West Virginia at Pittsburgh
The football season is over, the NBA is on its All-Star break and the NHL is going to a few weeks off for the Olympics. Yet Friday night is still set with a great matchup on the college hardwood as the Backyard Brawl is set to go between the Panthers and Mountaineers at 9:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.
West Virginia (19-4 straight up, 10-13 against the spread) comes into this game primed for a let down slump after falling as a five-point home favorite to the Wildcats on Feb. 8, 82-75. There are numerous reasons for Bob Huggins to be upset with his team?s performance outside of not being refilled on his single-malt against Villanova. They shot 41 percent from the field, while they allowed the ?Cats to hit 57 percent. And we can?t forget that the Mountaineers drained 18-of-32 of their free throws. But the biggest issue WVU has been its dependence on Da?Sean Butler.
Butler has averaged 17.1 points in his senior season in Morgantown. On Monday night, however, he scored 13 points, which was his lowest total since Jan. 16 versus Syracuse. Incidentally, that was the last time the Mountaineers were on the wrong side of the score.
Pittsburgh (18-6 SU, 10-8-2 ATS) was looking for anything to bring them out of a funk that saw them lose three out of four Big East games to end January. The Panthers appear to have turned the corner, winning two straight, covering the lone match that was on the board.
While Pitt had no problems in a 77-53 beatdown of Robert Morris, it was the 83-58 victory over the Pirates as a 4 ?-point home fave that showed they were back. Besides the fact the Panthers put up the most points they had all year, they were hitting shots from the field effectively (52 percent) and 20 of their 31 total buckets.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants has deemed this a match too close to call by making the Mountaineers one-point road favorites.
The recent history of this rivalry has been tilted towards Pittsburgh with a 6-4 SU mark, but 5-5 ATS. The ?under? was 7-3 in those last 10 matchups.
Out of the last seven meetings of these teams, the home squad is 5-2 SU and 4-3 ATS.
The Panthers have been tough to beat on their home court, as evidenced by a 13-1 SU and 5-4-2 ATS.
West Virginia is 5-2 SU and 3-4 ATS in its seven true road games of the season. Bettors should also note that the ?over? hit in four of those seven contests for the Mountaineers as well.
Other Looks?
Normally you have a few other games to take a gander at in college hoops, but Fridays are designated for the mid-majors. The positive side to that is the Ivy League?s top club is ranked and rolling through conference foes. Let?s look at their fixture.
Cornell at Pennsylvania ? 7:00 p.m. EST
The Big Red are worth the hype, getting medieval on the Ivy League with an average score of 80-55 in their last four league games. Cornell should keep it up against the Quakers as a 17-point road ?chalk.? Bettors shouldn?t have any fear in taking the Big Red as they?ve won four straight against Penn, covering the spread in the last two. The ?over? is a solid total play as it?s 4-1 in the last five.
The football season is over, the NBA is on its All-Star break and the NHL is going to a few weeks off for the Olympics. Yet Friday night is still set with a great matchup on the college hardwood as the Backyard Brawl is set to go between the Panthers and Mountaineers at 9:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.
West Virginia (19-4 straight up, 10-13 against the spread) comes into this game primed for a let down slump after falling as a five-point home favorite to the Wildcats on Feb. 8, 82-75. There are numerous reasons for Bob Huggins to be upset with his team?s performance outside of not being refilled on his single-malt against Villanova. They shot 41 percent from the field, while they allowed the ?Cats to hit 57 percent. And we can?t forget that the Mountaineers drained 18-of-32 of their free throws. But the biggest issue WVU has been its dependence on Da?Sean Butler.
Butler has averaged 17.1 points in his senior season in Morgantown. On Monday night, however, he scored 13 points, which was his lowest total since Jan. 16 versus Syracuse. Incidentally, that was the last time the Mountaineers were on the wrong side of the score.
Pittsburgh (18-6 SU, 10-8-2 ATS) was looking for anything to bring them out of a funk that saw them lose three out of four Big East games to end January. The Panthers appear to have turned the corner, winning two straight, covering the lone match that was on the board.
While Pitt had no problems in a 77-53 beatdown of Robert Morris, it was the 83-58 victory over the Pirates as a 4 ?-point home fave that showed they were back. Besides the fact the Panthers put up the most points they had all year, they were hitting shots from the field effectively (52 percent) and 20 of their 31 total buckets.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants has deemed this a match too close to call by making the Mountaineers one-point road favorites.
The recent history of this rivalry has been tilted towards Pittsburgh with a 6-4 SU mark, but 5-5 ATS. The ?under? was 7-3 in those last 10 matchups.
Out of the last seven meetings of these teams, the home squad is 5-2 SU and 4-3 ATS.
The Panthers have been tough to beat on their home court, as evidenced by a 13-1 SU and 5-4-2 ATS.
West Virginia is 5-2 SU and 3-4 ATS in its seven true road games of the season. Bettors should also note that the ?over? hit in four of those seven contests for the Mountaineers as well.
Other Looks?
Normally you have a few other games to take a gander at in college hoops, but Fridays are designated for the mid-majors. The positive side to that is the Ivy League?s top club is ranked and rolling through conference foes. Let?s look at their fixture.
Cornell at Pennsylvania ? 7:00 p.m. EST
The Big Red are worth the hype, getting medieval on the Ivy League with an average score of 80-55 in their last four league games. Cornell should keep it up against the Quakers as a 17-point road ?chalk.? Bettors shouldn?t have any fear in taking the Big Red as they?ve won four straight against Penn, covering the spread in the last two. The ?over? is a solid total play as it?s 4-1 in the last five.