Will Furman Continue Their Cinderella Run?
In case you didn’t catch the college basketball news, the fourth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers committed a brutal turnover in the closing seconds of their opening-round game, allowing No. 13 Furman to sink a 3-pointer and pull off the upset.
Now, the Paladins look to keep their fairytale run alive by swiping away the fifth-seeded San Diego State Aztecs. Is Furman ready to go to the Sweet 16?
San Diego State Must Be Cautious
San Diego State had a very tough battle against Charleston, but those who bet online saw the Aztecs take care of business. This is a strong defensive team with a group of guys that know their roles and how to play the best.
Interestingly enough, they rank 16th in the KenPom.com rankings while Virginia was 34th. Furman might actually have a tougher game than the one it just had. That’ll be key to remember in the sportsbook.
Head coach Brian Dutcher has his team ranked 28th in defensive rating and 29th in points allowed per game. It’s safe to say that the Aztecs aren’t an easy out in this tournament.
The offense has also come around at times. They’ve broken the 80-point mark four times throughout the season and have a few key players that can continue that. Matt Bradley is the first that comes to mind.
San Diego just has to clamp down defensively and make sure Furman doesn’t get too confident early on. That will be the x-factor to the college basketball odds here.
Did Furman Catch a Lucky Break?
Furman was almost guaranteed to lose against Virginia until a disastrous mistake gave the underdogs hope. A Virginia player got caught in the corner off an inbounds play and, instead of calling a timeout, chucked it all the way across the court to get intercepted.
The bad pass led to the back-breaking triple. It was a stunning result that almost nobody had in their college basketball picks or brackets.
With all that being said, Furman isn’t the best team in the world. The Paladins didn’t convincingly take down a No. 4 seed. That doesn’t downplay what they’ve accomplished but puts it into perspective when comparing it to what San Diego State had to do.
If Furman wants to prove that it wasn’t just a fluke win, the Paladins will be looking for Jalen Slawson to step up again. After leading scorer Mike Bothwell fouled out, Slawson took over. He even led a 9-0 run of his own at one point in the game.
San Diego State vs Furman Game Injuries
San Diego State vs Furman Head-to-Head
We’ve yet to see these teams meet up this season.
San Diego State vs Furman Information
- Game: San Diego State (28-6) Furman (28-7)
- Location: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
- Day/Time: Saturday, March 18, 12:10 p.m. ET
- San Diego State vs Furman Live Stream: TBS.com
San Diego State vs Furman Betting Lines
San Diego State vs Furman Picks and Prediction
San Diego State is currently given the advantage in this matchup in terms of the March Madness odds and for good reason. This team takes care of business on both ends of the court well.
After Furman’s huge upset in the opener, San Diego State will be far more careful. Take the Aztecs to win and cover.
San Diego State is listed at -250 in our Vegas lines. So, if you wager $100 on the Aztecs, there’s a chance to win $40. Furman is +205 with a chance to win $205 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Paladins a 32.79% chance to win, with the Aztecs at 71.43%.
San Diego State vs Furman Trends
San Diego State vs Furman Edge
San Diego State vs Furman Results
San Diego State vs Furman Game Summary
