doing what they were projected to do. The sportsbook odds makers have them on a collision course with Kentucky and this game should prepare them for the type of opponent they might see. Considering they handled the up-tempo Missouri squad rather easily, that might be a telling sign of how this game will go.
Offensive Matchups
The Huskies don’t have much of an inside game but they have some real special scorers in the back court. Senior Quincy Pondexter is the heart of the team, averaging 19.5 points per game to go with 7.5 rebounds per game this season but Isaiah Thomas is a dangerous back court mate. This will be a matchup of pace as the Huskies like to play fast while the Mountaineers will try to slow things down.
The Mountaineers don’t have the firepower to get into a shootout, so part of their offense will play into their defense, meaning that they’ll have to play a slow, half-court game. They stifled Missouri with this type of a style and while Missouri tried to push the tempo, they had very little success. Coming from the Big East, the Mountaineers have a huge edge in toughness, which will have to help them on the glass and in the pain because they aren’t a great shooting team.
Betting Edge: WashingtonDefensive Matchups
Sports betting fans should know that this is Washington has the short end of the stick. They don’t have much size inside and they don’t play a lot of defense to begin with. Rebounding is also a problem as their strength is in the backcourt and not the frontcourt.
Meanwhile, West Virginia simply imposes its will. They will have a huge edge in rebounding in this contest and if they can hammer the boards, they won’t have to worry about their shooting percentages. They are much tougher than Washington, who has a reputation of playing soft sometimes. Their man-to-man and 1-3-1 zones are as good as it gets, so look for them to stymie the Huskies at many points in this game.
Betting Edge: West VirginiaInjuries
Both teams are healthy for this contest.
Betting Edge: EvenBetting Prediction: Washington vs West Virginia Picks
The Huskies are hot but West Virginia’s defense will cool them down. Washington won’t win unless they can run and gun, but West Virginia won’t let them.
The Mountaineers offense does struggle at many times but given the edge in rebounding that they should have, the extra opportunities should earn them some extra points.
Defense tops offense in this one as the Mountaineers advance to the Elite Eight.
