NCAA Basketball Pick – Wednesday February 3, 2010
#21 Pittsburgh Panthers (16-5) vs #6 West Virginia Mountaineers (17-3)
Last meeting: WVU 74 – PITT 60 (WVU ATS win +4.5 at PITT)
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Despite some recent struggles Pittsburgh is enjoying a much better season than expected. They are pretty secure in their bid for the Big Dance at this point but a win on the toad against a top 10 team would be a major boost. This team is well coached so they are not going to change their approach, they just don’t have the talent they have had in the past and are going to have a hard time containing the duo of Devin Ebanks and Da’Sean Butler. For them to have any shot they need a return to form from leading scorer Ashton Gibbs. Gilbert Brown has been hot lately but this team does not generate enough offense for Gibbs to have an off night in a victory against top competition. They just don’t have that kind of depth this year. One thing that hasn’t changed is that this team plays tough aggressive D and will make the Mountaineers earn their points all over the floor.
West Virginia seems to have righted their ship, solidifying the Big East’s position as the roughest toughest conference in the nation. The Mountaineers are one of the few teams that can beat with you offense and beat you up on defense, on average they are outscoring their opponents by 11ppg. They are led by the dynamic duo of Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks. Ebanks got a late start to the season and is finally starting to show the promise that makes NBA execs drool while Butler is coming off a sensational game against Louisville where he poured in 27 points in the comeback victory. In this game these two will be the two best players on the floor. When that is the case this West Virginia team is very tough to beat.
The current line on this one is West Virginia -7.5.
The Panthers, with their play to date have likely secured their place in the big dance already. Unfortunately for them this resume boosting win is beyond their grasp. WVU should jump out in front and play most of the game around the spread line. A solid win for WVU but not much value in this game.
West Virginia – 71
Pittsburgh – 64
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A trend to consider:
- Favorite is 11-5-1 ATS in the last 17 meetings.
- Pittsburgh is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
- Pittsburgh is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games
- Pittsburgh is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
- Pittsburgh is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games on the road
- West Virginia is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- West Virginia is 17-3 SU in its last 20 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of West Virginia’s last 7 games
- West Virginia is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home
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