The last two teams to make the East Regional Sweet 16 will be decided today when West Virginia battles Missouri and the surprising Cornell Big Red meets Wisconsin.
Sunday’s East bracket of the NCAA tournament has four teams vying for two spots in the Sweet 16. The two-seed West Virginia Mountaineers face the 10th-seeded Missouri Tigers in Buffalo, while the four-seed Wisconsin Badgers meet the 12th-seeded Cornell Big Red in Jacksonville.
No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers vs No. 10 Missouri Tigers (+5 ½, 137 ½)
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY - 2:40 p.m. (ET)
The Mountaineers are on a seven-game winning streak, but are 3-4 ATS in that span. Bob Huggins’ boys crushed the Morgan State Bears, 77-50, in Friday’s tourney opener, and covered ATS as 17-point favorites.
WVU held Morgan State to 29.5 percent shooting, helping the matchup’s 127 combined points slide below the ‘total’ of 137 ½. The ‘under’ is 5-0 in West Virginia’s last five.
Sign up to win prizes in SBR Contests!
Mountaineers forward Devin Ebanks notched a double-double with post-season highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Ebanks also hit a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
Missouri had a 0-4 ATS streak end with Friday’s 86-78 win over Clemson. The battle of Tigers’ squads resulted in a mild upset for Mizzou as two-point underdogs.
The 164 combined points flew ‘over’ the ‘total,’ as Missouri connected on 51.7 percent of its shots.
Four Missouri starters scored in double figures. Forward Keith Ramsey hit 8-of-11 from the field and added a team-high eight rebounds.
Missouri is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 neutral site games. The ‘over’ is on a 5-2 run.
No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers vs No. 12 Cornell Big Red (+4 ½, 121)
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Jacksonville, FL – 2:50 p.m. (ET)
Ivy League champ Cornell surprised A-10 title-holder Temple in Friday’s 78-65 victory as a three-point underdog. The win extended the Big Red’s SU and ATS streaks to 8-0 and 3-0, respectively.
Both squads united to shoot 54 percent, helping the 144 combined points soar ‘over’ the 122 ½-point ‘total.’ Cornell’s Louis Dale logged team highs of 21 points and seven assists. The senior guard leads the Big Red in assists (4.9 APG) and steals (1.4 SPG).
The Big Red are 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral site games.
Wisconsin held off the Wofford Terriers, 53-49, in Friday’s first round of the big dance. The Badgers were ahead 27-19 at halftime, but lost the lead five minutes later.
Jon Leuer hit a jumper with 18 seconds left to give the Badgers a 51-49 lead. The junior forward added two late free throws to finish with a team-high 20 points.
Leuer’s crew connected on only 1-of-9 three-point attempts, and shot 37 percent from the field compared to Wofford’s 41.7 percent. The lack of shooting led to the matchup’s combined 102 points ducking ‘under’ the ‘total’ of 114 ½.
The ‘under’ is a combined 7-3 in the last five for the Badgers and Big Red.
Cornell is 13-5 ATS in its 18 games away from home. The ‘over’ is 11-4 in Wisconsin’s 15 road games.