Cal Poly vs Wichita State Gambling Lines
The 16th-seeded Cal Poly Mustangs will look to play the role of David to the No. 1-seeded Wichita State Shockers’ Goliath when the teams face off in St. Louis Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. [ad-4468020]
2014 NCAA Tournament Free Picks
Midwest Region – 2nd Round
16 Cal Poly Mustangs (14-19) vs. 1 Wichita State Shockers (34-0)
Date: Friday, March 21, 2014
Time: 7:10 PM ET
Venue: Scottrade Center
City: St. Louis, Missouri
O/U Odds: 125.5
Spread: Wichita State -16
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Matchup Stats | ATS Insider Preview
Cal Poly punched its ticket to the tournament by winning the Big West tournament title, then beating Texas Southern in the First Four to advance to the second round, while Wichita State took a much different path – winning the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles as part of a 34-0 season, making them the first team into the tournament with an undefeated record since 1991.
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The Mustangs enter this game on a season-long four-game winning streak, and they’ve won those games on the back of their defense. In those four wins, Cal Poly surrendered just 56.0 points per game.
Of course, prior to that winning streak, the team had lost nine of its last 11 games to close out the regular season, but they got healthy before the tournament and reeled off that winning streak which has them in the tournament.
While defense is the key for the team, they were able to score some points thanks to an efficient offensive performance in their win over Texas Southern. Chris Eversley scored 19 points for the Mustangs, while Dave Nwama chipped in 17 points. The duo combined to hit on nearly two-thirds of their shots.
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They’ve each stepped up their games of late. Eversley has 17.0 points per game over his last three contests, and Nwaba has 14.8 points per game in his last four – around three points higher than each play’s season average.
As for the Shockers, they’re led by Cleanthony Early, whose 15.8 points per game lead the team. Guard Fred VanVleet makes the whole thing go, averaging 12.1 points per game and 5.3 assists.
The team gets their scoring from a variety of sources, and it’s that diverse scoring that has helped the team to remain consistent. Ron Baker is averaging 13.1 points per game, and Tekele Cotton averages 10.8 per game.
The winner of this game advances to play the winner of Kentucky and Kansas State on Sunday.
The winner of this game isn’t really in doubt, but if Cal Poly can generate some stops and slow the pace of the game down, that could be enough to frustrate Wichita State.
While the Shockers may bring an undefeated record into this game, that record was built on the back of a soft schedule, and they are just flat out giving away too many points in what should be a fairly low-scoring game.
The Mustangs are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven neutral site games.
The play: Cal Poly +16
