Two of the best mid-majors in college basketball will square off on Sunday afternoon when the Wichita State Shockers and Illinois State Redbirds meet for the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. These teams met twice in the regular season, with each winning at home, and now face off with the conference’s automatic bid on the line. The loser should still make the tournament, but you never know how the committee will rank mid-majors.
At 2 p.m. ET, tune into CBS for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Sunday, March 5, 2017, at Scottrade Center. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Sunday schedule.
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Wichita State has been a terror against the number lately. The Shockers have covered six of their last seven, with the one loss being in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament last night. Under continues to be a solid play in Shockers’ games, with 8 of 10 finishing short of the total in games played away from their stadium.
Illinois State has had an amazing season. The Redbirds were expected to again be on the outside of the NCAA Tournament discussion, but a 27-5 record is no laughing matter. This team plays exceptional defense and under has been a winner in their games as well with 8 of their last 10 going under.
Matchup to Watch
Defense is going to be the name of the game when these teams meet in a rubber match. The Redbirds have been the most impressive defense in the conference this season, with just 60.7 PPG allowed and are holding opponents to 37.7 percent from the floor. Both numbers are in the Top 6 nationally and underscore just how good this regiment is.
As for Wichita State, this is a great defense as well, but has a pretty nice offense to match. The Shockers have allowed opponents to score on 38.1 percent of possessions, and are allowing foes to tally just 62.8 PPG.
However, whereas Wichita State has an offense that can make all the difference in this one. It is a team that is in the Top 20 nationally in scoring and is also in the Top 10 in three-point percentage. Additionally, they can rebound as well, making this team extremely hard to stop.
Coaching Angle
If not for Gonzaga, Wichita State would have a good case to be considered the best mid-major in the country and much of the credit for that has to go to Gregg Marshall. Marshall is in his 10th season at Wichita State and the school knows he is a name in hot demand. Although he is at an MVC school, he is making $3.3 million a year, and is always rumored for the major openings each season.
Marshall has his team play very fundamentally sound basketball on both ends of the floor. He has a deep rotation and hasn’t looked to be afraid to play fresh legs in a tight, close one either. He made the Final Four just a few seasons ago and could do it again.
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There were different results when these teams met this season, but whereas Illinois State achieved a good victory on its home court, Wichita State blew them out when the venue was flipped. The Shockers have played a tougher schedule and are more battle seasoned than Illinois State is and that tidbit will shine through.
Illinois State has only knocked off one major team this year, Wichita State, whereas the Shockers barnstormed before conference play and gained a ton of valuable experience. That will be one of the differences in this one as Illinois State just doesn’t know what to do in pressure situations yet, and won’t respond well here.
College Basketball Odds: Wichita State 80, Illinois State 59
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