Big East and The Valley have showcase contests

Whenever Pittsburgh and West Virginia matchup up in any competition it is charmingly known as the “Backyard Brawl”. This evening, these bitter rivals will go head to head again, each trying to not fall further behind front-running Villanova in the Big East. In the heartland, the often underrated Missouri Valley will have its top two teams clashing, with Northern Iowa all but creating insurmountable lead with a win or Wichita State climbing with a game with a victory.

Pittsburgh at West Virginia 7:00E

Both of these universities are more well known for football, which would explain why this is just the fourth meeting out of 179-game history that both teams come in ranked. Pittsburgh (16-5, 10-7-2 ATS) has fallen to 22nd in the country, having lost three of four, as their point production has fallen. The Panthers are not an offensive juggernaut to begin with, averaging 67.5 points per game, but in last four outings they are woebegone 62.7 PPG. In their upset loss at South Florida this past Sunday, they missed Jermaine Dixon, a known defender, as Bulls guard Dominique Jones hung 37 on Pitt. The Panthers are 11-3 ATS after playing a road game over the last two seasons.

West Virginia (17-3, 7-12 ATS) was like a movie in their 77-74 win over Louisville. The Mountaineers had a great beginning and ending (outscored the Cardinals 31-4 in those segments) and rather dull in the middle. West Virginia has been very good team all year with the likes of Da’Sean Butler among others; however they have lacked a big man, until now. 6’9 freshman Deniz Kilicli makes his debut after sitting out 20 games for NCAA rules violation and he is the skilled wide body coach Bob Huggins needs, it’s just a matter of changing team chemistry this far down the road. Playing at home will help the Mountaineers who are 32-13 ATS on the own floor off a home win.

West Virginia has reeled off four straight wins and is 6-5 and 4-7 hosting Pittsburgh the last 12 years and is a nine-point favorite at Sportsbook.com. The ‘Teers are 10-1 SU at The Coliseum this season with meager 3-7 ATS mark.

Wichita State at Northern Iowa 8:00E

The Panthers of Northern Iowa (19-2, 15-5 ATS) have been one of the best bets in college basketball all season and have just one loss in the Missouri Valley Conference. That was administered 15 days ago by tonight’s foe Wichita State (19-4, 9-7 ATS), who travels to Cedar Falls. UNI plays at a controlled pace in scoring 64.8 points per game, with very balanced scoring. What makes them challenging club to play is their defense, holding opposing teams to 55.1 points per game on 40 percent shooting. They actually held Wichita State to season long defensive field goal percentage average in 60-51 defeat, but where done in by their own inability to shoot effectively, especially in the first half. The Panthers are 9-2 ATS after allowing 60 points or less two consecutive games this season.

The Shockers are a 6.5-point underdog and trail Northern Iowa by two games in the Valley standings. They too spread around the ball for scoring purposes, with top three scorers separated by just one point. Third leading scorer J.T. Durley did most of the damage in last meeting, tallying 19 points. Wichita State is off a 55-54 win at Southern Illinois and is 22-9 ATS in road games after one or more Under’s.

The duo of Adam Koch and Jordan Eglseder is handful for any opponent and the Northern Iowa guards value each possession which is why they are 9-2 ATS after three straight games committing 14 or less turnovers this season. In the last 12 years the Panthers are 8-3 and 7-4 ATS at the McLeod Center vs. Wichita State.