Thursday’s NCAA Tournament action will involve a matchup of two juicy mid-majors as the seven-seed Murray State and the 10-seed San Francisco battle it out in Indiana.
San Francisco Dons vs Murray State Racers (-2, 137.5)
Murray State enters the tournament having won 20 straight games thanks to a balanced attack with Murray State being one of just four teams in the country that is in the top 15 in both points scored and points allowed on a per possession basis.
For San Francisco, forward Yauhen Massalski was declared out for this game after also missing the West Coast Conference Tournament with a lower body injury, which is important as he leads the time in rebounds with averages of 13.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game.
Even when Massalski was healthy, the Dons relied heavily on 3-pointers to generate offense, taking 44.4% of their shots from 3-point range, the third-highest mark among teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Murray State has defended the arc well this season, ranking 24th in the country in opponent 3-point shooting percentage and should generate steal on defense as each of their top five scorers average at least one steal per game while San Francisco is 163rd in turnovers per possession.
Murray State enters Thursday 12th in the country in rebound rate and will both win the battle on the glass and their 21st straight game on Thursday.
The Play: Murray State -1
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