No. 10 Missouri vs. No. 2 West Virginia (-5.5) Point Spread Picks

Despite stumbling into the NCAA Tournament, Missouri (24-10, 12-12 ATS) found a way to take care of business on Friday. The Tigers lost three of their last four games before March Madness began, but it doesn't matter after beating Clemson 86-78 in the opening round. Mizzou covered the 1.5-point spread, snapping a four-game losing streak on college basketball odds. The team improved to 5-5 against the spread in its last 10 games.

Missouri was lethal on "D" against Clemson; Mizzou buzzed all over the court and racked up 20 turnovers. The team didn't look too shabby at the other end of the floor, either. Forward Keith Ramsay had a great night with 20 points and eight rebounds. Guard Kim English was almost as good, pouring in 20 points of his own. Two other Tigers-Laurence Bowers and J.T. Tiller-also scored in double figures. Mizzou was swamped on the glass, though, losing 37-26. That could pose a serious problem unless the Tigers can regularly come up with 20 turnovers a night.

West Virginia (28-6, 15-15-1 ATS) proved it deserved its 2-seeding by crushing the Morgan State Bears 77-50. The Mountaineers easily covered the 16.5-point spread. West Virginia has now ripped off seven consecutive wins, though wins have been in short supply on NCAA basketball odds. It was the first time in five games the Mountaineers covered. They had won four straight against the spread before the losing streak.

The Mountaineers shook off a sluggish start-in which they missed their first 11 shots-to take care of business against Morgan State. Leading scorer Da'Sean Butler was limited by the Bears all afternoon, scoring just nine points, but Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones stepped up. Ebanks notched a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards, while Jones scored a game-high 17 points and added eight rebounds for good measure.

These teams don't have any history with each other over the past decade. Missouri has gone over the total in two straight games, though the three previous games went over. West Virginia went under for the fifth consecutive game. SPORTSBETTING.COM has the total set at 136.5.

Game Prediction

Take West Virginia