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#1 West Virginia vs #4 UMass
West Virginia blitzed Delaware State 74-50 on Tuesday night holding the Hornets to 36.7% shooting and zero free throw attempts. The only negative to come from that game was WVU allowing 10 offensive boards to Delaware State. That may not seem so bad, but we're talking about one of the smaller teams in the country. That's been the Mountaineers' problem all season - rebounding. In turn, they have problems with really solid frontcourts. Unfortunately for them, they're facing one of the biggest and baddest front lines in the country when they go up against Massachusetts. UMass took it to Alabama's big men with 10 blocked shots and 15 offensive boards and pulled out an 89-87 OT win. Stephane Lasme, Rashaun Freeman, and Gary Forbes should have a field day against the 'Neers.
UMass 77 West Virginia 72
#6 North Carolina State vs #7 Marist
Marist's win over Oklahoma State was a huge surprise to me. The Cowboys were in a freefall , but they were starting to play better in the last couple of weeks. That they held OSU to 64 points is particularly impressive considering they've had problems with their defense all season long. Marist's three point ace Will Whittington runs hot and cold and I think the Wolfpack do a much better job covering him up than Oklahoma State did. Jared Jordan's shooting stroke has gone awry as the season has gone on and he'll need to be dynamite against Atsur and co. for the Red Foxes to win. North Caorlina State looks like a team on a mission and I can't pick against them.
North Carolina State 70 Marist 60
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