Today the Indiana Hoosiers will do battle with the Wichita State Shockers at CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. The game has a start time of 2:45 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on CBS. Current Vegas betting odds have the Shockers listed as 6 point favorites, while the total is set at 141.
Analysis: The Indiana Hoosiers did not play well at all down the stretch as they won just 5 of their last 14 games, but still their early body of work was enough to get them into the Big Dance. The Hoosiers went 20-13 for the year, while placing in the middle of the pack in the Big 10. The Hoosers will be making their 38th trip to the NCAA tournament and have been to 8 Final 4 while grabbing 5 National Titles in the process. Indiana has gone 6-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Missouri Valley, but 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games. The Hoosiers have been a good offensive team this year, ranking 19th in scoring (77.5 ppg), 46th in shooting (46.6%), 8th in 3 point shooting (40.4%) and 98th in FT shooting (71.5%). The defense for this team has not been good at all as they come in ranked 298th in points allowed (71.4 ppg), 301st in defensive FG% (45.5%) and 104th in 3 point defense (32.8%).
The Wichita Shockers didn't have a good a year as last year, but they still had a solid one as they finished atop the MVC standings with a 17-1 mar, while overall they went 28-4 on the year. Their shocking loss was to Illinois state in the MVC Semifinals. The Shockers have been to two final fours in their 11 trips to the Big Dance. Wichita State has gone 13-4 ATS in their last 17 neutral site games, but 1-5 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games. The Shockers have been a decent offensive squad this year, ranking 108th in scoring (69.7 ppg), 107th in shooting (44.6%), 87th in 3 point shooting (36.2%) and 184th in FT shooting (68.9%). The defense for this team has been very good this year, ranking 7th in points allowed (55.8 ppg), 45th in defensive FG% (39.8%) and 193rd in 3 point defense (34.4%).
Pick: Hard to look at an over with an OU line this high, especially because the Shockers play such great defense, so I won't look that way. The Shockers have allowed juts 55.8 ppg on the year, including just 53.2 ppg in their last 5 games. Indiana will look to run, but the Shockers get back very well on defense and that should stop some of Indiana's breaks. The Hoosiers have not been a got defensive team, but the Shockers are not a great offensive team, averaging just 68.6 ppg overall and just 63.4 ppg in their last 5 games. The Shockers will look to slow this game down and with them being the better team I fully expect them to get their wish. 70-64 sounds about right here.
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