March Madness Betting: Murray State vs Vanderbilt
by Dave D
The NCAA Tournament’s most intriguing 13-4 matchup tips off on Thursday, as upset-minded Murray State prepares to face Vanderbilt.
Murray State Racers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
Thursday, March 18th – 2:30 PM ET
HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA
Broadcast: CBS
College Basketball Betting Spread: Vanderbilt -3
The Week That Was: Murray State
It took some doing, but Murray State finally got back to the NCAA Tournament. The Racers (30-4) finally got over the hump in the Ohio Valley Conference after three straight years of second-place finishes.
Coach Billy Kennedy’s club earned its trip to San Jose by defeating Morehead State, 62-51, in the OVC Championship Game on Mar. 6.
In that game, Murray State allowed just nine points in the first 13 minutes and 30 seconds of the second half. The Racers broke open a 31-all tie with an 11-2 run – or more appropriately, a crawl – that gave them a 42-33 lead with 6:30 remaining.
to start betting on College Basketball!
Reserve guard Isaiah Canaan scored 16 points off the bench to lead Murray State.
Before winning the Ohio Valley Tournament, the Racers had to make the final in the first place. Kennedy’s club took the first step toward that intermediate goal by defeating eighth-seeded Tennessee State in the quarterfinals on March 2 by an 84-51 score.
Then, on March 5, Murray received a vigorous challenge from fourth-seeded Eastern Illinois but managed to hold off the Panthers, 55-51. Tony Easley paced the Racers with 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Week That Was: Vanderbilt
The Commodores began the past week at the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Coach Kevin Stallings saw his team defeat Georgia, 78-66, in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 12.
VU freshman John Jenkins shot the cover off the ball, draining three 3-pointers and hitting three more foul shots in a span of under four minutes of second-half action. Jenkins scored all 12 Vandy points in a 12-5 run that turned a tenuous 47-42 edge into a comfortable 59-47 bulge with 8:22 left in regulation.
On Saturday, March 13, the Commodores ran into a roadblock against Mississippi State in the SEC semifinals. Vandy lost to the Bulldogs, 62-52, as MSU’s Jarvis Varnado dominated Commodore center A.J.
Ogilvy in a ballyhooed battle of big men. Varnado posted 11 points, grabbed nine boards, and registered six blocked shots, while Ogilvy managed just two points and four rebounds in a decidedly timid effort.
Vanderbilt hit just 35 percent of its field goal attempts on an afternoon when Mississippi State’s physical defense dominated from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
Only one Vandy player – guard Jermaine Beal (11 points) – scored in double figures.
Outlook & Pick:
This is one of the more trendy upset picks of the first round, and with good reason. Murray State is extremely – even amazingly – balanced, with five players averaging between 10 and 11 points per game (nothing above 11, and nothing below 10).
The Racers can score in different ways and will pose problems for Vandy’s defense, which does not deal well with agile and athletic teams.
However, while Murray State has a very good chance of pulling off the upset, Vanderbilt will be hard to stop when it has the ball. The Commodores run excellent halfcourt sets under Kevin Stallings, who is regarded as one of the best offensive minds in the country.
Ogilvy has a reputation for being a soft player, but against a mid-major opponent, the 6-11 Australian should be able to score consistently in the low post.
Murray will smoke Vanderbilt’s defense, but the Dores will score even more. Take the Commodores in a close game with a lot of offense.
