GAME: #825 West Virginia vs #826 S. Dakota St.
TIME: 11/25/2020 – 5:00p EST
SPREAD: West Virginia -9
TOTAL: 146
The Pre-Season #15 West Virginia Mountaineers begin their season against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits when they meet in the first round of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Mountaineers finished the 2019-20 season with a 21-10 record while the Jack Rabbits finished with a 22-10 record. This is the first time these teams have ever played against each other.
#15 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
The West Virginia Mountaineers have much of their production back from last season including 4 starters. The Mountaineers should continue playing at a high level this season and will be one of the top teams in the Big 12. Tshiebwe led the Mountaineers in scoring (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (9.3) as a freshman and will only be better in his second season. Big man Derek Culver had a strong performing sophomore season averaging 10.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. Tshiebwe and Culver make up one of the most physical frontcourts in the NCAA. Miles McBride is set to have a big sophomore season after he averaged 9.5 points in just 22.2 minutes off the bench as a freshman. West Virginia also returns 5 other rotation players who averaged between 6.3 and 3.1 points, including two starters. If the offense is struggling, Huggins will have his boys defending and rebounding at an elite level can make up for the offense.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACK RABBITS
The South Dakota State Jack Rabbits’ Douglas Wilson will be looking to defend his title as player of the year in the Summit League. Wilson averaged 18.6 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, and shot an outstanding 62.8 percent from the floor. Noah Friedel was the top freshman in the Summit League last season as he averaged 12.2 points per game and knocked 39.5 percent of his shots from behind the three-point line. Matt Dentlinger is also going to be a matchup problem for opposing teams as he shot 62.8 percent from the floor last season while averaging 12.2 points per game just like Friedel. Alex Arians and David Wingett combined to averaged 17.5 points per game last season and they will be back to round out what should be a balanced offensive attack for South Dakota State. A couple of points of emphasis for the Jack Rabbits as they move forward into the 2020-21 season will be the shore up the scoring defense as they allowed 70.5 points per game which ranked 205th overall in the nation and forcing some more turnovers as they only generated 13.0 turnovers per game last season. The Jack Rabbits built their offense on 3-point shooting and might need to retool after losing five of their top six scorers from last season. The roster turnover might have the Jack Rabbits struggling to score. Ty Chisom and Hunter Goodrick are the only other two players from last season who averaged more than 10 minutes per game.
TRENDS(covers.com)
WEST VIRGINIA
- Mountaineers are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 Wednesday games.
- Under is 21-8-1 in Mountaineers last 30 overall.
S DAKOTA ST
- Jackrabbits are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 Wednesday games.
- Over is 6-2 in Jackrabbits last 8 neutral site games.
- Over is 19-7 in Jackrabbits last 26 Wednesday games.
- Jackrabbits are 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games overall.
WEST VIRGINIA vs S. DAKOTA ST. PREDICTION
West Virginia ended last season playing some of their best basketball and Bob Huggins seems to have more enthusiasm for this current team than the last 2 years combined. The Jack Rabbits should do well in their conference but it is one of the weakest conferences in CBB and facing the tenacious defense of the Mountaineers they won’t be getting easy buckets. Bob Huggins and his boys have a point to prove this season. The Bookie is rolling with the Mountaineers to get the job done in this one.
BETTING ANGLES:
The Bookie: West Virginia -9
Fade the Public: S. Dakota St. +9
Sharp Action: no data
Risk 1.1 Units to win 1 unit on the Mountaineers to win by 10 or more.