March Madness betting odds on West Virginia indicate that the Mountaineers are in the Final Four for the first time since 1959. They are a #2 seed so it was not a huge surprise to see them win in March Madness odds even though they were the underdog against Kentucky. March Madness betting lines didn’t favor the Mountaineers but their win over Kentucky was not an accident. They outplayed the top seeded Wildcats and when the Wildcats missed, they were there to rebound the ball. West Virginia won the Big East Tournament and has won 10 straight games overall. They have an excellent head coach in Bob Huggins who told this team a few years ago that they could win. “I talked to them about trying to be special,” Huggins said, “If we can somehow find a way to win a couple more that will be really special.”
West Virginia really dominated Kentucky in the Elite Eight. The Mountaineers won 73-66 vs. the March Madness odds and it was never really in question. “The wonderful thing about these guys is they never doubt,” Huggins said. This is the second time Huggins has led a team to the Final Four as he led Cincinnati back in 1992. West Virginia won without Darryl “Truck” Bryant but Joe Mazzulla had a career-high 17 points and was selected the East Regional MVP. “Everything just went in my favor,” Mazzula said.
West Virginia is the toughest team remaining of the Final Four March Madness betting teams. They play suffocating defense and rebound the ball extremely well. “That’s just the attitude that Huggs has instilled in,” Mazzulla said, “We have the mindset that we have 80 minutes left to really do something special.”
West Virginia will have to avoid being overconfident. Winning against top seeded Kentucky was huge in March Madness betting but it was not the title game. “There was always Kentucky looming,” forward Wellington Smith said, “Now that we’ve played Kentucky that basically was the national championship game. We have a chance at this, we could win going away.”
The Mountaineers may get a little boost that could improve their March Madness betting odds as Bryant could return. “I might play the next game,” Bryant said, “A shoe is being made to take all the pressure off the area. I probably will be able to play in the next game.” Bryant averaged 9.3 points and 3.1 assists per game this season.