Marshall Thundering Herd vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Preview

Marshall Thundering Herd (25-10 SU 21-10 ATS) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (25-10 SU 16-15 ATS)

DATE: 8:40 PM ET Sunday March 18 on TBS

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If it were not for UMBC’s historic upset of Virginia, Marshall would have the biggest tournament upset so far, as they are a 13 seed and took down #4 seed Wichita State in the first round. The Thundering herd put up 81 points in the game and they are all about lighting up the scoreboard, as they rank 11th in the nation in ppg while only ranking 321st in points allowed. Marshall is riding a five-game win streak and they have another tall task in facing a balanced West Virginia, who easily won their first-round game.

West Virginia easily beat Murray State 85-68 in the first round of the Big Dance where they forced 16 turnovers and shot 51.6% from the floor while holding the Racers to 41.2% shooting. Overall, the Mountaineers have won three of their last four games.

West Virginia ended the season as the 15th ranked team in the nation and on the season Marshall has won two of their three games facing a top 25 team.

In their games held at a neutral site this season Marshall is 4-0 and West Virginia is 5-2.

Key betting trends and facts

Marshall stats
Marshall is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games.
Marshall is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games held at a neutral site.
Marshall has an Over record of 5-3 in their last 8 games.

West Virginia
West Virginia is 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games
West Virginia is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games held at a neutral site.
West Virginia has an Over record of 6-1 in their last 7 games.

In Marshall’s opening round 81-75 upset over Wichita State the Thundering Herd outscored the Shockers by nine points in the 2nd half and forced 15 turnovers shooting 46.7% from the floor and holding WSU to 41.5% shooting. Jon Elmore led Marshall with 27 points, Ajdin Penava went for 16 points and eight rebounds, and four of five starters for the team went for double figures. Elmore (22.8 ppg) and C.J. Burks (20.5 ppg) are the two leading scorers for the Thundering Herd on the season and Elmore has gone for at least 26 points in his last three games while Burks has only averaged 10.6 ppg in his last three games. Marshall has the offense and they need to play well on that side of the floor again to have any chance to advance to the Sweet 16.

West Virginia had a balanced game in their opening round win over Murray State with Jevon Carter leading the way with 21 points on 9/17 shooting with eight assists. Four players for the Mountaineers scored at least 12 points and Ajdin Penava, who is averaging 6.6 ppg on the season, had 16 points. Carter leads four players on the season averaging in double figures at 17 ppg and 2nd leading scorer Daxter Miles Jr (13 ppg) had totaled 47 points in two games before only going for nine in the win over Murray State. WVU has to play good defense in this game and if they can do that and force turnovers like in the Murray State win they will advance in the Big Dance.

Marshall v West Virginia odds

Moneyline: Marshall +675 v West Virginia -900
Spread: Marshall +12.5 -105 v West Virginia -12.5 -115
Over/Under: Over 159.5 -110 v Under 159.5 -110

* All odds courtesy of BETMGM.

Thundering Herd v Mountaineers betting preview

Marshall is riding high after their big first round upset, but their Cinderella ride will not be a long one. They will face a tough Mountaineers defense and they will not light up the scoreboard. Because of that and their less than stellar defense the Mountaineers will handily win this game, cover the spread, and move on to the Sweet 16. The odds of a