March Madness odds favor West Virginia on Thursday as they take on Washington in Sweet Sixteen action. The Mountaineers are the second seed in the East and could be on a collision course with Kentucky. The Mountaineers are five-point favorites in March Madness betting against Washington.
March Madness odds on the Huskies continue to get attention from gamblers. Washington has a very good player in Quincy Pondexter and he is capable of taking over a game. West Virginia has an even better player though in Da’Sean Butler and they have more depth. The Mountaineers can also play defense as they held Missouri to 40% shooting from the field in their second round win.
Washington has been in the Sweet Sixteen before under head coach Lorenzo Romar. They have not had much success as they were blown out in 2005 by Louisville and they lost in overtime to Connecticut in 2006. They may not have much better success against a talented West Virginia team. “They are very consistent and they are usually mentally and physically tough.” Romar said. West Virginia is very well coached by Bob Huggins and they have the defense to contain Washington’s guards. “They’re going to see a pretty good defensive team.” Huggins said about his team, “So – it comes down to, do we defend them better than they score? Lorenzo is a good friend of mine. He’s a great guy. He’s a wonderful human being.”
Washington has been somewhat of a surprise but this team does have talent. Matthew Bryan-Amaning has given UW a solid third scoring option behind Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas. “The way we’re playing we feel like we can beat anybody,” Thomas said, “It’s the NCAA tournament and anything can happen. We’re ready for this next game, we’re going to take it game by game, and try to get as far as possible.”
Washington does have some March Madness betting numbers that give them a chance. The Huskies are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The Huskies are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 NCAA Tournament games. West Virginia has even better numbers than Washington. The Mountaineers are 10-2-1 vs. the March Madness odds in their last 13 NCAA Tournament games.
The last four Washington games when they were an underdog went over the total. On the other side, the last six West Virginia games went under the total.